Chapter 25
Three days ago, an important intelligence came into the castle. It was about a secret alliance between the Basque and Croa tribes through marriage.
So at dawn, before the sun had even risen, Rashid left the castle with his men. No one knew at the time how he would break the alliance. The date of the wedding was pressing, so he decided to figure it out as he went.
It wasn’t until today, when he returned, that the people in the castle realized how he had prevented the marriage alliance: by stealing the bride.
One thing they didn’t know, however, was the bride’s reaction to being here.
Thelma glanced at the woman, who had now left the statue and was looking at the paintings on the ceiling.
Normally, a bride who had been plundered in this way had two reactions. Either she would give up and accept the man who had taken her, or she would fiercely resist and refuse to recognize the marriage.
Most tended to choose the former. There was nothing she could realistically do if she was abandoned here alone. Sometimes the bride’s family would come and take her back, but this was not common.
Even those who chose the latter would eventually come to terms with the reality of their situation. Being pregnant and raising a man’s child would inevitably lead to resignation.
For this reason, when a plundered bride came, the first step was to determine whether she was one of these two. If it was the former, there was no problem, but if it was the latter, it could cause a lot of trouble. In this case, she might try to escape or even kill her husband.
So which one is this woman?
Judging by the scene where she was parting ways with Riga earlier, she was most likely the former. She wouldn’t have asked a man she hated not to leave her alone.
But even if that was the case, the woman’s reaction now was hard to understand. She was being kidnapped and yet she was so relaxed.
Thelma scanned the woman with a hawk’s eye, not unaware of her plight, but Rashid is the most important person to her, not this woman.
Besides, she is the daughter of the Basque chieftain with whom they are enemies, so it is important to know if there is any chance of her pointing a knife at Riga’s throat in the middle of the night.
“Is this how you normally paint the walls and ceilings?” the woman asked.
Thelma quickly smiled and answered, “Yes.”
“The colors are so beautiful, are you using some kind of special paint?”
“The stuff that makes fine paint comes from around here. It’s made by squeezing the sap of certain trees.”
“You make paint from trees?”
“It’s made by collecting the sap that comes out when you cut the bark of a tree called Denpa. It only grows here, so you won’t find it anywhere else.”
“Ah, somehow I don’t think I’ve ever seen a color like that before.”
Thelma smiled proudly at her pure admiration. In fact, the fine paint made from the Denpa tree was the pride of the Quat tribe. Even the neighboring Basque and Croa tribes, as well as the sophisticated Kingdom of Lisa, could not produce high-quality paint without the Denpa tree.
“The dye has been coveted by many nations for a long time. In particular, the Kingdom of Lisa demanded that it be offered as a tribute.”
The woman stared in amazement. “Is that true?”
“Yes, the intention is to take this precious thing for free, without paying for it.”
Thelma snorted lightly. “But Master Rashid knows its value and would never give it away. Master Rashid knows how to do business better than a merchant.”
“You mean, he knows about commerce?”
“Yes. He has traveled to the Kingdom of Lisa many times with his own merchants to secure safe trade routes, and it is through his efforts that our tribe has become so prosperous after so many years of subsistence.”
As she spoke, Thelma realized that she had stopped spying on the woman and had instead found herself chattering, almost to herself.
“…shall we go?”
The two started walking again. Fortunately, the woman didn’t ask any more questions. In fact, her face seemed to have grown a little somber.
Then Thelma realized that one important issue remained unresolved: which room should she take the woman to?
A normal couple would share the same room, but for a plundered bride, it’s sometimes different.
Sometimes they share the same room, but often they are given different rooms, especially if they are plundered for political reasons like she is now.
So should she be taken to Riga’s room or given another room? Riga had yet to decide on this important matter, and he had gone elsewhere.
“…Rigaina, what do you think of Riga?”
So, in the end, Thelma had no choice but to ask this stupid question. She thought that if the woman had any hatred towards Riga, she would have taken her to another room.
But the woman didn’t even think long before smiling broadly.
She replied, “I think he’s a warm and caring person.”
