Chapter 3
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03. Angulem Sabelli
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He draped the robe over her slender shoulders, much to Reina's surprise.
The robe, tailored to fit Josef's body, was so large that it still had room to spare after wrapping around her.
He tugged at the robe's strings and knotted them as if they were intimate.
Reina stepped back from his touch, but as she moved away, he moved closer.
"You should have done this a long time ago."
Josef, who had dressed Reina in a robe as he wished, turned around, walked away, and lifted the entrance cloth.
A cool night breeze swept in and touched Reina's cheek. It was the Exit.
"You may go now, Princess Aviles."
As much as she wanted to leave, Reina couldn't bring herself to take a step.
Was he serious? Was it a trick?
Standing in the doorway, Josef beckoned to her in the waning moonlight.
He was hostile, unpleasant, and most of all, unknowable. She didn't want to go near him.
"You asked me to let you go, but I guess you changed your mind. Do you really want to spend the night with me?"
Josef smiled, his smile as dark as night, and lowered the barracks cloth he held slightly.
Reina ran. Praying that this day would end, and that tomorrow would never come.
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The Kingdom of Kalev was ruled by the House of August, and the Kingdom of Naparoa by the House of Sabelli.
The balance of power was maintained through intermarriage.
Duke Aviles, the younger brother of the King of Naparoa, and Princess Katrina, the daughter of the King of Kalev, were united in marriage.
Angulem and Reina were born in blessed succession, and the two countries were at peace.
Until ten years ago, when King Kalev's one and only heir, Prince Fernand, and his children died of a plague that took the king's life in quick succession.
With both king and heir gone, the kingdom of Kalev faced a nightmarish reality.
According to their inheritance law, the rightful heir to the Kalev Kingdom was none other than Angulem Sabelli, born to Princess Katrina.
He was the only direct male descendant of the deceased King of Kalev and the nephew of King of Naparoa.
The kingdom of Kalev was divided.
Angulem was a foreigner, born and raised in the kingdom of Naparoa, and still only a child. It was already clear that King of Naparoa would interfere with Kalev’s affairs.
Meanwhile, Theodoric, a distant relative of the deceased King of Kalev, was ambitious and had his finger on the pulse.
He colluded with powerful lords to reinterpret inheritance laws.
"Since women are not allowed to inherit lands and titles in the first place," he said, "they are certainly not entitled to their only grandson."
And then he ascended the throne himself. Reina was nine years old and Angulem was eleven.
King of Naparoa declared war on Kalev, ostensibly for his nephew's legitimate rights.
All went well until Angulem's father, the Duke of Aviles, became commander-in-chief and invaded Kalev.
Until the Grand Duke of Ascania betrayed the Kalev Kingdom after being promised a marriage alliance.
The decade-long war ended with Josef Ascania’s decimation of the Naparoan Ironclad Knights and victory.
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Angulem chewed his nails impatiently, waiting for Reina.
If she hadn't come by nightfall, she might be dead.
If so, he was next.
Angulem drank wine, a specialty of Aviles, out of habit, to relax.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed deeply. The fine wine he usually enjoyed was bitterly astringent today.
Angulem threw the silver goblet nervously, and the wine splattered on the floor like blood.
Angulem, twenty-one years old, was a rugged-looking man with pale brown hair, ashen eyes, and a weak chin.
The long scar on his right cheek was the result of his first battle, when he was 17 years old.
He hadn't fought again since, making excuses of all kinds.
"The Princess of Aviles has returned."
A servant broke Angulem's reverie.
"Reina! Reina!!!"
Angulem’s panicked voice echoed through the hall.
It had been wise to send his sister instead.
Sending a woman into enemy territory would have been worse than death, but what could he do?
As his mother had said, she could not risk the Kalev Kingdom losing its true king.
"What did the human butcher say?"
Angulem didn't even bother to ask what had become of his father's body, or if his sister had been harmed.
"Grand Duke has returned father's body, but I think you should see him first..................."
Reina choked on her words.
It was hard to even stand up straight now that she was back in her element.
She was barely holding back the tears, but it was enough.
She wanted to go back to her room and cry herself to sleep. She desperately needed time to cry in private.
"Answer my question!"
Angulem, now extremely irritated, yelled at Reina.
Reina kept her head down to hide her defiance and focused on the pattern of the carpet beneath her feet. She cursed him inwardly.
How could such an unworthy man, born of noble blood, be the seed of war?
"They don't think we can afford a siege, so they've ordered the gates to remain open."
Angulem paced up and down the corridor, listening to Reina's report.
