Lovers Beyond the Mirror

Chapter 8 – Desert Bride (3)

The carriage finally arrived at the palace.

With Chiarin’s help, Seriana left the carriage and discovered the warriors with red cloths around their waists, just like Kayan, and the other warriors who had escorted her.

Unlike Rajen, which controls access by use of a huge door, there was no such door in the palace of Chaitun.

Instead, Seriana entered the palace along a path guarded by well-trained warriors and could feel through her skin the temperature clearly dropping.

After confirming that Chiarin’s words of a special stone were not wrong, she crept over to the wall and swept the wall with her fingertips.

The rough surface of the rock was felt as it was.

“Rocks and stones, the fillings in between, are also made of stones from the Windy Desert.”

“Is it made of stone?”

“Yes, they were crushed into powder.”

“Can stone dust change like this?”

“It was made like clay by mixing stone powder with finely chopped straw and water. It cannot be made from other stones, it can only be made with stones from the Windy Desert.”

Seriana didn’t know how Rajen’s buildings were built.

However, it was known that Chaitun’s architectural technology never fell behind Rajen.

Seriana wanted to show this palace to the nobles of Rajen, who denounce Chaitun as barbarians.

“I will guide you to Ranua’s room.”

“Yes.”

Chiarin held out her hand and she began to guide Seriana slowly forward.

She thought it was a one-story building with low ceilings, but it was taller and wider than expected.

It wasn’t as difficult to navigate as a maze, but it seemed it would take some time to get used to it.

There was no door in Ranua’s room.

Instead, beautiful fabrics with colorful patterns were laid out in multiple layers to replace the function of the door.

Chiarin rolled the cloth to one side and guided Seriana inside.

The first thing Seriana found when she entered the room was a screen made of tightly braided and intertwined thin reeds and a colorful sofa.

Colorful cushions were strewn over a low sofa set with a screen made of five sides that could be folded and unfolded as a background.

Fresh fruits and flowers were placed on a table that matched the height of the sofa.

“Do you like it?”

Seriana let go of Chiarin’s hand and scanned the room, nodding her head vigorously at the voice coming from behind her.

The thin, white curtains over the large window swayed in the wind and seemed to welcome her.

“The innermost part is Ranua’s bedroom.”

The moment she saw the white canopy fluttering through the screen, Seriana recognized it.

Unlike Rajen, which divides each room into small rooms according to purpose, it seemed the Chaitun custom was to keep everything in one large room and divide uses with a screen.

“I thought the blue color wasn’t enough, so I prepared a few pots…… How is it? Shall I fill in more?”

“No, I think an oasis outside the window is enough.”

“That’s a relief.”

Chiarin nodded her head in response to Seriana’s answer and summoned those who were waiting.

First, a mirror took up one wall next to the bed, and then, in every empty space, the things that Seriana had brought began to pile up.

And then there was a small commotion over the thick cloth covering the door.

“I’m going to greet Ranua. Is there any reason to stop me?”

“This is Kudra’s command not to accept visitors. Are you going to disobey his commands, Anulla?”

It was the voice of an unfamiliar woman who wanted to enter and the voice of Kayan preventing her.

His voice, dealing with the uninvited guest, was unyielding.

And the voice of the person he was dealing with was sharp.

“I am the first of Nurabi. He will understand that I, the heir to Shika whom he loves, will salute Kudra.”

“It is blasphemous to assume the mind of Kudra, Anulla.”

Seriana pricked her ear at a word mingled in the woman’s declaration.

The unidentified woman clearly described herself as ‘Shika’s successor’.

‘I must have heard it somewhere… … ?’

Seriana wrinkled her brow slightly and thought about it, and soon she was able to recall the story of the ‘Shika tribe’ she had heard from Chiarin.

The tribe that bowed its head first after Vaisha declared war. As an active ally of Vaisha, the Shika tribe made many contributions to the war to unite the deserts.

The clan heir would not have come to her simply to greet. There must be another purpose. What is it?

She pondered for a moment and realized that there was more she didn’t know about Chaitun.

If she thought about it in such a state, nothing would be resolved, only making the fuss for a longer time.

She thought that far, and Seriana opened her mouth to Chiarin, who frowned.

“Chiarin.”

