Chapter 4
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04. Oath of the King and the subject
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Collapsing to the cold floor, Reina curled up in a ball and waited for Angulem to tire of hitting.
Her father was no longer in the world. No one was there to protect her.
Suddenly, she remembered that the Rosella papers had run out. All kingdoms and principalities in the western continent were required to hold a piece of rosella paper with a prayer written on it in their mouths for funerals.
But there were no more rosella papers left in Aviles. Too many people had died. Would her father be buried in the cold ground without a prayer?
Most soldiers who died in battle were left to rot in the fields without a prayer.
In her hazy consciousness, she could see the human butcher, Josef, sneering at her.
"Who the hell would take a bitch defiled by the barbarians of Ascania!"
Angulem shrieked in anger.
The only asset he had left was his sister, Reina. His eyes rolled at the thought of Reina’s value being compromised, to be sold to a powerful lord for a high price.
“If this continues, something bad will happen. Please calm down….”
The chamberlain tried to intervene, but immediately backed away when Angulem shot him a look.
The terrified maids scurried away like a herd of startled rabbits and hid behind a pillar.
"This is not the place to do it."
Angulem wiped the sweat from his brow, and Reina flinched as she lay dead on the floor.
Angulem grabbed Reina's red hair.
Her red hair was the mark of the Sabelli royal family, and she looked just like their father.
His sister, with her unruly red hair, was a child of unruly nature and in need of strict discipline.
Angulem's mouth drooled with saliva at the thought of the violence he was about to commit.
He whispered sweetly in Reina's ear.
"Let's go to the spire."
Reina's eyes, which had been closed tightly in fear of the violence that would ensue, flashed open.
Somehow, she found the strength to push her feet against the floor as hard as she could. Her loose, worn shoes came off.
"I've done wrong, I've done wrong, please forgive me."
A tearing scream echoed through the void.
Being dragged to the spire was the punishment Reina feared most.
She couldn't bring herself to go through the agony again, to feel her body and mind being torn apart.
There, she was no longer Reina, but a hanging piece of meat.
Please, anyone, anyone, save me.
A tear rolled down her pale cheek.
"I'm talking about who you fucked back there, and if you don't talk, you won't come out, even if you die."
Two hands scrabbled at the floor as Angulem dragged her away, leaving a long trail of blood.
"Help! Help! Help! Please! Help me! Someone, please!"
"Anyone would think I was trying to kill you, so stop screaming."
Angulem said with amusement, his face recollected.
Having lost the kingship and the dukedom that were rightfully his, Angulem was not yet satisfied. This was the only amusement he had left.
As the war worsened, Duke Aviles returned to his estate less often, and Angulem grew unchecked.
He sometimes turned violent toward Reina.
Their mother, Princess Katrina, tolerated Angulem's behavior to a certain extent. She believed he would grow out of it and saw no good in killing her son's temper to become king.
But when she died four years ago, Angulem’s abuse intensified. When the Duke of Aviles did not return from battle for two years, Reina's life became worse than that of a lowly servant.
Angulem was not as afraid of his father as before. If they win the war, he would be king.
Now that the war was lost, it didn't matter.
Reina's cries grew more distant.
When they were out of sight, the chamberlain gestured to the maids.
The maids nodded and took out their damp rags, mopping the floor with familiarity.
The bloodstains were gone. As if nothing had happened.
+++
"Beautiful."
Kian exclaimed as he drove his horse.
The river surrounding Aviles Castle was an emerald color, and the grape vines were blooming early in the season.
The beautiful castle, which had belonged to royalty for generations, was nothing like the Stauffen Castle in Ascania, which had been added on for defense only.
Its pointed spires and interconnecting arches created an exquisite balance between the buildings. The castle's columns were carved with reliefs depicting the miracles of saints, as if they were alive and breathing.
"Yes, it's like heaven on earth."
Even Josef, who was somehow unimpressed, recognized the beauty of the place.
"You must be enjoying yourself."
Why not? The war was over and the Duchy of Aviles was in his hands.
Josef spurred his horse to a quicker trot, his home was in front of him.
"Now we can go back and prepare for the wedding. Princess Alice will be so pleased."
Kian looked at him from the corner of his eye, considering. Josef did not reply.
Kian had heard from the soldier standing guard that Josef and Reina had been in the barracks together for a long time.
But he didn't dare ask his lord what had happened.
He didn’t care which woman he took on the side. But not Reina.
The thought of marrying a woman with a bloodline that would challenge the orthodoxy of the current King of Kalev made his stomach turn.
Ten years ago, the new King of Kalev, threatened by the invasion of Naparoa, offered his young daughter as an ally to the Grand Duke of Ascania.
