Chapter 3

3、

To prove how much he hated me, Gideon had my hands tied the next morning.

He tied a rope to his saddle and forced me to run behind his horse.

I fell countless times, my red wedding dress tearing against the dirt.

Gideon never looked back once.

Lyra sat in a comfortable carriage, watching me with a smug grin.

"Princess, the city is still far away. You better keep up!"

I let out a soft laugh.

"What's so funny?" she snapped.

"I'm laughing at Gideon."

"He's so pathetic that he has to bring a useless weight like you along for a rebellion."

"Is he so sure he'll fail that he wants his new bride to join him in hell?"

Lyra's smile vanished.

"Elara, Gideon is going to win!"

"I can't wait to see you crawling at my feet, begging for mercy!"

I replied calmly, "You'll never see that day."

Seeing that she couldn't provoke me, her eyes burned with pure hatred.

One of Gideon's lieutenants, a man named Silas, rode up next to us.

He gave me a look of pure disgust before bowing to Lyra.

"My Lady, why waste your breath on a prisoner?"

"Everyone knows the Princess was obsessed with our Lord, but he only has eyes for you."

Lyra's expression softened at the flattery.

I knew Silas. He was Gideon's right-hand man.

He had always hated how I followed Gideon around like a shadow.

I looked past him at the tall figure leading the army.

Everyone thought I was the one clinging to him because of my status.

But nobody knew he was the one who started it.

On my eighteenth birthday, he gave me a hand-carved hairpin.

It had a message engraved on it:

"To a lifetime spent together."

Before he was sent to the Northern Territories, he held my hand and promised he'd return.

He told me to wait for him in the capital and he would marry me.

I did wait.

But he didn't come back to marry me.

He came back to use my life to steal my father's crown.

It was so tragic it was almost funny.

After hours of travel, we finally reached the city gates.

I was exhausted, my legs trembling.

When the rope was finally loosened, I collapsed onto the pavement.

Gideon dismounted and went straight to Lyra, whispering something in her ear.

I didn't look at them. I just stared at the deep red welts on my wrists.

Suddenly, Gideon was standing over me.

His gaze was ice-cold.

He looked at me as if I were a piece of trash he'd picked up off the road.

He was nothing like the brother I remembered.

I wondered if this was even the same person.

But the scar on the back of his hand―the one he got saving me from a fall when we were kids―reminded me that it was him.

"Get up. It's time to see your precious father."

Lyra was gone, likely hidden away for safety.

I struggled to my feet and looked into his cold eyes.

"Gideon, it's not too late to turn back."

He let out a derisive snort.

"Turn back? Elara, do you have any idea how many years I've waited for this?"

He leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"Sweet sister, once I'm King, maybe I'll find another border lord to marry you off to."

After a moment of silence, I spoke softly.

"I am going to get married, after all."

His temper flared instantly. He drew his sword and pressed it against my throat.

"Shut up and move!"