If I Don’t Get Married I’ll Die

A moment ago, Kalius Rodrian received a letter addressed to him.

“…..”

He stared at the gold-bordered envelope.

It was a very suspicious letter from an unknown sender.

‘If it had been sent from Lonheim, it would have been sent by carrier pigeon…’

Since the letter was delivered through an errand boy, it must have been sent from within the capital.

He wondered if there was anyone in the capital who would write to him.

Kalius was from Lonheim, a place with barbarians whom the nobles of the Arental Empire hated.

The nobles of the Arental Empire looked down on Kalius saying that he reeked of blood and animals.

Was there anyone like that who’d send him a letter?

Given that it was sent without identifying themself, it could have been a letter sent by someone as a joke or for some unreasonable purpose.

‘No matter how bad the letter is, it’s just a piece of paper with writing on it.’

Kalius opened the letter indifferently, then his eyes opened wide.

[Dear Marquis Rodrian,

I know you recently planted a beautiful moon garden in Lonheim. Then, beautiful Lecnes flowers must be blooming there, right?

I would love to see that flower garden before anyone else. If you can do this for me, I will greatly reward you. I like flowers very much.

I won’t bore you with a long letter.

If you want to know who I am, please attend the Lovers’ Day event held at the Imperial Palace in a few days.]

Moon garden, before anyone else, reward.

It was a code only he could recognize.

The Lecnes flower is said to glow gold under the moonlight.

In Lonheim, gold was often compared to Lecnes. The moon garden meant a gold mine.

No one except his close associates knew of the existence of the gold mine that Kalius had recently discovered.

‘There’s no way the information leaked out.’

Kalius glared at the suspicious letter.

‘Who? How?’

He combed through the envelope and letter for any clues.

But he couldn’t find any.

He probably wouldn’t have believed it even if it had the sender written on it.

He would have thought that Princess Chloe, who was rumored to have lost her mind and gone insane, stole the name of someone else.

***

“Look over there!”

At the sound of someone’s mocking voice, the people who had gathered in the banquet hall all looked to one side.

“Oh my God, how indecent.”

“In her nightgown? Has she really gone insane?”

Today was Lovers’ Day, the day where the most number of couples come out every year.

The Lovers’ Day party in the imperial palace was currently in full swing.

It was not uncommon to see young lovers exchanging gifts they had prepared for each other.

A day when anything romantic is acceptable.

As a result, many amusing incidents happen between people who are swept away by the atmosphere.

Even on Lovers’ Day, people were looking forward to a pleasant gossip that would enrich their boring daily lives.

And it was none other than Princess Chloe who appeared and became the prey of these hyenas.

“That’s the crazy Princess Chloe, right?”

“She doesn’t even know how embarrassing she is, does she? She’s a disgrace to the imperial family.”

“Shouldn’t they lock her up? To leave her wandering like a beast…”

People whispered as they watched Chloe, who entered the banquet hall, like a monkey in a crowd.

Laughter leaked through their mouths which they covered with their fans and hands.

Princess Chloe, who crossed the crowd and entered the middle of the banquet hall, was lightly dressed and bare-faced without an ounce of makeup.

The people were horrified to see her wearing her bedroom slippers.

“Oh my. I heard her illness is serious. Tut tut, it’s a pity.

“Oh, where are the people taking care of her?”

But their astonishment was short-lived as the people saw her smile at someone.

For a moment, silence fell in the noisy banquet hall.

Glittering silver hair, fair skin that seemed to glow, and clear blue eyes equal to the finest sapphires.

Even though she was only wearing a white one-piece nightgown, she was blindingly beautiful.

“What? Who is she smiling at?”

The people wondered why she smiled so prettily, then were dumbstruck as they stretched their necks and looked at the person opposite her.

The person she was looking at was none other than Marquis Kalius Rodrian.

Lonheim, the land of the barbarians in the north, was subjugated by the Arental Empire after decades of wars of conquest.

He was originally a part of the royal family there.

