Chapter Text
"I finally found the perfect groom for you, my child."
Kim Dokja stared at his father, unimpressed. This was not the first time that sentence was said, after all. This was the fourth time already. The 'perfect groom’ were useless words at this point.
Still, that face changed quickly, as if it had never been there in the first place. He put on the brightest smile he could muster and cheered, "What kind of person is he, father?"
His father reciprocated his smile and answered, "He is the golden boy of Britanya. He's the King's nephew and renowned as the mightiest knight of the North. He's quite handsome as well, I'm sure you'll like him."
"Thank you so much father!"
His father, mother and brother smiled satisfactorily.
Kim Dokja faintly wondered if, after four marriage annulments, his father and brother would finally settle on this one.
***
He went back to his room and plopped down on his bed.
Used as a pawn for his father, the Pope, Kim Dokja had been in four engagements, all of them annulled. Now, he is engaged again. This time the target would be a golden egg and someone he wouldn’t be able to not marry.
Said golden egg was the golden boy of Britanya, Yoo Joonghyuk. Kim Dokja had heard about him many times before. At the age of 15, he was conferred as a Holy Knight. At the age of 17, he entered the gladiatorial tournament against demonic beasts and he prevailed as the youngest champion in the history of the event. Afterward, he rose to prominence as a paladin.
Naturally, he stole the hearts of many young ladies and gentlemen. Nevertheless, he coldly declined all his marriage offers. Not only that, he even pledged abstinence, troubling his father.
The only women in his life were his younger sister, Yoo Mia, a childhood friend that turned into the family’s personal doctor, his sister’s friend and some of his paladin companions. As for men, Yoo Joonghyuk was as uninterested as he was in the opposite gender.
That was all the information Kim Dokja had on the man he was going to marry.
Oh, and the fact his mother committed suicide when the siblings were just children.
The souls of those who committed suicide are cursed to never rest, turning them in demonic beasts, which is why her death became a highly sensitive and taboo topic.
Kim Dokja wondered for a moment why such a man agreed to marry him when he had been so opposed to marriage but then realized, if Yoo Joonghyuk hadn't done so, then Yoo Mia would have had to enter an engagement with Dokja's brother. It would be horrendous. His sister was merely a child and his brother was even older than Dokja himself. Nobody would want to tie a child down in such a way when they were supposed to enjoy their life.
Furthermore, the marriage, made by either of the siblings, was needed. Romana was being troubled by an internal conflict, leaving the borders vulnerable to the invading barbarians. Britanya requested this marriage in exchange of their troops to protect Romana's borders.
Well, at least Kim Dokja was sure this time he will get married and someone—
"Dokja."
Won't be so happy about it.
His brother came in and locked the door silently. He walked over to the pot of flowers that Dokja himself had put in there. It came from the small desire to kill something off and, since he couldn't go around killing an animal —even less a person—, he went for the acceptable thing and slowly but surely killed the beautiful flowers off.
It didn’t satisfy him at all.
"Are you happy about your marriage?" His brother asked, walking to him and placing one of the flowers he just picked next to Dokja's ear.
Such a tender touch for someone so sick in the head.
"Not so much. You won't be there, after all," Dokja replied with a pout.
He was actually delighted. He considered it his small vacation.
Even though it would just be another kind of hell.
His brother patted his head gently and smiled, "Don't worry. I'll make sure you come back."
That sounded more like a threat than anything, Dokja thought.
"Thank you, brother." Kim Dokja hugged him tightly and his brother reciprocated.
The only good thing going for him was that he could finally drop the act of a lovely and submissive little brother.
***
Dressed completely in white and pink flowers, plus a simple golden ring on his left ring finger, Dokja stood in front of the carriage door.
His father had already commented about how beautiful he looked, asking if he really was his son, saying he was an angel, the most beautiful bride he’s ever seen and that everyone in the North would surely fall in love with him.
Luckily for him, his brother had urgent matters to attend to, making it impossible to accompany Dokja on his journey.
There were already enough disturbing rumors about his brother and him, that bastard’s greediness didn’t need to add wood to the fire. The result of such rumors were the glares from soldiers of the North who came to pick Dokja up, filled with disdain.
“Dokja.”
However, his brother was still here.
“I’m going to hold you to your promise to come visit me,” Dokja said as looked directly into his brother’s eyes.
His brother had promised to visit in the (supposed) six-months Dokja would be residing in Britanya. Dokja hoped he would be too busy to.
“Don’t worry. I won’t forget.”
Please do forget.