"And he promised to spare our lives."
Having gotten the answers he wanted, Angulem ran a hand across his chest, visibly relieved.
Reina's heart broke as she thought of the Duke of Aviles' body, still on the cart like a burden. She couldn't wait to bury him as soon as possible.
"Speaking of father's funeral, we're running out of time, even if we start preparing tomorrow. If we don't hurry, his body will be.................."
"No need."
Angulem cut her off.
"I will bury father in the family cemetery in the Duchy of Aviles without a formal funeral."
"That's ridiculous."
"What, what did you just say?"
Angulem's tone was menacing, and Reina couldn't finish the rest of her sentence.
If she tried to argue with him about the morality of children, she was sure she would be punched or kicked.
"He is the King's brother and commander-in-chief before he is our father, and if the King knew of this, he would reprimand us severely."
Reina hid her emotions and chose her words carefully.
Angulem was the only human she knew, and she must convince him accordingly.
"The king will reprimand ................."
If their father had won the war, he would have become King of Kalev and been on equal footing with their uncle Dunois.
But he lost the war, and the Duchy of Aviles, the most beautiful land in Napa, was taken by the enemy.
Angulem was now nothing.
"What can Dunois do to me in this situation? What punishment can he give me? How can he chastise me when Josef will take us prisoner? This is all because father lost the war! Damn it!"
Angulem screamed, grabbing Reina's shoulders ferociously and shaking her.
Damn father, damn sister, and those Ascania bastards. He wanted to tear them apart more than anything, if only they hadn't betrayed them!
"Besides, the lord hates me."
Suddenly, Angulem changed his demeanor, smiled sweetly, and stroked Reina's hair below her ear.
Reina barely managed to avoid his touch.
She gritted her teeth, knowing it was a pattern of his to act friendly and then surprise her with a beating.
In the Duke of Aviles' absence, Angulem’s tyranny grew so severe that the estatesmen protested a couple of times.
They were all beheaded, and their severed heads hung on the city walls for months.
"If the funeral is to be conducted according to tradition, I must ride around the castle on horseback myself. I'm sorry if you wanted to put me in danger, and I'm sure you're disappointed that I didn't fall for your cute little scheme."
"It's not like that."
"The human butcher of Ascania is now the master of Aviles. I am no longer the heir to the Aviles estate and therefore unfit to lead official ceremonies."
It was sophistry. Reina couldn't take it anymore.
"Our father fought and died for ten years for you, brother, so please....................."
"He died because of me, is that what you want to say?"
"No. How could I? I just want to..................."
"Shut up."
Angulem said, glaring.
One day he advised the Duke of Aviles that the Ascania army showed no chivalry and was plundering and burning, so they should repay them in kind.
What came back was a punch without mercy and a scornful denunciation.
"You are no better than the Ascania barbarian!"
The enraged Duke of Aviles screamed, his voice rising to his throat.
Year after year, his disappointed son continued to disappoint him to no end.
"If you were a common soldier, you would have been beheaded at once by my hand!"
"Father!"
"Don't tell anyone what you said just now. If what we talked about here gets out, you are no longer my son."
The father's chivalry was more important to him than making his son king.
And his foolish choice had cost him everything.
"A formal funeral..................."
As Angulem muttered to himself, a golden eagle caught his eye.
"I've never seen this robe before."
The luxurious robe, black velvet embroidered with golden thread, was obviously made for someone of high status.
Angulem smirked as he fingered the robe. Suddenly, Reina's hands and feet grew ice-cold.
"We'll talk about the funeral tomorrow. I'm so tired, I want to go to my room and rest."
Sensing danger, Reina said urgently and turned to leave.
"Where are you going!"
Anguleme yanked her robe open roughly, revealing the torn dress beneath.
Angulem's eyes flashed maniacally and he pointed a finger at her.
"So there was a reason you were late after all."
"It's not like that."
Zap.
Angulem's hand sliced through the air, and flesh popped.
Reina fell like a rotten piece of wood. Her bones whined, and her mouth burst open and bled.
"When you walked among the men, lewd and lascivious, without even a chemise to support you! You must have planned this from the moment you left this place! Tell me, who did you give yourself to, begging for your life?"
Angulem huffed and pawed at Reina.
For the past two years, Aviles had been starved for supplies. Josef had burned the wheat fields and cut off all supply routes.
The wounded kept streaming into the camp, and when bandages became scarce, the women tore off their chemises to dress their wounds.
Reina was no exception, though Angulem, of course, had no interest in such things.
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