“Yes, Ranua.”

“Just tell her to come in.”

“You can ignore it.”

“I don’t want to make a fuss from the first day.”

“…… understood.”

Chiarin replied politely and bowed her head.

Reluctantly, it was Ranua’s order, so it was her job to follow.

“It’s Ranua’s command that you may bring Shika’s Anulla inside.”

The commotion outside quickly subsided.

Then a person entered the room.

“Anulla of Shika greets the one who will become Ranua.”

She was a woman with healthy, chocolate-colored skin.

Dark hair that reached her hips was draped over her shoulders in a straight braid like a horsehair, and she stared straight into Seriana’s face with reddish almond-colored eyes.

“That’s rude, Anulla! Raising your head without Ranua’s permission.”

“She hasn’t become Ranua yet, has she?”

“This is the Ranua that Kudra has personally greeted.”

“The permission from Hellaim is yet to come.”

Her skills at accepting and replying to Chiarin’s sharp comments were not normal.

As Seriana looked at Anulla, her hands began to tremble with tension under the long sleeves.

Anulla’s eyes never looked away from her, even as she bandied with Chiarin, and contained clear hostility toward her.

Well trained in perceiving negative looks directed at herself, Seriana could easily notice that.

So she straightened her back and erased all expression from her face.

From Rajen’s social circle, Seriana learned she would have troubles, whether big or small, if she showed even a little bit of leeway to such an opponent.

“Are you sure Ranua won’t accept my greetings?”

“Seriana Winne Darmian, Princess of Rajen and Ranua of Kudra…….”

“You’re not Ranua yet.”

Anulla’s eyes twinkled as Seriana was unable to finish her words and was speechless for a moment.

Chiarin’s eyes became fierce seeing Anulla act as if she had won a small contest.

“If you don’t want to pay a greeting to her, Anulla, you better get down on your knees before Ranua and apologize now.”

“Chiarin, I could have been your master. How about looking at our relationship and letting it go softly?”

“Anulla, I have never been given the opportunity to serve you as a master.”

“Don’t you know how much Kudra loves my father and me? Don’t be so assertive.”

Seriana clenched her jaw in the increasingly sharp atmosphere.

The people of Chaitun, male and female, were all desert warriors.

In addition, Chiarin and Anulla were highly trained warriors, and their energy was not of the kind that Seriana could withstand.

“Oh my gosh, she would become a very weak Ranua.”

Anulla noticed Seriana’s condition first.

Unlike Chiarin, who stood next to her, Anulla was facing her and looking at the white-faced Seriana pulled one corner of her lips together and smiled.

Seriana bit her lower lip, awakened by the obvious sneer.

But the moment she saw Chiarin examining her with a worried face, she knew that she could not shrink like this.

‘I told you to be bold.’

The day he had to part with her because he had to leave for the desert with the warriors one step ahead of Seriana. After leaving the party, they walked the border of the sandy land alone.

Where hard soil and crumbling sand coexisted, Vaisha gently grabbed her hand and led her.

[Raise your head and straighten your waist. There is no need to look at anyone like that.]

[Yes?]

It was before sending back the servants who had come from Rajen.

There was a time when Seriana could not even sigh easily and was crushed by the attendants who were watching her, meddling in everything, and trying to control her.

However, it was a time also when she did not know that Vaisha would have noticed her condition.

[Oh, I…….]

[Even the master doesn’t need to look for the foolish ones who can’t properly serve them.]

Seriana was about to offer the first excuse that came to mind, but in embarrassment, she closed her mouth.

She wasn’t stupid. It was clear that he had already seen it with his own eyes, so it was wise to remain silent at this time.

She had just changed, and she was wearing the unfamiliar Chaitun clothing as she walked more and more into the sandy ground.

As if enchanted or possessed, Seriana focused on his voice and followed Vaisha on the soft ground.

[No one can touch you. Because you are my Ranua and the master of this desert.]

At some point, he stopped walking and turned around to make eye contact.

She would have thought it was a joke if it weren’t for Vaisha’s amber eyes showing his seriousness.

She must have believed that the words were uttered in consideration for the bride who would be left alone.

But Vaisha looked straight into Seriana’s eyes, as if reading her thoughts, and said,

[Be bold. Don’t let anyone look down on you. If someone looks down on you…….]

