NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1 - Prologue
Sixteen-year-old Izak Macthurden raised her head and stared at a round stained-glass window in the middle of the soaring ceiling.
A question came to mind as she stared at the sacred stained-glass window with its dragon tales.
Why, she wondered, was she standing in the middle of the temple, at the height of the war against the Begril on the border?
‘I feel like a first-class pig being sold.’
Self-questioning, Izak lowered her gaze as the sky, which had been blue when she entered the temple, began to turn yellow.
She looked back at her father, the Duke of Macthurden, who dragged her to the temple and made her wear that ridiculous dress.
Two months ago.
[Do… what?]As a knight guarding the border, Izak had been on high alert, concerned that the number of Begril lurking near the border was noticeably higher than usual.
When an urgent dispatch from the capital arrived bearing the seal of Macthurden, Izak did not even bother to open it.
When she ignored him, her father wrote again, threatening her with the end of her knighthood if she didn’t return immediately.
Eventually forced to return to the capital, Izak was confronted by her father, who summoned her, and was told something outrageous.
The Duke of Macthurden sat at his desk, his face dreadfully dour, going about his business, not even looking at his daughter.
[You are to marry the Crown Prince.] [What is that…?]How dumbfounded I was when I first heard it.
[Your Majesty and I are still a long way from our coming-of-age ceremony.]It was customary to have one’s coming-of-age ceremony on one’s twentieth birthday, and in the Rohem Empire, one could not marry until it was time for the ceremony.
[It’s an ancient custom that needs to be changed.] [What… what do you want so badly?] [The age of the dragons is over. It’s time for a new dynasty.]The world said her father was mad with power, and it pained Izak to see him like that, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him to stop.
She blamed the imperial family for trying to fake even her mother’s death.
One look at Cayden, the innocent young Crown Prince and the one person she was closer to than anyone else, like a brother, and her anger rose.
[I can’t do it. No, I won’t!]Yeah, I said that…
He had people come and forcefully lock her in her room, and when the day of the wedding came, he brought her in like a piece of luggage and set her up in the temple.
“I don’t know if I’m going to get sick from this.”The guests packed into the vast temple were busy gossiping and eyeing the Duke of Macthurden, while the High Priest, wiping the sweat from his brow, glanced at them.
“So it turns out the Crown Prince doesn’t want this marriage.” “Frankly, it made no sense from the start, and besides, to marry his daughter to a Crown Prince who hasn’t even had a proper coming-of-age ceremony.” “With the Duke of Macthurden eyeing the throne, could it be that His Highness’s entourage has been secretly pushing for a marriage with the Marquess of Greyburn?”The ladies’ gazes fell on Izak’s cheeks, which were scarred and rough from years spent on the frontier.
She had piercing eyes, a tall stature for a woman, nearly six feet, and dark hair that was roughly cut.
The wedding dress was hastily thrown together, and it looked like it was made in haste. No clown could look more ridiculous.
The ladies scrambled to cover their faces with their fans as the Duke of Macthurden rose to his feet, tapping the floor with his cane.
With a long sigh, Izak closed her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them again, she recognized her father’s growing ferocity, as if he were about to storm out of the room and grab the Crown Prince by the hair.
The Duke of Macthurden motioned to her with a nod, signaling her to fetch Cayden herself.
“Ten minutes.”At his father’s murderous glare, which seemed to warn of the consequences of any further delay, Izak stiffened, turned on her heel, and stormed out of the temple.
The last thing she wanted was to see the Crown Prince dragged off like an animal for slaughter.
After quickly passing through the corridor and entering the inner hall, a few middle-aged men and women were standing nervously in front of the tightly closed door.
“Izak.”At that moment, a middle-aged man spotted Izak, dressed in a gown, bustling toward her and stopped her.
“The Crown Prince’s entourage is inside.” “Tha—that is…” “His Highness’ most trusted advisor, the Marquis of Greyburn, is at the door, that’s for sure. Open the door now. You know full well that you can’t defeat my father this way.”The Marquis of Greyburn let out a long sigh.
“I tried to persuade him, but he just locked the door.”Once a close friend of her father’s, but now estranged for political reasons, most notably over the Crown Prince, the Marquis of Greyburn had come to think of Izak as a daughter.
