The Reason for Marriage

“Still, if you also put the results of the nobles’ councils meeting under the law….”

“The nobles sat around, satisfied that the Imperial rebels would be suppressed within a month. Half a year later, the rebel forces are surprisingly increasing, and I hear nothing from the nobles but pleasantries,” Daniel elaborated.

Iveca went to speak again but stopped herself. Daniel had clearly given this much thought.

“The backlash from the vested interests will be severe. It will kill everyone’s authority and the inanimate law will stand alone, untouchable and above all of them. Of course, there will be people who do not agree with this. You and I will have a lot of enemies when it is done. But it is something we need to do. For the many.”

Daniel’s voice was calm, but it was clear his mind was racing as fast as hers.

“The monarchy will be weakened, and the nation will become a little louder in its protests, but in this way, you could prevent a terrible civil war. It is far better than that alternative.”

“Have you thought about this alone? Before we were married, I mean,” Iveca asked, worried about the answer suddenly. He held her hand tighter.

“It would be very, very difficult… but if you’re on my side…”

Iveca thought for a moment, mulling over his newest proposal. Difficult seemed like quite an understatement. Daniel noticed her silence and pressed on.

“If it is troubling you or does not even fit your beliefs, of course you can refuse, Iveca. It is correct that I chose you because you can give me something in return. But I have no intention of forcing you to do anything.”

“Your Majesty, of course I…”

Iveca was trying to respond quickly but Daniel cut her off.

“Even if you refuse, of course I would still be proud of you. No, there is no one in this world that could not be proud of you, Iveca. You shouldn’t do anything you don’t like.” Daniel’s soft words made Iveca speechless, but still he continued as she stared at him. “What do you mean about being recognized as being useful, Iveca? You are not someone who needs to prove themselves like that to me. You never will be.”

Her mind was tickled, turning over on itself to escape the sensation. The man in front of her, who she had seen only four times including his marriage proposal, was telling her things she did not know she needed to hear. The sad memories that had piled up in her mind one by one were now shaken and distorted, being loosened by his every syllable. The memories of her shrinking body in front of the guests visiting the Count estate, the memory of being a sinner just by standing in front of her father, memories of her disappearance among her sister’s chatter and laughter. All of them were blurring and fading out of view with each word he graced upon her.

It did not matter if all these sweet words were a trick to get her consent. Iveca needed them like a bee needs a flower, right here and right now.

Daniel was not done. He continued, “I already said we are a family, right? In this world. we’ve done something that only the two of us could do.”

Iveca took a deep breath and answered as clearly as she could manage.

“Your Majesty, I will do my best.”

It was hard to believe his well-wrapped words. It was absurd to be someone special to him even though she did not do anything; she barely knew him. However, no one ever told her anything like that. And Iveca breathed it, feeling it course through her like a rushing river, replenishing her reserves.

“No matter how much I protect you, you will get a lot of criticism,” Daniel added cautiously to her unhesitating reply, “Even Evena, who reorganized the affiliated organizations, was said to face great opposition at that time.”

“I still think it’s a good idea,” came Iveca’s reply once more. Iveca thought that the judgement of a person who was willing to give up power that he had was largely reliable. Besides, there was another reason for her to do it. “I believe in myself. I believe in us.”

Daniel looked at Iveca quietly.

“I heard that when a member of the Bureau of Investigation transfers to another agency due to unavoidable circumstances,” she said, “you will be assigned according to your own wishes. I guess I also thought the law was important, although I wasn’t really interested in it before.”

Daniel did not answer, but this time he did not need to. Iveca was filled with purpose. She was obsessed with proving her usefulness; she could not brag about becoming a Queen without having something to show for it, after all.

The task ahead of her might be difficult, but she was grateful for that. The challenge would prove she was someone who would be worth recognizing.

The short moment of dusk that had fallen over them was lost completely, and the darkness was complete above and around them. Iveca grinned at the cool breeze that flicked the dark hair back and forth over her eyes. No matter how complicated Daniel was, no matter how close he was as a colleague rather than a husband, Iveca still liked him. It was sweet enough of him to have guided her through secret passages of his childhood days as she could not go outside in the past three days. He said that he would be her family and told her to be confident even though she did not feel confident in herself. And although everyone said that they could not understand him, she was still grateful for the few things she could understand about him now.