Lonheim was a land subjugated by the Arental Empire after shedding a lot of blood. However, the people of Lonheim were so wild and violent that they could not be easily controlled under the name of the Empire.

Because of that, even after their defeat, large and small incidents continued to occur in Lonheim, and in the end, the empire chose to dispatch Kalius who was being held hostage.

“I am sending Kalius Rodrian as viceroy of Lonheim.”

As long as they lived amongst themselves in that barren land, the people of Lonheim were tolerant of their country’s blood, even though they were viceroys only in name. In fact, it was the only way to effectively control them.

With such a background, Kalius was naturally ostracized by the Arental nobles.

The nobles of Arental thought that the leader of the barbarians did not at all suit elegant parties.

He had a menacing figure, clad in a barely formal rugged suit that felt awkward.

Kalius stood alone in the corner of the banquet hall, his eyes wide open. He was puzzled as he stared at Princess Chloe who was smiling at him.

Because the slippers were soft, Chloe approached Kalius lightly without her footsteps making a sound and extended her hand.

“I’d like to receive something from you.”

Chloe’s low voice pervaded the banquet hall.

“…..?”

Kalius narrowed his brows.

Anyone can see that the two must have met for the first time today.

They were too awkward to be lovers with an implicit promise to exchange gifts on a day like today.

“Anything is fine.”

Chloe held out her outstretched palm a little more to Kalius.

“Are you going to embarrass my hand??”

Even so, Kalius didn’t move. With her chin, she pointed to the vase behind him. It was a vase filled with flowers.

Chloe’s request was clear. It meant pulling that out and giving it to her.

People thought that Kalius would either ignore Chloe and pass her by, or coldly reject her and give her a seat.

“Will the beautiful royal princess suffer humiliation and cry?”

“That. Of all people, to that man.

To their surprise, however, Kalius stared at Chloe with an expressionless face, and then, in a polite manner that was neither flustered nor rude, he plucked a flower from the vase.

And placed it on Chloe’s palm.

As if he was willing to participate in this mysterious game.

Then Chloe smiled brightly with a brilliant smile.

As if she had been given a surprise gift that she didn’t expect at all.

“Thank you, Marquis Kalius Rodrian.”

Everyone in the banquet hall who saw that scene thought.

‘What is she doing?’

Everyone watched closely.

The mad princess extorting flowers from the beastly marquis.

And that beastly marquis obediently went along with the mad princess’ game.

“Such a beautiful airhead. What a waste.”

Someone muttered. Everyone was thinking the same thing, but it was something they couldn’t bear to say.

People were very curious about what Kalius was thinking at this moment.

Kalius was looking at Chloe with a strange gaze.

Like a child, Chloe said loudly.

“I like flowers very much!”

In an instant, Kalius’ eyes clouded in an unusual manner.

It was because the phrase written in the letter came to mind.

[I would love to see that flower garden before anyone else. If you can do this for me, I will greatly reward you. I like flowers very much.]

Is it a coincidence?

But then, Chloe bumped into a servant who was precariously holding a tray full of wine glasses.

Clang!

“Ack!”

As the glasses fell, Chloe’s white nightgown was stained red with the wine that spilled.

“Are you alright?”

As if he wasn’t surprised, Kalius asked bluntly with a strange expression on his face.

“Hic…”

Chloe looked up at Kalius with a tearful face.

People watched without any suspicion as Kalius politely supported her out of the banquet hall.

“Why did they let a crazy person run around?”

“Someone had to take her out.”

Shrugging their shoulders, people looked at the backs of the two, and continued to talk about Chloe.

The banquet hall was filled with slanderous chatters pretending to sympathize, feeling sorry for the imperial family that must have been cursed.

Princess Chloe was born as the daughter of the empress that many people longed for and loved in the past.

She was the sole stain to the Edelian imperial family, who were rarer and more perfect than anyone else, but fell into the abyss in an instant.

The atmosphere of their hatred and contempt for her incomprehensibly prevailed.

People frantically gossiped about Chloe.

***

“Stop the act now.”