He bid farewell to his family and hopped in the carriage. The northerners started moving immediately, wanting to get away as soon as possible.
Suddenly, as Dokja looked out the window and to the clear and sunny sky, he wondered about the things to come.
And about for how much longer he would be able to hold on.
***
Han Sooyoung stealthily sneaked into the formation. When she thought she was good, she heard a voice next to her.
“Senior Sooyoung?”
Shit.
A girl as tall as her and with a long ponytail was staring at her with a suspicious gaze, added with a hint of amusement.
“Jihye…” Han Sooyoung addressed her subordinate with faked surprise.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I’m curious about the so-called ‘Lark of Cistina’ and ‘Beloved Prince of Romana’,” she explained, lazily waving her hand.
"Hm, well, I get it. Perhaps everyone here is." Lee Jihye nodded in agreement.
Han Sooyoung had heard the countless rumors about Kim Dokja from Romana: the Pope's beloved son, a rare beauty unlike any other, a kind individual as close as an angel and so on. In the north, however, they were the opposite. They all despised the Pope and his family, his son was not excluded from this hatred.
Now, said man was getting married to one of Sooyoung's closest friends, Yoo Joonghyuk.
That bastard was nowhere to be found, though.
Not even greeting your bride, just how uninterested are you about this?
She remembered Yoo Mia's words, directed to not just her but every close friend of her brother, "If you can, make my brother accompany his bride when he comes. It's bad manners to make him arrive alone."
A literal child had better common sense than her adult brother.
Han Sooyoung huffed in frustration. She still had time to make him change his mind. Lee Jihye was tasked to stay here, unlike her, so Han Sooyoung could escape after catching a glimpse.
When she was being consumed by her thoughts, the boat that arrived minutes ago finally pulled out the ladder for everyone to descend.
The first ones to come down were a few soldiers. Everyone ignored them or greeted them quickly before getting their gazes back to the start of the ladder.
Then, a slender figure with hair as dark as the night and a white flowery suit that contrasted his characteristics stepped up and descended with the help of another soldier.
The more steps he took, the more everyone questioned: where was the Lark of Cistina in that face?
They knew that was Kim Dokja, the angel of Romana. His looks could be considered normal yet, there was this strange beauty that drew everyone in. They understood why they called him a rare beauty unlike any other.
However, they couldn't understand why such a person had such a look.
The closer he got, the more they noticed. Kim Dokja's face was blank, expressionless. He barely even took a look at his surroundings before stepping down the ladder.
There was also the issue with his eyes. They looked soulless. No, not soulless. If Han Sooyoung had to describe it… it was a look of indifference combined with disdain, as if everything around him didn't matter anymore.
Han Sooyoung watched as Kim Dokja and the soldier walked past her and she, along with Jihye, stopped another soldier who came out of the ship.
"What the hell is going on?"
***
"Hey, Yoo Joonghyuk."
Yoo Joonghyuk and his companions were sweating from head to toe. Unlike him, the rest were plopped down and sprawled on the ground. Except for Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon, who had as much energy and strength as him.
Yoo Joonghyuk watched Han Sooyoung walk towards him and took off his iron helmet. "What?"
"Your wife is weird."
That made him raise an eyebrow, "You went to watch him?"
"I was curious!" By now, everyone's attention was concentrated on the conversation between them. "We asked a soldier who went to Romana–"
"We?"
"Lee Jihye. Anyways, he said that he was there when Kim Dokja was saying his goodbyes to his family. He was like an angel that fell from heaven, with a lovely smile and all. But when he got out of the carriage to board the ship, his eyes had sunken and his attitude changed completely. It was as if another person possessed him."
"..."
"Also," she wasn't finished yet, "he said that Kim Dokja wasn't evil with them but he also wasn't trying to even strike a conversation. Of course, we are hypothesizing that it could be because of his seasickness but, honestly? I don't think so."
"What is your opinion?" Jung Heewon asked, her eyes already narrowed.
"My hypothesis is that he hates the idea of being separated from his family and coming here."
"Do you think they have a plan to put Joonghyuk to shame and make them divorce?" Yoo Sangah, who was leaning on a tree, asked.
"...Perhaps. But I don't think he could do anything on his own. He was taller than me but he looked weak."
"Stop with the nonsense," Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly interrupted. He started walking away.
"Wait, where are you going?" Han Sooyoung was ready to yell.
"To take a break."
"Your sister told me that you should go and greet him!"
"Not interested."
Stupid bastard, Han Sooyoung thought. Well, it doesn't seem like he would be interested in meeting Yoo Joonghyuk either.