Grant Me Your Grace

After serving cold tea and other refreshments, the servants departed in unison. 

With a click, the door closed, leaving Dahlia and Miftah alone in the sitting room.

Dahlia stared at the floor in silence. 

She wondered why Saltar, who had oppressed her so thoroughly to hide the secret of her blood, had left her alone with a prince from another country.

Not for the same reason that his sister was now expected to please him.

“Tea, my lady.”

Miftah smiled and offered Dahlia tea.

One or two teacups, both empty. 

As a man, he couldn’t lift the teapot, so he motioned for her to pour the tea.

Hayad had heard that of all the vassal states of Baran, it was the most patriarchal. 

A prince of any kingdom would look down on an imposing princess.

And now that they were soon to be husband and wife, Miftah was already treating Dahlia as if she were his wife to obey him. T

his was evidenced by the fact that he had dropped the title ‘Your Highness’ as soon as they were alone.

Dahlia poured tea into his cup without a second thought. It did no good to show her discomfort.

“I’ve heard that the water lily tea of the Baran country is even more of a commodity than that of our Hayad, and it is indeed as good as I’ve heard.”

Miftah smiled as he sipped his tea. 

At first glance, it sounded like he was praising the water lily tea, but Dahlia didn’t realize that he was also comparing her to the water lily.

The prince of the realm would know that the symbol of the Baran Kingdom was the water lily.

“It’s because of the impurities removed and the long aging, for tea is a commodity, whether it’s dried or stored.”

“That’s why the Princess is so beautiful.”

“…”

“Because you grew up drinking such fine tea.”

Miftah’s gaze turned brazen once more.

There was a strange gap between the last sentence and the first, and it was easy to tell from the man’s eyes that the space contained a low-quality mockery.

Dahlia swallowed hard at her discomfort and replied, “If you wish, I can arrange for you to take some with you on your way home.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring it back as a dowry.”

Miftah grabbed Dahlia’s hand. When she pulled her hand away in surprise, he smirked, his eyes almost suggestive.

“I hear that water lily tea is used in baths for its beauty benefits. Is it a favorite of yours?”

The green eyes scanned Dahlia’s body, now openly. His gaze was so disrespectful that she didn’t even recognize the slightest hint of politeness.

“Prince Hayad, I hope you won’t ask me anything too personal.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll find out when we’re married, but wouldn’t it be better if I knew beforehand, so I could prepare myself?”

Miftah’s mouth turned up in a sneer. With every word, it was obvious that he was treating Dahlia like she was beneath him.

“Ah!”

He didn’t stop there; he grabbed the armrest of the chair she was sitting in and pulled her down hard. 

Dahlia’s eyes widened in surprise as the chair was instantly pulled along with her.

“You look even better up close.”

His eyes, glowing green as if covered in snake skin, flashed and scanned every inch of Dahlia’s face.

“Your breasts look pretty big, but they’d look even better naked.”

Dahlia felt goosebumps crawl up her spine. She swallowed hard and tried to scramble to her feet, but Miftah quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and straddled her thighs.

Then, without asking permission, he buried his nose in the nape of her neck and inhaled.

“What are you doing, let go of me!”

“In Baran country, it’s not customary for a wife to reject her husband while they’re still married.”

“We haven’t even had the wedding yet!”

“That’s if your husband-to-be is like that, wench, what a lot of talk on the subject.”

Dahlia struggled, but the more she did so, the more viciously Miftah gripped her waist. The savagery of his behavior horrified Dahlia.

More than the pain of the force, it was the fear of what was about to happen that terrified her. She could feel the man’s groin bulge, which was even more appalling.

“Let go of me!”

Dahlia pushed Miftah away with all her might, her hand slipping and leaving a small cut on Miftah’s cheek. 

A stinging pain shot through Miftah’s cheek.

“Oh, hell…”

He grimaced at the trace of blood on his fingertips.

“Your Highness the Prince, what are you doing here?”