“……”
There was a long silence from Thelma. Of course, she knows better than anyone that he’s a nice guy, but outwardly, Riga would never be that way.
What could she possibly see in him that would make her say such a thing, especially when he couldn’t even smile at a woman, let alone offer her a gentle word?
Curious, Thelma was about to ask the question again when she noticed the ribbon holding the woman’s hair back. Her face instantly hardened as she recognized it.
“That ribbon is…”
As if on cue, the woman ran her hand through the ribbon.
“He gave it to me because I had nothing to tie my hair up with.”
Thelma swallowed hard.
“Do you know what is that?”
“I was told it belonged to his late mother.”
Thelma was even more surprised that she knew who the original owner of the ribbon was.
“This was given to you by Riga himself?”
“He didn’t give it to me, I just borrowed it for a while…”
But even if she had simply borrowed it, it still didn’t make sense.
Rashid had a deep love and hatred for his mother; he mourned her death but refused to accept her final choice. And yet, he carried the ribbon, the last thing she had left him, with him at all times, and never let it fall into the wrong hands.
How could he lend such an item to a woman he had barely met? And this woman is the daughter of the Basque chieftain responsible for her mother’s death.
What in the world were you thinking…
“If you mind, I can take it off…”
The woman, who watched Thelma’s expression change from time to time, moved her hand to her head as if she would untie the ribbon at any moment.
“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s just….”
A bitter smile soon formed on Thelma’s lips.
“Do you know this too? The late Riga proposed to the Rigaina with a bouquet of flowers tied with that ribbon?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t heard that part yet.
“No, I had no idea.”
“I told you that we have advanced dye technology here, but even so, this purple color is very tricky to make. Even the slightest mixing of other colors can quickly turn it cloudy. It is a precious item in many ways, so please keep it well and return it to Master Rashid.”
With those words, Thelma turned and walked away. It was unclear what her master’s intention was in lending her the precious thing, but it became clear which room the woman with his mother’s keepsake would be escorted to.
They arrived at Rashid’s room. Opening the door, Thelma said, “Please rest here. I’ll make dinner for you right away.”
“Eh, excuse me…”
Just as she was about to leave the room, the woman stopped her.
“Can I have a bath before dinner?” she asked.
She fiddled with her dusty clothes; now that Thelma thought about it, she was covered in dust. She’d been on horseback for three days. What’s more, the clothes she wore were ill-fitting and oversized, as if she had bought them somewhere.
“Very well, then, I’ll get the bath ready first.”
As Thelma closed the door behind her, one of the maids came running to her.
[Nanny, should I bring in a meal right away?]
Thelma shook her head. [No, she wants to take a bath first. Boil the water first.]
[Yes, but what kind of person is Regina?]
Instead of going to boil the water, the maid showed curiosity with her eyes twinkling.
[Benny.]
[Come on, tell us, we’re all curious about this Rigaina who has suddenly appeared.]
Thelma let out a small sigh. Those who were younger, like Benny, generally had less hatred for the Basque people or the Kingdom of Lisa.
It had been over fifty years since the Kingdom of Lisa withdrew from this land, and twenty years since the incident with the Basques. It had happened before they were born, so it was no wonder that they felt no great emotion about it.
[I don’t know because she only said a few words, but we’ll see.]
[You know what? Rigaina doesn’t speak any Ardennes.]
[Really?]
[Yes, Shika told me, so it’s probably accurate. And do you know this, of all the maids who work in the castle, my Latisse is the most fluent.]
Benny’s face immediately lit up with pride. Thelma couldn’t help but laugh. Benny said she was fluent, but only in simple conversation, but it was true that she was the best among all the maids. Of all the menial workers at the castle, few spoke the language.
Thelma decided to give her the answer she wanted right away.
[You will serve Rigaina while she is bathing.]
[Hooray!]
Benny started to cheer, but caught Thelma’s eye and quickly put her mouth shut.
[Bring her some new clothes with the bath water, and burn the ones she’s wearing, as they’re already dirty and not fit for her.]
[Yes!]
With an energetic reply, Benny ran down the corridor.