Beast Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Arcan

“Ha….. Haha…. The atmosphere is tense right now, even among the leaders. A weak person like her will be hated here..…. If you pretend to take care of her, it’ll get better.”

He gritted his teeth.

As the princess of the enemy nation embroiled in the longest war, the woman who was soon to arrive was sure to be hated by all. Raynan was no different.

No one knows this, but…….

“That’s none of my business.”

Raynan had been captured by the slave traders when he was young. Fortunately, he escaped, but he couldn’t forget that memory.

How could he forget that memory of crawling around with shackles around his neck like a dog in a place where there was no light?

Raynan, who still couldn’t put a thin rope around his neck, unconsciously scratched his neck painfully and stopped.

“I heard she’s a boring woman like a nun, right?”

The humans of Terdona were too boring. And they want him to marry the princess of that country?

“Huh? Oh, yes. We let some of our people go and infiltrated Terdona for a few days. They said that she’s popular with the humans…  Ah, someone who grew up well in the imperial palace might not be able to survive in a place like Arcan.”

This was a world ruled by the law of survival of the fittest—harsh and unforgiving, unlike Terdona, where gentle winds once softly blew. A princess raised like a delicate greenhouse flower within the safety of the imperial palace wouldn’t survive here without protection.

But that’s none of Raynan’s business.

“The princess volunteered for her country, but how long can she endure?”

The fact that she was a Terdonian didn’t change.

“I will marry her since our leader ordered it. But he didn’t tell me to treat her well, did he?”

Terdona had no choice but to send the princess away, fearing that the peace treaty might be broken. But if time passed and the situation stabilized—if the princess came back in tears, begging to return home—it might become a different story.

“I have to make sure she doesn’t want to stay in Arcan for even a moment.”

He has to make her so miserable that even the leader would admit that it was a wrong choice. He has to harass her so much that even the disgusting Terdona would be angry enough to burn down a peace treaty. 

***

Arcan was located between Terdona and the border. Naturally, there were many mountain ranges and rough roads in between, so Freya couldn’t help but wonder if her butt was going to fall off in the carriage.

‘I… I can ride a horse.’

Freya, who enjoyed pain but not physical fatigue, was almost fainting in the carriage.

“Ouch, my back.”

In addition, she was even more distressed because she had never been able to relieve the desires that had built up during the wedding preparations and the trip here.

It wasn’t that the harassment she had expected was that severe. Maybe because the road was so rough, everyone except Eileen seemed to be more busy with their own work. 

Even Eileen would only help her out once or twice whenever she had a hard time traveling in the carriage.

“I should have brought a book. I’m bored, so bored.”

The fact that this was the time when she would normally be having fun with the members of the discussion group made her even more distressed.

‘This time, the three of us were going to play, and I was going to suggest that we try playing with a new device.’

That was when Freya’s frustration reached its peak after becoming an adult. It was around the time they crossed the last mountain range toward their destination.

Eileen, who had been quiet all day, suddenly wrapped the reins around her hand and shouted loudly.

“Everyone, be on alert!!”

The carriage came to a halt with a loud noise, and Freya, who had been lying on the carriage seat, rolled down. She barely managed to get up from her seat.

“Ouch, aww.”

The clanking of weapons and the sound of horse hooves echoed in unison outside. She unlocked the window latch because the road had been so smooth the whole way.

‘What’s going on?’

Just as she was about to open the window to find out what was going on, Eileen slammed the slightly opened window shut roughly. She spoke to Freya in a fierce voice.

“It’s Lennox. A pack of hyenas. You must have heard the news. Their target is you, so stay inside.”

The whole carriage creaked as they slammed shut. Freya sat down immediately after hearing the story.

‘Who came after me?’

It sent shivers down her spine. Lennox is known to cause the most trouble among the beasts, right??

Freya held her breath as much as she could and quietly stayed in the corner. However, even as more time passed, there was no sign of the situation ending.

Screams, the sound of something being cut, and the cries of animals she had never heard before were all mixed together. However, she couldn’t check the situation outside the carriage, so she felt uneasy.

Freya, who had been living under the overprotection of the emperor and empress, was a little anxious. She worried that she might get hit by an arrow flying in the wrong direction during the hunting competition.

She dreamed of a happy married life, not an early trip to the afterlife.

‘I learned to stay quiet in situations like this… but I guess it’s okay.’

Freya tightly closed her eyes as the carriage shook even louder. The ground shook and the carriage was shocked several times, but it was a little different now. 

The carriage tilted as if it would flip over at any moment, and her body lost its balance and rolled on the floor.

“Princess! Come out!!”

It was Eileen’s voice. She had told her not to come out earlier, but now she reached out to the carriage door with difficulty at the urgent voice telling her to come out.

The carriage was tilted so much that it was hard to even open the doorknob, so she had no choice but to struggle. If she was not careful, the carriage would flip over completely and she would be crushed inside.

‘Is this how it is with Arcan?’

She heard that Arcan, who she only saw in books, was peaceful after building their own country. Now they’re being attacked…

“Groan!”

A warm wind swept over her body as she opened the door. It was so strong that she closed her eyes tightly.

“Run away! As fast as you can!!”

She saw Eileen covered in wounds in the distance. She looked around, but she couldn’t see anyone except Eileen and herself.

Where did everyone go? There were definitely envoys and knights surrounding the carriage. However, before she could think long, Eileen quickly approached and pulled Freya out of the carriage as if pulling out a carrot.

“I just bought some time with my ability. The battle will start again, so run north as fast as you can!”

“Aren’t you going with me, Lady Eileen?”

“I’m not a combat specialist, so I can’t be of much help. If I had time to talk, I would have run. Go quickly!”

She pushed Freya’s back as if she was trying to catch her breath.

Freya, who had been hesitating, started running. When she glanced back, she saw Eileen staggering, catching her breath with her sword stuck in the ground. Looking at her, she could clearly feel the sense of danger. It seemed as if a pungent scent had passed through her nose.

That was the moment.

‘What is that!’

A strong gust of wind blew once, and suddenly there was a commotion behind her.

Those whom Eileen had injured with her ability showed up again and started fighting.

One of them noticed Freya running far away and shouted.

“The princess of Terdona is over there! Go catch her!”

No matter how fast she ran, there was no way Freya could beat their speed. She threw away her shoes and ran, but the sound of the trees brushing behind her was getting closer at an unbelievable speed.

“What are you guys doing! Go protect the princess!”

As Eileen shouted, the wolves ran towards Freya.

Freya just ran forward without being able to tell if the one chasing her was the Lennoxes or Arcan’s men.

“Heuk!”

However, the moment she faced the cliff, she had no choice but to stop. When she abruptly stopped her feet, the sand that had been pushed back rolled down the steep cliff.

You said to go north?!

“You’re not thinking that jumping off here is the only way to survive or anything like that??”

She quickly turned around and saw a man from Lennox standing in front of her.

He was bleeding from his wounds, but it was nothing serious. He stared at Freya with his sharp eyes.

Goosebumps appeared in his pitch-black eyes that had no pupils.

Freya instinctively stepped back, but if she took just one more step, she would be at the edge of the cliff.

“Don’t kill her! The lord said to capture her!”

The wolves that arrived a step later rushed toward them, but they were already wounded so much that they fell after a few kicks.

Kkekeung!

“No…!”