Beast Chapter 20

Chapter 20. Wedding

The sand-colored haired man standing in front of her took the bread from Freya. Freya also handed bread to the other men one by one. She didn’t even notice their embarrassed faces. 

‘You are in good shape.’

This bread was a reward for showing off their good body.

***

Freya disappeared like a dot in the distance. Among those who were standing around in confusion without saying anything, one man spoke first.

“……Well, she’s not what I thought she would be.”

The man with gray hair suddenly stuck his face out and retorted.

“She could be acting.”

Someone tilted their head, wondering if she was doing that. They were holding freshly made, warm bread in their hands. Sei, who had been absentmindedly staring at her, suddenly turned around and shouted.

“I told you! That princess is a good person?!”

He doesn’t know where or how the rumor came from, but in Arcan, the rumor that the princess of Terdona was a very wicked woman has been around for a long time. 

In fact, since the marriage was announced, the rumor was just a bunch of bad stories… But for Sei, who had been to Terdona and seen Freya in person, it was a story that would make him furious.

Of course, whether it was a rumor or not didn’t matter to the people of Arcan.

The fact that Freya was a human from Terdona was enough to make them think she was already the worst woman in the world. So what did it matter whether the rumors that followed her were true or false?

“Since she’s Terdona, does it matter whether she’s good or not?”

As expected, the person who had collapsed to the ground as soon as Freya disappeared added to the conversation.

“Honestly, she doesn’t look like she can kill even one bug.”

“Are you judging just by looking at her face?”

“No, but isn’t that right? She’s a bit… different from what I imagined.”

They swallowed their words. Those who had said negative things and seen her were all thinking the same thing.

The princess of Terdona really was different from what they had imagined.

Sei, who had been watching them, turned around.

“Where are you going?”

“I should follow her for a bit.”

“Who? The princess?”

“Then who would it be?”

The man clicked his tongue.

“That damn idiot.”

Regardless of what was said behind him, Sei transformed and flew up into the sky.

***

Where did the bird sound come from?

Freya, who had arrived at the training ground, briefly raised her head toward the sky before recalling her original purpose. She quickly took out the snacks she had gathered while looking at the knights who were looking at her in a group.

“I thought you all would be hungry, so I brought some bread. Would you like some?”

Naturally, what awaited her was cold contempt.

“I won’t eat.”

“…Oh, it’s delicious.”

“You’re insulting us by bringing us bread when we’re training so hard right now?”

Why is this an insult?

No, if it’s an insult to them, then it’s one.

At the murderous voice, Freya hesitated and covered her mouth with her sleeve. The wide Arcan’s clothes were good because it was easy to hide her facial expressions.

“I think it would be better if you just eat a little bit….”

The man who stood in front, seemed to be in his thirties. He muttered while looking at the basket she had brought.

“I wonder what’s inside.”

Even though she was their official crown princess, the treatment was too much. But Freya had no time to think about that. She shook her head in embarrassment and brought the basket closer to her body.

“It’s just made in the kitchen. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Haha.”

“We don’t eat bread in the first place.”

“The princess can eat it. All of it.”

As they had come out expecting this kind of event, the words that poured out one by one made Freya’s body stand on end.

At that moment, they saw people carrying luggage in the distance. Their appearance was strangely shabby and somewhat familiar… 

“Huh?”

Freya, who had been squinting her eyes at them for a moment, opened her mouth wide when she noticed them. The knights of Arcan also turned their gaze back at Freya’s reaction.

He soon said, frowning as if he had caught the right guy.

“Aaaah. They were so worthless that I was training them.”

“The four proud royal knights of Terdona couldn’t even handle one of us, so they’re useless.”

Freya looked back and forth between them and the royal knights, not knowing what to do.

Now that she had found them, she was no longer in a position to ignore them. She had already planned to ask Raynan to send them back to the empire when the time came. Who would have thought she would see them like this?

‘What’s wrong?’

