The Sand Bride - Chapter 64

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The hunt ended shortly after it began, due to Nair’s words. Karzhen, leaving the hunting grounds and returning to the palace, ignored the flustered servants surprised by his early, unannounced arrival, and headed straight for the inner palace.

Walking quickly, Karzhen reached near Esther’s room and only then paused his steps. Before entering, he imagined Esther’s reaction when she saw him.

She probably has no idea her lie has been exposed. She would surely get up awkwardly again and offer a clumsy greeting. “O-oh, welcome.”

And then, she’d glance nervously before looking away…… All of it was so clear in his mind.

As he imagined it, Karzhen felt the anger that had been heating his head subside a little.

The fact that she had deceived him by lying about her name being Eder was certainly infuriating, but he also didn’t want to ruin the gentle atmosphere he had painstakingly created. Besides, hadn’t that slave, her father, died?

Ultimately, Karzhen decided to gently coax Esther instead of raging at her at her door. He planned to first tell her that her father had died, and then magnanimously offer to forgive her for boldly lying about her name.

However, what greeted Karzhen when he pushed aside the curtains and entered was not Esther’s awkward greeting, but something thrown towards the wall beside his head.

With a dull thud, the object that hit the wall and fell to the floor was the box Karzhen had given her before. Following it, clothes, necklaces, and bracelets flew savagely.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Karzhen, who had already been angry just moments before, looked at Esther with a distorted face.

Who is supposed to be angry right now? To just throw things at me like this, is she out of her mind? But Esther paid no mind to his angry face. Instead, she distorted her own face even more, her body trembling violently. Hissing sounds came from between her clenched teeth.

As Karzhen tried to approach, a shrill voice escaped from her, like air leaking from a cracked bottle.

“How could you…….”

Her words were trembling, but they carried not fear, but a rage on the verge of erupting. Words of protest and accusation choked her throat, making it difficult for them to force their way out.

When Esther first read the letters from her father and relatives, she trembled with profound sorrow, but that sorrow instantly transformed into rage the moment she saw Karzhen.

“Your father is well.”

He said that, and yet!

Hearing that her father had already died two days ago, and that her mother had also died from the shock, Esther felt extreme shame and hatred for all her actions towards the man who was the cause of both her parents’ deaths.

She wanted to strangle Karzhen and simultaneously stab herself in the chest.

Karzhen stared with a choked expression at Esther, who, her face bright red, stammered and poured out words of resentment.

It wasn’t the first or second time Esther’s face had turned red. Her thin skin easily flushed with even slight irritation. But he had never seen her face so red with rage before.

“Liar!”

Esther glared at Karzhen with tear-filled eyes. Uncontainable fury was evident in her ragged breaths.

“Y-you, because of you, Father… F-father and M-mother…….”

Esther, unable to easily utter the word “died,” gasped and struggled to regain her breath. Hair clung to her tear-stained cheeks, and the tip of her nose was bright red. Red blood vessels also bulged in the whites of her eyes.

Karzhen had seen such eyes before. It was the pitiful rage of a hunted beast directed at its hunter.

“Liar! Swindler! Murderer……! G-give me back Father and Mother……! Give them back……!”

Esther, panting as she spoke, felt her vision reel at the vagueness of her wish. Though she said this, she knew well that no matter how much Karzhen tried, even if he died, she would never see her father and mother again.

As soon as she accepted their deaths, Esther felt dizzy, and her legs gave out, unable to stand properly. The absence of her parents meant the world collapsing for Esther. Until then, she had always longed for her home, but now, even if she went home, she wouldn’t have the strength to endure it.

The home Esther yearned for was a home with her kind parents, not an empty house with no one there. The vague sadness and fear that surged every time she imagined herself alone in an empty house choked her breath.

Unable to speak further, Esther hurled objects indiscriminately at Karzhen. Having lost her reason, she also forgot her fear. Only after throwing every object around her, Esther, as if resolved, unsteadily rose from her spot with venomous eyes.

“…I-I’m leaving.”

“What?”

Even then, Karzhen, who had endured Esther’s accusations and thrown objects with his lips tightly sealed, now had his face contorted. But Esther no longer saw it. She opened her mouth, confirming her words as she stared directly into Karzhen’s eyes.

“I’m going home! This is awful……! T-to come to a place like this… because of you… it’s all because of you……! So, when I go home, everything will go back to normal…….”

“You’re leaving?”

Karzhen cut off her outburst. He slowly walked towards Esther. As he drew closer, his large frame cast a dark shadow that seemed to swallow Esther.

An unusual atmosphere once again filled the room. Unlike the intense emotion from a moment ago, it was still, yet chillingly heavy. Even in her rage and despair, Esther hesitated and looked up at Karzhen.

He bared his teeth and smiled. It was a savage sneer.

“Where exactly do you think you’re going?”

“…….”

Esther’s body stiffened with tension at his threatening tone. Fear solidified her scattered reason once more. Only then did she truly see Karzhen’s rage-filled eyes and his clenched white teeth. But it was already too late.