Franz Ascania, Josef's father, had readily accepted, and so the nine-year-old Princess Alice and the 15-year-old Josef had been betrothed early.
Josef vowed to give victory as a wedding gift.
For the next ten years, he fought in silence, and their sublime love spread through the bards.
In the meantime, Franz Ascania’s wounds worsened and he died two years ago.
Josef was different from his father: his appearance, his values, everything.
"I can finally return to my homeland."
"The Kingdom of Kalev is eternally grateful to the Grand Duke of Ascania. If it weren't for us, they would never have been able to defeat the Kingdom of Naparoa with its Iron Knights."
"Who says so? Frankly, the Kalev army is a ragtag bunch."
"Right or wrong, we won the war, and that's all that matters. Besides, the Grand Duke can now take his beloved Princess Alice to be his wife."
"That's a wonderful thing."
The soldiers relaxed and chatted away.
Suddenly, a cold breeze blew in, out of place on a bright spring day.
Josef's jaw set hard. He drove his horse faster.
+++
Greeting him at the gates, Angulem wore an elegant gown with long sleeves that dragged on the ground and forced a smile on his face.
It was a dazzling display of luxury, made of precious silk from exotic lands and delicately embroidered.
"Grand Duke Ascania, welcome. I've been expecting you."
Angulem bowed with impeccable courtesy, careful to keep his fluttering cuffs from touching the ground. It was the last shred of pride he still clung to as he surrendered to his vassal state.
"That fool still hasn't gotten his head out of his ass. He thinks this is some kind of a joint agreement."
But Kian was right, Angulem's attire and manners were simply ridiculous in this situation.
Josef didn't even look at Angulem as he sat atop his horse.
Behind him, the army stood in ranks as if measured by a ruler.
Angulem broke out in a cold sweat at the majestic sight.
"Angulem Sabelli, you will set a proper example for the new master of the Duchy of Aviles, Grand Duke Ascania."
The knight standing next to Josef bellowed for all to hear.
Angulem hesitated for a moment, then dropped to one knee and bowed low. He told himself that the humiliation would be worth it for later.
Then Josef dismounted and walked toward Angulem with a cool stride.
Angulem bowed his head deeply in awe of Josef's intimidating presence, as if he could burst a man alive.
He hadn't felt this small since he stood before his father. Josef held out his left hand, the one with the family ring on it, to Angulem.
"Kiss the Grand Duke's ring and swear your loyalty."
Angulem looked up at Josef, wondering if he would do it. He wouldn't.
Angulem's face grew as blue as an old corpse at Kian's demand.
"Are you asking me to take a vow of servitude, to become a vassal of the Grand Duke of Ascania?"
Angulem stammered, his tongue twisted around his words.
"Yes."
Even in this moment, when they were enemies, the Grand Duchy of Ascania was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Naparoa, even though Josef had said it as if it were obvious.
Angulem, who only a few months ago had envisioned himself as King of Kalev, rolled his eyes at the request to become a vassal of a vassal state.
"My sister and I are already prisoners of the Grand Duke. What's the point of taking a vassal oath?"
Despite his polite tone, Angulem’s mind raced with harsh words.
One day, he must become King of Kalev.
But if he became a vassal of the Grand Duke of Ascania before then, his chances of becoming king would be lost forever. If the King of Kalev was a vassal of the Grand Duchy, the Kingdom of Kalev was automatically a vassal of Ascania.
It would make the Kalevians' eyes glaze over, and it was not something the other kingdoms wanted.
"I decide what that means," Josef said coldly.
"Did Theodoric, King of Kalev, authorize this, and does he know about it?"
Of course, King of Kalev didn't know. It was something Josef had done on his own initiative.
"Since when did you listen to King of Kalev? If you had ten years ago, there would have been no war and everyone would have been better off."
The knights by Kian's side burst into laughter. Josef drew his sword without a second thought.
The faint stench of blood and gore caught Angulem's nose. It was the glorious stench of a sword that had been on the battlefield for ten years, slashing and stabbing thousands.
Angulem swallowed back the lump in his throat and held on for dear life.
His future, his right to be king, was at stake, and he must not take this lightly.
"The Grand Duke promised to guarantee the lives of me and my sister and the people of the manor, and it was on that promise that we opened the gates to greet you. Please keep your word."
Angulem's lips curled at the promise, but Josef still had his sword drawn.
"Of course I will keep my word. And now that I'm in Naparoa, I'm willing to follow your ways."
"What do you mean?"
"I challenge you to a jousting match."
Josef said, pointing his sword straight at Angulem.
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