Lovers Beyond the Mirror - Chapter 14

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 14 – Desert Bride (9)

Vaisha was also soaking in the tub at the same time Seriana began to bathe while being served by Chiarin.

And by his side, just like Seriana, Kayan, a servant of Kudra, was with him.

If there was one difference between them, it was that the three warriors who carried the palanquin today were together in front of Vaisha. The faces of the three men sitting on their knees with their heads bowed were dark.

They almost ruined the sacred wedding of Kudra and Ranua.

If Ranua had been wounded or her body or her body had touched the red road, the three men would have been decapitated on the spot.

“Why did this happen?”

“There are traces of Aktar’s hand on the palanquin that has disappeared. It looks like he has used his hands after the last check.”

Vaisha asked, lying on his back in the bathtub, relaxingly, and Kayan responded quickly.

The face of Kudra with his eyes closed was calm, but the faces of those gathered in the room were hardened.

Their King was a king who knew how to look after the people he embraced, though he was also a king who strictly separated rewards and punishments.

That was why all the warriors of the desert respected and feared Vaisha at the same time. They knelt down on their knees and bowed their heads, and they couldn’t relax recklessly even as they watched him show no signs of anger.

“It’s fun.”

At the sound of his low voice, the three men who were sitting on their knees at the same time put their foreheads on the floor and pleaded guilty.

They were not afraid of death.

But, they couldn’t die with a fallen honor. Their forehead was torn and blood was dripping, yet the warriors did not care and kept stomping their foreheads on the floor.

“What about Aktar?”

Vaisha asked, wiping his wet hair with an indifferent face.

Even though he still had a calm face, Kayan cautiously opened his mouth, seeing the rage in his amber eyes.

“His whereabouts cannot be found. His sister is also missing, so it seems like it was done deliberately.”

“No one else, but my warrior who worked so hard to manipulate me and my Ranua’s wedding is gone? Kayan, how am I supposed to understand this?”

“Forgive me.”

“It’s not the answer I want.”

As Vaisha got up from the bathtub, Kayan came over and handed him a towel. The water droplets on the copper-colored skin flowed down along the bones of the muscles that were nicely split.

Taking a towel and wiping his body with an indifferent look, he draped a gown over his naked body, tying the belt, and leaning against the sofa.

Even then, the warriors hadn’t even thought of wiping the blood dripping from their foreheads.

“This is my last chance for you. Find him. Find him and bring him to me alive.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The bleeding warriors who got the last chance retreated, and the servants who came in silently wiped the blood on the floor. Then, he turned to Kayan, dismissing an approaching servant to dry his wet hair.

“Tell me what you didn’t say.”

“…Shika Anulla is suspicious.”

“The reason is…?”

“Aktar’s dead mother is from Shika. It is said that her husband died early and she raised Aktar and his sister alone, often with the aid of Shika.”

“She was aided…”

“Yes, it is said that her loyalty to the chieftain of Shika until her death was great.”

Among the many ways to live in the desert, the Shika was a tribe that chose a nomadic life. They wandered the desert, raising goats and interacting with other tribes. Meanwhile, marriages between men and women of different tribes were common.

“It seems that Chiarin’s warning didn’t work?”

“It would have worked for Nurabi. Anulla just didn’t listen.”

“The chieftain of Shika seems powerless to deal with his successor.”

“…Nurabi often shows weakness to his successor.”

“Often? Are you serious?”

“Isn’t Kudra the one who uses him? You have to pretend that you don’t know some faults.”

The first of the desert tribes to kneel and kiss Vaisha’s feet, Nurabi did a great job in accelerating the desert’s unity. His strength was the ‘information’ he had accumulated while wandering the desert and interacting with various tribes.

Although Vaisha united the desert, there were still rebellious tribes left.

So, in order to effectively subdue them, for the time being, Shika’s power and information that Nurabi had were needed.

“This is an opportunity to press Shika’s power. Be sure to grab the tail. If it’s really Anulla’s work, like you said, and Nurabi who cares for his successor terribly, he can have one big weakness.”

“He has two mercy left of Kudra. If he used it to evade responsibility…”

“Then, one card in Nurabi’s hand will disappear. Neither side is harmed.”

“You will achieve what you want.”

Kayan replied with a bow.

It would be done as his master wishes. It was the prerogative of the ‘King’ who was the son of a god and succeeded in the name of Kudra.