The parlor door swung open, and without permission, Sebak, Miftah’s servant, burst in. His eyes widened in bewilderment at the sight of Miftah and Dahlia tangled together, and then widened even more at the raw cut on the prince’s cheek.

“Your, your highness, have a cut on your face…!”

It was only a small scratch at best, but he cried out as if his master had made a deep cut with his sword.

Soon the imperial servants, hearing the commotion, rushed into the parlor.

“Your Highness, what is this…!”

Dahlia looked at them in bewilderment. Behind the crowd of people, she could see Saltar’s face, staring silently into the room.

‘So this is what my brother wanted… this is what he wanted!’

Seeing the secret satisfaction in his eyes, Dahlia couldn’t help but slowly lower her arms.

✨

After finishing the treatment, the imperial physician politely left the room. 

Miftah looked at his face in the mirror and wrinkled his brow. 

A bright red line ran across his cheek.

“I thought I was free to do as I pleased, but what a waste.”

Miftah spat out a small curse. For all her apparent docility, the Princess had a surprisingly fierce edge.

He had good taste in taming a fierce woman, but he was not kind enough to allow her to set her nails on him.

After we are duly wed, I will fix her unruly head. There was also a good teaching in the Hayad that says, ‘A woman has three days to be tamed.’ 

Miftah was willing to follow that teaching and make Dahlia a good wife.

“Prince, are you all right?”

Sebak the beasts asked anxiously. 

Miftah tossed the mirror casually and said, “I’m fine. You should have offered me some soft fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth, Chew. It’s the same old trick of throwing me a bunch of crap and expecting me to catch it.”

“Still, His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to be very intent on demeanor.”

“What?”

“When you two had just entered the sitting room, His Highness ordered me to stand guard at the door. He said that if I heard the slightest disturbance, I was to open the door without delay.”

Miftah’s brow twitched suspiciously.

As it turned out, no one in Baran had blamed Miftah for the disturbance. 

If Dahlia had been the beloved Princess of the Empire, they would have beaten Miftah to a pulp for trying to violate her.

Instead, the Emperor’s counselor dragged her off like a prisoner, promising to send her to him.

Miftah rubbed his chin, his brow twitching.

“Such a wasted trick.”

Although I’d heard of the Princess’s long history of exile, I hadn’t expected her treatment to be so harsh.

Perhaps I should abjure the marriage now. Miftah’s mind was racing as he considered whether to eat this finicky prey.

“Prince Miftah.”

Saltar came to his room just in time. Miftah sat up, not bothering to hide his discomfort.

“How is your wound?”

“It’s healing nicely, thanks to the imperial physician you sent right away.”

Saltar apologized to Miftah in person.

“I’m sorry you had to travel so far and suffer such an unpleasant surprise. The Princess will be sent to solitary confinement for a few days to reflect, so please don’t be too angry and forgive her.”

Solitary confinement for a mere slip of the tongue was a bit harsh, and Mifta smiled in embarrassment.

“I shouldn’t have been so offended.”

“It is our fault for not educating her properly, and a young woman who does not know the ways of the world sometimes needs a little discipline.”

Miftah felt a pang of shame. But there was only so much Miftah could say.

“Please don’t be too hard on her. She’s a pure woman, she doesn’t know men yet.”

“It’s good to see you already taking care of her. I’ve been worried about her because she’s my only sister, but I can trust you.”

“Will you?”

“From now on, I will call you brother-in-law, and you may think of me as such.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Saltar patted Miftah on the shoulder in acknowledgment and left the room. 

At the sound of the door closing, Miftah slowly raised his head.

The way things were going, it seemed likely that the Crown Prince was the one who had set this up, but he still had no idea what that bastard was after.

Instead of a typical sibling fight, it was unbalanced in terms of position and authority, and everyone tended to push Dahlia over the edge in unison.

It was fiercer than a mere grub.

As if they were gathering their prey.

“There must be something quite interesting hidden here.”

Miftah’s eyes flashed like a hyena’s. He had plenty of time before his wedding, so he figured he’d take his time exploring this palace.

An interesting scent was calling to him.