The letter was completely crumpled from her hands.
It was the second letter they had sent.
[Rienne] “. . .”
Rienne stared down at her pale, cold hands. The blood had completely left them, and they didn’t feel like her own anymore.
The letter’s details were straight and to the point.
—‘I’ve been waiting for fifteen days now. Please, give me your answer.’
It was the same as the first one.
—‘To the Princess of Castle Nauk. The leader of the Tiwakan Mercenaries sends a proposal of marriage. We look forward to hearing from you.’
And in the name of this proposal, the Tiwakan Mercenaries had been laying siege to her castle for the last fifteen days.
[Maslow] “Princess.”
The voice that called to Rienne belonged to Maslow, an advisor to the aristocratic delegation. It was shaking and filled with worry.
[Maslow] “You won’t accept it, will you? They’re nothing but wild beasts who know nothing of human decency, just doing as they please. To have the audacity to propose like this…! This is proof of their savagery!”
[Rienne] “But if we don’t accept, do we have any other way to stop them?”
Trying her best to steady her voice, Rienne opened up the crumbled letter with her hands.
[Rienne] “We don’t have the strength necessary to drive them away on our own. You know that.”
The only remaining symbols of power in their once great kingdom was Rienne, Maslow, and Weroz—the captain of the guard. They were nothing compared to how splendid the Nauk Kingdom of old was.
Weroz spoke in a heavy voice. Though he was uptight and rigid long ago, he was over forty years old now.
[Weroz] “We can still fight them. I’m prepared to offer up my life if need be.”
Rienne knew of Weroz’s loyalty. She knew he was honest when he said he was ready.
And that was all the more reason she needed to accept the proposal.
She couldn’t let all the knights who thought like Weroz needlessly throw their lives away.
[Rienne] “We’ll all end up dying together.”
[Weroz] “P, Princess…!”
Weroz shook his head, but Rienne couldn’t bring herself to lie.
It had been fifteen days.
In only fifteen days, Castle Nauk had been completely isolated and not long ago, their supply routes had been cut off. The people were exhausted from fighting, and the few guards that remained had completely lost their spirits.
They had no chance from the very beginning. From the start, the mercenaries had an army ten times the size of the castle’s reserve troops.
Not to mention the Tiwakan Mercenaries, known for being the cruelest and most barbaric army on the entire continent, were suffering no real loss. For them, this was no different from hunting rabbits.
They could easily hold out for months if need be.
But not before everyone in the Kingdom of Nauk starved to death.
Taking a deep breath, Rienne spoke.
[Rienne] “I will accept their offer.”
Maslow and Weroz shouted out together.
YOU ARE READING
A barbaric proposal
Fantasy"I already have a child with another man." It was a lie concocted to reject the proposal of the leader of the most feared mercenary company in the entire country. But the respons was unexpected. "It doesn't matter who the child is. Just give birth."...