Freya headed straight for them.

The problem was that an apprentice knight tripped Freya just before she reached the knights.

“…..Ahk!”

As she fell over, Freya rolled on the dirt floor.

Fortunately, her skin wasn’t hurt, but she hit the ground and it hurt a lot.

“Oh, you should have been careful.”

“What could possibly happen if you fell on such a flat floor?”

The signal announcing the beginning of full-scale bullying rang in Freya’s ears.

“If you can’t get up on your own, should I hold you?”

“N-no…. It’s okay. I’ll try to get up on my own.”

“Oh. Well, we were rude. Beasts like us can’t touch the princess.”

“That… That’s not what I meant!”

Freya had a knack for inciting people’s sadism.

The knights gulped when they saw Freya, who seemed to be about to burst into tears if they provoked her even a little more. However, they instead stubbornly endured it. 

They had to stop right there. She may be a Terdona human but she’s also the Lord’s companion. They shouldn’t go any further, but they didn’t stop.

Freya looked like a flower picked somewhere, or like a frightened prey that had been bitten by a beast not long ago.

She tried to push past the giggling ones with her mouth firmly shut and go towards the Terdona knights.

“Gosh.”

A knight blocked her path. Freya, who almost bumped into him, trembled and moved her feet in the other direction. This time, another one stood in her way.

“Ugh…..”

Freya eventually bumped into a knight and fell on her butt again. She was unable to get up right away, either because of pain or shame. Trembling, she lowered her head.

“Why are you doing that?”

“You’re not the type of person who would sit on a dirty floor, are you? You look good, though.”

The knights laughed and teased her.

At that moment, a bird flew away in the distance. Several knights quickly reacted to the bird’s sound. They raised their heads, and then gasped.

“Isn’t that…… Sei?”

“Sei? Why would Sei be here? He’s sparring with the captain right now.”

“Hey, look over there!”

Everyone paused for a moment at the sight of Sei, one of Raynan’s closest associates, and looked down at Freya. They quickly shook their heads as if it didn’t matter. 

Everyone knew that Raynan had married the princess of Terdona. At the same time, they were acting as if he wasn’t married. The reason they could do this to the next head of the household was because they knew that Raynan hated the Terdonias so much.

“You’re doing well on your own.”

They justified their desires with the excuse that Lord Raynan would want to harass this princess anyway.

Freya, who had been dressed up nicely, got up with a face that looked like it would burst to tears if she were to be provoked. The sight of her trying to slip through the knights while holding the empty basket was truly pitiful.

“Get, out of the way.”

“We never stopped you, so go.”

“Stop joking.”

“Joking? What kind of joke are you talking about? Oh, look at how dirty this place is. Should we clean it up?”

Someone pushed Freya.

“Stop.”

At the same time, a sound that was colder than the frost in midwinter rang out over the heads of those who were enjoying the situation. And it was a voice that was all too familiar to those present.

Creeakk-

Their necks turned one by one like a broken machine.

Freya also knew who the other person was the moment she heard their voice.

‘Huh…? Why is Raynan here?’

She was the last to raise her head.

There stood Raynan, with a face that was frighteningly emotionless, along with the sand-colored haired man she had seen in the small training ground earlier.

He looked around the place once.

And then he found Freya, who was sitting in the center of the men.

Raynan trudged into the training ground and pursed his lips.

“Since when have these lowly, low-level rascals been able to cause a commotion?”

“……”

“……”

Thud, one by one, their heads dropped down. Freya sat among them, with her head down. Her eyes were rolling as she looked around at those next to her.

The faces of those who had been bullying her just a moment ago were pale and dripping with sweat. It wouldn’t have been strange at all if they were being dragged to the slaughterhouse right away. 

“Sei, I’m seeing all of these faces for the first time. Which division are they from?” 

“As far as I know, they’re from the 13th division.” 

“Hah……. Those losers with no skills or support.”