Cut off their neck so that they never lift their head again.

Vaisha said so.

Seriana looked at Anulla mocking her, and she clenched her fists so she couldn’t notice.

She couldn’t cut her neck, as he said.

But she might be able to show that she’s not an easy person.

Seriana started to examine options in her mind, gently grabbing the worried Chiarin’s hand.

Anulla must not leave this room with a confident face.

Vaisha had said it, but the moment she left the room victorious in this confrontation, it was clear that Seriana would lead a life just like the one she had in Rajen.

If it was simply just Seriana’s problem, it was fine. She could pretend not to hear, not to know. Perseverance was something she had always done at Rajen.

But this time it was different. She wasn’t going to end up alone.

She will be treated like Chiarin, who proudly called herself Ranua’s servant.

She was the master of Chiarin. In the world that Seriana knew, it was the law that when the master was humble, the things below her became even more humble.

So Seriana could never be defeated by Anulla here.

‘You have to be bold.’

Seriana straightened her back and looked straight into Anulla’s sneering face.

“Did you say Shika’s Anulla?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I heard that it was because of your father that I was able to become Ranua, even weak as you said. Was it Nurabi?”

At that moment, Anulla’s eyes changed.

Her palms were wet with sweat.

She continued to speak, hoping that Anulla would not notice that Seriana was terrified and nervous.

“Chiarin said I don’t need to bow my head to anyone.”

“…… If you could become a real Ranua.”

“I think it will happen soon. It’s simple, but I got married to Kudra in Rajen.”

“…… What do you want to say?”

“Tell your father thank you.”

“…….”

“The fact that I was able to become Ranua was thanks to Shika’s Nurabi, so I will definitely remember it.”

She was deliberately spitting it out because Anulla had not hidden her greed for the seat next to Vaisha in the earlier conversation with Chiarin.

Whether Seriana’s judgment was correct or not, Anulla’s face wrinkled.

“…… It would be better to tell him directly later.”

“No, Anulla, I want you to tell him. It will become unnecessary words later on.”

If she gets the real Ranua’s title with the permission of Helaim, everything they’ve done for Seriana becomes natural. So ‘later’ after she becomes Ranua, she doesn’t need to say thank you.

Anulla didn’t say anything even though her eyes brightened wildly, perhaps she understood the meaning behind Seriana’s volley. Seriana was drunk with the feeling of triumph she had felt for the first time in her life.

It may have been a trivial fight to her eyes, but it was a really big deal for Seriana, who had never had the option of arguing with someone.

“It is unusual to think that you are the princess who was exchanged for the fertile land of Rajen.”

“…… what…….”

“I was worried that we might have forced someone who was too weak to live in this desert, but I was overly concerned.”

And her sense of victory was shattered in an instant.

Anulla was now taunting Seriana as a ‘’spoil of war’.

Seriana couldn’t rebut the charge.

The bride was sold because they lost to their opponent and was greeted by Vaisha happily.

“Anulla, I will formally protest to Shika for today’s rudeness.”

“Oh my God, Chiarin. You’re just protesting about this.”

“Anulla!”

“It is said that the ceremony was held in Rajen, but it has not yet been announced to Helaim. The Princess of Rajen has no right to protest Shika.”

Having said that, Anulla bowed her head excessively towards Seriana.

With a gesture closer to a mockery rather than a polite one, sparks flew from Chiarin’s eyes, witnessing it.

“I sincerely pray that Helaim will grant Ranua’s title safely, Princess of Rajen.”

Without waiting for Seriana’s reply, Anulla left the room.

Kayan had been listening to the commotion inside and glared at her, but Anulla ignored him.

No she couldn’t care about it. The cheeky face of the little girl who told her to say thank you to her father continued to glimmer in front of her.

‘Does a twisted Rajen princess dare covet Ranua’s place? I will never tolerate it.’

The noble who stood by Kudra must be Anulla herself.

‘From the moment Shika kissed Kudra’s foot, the place was reserved for me. Do you think I will let it be taken away?’

Leaving the palace, stomping ferociously, Anulla got on her horse and began to drive her horse towards the mansion where her father was staying. She still had a chance. She had to somehow convince her father to seize the opportunity.