The Crow That’s After Me - Chapter 3

Mary, who was at Elena’s side, suddenly shouted.

“You should be extra careful of crows.”

“Crows? Why?”

Elena tilted her head. The other maid smiled softly.

“Those wicked beings covet glittering things.”

“Ah, covet. It’d be a relief if they don’t sneak it into their nest.”

Elena was convinced when she saw the ornaments she wore.

“Crows roam around the castle?”

“Of course.”

The maid’s smile somehow seemed to be mischievous, but Elena left it alone. There were still many things she didn’t know about the North, so it was judged that learning about the place was a priority.

At night, Elena arrived at the banquet hall where the wedding ceremony was held. It was only then that she could understand the maid’s words. The people gathered in black fur cloaks looked like crows at first glance.

Then the gatekeeper, who spotted Elena, shouted loudly.

“Lady Selum is coming in!”

This would be the last time she got called Lady Selum. The hall, which was noisy like a banquet, quickly became quiet. Archduke Barthian got up from his seat and greeted Elena in a blood-red velvet dress.

In the north, it is said that it is a tradition for brides to wear red in weddings. Compared to the white dress she wore during the day, there were fewer exposed areas in this one, so she felt warm. However, it was frustrating because the weight of the fabric felt uncomfortable, so she couldn’t adapt to it.

When Elena came close, Archduke Barthian reached out his hand. Elena stood side by side holding his hand. The butler next to him brought a mistletoe diadem and a pedestal with a pair of gold rings.

“Your Majesty, the sun of the continent, gave us precious gifts in honour of the hard work of the northern part.”

At his words, the nobles knocked on the table and cheered with the glasses in their hands. Elena flinched on hearing a loud sound from all sides. Archduke Barthian, who was clenching his hands, looked back at her.

“Of course, the best gift is Lady Selum, who is called the jewel of the continent.”

Elena was convinced that he was mocking her even though he was clearly expressing praise with his mouth. She could have sworn that on her name.

“I, Theodore, gladly obey the decree of His Majesty, to take Lady Selum as my wife. Abundance to Barthian, Loyalty to the Imperial Family!”

“Abundance to Barthian, loyalty to the imperial family!”

The nobles followed him and sang along. He let go of Elena’s hand and picked up the mistletoe diadem. The diadem slowly lay over her head.

He then put a gold ring on Elena’s left ring. The ring didn’t fit in her finger and was loose. Elena picked up the remaining ring and put it on his left hand. The sound of the nobles tapping the table with glasses became louder and louder, so she felt deaf.

The thunderous sound stopped after Elena sat in a newly prepared chair next to Archduke Barthian. Only then could Elena secretly take a breather. However, the largest mountain she had to overcome still remained.

For the first night, she was left alone with Archduke Barthian. Her head adorned with a diadem, looking up at him, was like a prisoner’s face waiting for punishment. She didn’t even know this marriage would be like.

“You don’t have to be too nervous.”

Even after listening to his words, Elena’s body became stiff with tension. Archduke Barthian took out the alcohol that his servants had prepared in advance in the bedroom and poured it into the glass. Elena silently watched him drink.

“Do you know that the Barthians went through a great famine 3 years ago?”

However, the topic brought up by him was something that did not match with the first night.

“I didn’t know.”

When Elena shook her head, the corners of his mouth went up crookedly.

“I knew it. At that time, I asked His Majesty for relief, but all he could do was ignore me. I thought that the sun of our continent, who was busy, had forgotten the north. But he suddenly sent you to marry me.”

Elena covered her mouth with her hands. She stayed at the palace as the maiden of the empress, but this was the first time she heard of this.

“I didn’t know your Majesty was so serious about the north, and he even dragged the army in.”

“That’s…”

He, who casually uttered such words, looked at Elena with a shameless face as if asking if she was surprised by something.

“I heard that men and women in the south get promiscuous regardless of whether they are married or not. Is that true?”

The topic suddenly changed again. Why did he ask such a low-level question? Elena’s head felt dizzy as she was catching up with his questions.

“I don’t know what kind of answer you want and what kind of question you ask.”

“I guess my question was too difficult. Then I’ll ask you again.”

After putting down the glass, Archduke Barthian strode forward, close to Elena’s nose. Elena did not avoid him approaching.

“The emperor sent you to me in such a hurry because you had his child.”