As soon as we were away from the banquet hall, Kalius coldly removed the hand that was supporting me.

Actually, he wasn’t supporting me from the start. In the first place, I never hurt my leg.

‘He was bound and taken away.’

I stared at his golden eyes that were shining even in the dark garden.

I pretended to be calm, but in truth, my whole body was stiff with tension.

‘I’m scared.’

Kalius Rodrian. He’s bigger and more imposing than I remember.

‘They said he looked like a beast, is this what they meant? It’s the first time I’ve seen this man up close…’

I had heard that the people of Lonheim were as tall as giants, thinking it was an exaggeration.

Kalius is a very big man too. He looked taller and stronger than any other man I have ever seen.

He had sharp eyes and a body that looked as hard as a rock that seemed like it would be able to withstand even if he were to be stabbed with a knife.

It’s like facing a ferocious beast.

‘Maybe it was a mistake to choose this man.’

I thought as I swallowed dry saliva.

But I didn’t back down. Now I had nowhere to retreat.

‘Let’s not be intimidated. We’re just calmly talking.’

Taking a deep breath, I consciously straightened my shoulders.

He tilted his head slightly and reached into his chest and took a letter out and waved it.

“I received your invitation. Princess.”

His growling voice seemed to choke my heart.

“I’m glad you noticed quickly.”

I smiled effortlessly. I hope he doesn’t notice the quiver in my voice.

“I knew you’d come and see me.”

“Do you even understand what you said?”

Whispering softly, he took a step closer. A light breeze brushed my face at that movement.

‘Heuk.’

With an immense pressure bearing down on me, I unknowingly shrank back and then tried to correct my posture.

He only moved a little, but the tension made my heart pound.

‘I heard he smelled of blood and animals.’

Indeed, as rumor has it, he smelled peculiar to the people of Lonheim.

But I knew it wasn’t blood.

Contrary to what people said that it was a terrible and disgusting smell, it was similar to the smell of a cold breeze drifting outside in the middle of winter.

Then as if he would grab my neck with his big hand and twist it at any moment, he whispered menacingly .

“What do you want, Princess?”

I spoke as briefly as possible so he won’t catch on to my trembling.

“A deal.”

“A deal?”

He looked down at me with sharp eyes and snorted.

“I heard rumors that you were crazy.”

I knew this would come out. I calmly spoke the words I had prepared in advance on how to respond in this situation.

“There are rumors that you cannibalize. Wouldn’t there be a benefit in taking advantage of similar victims who have the same weaknesses?”

He, too, was a person who had as much gossip floating around as I did.

I took a graceful step back, hoping I wouldn’t look like I was running away.

Just being a little farther away from him made me feel like I could breathe better.

“I don’t have much time. If I don’t go back to my place, people will come looking for me.”

I glanced toward the banquet hall.

Fortunately, Andrea was not there when I entered the banquet hall, so I was able to buy this much time, but word of my appearance at the banquet hall must have already reached Andrea’s ears by now.

A smile crept across Kalius’ lips.

I couldn’t tell if that was a positive sign or not. Because his eyes were still sharp.

“A deal. What can you, the fallen princess of the Edelian family, give me? You’re even pretending to be crazy.”

I raised my head.

“Me.”

He laughed as if it was ridiculous.

But I didn’t care. There was no other way than to go out shamelessly.

“I will marry you.”

His brows frowned narrowly.

As I continued, the wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened even more.

“Give me that gold mine as a wedding present.”

“It’s not enough that I’m marrying a crazy princess, I’d even give her a gold mine?”

I knew you would react like this.

I put on a relaxed expression and shrugged my shoulders.

“It’s not even a mine where real gold comes out, so why are you adding weight to it?”

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about.”

“You know best that what I am saying is not nonsense, Marquis Rodrian.

“…..”

“You don’t think that’s the only thing I know, do you?”

“It’s too early to be surprised. We haven’t even started yet.”

I looked up at him calmly and earnestly.

“Have you realized now that my value cannot be compared to that worthless gold mine?”