Through the carriage window, I saw the giant white castle getting close. That castle would be my grave. I would die there.
I chewed on my fingernail. I felt incredibly anxious. I glanced at Orlean. I was told she was my maid, but in fact, she was my jailer. Orlean was loyal to Lady Lisbeth, and so she took this job very seriously. She actually volunteered to accompany me on this trip.
She saw my look and sneered,
What you tried to do last night was beneath your status as an adopted daughter of the great Bonafit family.
She smiled at me triumphantly. It was true. She did win last night. She managed to drag me to this place.
…
I glared at her. She continued to mock me.
… I guess you can’t help yourself since you are a lowborn girl, but can’t you at least try to hide it? That would be the best way to repay Duke Aeal for his kindness. If you continue to act this way, you will dishonor his family name. I just don’t understand. The other tutors told me you learned very fast, yet here you are. I guess you can’t help it.
Orlean laughed.
Duke Aeal was the head of the Bonafit family. The family was made of Duke Aeal, his wife, and their beloved daughter Lisbeth.
Until recently, they were my saviors, but now, I hated them with all my heart.
I clenched my blue silk dress and trembled.
Orlean looked at my hands disapprovingly. She was probably worried about my dress. As soon as I realized it, I used my nails to scratch the fragile fabric.
You!
I continued to destroy the dress. I ripped the white lace trimming into threads.
Oh my…!
Orlean screamed. She picked up a piece of white lace that fell on the floor.
Do you not realize how expensive this dress is? The Duke was being so generous, yet here you are being ungrateful…!
She didn’t get to finish her statement though.
SLAP!
It was just the two of us in the carriage.
And I slapped her as hard as I could.
…
…
I slapped so hard I fell backward. The seat was heavily cushioned, so I didn’t get hurt. Orlean looked at me in shock. She didn’t seem to realize what had happened. I shook my left hand (I’m left-handed) and said to her.
You are shameless.
W…W, what?
You are helping them to sell me off instead of your precious Lisbeth. You want me to be thankful to them? Are you kidding me?
I was so furious. I had never been this angry in my life.
I had all the right to be. My 20-old-year life would be over!
You have all tricked me into becoming a 70-year-old sadist’s concubine instead of your precious lady! How can you do that? Then here you are being worried that I might ruin this ridiculous dress?!
…?
Orlean still looked shocked. Then suddenly, she found her voice.
She stood up and screamed at me,
What an ungrateful girl! They treated you so kindly! They are giving you the honor of becoming the concubine of the great Emperor of Cransia! Do you not realize what an honor it is?!
If it is such a big honor, then why won’t they let their daughter Lisbeth marry him?!
Orlean became speechless.
She stammered,
…L, Lady Lisbeth is only fourteen years old this year! She is still too young…
But you said girls get married all the time starting at the age of twelve here. She must have already had her first period. They told me they have been postponing this marriage for as long as possible, but they couldn’t anymore. It had to be this year!
T, that is…! Whatever. It is a huge honor, especially for someone like you, a lowborn girl. Why do you not realize this? You should be thankful to the Duke and his family! It is your duty!
This was ridiculous. I sneered at her.
I was very good at making a mocking expression. Even my parents and my sister told me before. They used to be impressed at how annoying my facial expression could be.
At first, I tried my best to show my gratitude to the Duke and his family. For the past year, I learned their language and culture. I tried to show them the best version of me.
Orlean had never seen me act this way. She was shocked by my rude behavior. The shock quickly turned into anger. Good. That was exactly what I wanted.
I felt a little better. The situation still remained bleak, but I needed a way to relieve my frustration. This was the only way I could think of.
I sneered at her.
Grateful? [You should just shut your mouth!]
W, what did you say?
I still couldn’t speak the new language perfectly. I mixed my old language into my rant.
You are selling me like a prized horse!
I remembered from history class how women were sent to appease the king. Some women ended up with power after the marriage, but that was rare. Even in the olden days, women tried to avoid being sent.
I took a deep breath. This was really happening to me. About half a year ago, the Duke got me to sign an adoption paper. I was thrilled and thankful to officially become part of the family. I signed it without hesitation. If I could go back in time, I would throw the pen at his face and kick myself for being so stupid.
However, that was not possible.
I was on my way to the Rombrook Island of Cransia. The paper I signed six months ago gave the Duke the power of an attorney over me. I hadn’t realized it at the time obviously.
A week ago, they asked me to go somewhere and welcome an important guest instead of Lisbeth. They smiled as they got me into the carriage. When I thought back on their smiling faces, I felt like throwing up.
As they saw me leave, their expressions changed. They looked at me oddly.
Now I understand what they felt. Some sympathy. A grain of guilt. A whole lot of relief.
I felt like throwing up.
I had been in this bumpy carriage for the entire week. I physically felt nauseous. I didn’t want to hold it anymore.
I gagged.
Orlean started to freak out. She knocked on the carriage wall desperately. She screamed.
Stop! Stop! Stop the carriage! The lady…! Oh my! If she throws up on the dress, it will be ruined! It’s silk, so we can’t even wash it…!
Thanks for letting me know, Orlean.
I grinned at her slowly. I then placed my finger deep into my throat. It didn’t take much.
I vomited onto my blue dress.
Gyaaaaa!
A luxurious white dress wrapped my body. It felt like being trapped in a soft jail.
I looked at the door in desperation.
An unpleasant voice said to me from behind,
You can’t act like yesterday.
It was Orlean. I hated her voice.
She continued to whisper,
If you behave like yesterday, you will be the first one to be executed. You don’t want to die, do you?
The Bonafit family would in trouble as well. Officially, I was Sa Bina Bonafit. My crime would be my family’s crime. My accomplishment would be credited to the family.
I would love to damage the family, but I also obviously didn’t want to die.
I could throw up on the emperor on our wedding night. It would be easy.
However, I didn’t want to die. I hadn’t lived yet! I had been studying my butt off for the past 12 years plus the last year in this strange world. It was not fair.
Orlean must have learned her lesson. She didn’t goad me anymore. She sat quietly behind me.
The propagandist standing in front of me checked his gold watch. It must have been time. He put his watch back into his pocket and unrolled the scroll.
He announced loudly,
Duke Aeal’s first adopted daughter and the fifteenth concubine of the Emperor! Sa Bina Des Bonafit!
The giant white door opened.
