The Destiny of the Rainbow

Iris A Eckebrecht.

The first Royal Princess of the Eckebrecht Kingdom at the time, was known for her beauty in the great Marchen continent. Her blonde pristine hair, as if no dust ever occupied, looked like honey while her blue eyes reminisced of the cloudless sky. The way she beautifully moves with poise made her fair skin stand out even more.

One day, Iris was going to the Parviz Kingdom in a fancy carriage on a snowy day. She cast a glance down and gently caressed her stomacher, adorned by glamor jewels. Then, a sharp jewel scratched her soft palms. Her sadness grew bits by bits. She couldn’t even heave a sigh, since she wasn’t the only one inside the carriage. Iris was well aware of her situation where she couldn’t sighed at her own will.

“Your Highness. Why do you look like that on such a happy day?”

“I just remembered about my mother suddenly. Speaking of, Duke Bergh… are you confident about the agreement that if I become the Queen, the Eckebrecht Kingdom will be safe?”

“Of course. The Parviz Kingdom never speaks lies.”

“Is that so? Very well then.” As the tip of her red lips curled up, her eyes crinkled into a crescent. Her smile, as if she was in delight, was beyond beautiful that it could make someone’s mind go blank. On the contrary, Duke Bergh’s mouth was dried, far from happy by her smile.

How could the mighty Parviz Kingdom, which possessed the largest portion of land amongst another kingdom in the Marchen continent, manage their kingdom without a single lie? Even if she knew, Iris had no choice but to smile away. After all, her kingdom was a vassal state of Parviz Kingdom, so she had no authority to refuse their words. Instead, she should be grateful, as they never act tyrannically.

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

“Will the King bestow a new name upon me?”

“In Parviz, you won’t get a new name even if you’re married. The same goes for the King. However, for a royal marriage, the middle and last name will be changed. For generations, the middle name of Queen Parviz has been M as in Mercedes.”

“Mercedes… I see. Thank you for the information.”

After the conversation, Iris turned her head and looked at the forest. Watching the white snow piled up on the big tree, she smoothed out the three-tiers engageante for a second and let it go. The scenery passed by quickly, showing the same things as they went. Eventually, her eyes were closed. She could hear the sound of snow piled up, the sound that her ears couldn’t catch before.

Off from her expectation, the royal marriage was held simply. Where only the King and the high status, as well as the lower status, clergy gathered in the center palace, they exchanged the ring and the King granted the crown to Iris. No one was smiling. Even the King was engulfed by somberness throughout the process. He barely opened his mouth. The only time he opened it was when he had to recite the vows.

The Parvis people only knew that the King had a new queen, however, no one knew who took the throne of the Queen seat. It was to be expected as the King had no intention to announce it.

All maids of Iris were dismissed, leaving her alone in a spacious room. With a glimpse of the garden across the glass, she sat by the windowsill and gazed at the bed that was enough for five grown-up men to lie down. Some chirping birds visited the window frame for a moment, tilted their heads a few times. After they had lost interest, they flew away.

The memories of her marriage were still fresh.

King of Parviz, Rogen R Parviz, came to Iris late in the evening. His face was dull as ever. Iris greeted him a second late because of the surge of nervousness. He took a moment to stare at her face without a word. Iris invited him to enter the room, but he didn’t budge and just stood there. The silence was too suffocating and heavy.

Right after Iris tried to talk again, his lips moved, revealing a small voice.

“I have no plan to be intimate with you. To me, there’s only Anais. Had it not been Cadere’s earnest request, there would never be a new queen until the day I die.”

“Your Majesty…”

“I couldn’t care less what you do here. With whom you sleep, or slap Cadere, or whatever it is. In Cadere’s case, she promised she’d accept everything she got if I fulfill her wish, so don’t worry.”

“Your Majesty.” Her red and thick lips trembled. Tears began welling up at the corner of her eyes. Rogen looked at her uninterested and firmly said the next words.

“Another thing, don’t ever take a step out of the palace. If you really want to get out of here, die. Kill yourself, it’s far better than die from torture.”

“In that case… If I die… What will happen with the Eckebrecht Kingdom?”

“They will meet the same fate as you.”

A smile bloomed over Rogen’s grim face.