“By the way, Kayan.”

“…Why?”

Kayan felt the temperature change in the room in an instant and glanced at Vaisha.

His master, who has a clear history of separating private and public affairs, has had a talent for changing the atmosphere in such an instant from an early age.

“Do you have anything to say to me on the first night?”

“There is none.”

“Why are you responding too quickly?”

“Aren’t you educated enough?”

“I just watched the dancers dance. Even that was boring. So, I would like to hear some advice from someone who has the experience. Are you dissatisfied?”

“I am dissatisfied.”

“Don’t do that. Tell me something that helps.”

“There is only one thing I can tell you.”

“What?”

“Be true to your instincts, but never lose your reason.”

“…What do you mean?”

“When it comes down to it, you can understand. Hurry up, change your clothes and get ready. The sun is setting.”

At Kayan’s words, Vaisha glanced out the window and combed through his still wet black hair with his fingers.

Moments later, Kayan cautiously opened his mouth as he saw his slightly tense appearance.

“Are you sure you will not regret it?”

“Kayan. It’s not my business to regret. I have to do what makes my choices the best, not regrets.”

“Yes, Kudra.”

“I will be able to love my Ranua. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. The order just changed a little.”

When Vaisha finished speaking, the waiting attendants came to him, removed the remaining moisture from his body, and began to apply perfume with care. Kayan realized that it was time to put an end to his worries.

He nodded again and left Kudra’s room.

The important thing now was to strengthen the borders of the Palace so that nothing bad would happen during the three days that Kudra and Ranua would spend together.

Seriana was standing by the window, looking at the darkened night sky and the oasis that illuminated it.

She finally became his wife today, she was his real bride now…

Her heart, which had been beating like crazy until the sun went down, barely regained its original beat. However, sooner or later, it would again fluctuate faster than she can handle.

“…What to do? I will read some books.”

Contrary to what Chiarin thought she might have had an education, Seriana had never been educated in advance about the first night or exactly how a husband and wife spent the night.

It wasn’t that she didn’t have a chance. Because, no matter how indifferent a mother was, she wouldn’t not know what to educate her adult daughter.

However, Seriana rejected it.

The reason was simple.

It was Seriana, to whom all kinds of rootless rumors stuck to her just by standing still.

If so, even if the education was compulsory, rumors would spread that she had summoned a courtesan to educate her on s*x life… She would have been flooded with all sorts of words she couldn’t even imagine.

Even when she chose books, she had to be careful. Seriana didn’t even come close to books dealing with sexual relations between men and women, and she avoided even romance novels that everyone reads.

That mother and that daughter… It was the result of her desperately trying not to hear such a sound.

“What are you worried about that makes you sigh like that?”

“Ku, Kudra…!”

How deep must she have been in her thought that she didn’t even hear a man approaching?

Seriana, unaware that Vaisha had deliberately silenced his footsteps and approached, turned around, startled by the sudden sound of his voice.

She turned her head in embarrassment as she saw Vaisha in white trousers and an untied gown. Through the gown’s open front, Vaisha’s wide chest and strong abs were clearly visible without obscuring it.

Looking at Seriana, who avoided his gaze, he scratched his cheek with his finger as if hesitantly glancing at her, glanced at the glass bottle that Kayan had handed him, saying it would help.

Did he say it would get rid of the awkwardness? Anything will be better than it is now. Vaisha thought so and opened his mouth to Seriana.

“Hmm, can you drink some alcohol?”

“…Any—”

“That’s a relief. Would you like a drink first?”

“…Yes.”

She nodded her head as she looked at the long-necked bottle in Vaisha’s hand. She wasn’t a good drinker, though she didn’t want to turn down his recommendations.

He first sat down in front of the short table, followed by Seriana, who took her seat.

Neither far nor close, the two of them sat at a distance enough to reach with their outstretched hands and didn’t say anything for a moment.

“It’s a drink made from the fruit of a cactus. It’s on the sweet side, so it’s a drink that even women enjoy.”

It was Vaisha who spoke up first.

After pouring a red drink into the glass and handing it to her, he poured his share of alcohol into the cup and then lifted the glass.

Seriana, too, trembling her hand slightly, followed him and picked up the glass. She put her lips to the glass, seeing him urging her with his eyes as if he wanted her to taste it first. She had some light champagne in Rajen, so she would be fine.

Thinking so, Seriana tightly closed her eyes and took a sip of the red alcohol.