What nonsense was he talking about? It was so absurd that she couldn’t speak.

“Or a child of the crown prince. Whoever it may be.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Let’s say I know the rotten thoughts of the southern men in detail.”

Elena’s response did nothing to the Duke of Barthian. He ordered her.

“Take off all your clothes.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to be swayed by your power struggle or to have babies who are not my own, so let me check.”

His suspicion was reasonable. The capital, which ignored the northern part, sent her to them, as if they were doing a favour. Since she was a southerner, who had open s*xual notions, it would not be impossible for unmarried women who served as a maiden to bear the seeds of the royal family.

It was not unreasonable to think that he managed to recall the North, which he had forgotten while thinking about allowing his child to be born safely without being swayed by the struggle for succession to the throne. Only Elena, who was misunderstood, felt that this was unfair.

“If everything I say is just a trap, what’s there to mind?”

He slowly provoked with his arms folded. Elena stared at him and took off her clothes one by one. When she took off her last remaining underwear, she felt like she was going to cry because of misery, but she endured it.

Archduke Barthian slowly swept his eyes on Elena from head to toe. Elena trembled in place at the persistent gaze. Maybe it was because of the cold. Elena thought stubbornly.

However, when he reached out to touch her shoulder, she was surprised and made a sound.

“Ah…”

He laughed again and looked at Elena. His hand, which touched Elena’s shoulder, went past her chest and swept her flat lower abdomen. The hand that touched her stomach was hot.

“Are you done now?”

When Elena asked, he pressed hard with his hand.

“It doesn’t show on the outside if you just got pregnant.”

He was openly treating people like cows. She couldn’t stand the insult anymore and gently stepped back when she pushed him back with her hand. Elena picked up clothes that fell on the floor and wrapped them around her body like a rough cloak.

“If you really want to be sure, call a doctor.”

“Do you mean that you will show your body to a man who is not your husband?”

Archduke Barthian held his glass again.

“My wife really doesn’t know shame. No matter how southern you are, you are now a Barthian. You’d better put aside the idea that you can be as shallow as before.”

Her trembling body was stabbed fiercely with three sentences.

“Let’s put off the first night for a month later. Unless your belly has blown up by then.”

It meant that he would wait for a month until he confirmed that she was not pregnant. He left her bedroom after saying this. Elena, left alone in the room, sank on the bed.

This made everything clear. Although he made one excuse or another, he tried to repay the humiliation he had received from the imperial family by insulting Elena. She came to the crow den on her own to avoid the lion.

Surprised by the early end of the first night, Mary came into the room and talked to Elena. But she wasn’t in the mood to answer. When Mary was driven outside, she hesitated and reluctantly went out.

Elena threw the mistletoe diadem on the floor. And she took the golden comb out of her head and lay on the bed holding it tightly to her chest. Her first night in the North was lonely and chilly.

Women on the continent who had the first night turned their heads up to mean that they became adults. However, Elena had the same tidy hair as when she arrived here, even after a month. Thanks to this, as soon as anyone in the castle saw Elena, they immediately noticed the situation in their bedroom.

Was that all? They were busy trying to figure out why he wouldn’t pick on his dazzlingly beautiful wife.

Elena, who was ashamed of this situation, did not go out of the bedroom. She had no choice but to wait for the month to pass quickly, as mentioned by her husband.

“I guess the food doesn’t suit your taste.”

Archduke Barthian asked Elena, who was tossing her spoon through a cream stew made of fermented cod and potatoes. He, who had left Elena unattended, suddenly came to the room to eat together today.

He wouldn’t have felt compelled to do his duty as a husband. Mary may have been responsible for this.

Elena replied calmly, organising her noisy mind.

“I’m not feeling well, but the food is okay.”

“You must have morning sickness.”

At that moment, the angry Elena’s hand tensed. Of course, it was not morning sickness. She just preferred meat to seafood.

Elena didn’t answer, scooped a chunk of cod and put it in her mouth as if she wanted to show him. She was distressed by the fishy taste spreading across her tongue, but she chewed without showing it.

As the plate in front of Elena emptied little by little, Archduke Barthian took out something that seemed to have been smoked this time. She expected a taste similar to that of meat, but the grilled smoked meat was nothing that different.

He was ready to hold out until Elena finished her food. Elena kept swallowing.