Predatory Marriage

Chapter 162. Isha (2)

No one in the desert would dare call him Isha, but Leah repeated the name again in her mind. It made her imagine him as a child. That this man, who was as solid and robust as an oak, had once been a little sprout named Isha…

“It’s okay,” Ishakan said, drawing her back out of her imagination as he hugged her and kissed her cheek. “But don’t call me that too often. If you call me Isha…”

His mischievous smile spoke for itself. Leah didn’t understand why it was so exciting for him when she called him Isha, but she only thought that Kurkans were different from humans and set the matter aside. It seemed dangerous to continue this subject.

“What’s the urgent job you had this morning?” she asked.

Ishakan was silent for a moment.

“You should know I killed my predecessor to take the throne,” he said, looking away. Taking the paper on which Leah had written his name, he put it into a desk drawer. “There is a remnant group that followed the former King…It is said that they have allied with Byun Gyeongbaek of Oberde. It seems that Byun Gyeongbaek will try to retrieve his kidnapped bride.”

Ishakan looked at her seriously.

“The time has come to show him who your real husband is.”

Hearing the word husband leave his lips without any hesitation embarrassed her. Leah nodded, her cheeks flushing, and he caressed her reddened cheek with a smile. Her lips parted to speak, but she closed them.

It seemed that there was something else besides the matter of Byun Gyeongbaek.

She thought Ishakan was hiding something.

She wanted to ask what it was, but she didn’t have the courage. She didn’t want to ruin this happiness. Even if it was just a dream…

Leah closed her eyes. The sound of chains echoed faintly in her ears, and faded.

***

Byun Gyeongbaek ruled the western frontier. For a long time, he had been massing troops there to prevent invasion by the Kurkans and in so doing, gained great wealth, power and fame.

Once he reached a position where even the King could not treat him carelessly, Byun Gyeongbaek felt he deserved a reward for his dedication to Estia. The reward would be the person he had long desired. The Princess.

Her beauty was known not only in Estia, but through the whole of the continent. She had the elegant silver hair and beautiful purple eyes of the royal family. Estian nobles boasted of her beauty in other countries. Of course Byun Gyeongbaek became interested in her.

When she finally became his fiancee, he had thought all that remained was the wedding. But everything had begun to go wrong when that barbarian appeared.

The new King of barbarians.

Unlike the former King, with whom he had gotten along well, the new King was very fierce and savage. Ever since he ascended the throne, Byun Gyeonbaek’s forces had suffered defeat in all the battles in the frontier. Slave traders began to complain about the difficulty in acquiring barbarian slaves. It was all very upsetting.

But that wasn’t all. The King had suddenly come to Estia seeking peace and began to lust after the Princess. Byun Gyeonbaek couldn’t let him steal her from him, when she was the reward he had been waiting for.

The barbarians had finally crossed the line. They ambushed the wedding procession heading for the western border and kidnapped his Princess.

His anger could not be expressed with words. But while he was searching for a way to retrieve her, a new group of barbarians paid him a visit, claiming to be loyal followers of the former Kurkan king. They made a very interesting proposal.

“We will return the Princess to you.”

They only wanted revenge. They would retrieve his kidnapped bride, avenge themselves against the current King, and then flee far away. Though they demanded a large fortune in return, that was not a problem for Byun Gyeongbaek.

“All right, I will comply with what you want. So, no matter what methods…” Byun Gyeongbaek’s eyes gleamed. “Bring the Princess before me.”