“Cough, cough—!”

As Vaisha said, although it was very sweet, it was too strong for her to drink.

As the drink in her mouth ran down her esophagus, she coughed abruptly. The burning alcohol’s energy spread all over her body in an instant, causing even a slight vertigo.

“Are you okay?”

“Cough, it’s okay… it’s okay…”

Embarrassed, Vaisha leaned closer to Seriana and began to gently pat her on the back and sweep it down.

Thanks to that, her coughing stopped quickly, but this time, as his hands brushed her back, a flame began to rise.

Vaisha was looking down at Seriana, who was leaning in her arms without realizing.

Feeling strange, he impulsively called out her name.

“Seriana Kun Ranua.”

“Yes…?”

“It’s your name. Do you remember?”

“Yes.”

“Then, what is my name?”

“I remember. Vaisha Kun Kudra.”

Seriana just swallowed a sip.

So, this fever may not have started because of alcohol. Then, what could be the cause…?

Seriana thought.

Was it him calling her name? Or, Vaisha’s name that she called aloud? The sudden vertigo made her head pounding and dizzy.

“Seriana. My Ranua.”

The low voice uttered. She gazed at him, feeling goosebumps growing all over her body.

The pale blue eyes fluttered faintly with heat.

His face got closer little by little, and the two of them soon touched their lips. The careful kiss soon made a watery sound and began to deepen. Soft and hot lips repeatedly touched each other and fell, slowly paralyzing the reason of the two.

Vaisha, who had been coveting Seriana’s lips like that for a while, grabbed her, got up from the seat, and moved her to the bed behind the curtain.

When Seriana came to her senses, startled by the feeling of the soft blanket touching her back as she wanted to raise her body, she found Vaisha standing at the end of the bed, taking off his gown.

The moonlight was streaming down his muscles.

Vaisha, who climbed over the bed as if locking her, took his hand and kissed Seriana’s pale purple hair messed up on the bed, along with his own dark hair. After her hair, he kissed her forehead and the round tip of her eyelids in turn before swallowing Seriana’s lips again.

His hot hands began to caress her body like drawing.

Vaisha’s face, which had swallowed her lips, slid down and touched the nape of her neck, starting to leave a red mark on the spot.

Seriana had a fever, and she couldn’t think of anything. Her body trembled, and her breathing was scrambled.

His lips were hot, as if he was trying to swallow all of her.

Her body and breath trembled against her will, and the sound of Vaisha’s breath breaking in her ear was tangled in a tangled mess.

Anulla clenched her teeth as she watched the palace lights start to go out one by one. She couldn’t accept the reality that he had been deprived of the highest and noblest position by the skinny and twisted Princess of Rajen.

“It is late, Anulla.”

“Are you sure you cleaned up Aktar?”

“…Yes, I did as you said.”

The beautiful woman with a gloomy impression, with the ends of her long hair tied in rounds, answered with a trembling voice.

Anulla raised one corner of her lips as she heard her answer.

After all, the mouth of the dead was heavy. Now, all of the evidence was gone, and no one could point her as the culprit.

“That far… Did you need to?”

“It’s certain that Kudra’s knife will cut his throat anyway, so whoever kills… does it matter?”

It was Anulla who summoned Aktar’s sister by the name of Shika, held her hostage, and persuaded him to betray Vaisha. However, she was acting like someone who had clearly forgotten that fact.

Shika’s heir would never get blood on her hands.

Instead, she thoroughly used the people around her.

It was Hanu, the woman who now stands behind Anulla like her shadow, who moved on Anulla’s behalf to deal with Aktar this time.

“Why? You want to say you feel sorry for him? Like Shura?”

“I…”

“Foolish and poor Hanu.”

Anulla, who was looking at the palace, turned her body and looked at her Hanu. Her face was full of a bright smile, though her eyes were shining as fiercely as when she was glaring at the Palace.

Hanu unconsciously swallowed a gulp and took a step back.

“You, who abandoned your sister because you wanted Faraghan so much, would not have felt sorry for Aktar. Don’t you think so?”

“…Yes.”

Hanu’s voice, with her head bowed down with a white face, reached Anulla’s ears. However, she turned her head again and stared at the Palace as though she had not heard the sound.

“You’ll see. After all, it will be me who rises to a higher position than anyone else.”

The three days of the time that would be too sweet for some and bitterly for others have begun.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────