He knew better than anyone what she was thinking when she came to him. He saw the complexity in her eyes, but she was oblivious and continued to look around.
Then she spotted a sturdy-looking chair.
Without hesitation, she walked over and grabbed it. Everyone’s eyes widened at her sudden behavior.
“Wha, what are you doing…” “If the door is locked, I’m going to break it down. You’re going to get hurt, so get out of the way.”Shoving them out of the way, Izak launched the chair with precision and speed, smashing the doorknob.
A gasp of surprise escaped their lips as they watched the doorknob come off with a loud crack.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”Through the nearly smashed doorway stood a strangely pretty boy, a little shorter than most boys his age, staring at Izak with fierce eyes, but at least he was dressed for the occasion.
With the golden eyes and honey-colored hair that symbolized royalty, the white jade skin, and the dense, doll-like features of a woman, he could almost pass for a girl.
Cayden Re Asteria Hayden, a descendant of the last remaining dragon and imperial blood.
His eyes, always gentle, no longer held any affection for Izak. There was only wariness.
“Come out.”Cayden snorted at Izak’s words,
“No. I’m never marrying a Macthurden.” “It’s already been decided.” “You realize why your father wants to marry you to me, don’t you? He wants to borrow your womb to start a new dynasty. I will never be a pawn to his will, so you might as well kill me now…!”Stepping forward, Izak slapped Cayden across the cheek with all her might.
Cayden stiffened, his hand covering his reddened cheek, and looked up at Izak in shock.
“You… just… hit me?” “I could do worse here.”Bending to kneel in front of Cayden, Izak squeezed his shoulders tightly.
“You and I have reached our inevitable fate, and you must recognize and accept it.”Izak’s blue eyes and Cayden’s golden ones sparked as they intertwined.
She knew how much Cayden hated this marriage. She didn’t think it made sense to marry him, either, and she’d tried to resist.
Even if she was locked in a windowless, nailed-down room, she would do anything to escape.
But maybe she didn’t do it because she saw unimaginable ambition in her father.
She thought her mother’s death had hurt him deeply, and that this was the only way he could release his resentment…
But when she saw him again, he was a completely different man.
It was time for a new dynasty.
At those words, Izak felt fear. Fear that Cayden might die at the hands of her father.
To be honest, I didn’t know if this marriage would protect him. I still wasn’t sure if this was truly the right path.
But I knew I couldn’t just turn a blind eye and close my ears like I had before.
Izak faced him, her eyes as determined as ever.
“However, when you grow to be of age and strength, I will gladly comply with your wishes.”Cayden pursed his lips and glared at Izak, his eyes bloodshot. Ignoring him, Izak held his chest.
“You want to kill me, you want to tear my father to shreds for driving the Empress to her death, then wait. Lie flat on your back and be patient until the time is right.”Barely up to Izak’s waist, Cayden’s expression was tinged with shame.
Small for a fourteen-year-old boy, Cayden had been a source of worry about those around him since birth, with all his ailments.
How terrible this moment must be for him, to lose his entire family in such a frail body, and now to marry the daughter of the Duke of Macthurden, the man responsible for his family’s loss.
Perhaps he blames himself.
Izak had once blamed him, as well, so she understood Cayden’s feelings.
A bitter smile tugged at the corners of Izak’s lips.
The wedding ceremony proceeded like a stream while everyone’s thoughts were elsewhere.
It was deceptively simple for a wedding between a Crown Prince and a member of a great noble family.
After a short speech by the High Priest, the rings were exchanged.
With two glittering rings, each emblazoned with the imperial dragon’s tear, Izak and Cayden signed their vows.
Now the final touch.
Only a brief kiss remained.
As though it were the least he could do, Cayden’s face visibly hardened at the High Priest’s insistence that they kiss.
“Resist the urge to push me away.”Izak pursed her lips and sighed inwardly as Cayden glared at her like she was an unscrupulous pervert.
“Unless you want to look ridiculous in front of the guests.”Cayden’s eyes narrowed as if to tell Izak to hurry up.
At the look of disgust on Cayden’s face, Izak didn’t want to kiss him but was forced to do so, leaning down and capturing his lips.
The moment their soft, full lips made contact, Cayden quickly pulled back and wiped his lips with his sleeve.
A chuckle rippled through the room.
And just like that, the awkward and bloody wedding was over.