The Sand Bride - Side Story 1.5 - Epilogue 2

Epilogue: 2

A royal who was neither a King nor the Sayar, Iphir originally had a bad relationship with his wife.

Unlike his strict and quiet wife, Iphir enjoyed playing around and was the type of person who was fine with this and fine with that. Though it seemed they were initially attracted by their differences, they began to waver little by little after marriage; trivial misunderstandings piled up until they reached the brink of a breakdown.

The reason I say “reached” is because everyone saw Iphir and his wife walking affectionately in the royal palace gardens, as if all that bad blood had now evaporated.

“Of course, I haven’t forgotten everything that happened in the past.”

When the people around them, who dared not ask the royal Iphir directly, broached the subject with his wife, she answered with a faint smile on her face that had once been like a mask.

“But we are having a child, and using that as an opportunity to talk, we decided to compromise and understand each other.”

At that surprising and happy news, people cheered. Everyone purely blessed the harmony of the couple along with the news of a new life.

That would have been true, except for perhaps just one person. Since they were a noble couple, it ordinarily wouldn’t matter who harbored dissatisfaction with their relationship, but the problem was that the person happened to be the Sayar, Karzhen.

Whenever Iphir and his wife walked through the garden and expressed affection, Karzhen ground his teeth. He was so envious that it felt as if his insides were twisting. In his dreams, he had even placed Esther in the wife’s position and himself in Iphir’s position.

Karzhen, knowing their relationship was originally bad, was swept up in conflict due to his own greed. It was because of the expectation that if she became pregnant, Esther might give her heart to him a little, even if not as much as Iphir’s wife.

Thinking that far, Karzhen rested his chin on his hand and imagined a pregnant Esther.

Thinking of her carrying his young, walking slowly and waddling through the garden with a full belly, he felt a sense of satisfaction. However, as the thought continued to her doting on the born child, he stopped the imagination with a feeling of displeasure.

Thinking about it, he had never considered the child to be born. If she gets pregnant, she’ll give birth too, but how do I deal with that brat?

A young child whining and clinging to Esther constantly. Karzhen thought there could be no existence more annoying. If it were a child that resembled him more than Esther, it would be even more terrible.

Above all, Esther was too physically weak. Her slender and thin body allowed her bones to be easily felt, and there was rarely any color in her pale skin. Her body was in a weakened state, having absorbed the pain of a harsh life. Even now, she suffered from colds at the drop of a hat; if she became pregnant, she could get even worse.

In the worst case, she might lose her life giving birth. Karzhen feared that the most. It didn’t matter what happened to the child. But if Esther were to die because of such a child, that was a future too terrifying.

After repeated contemplation, he concluded that the priority was to make Esther healthy before thinking about anything else.

* * *

That day at lunch, Esther calmly looked at the large bowl placed on the table. Covered with a silver lid, the bowl seemed to contain something unusual just by the look of it. However, Esther had already finished her meal.

Having eaten roasted goose, a rich lobster stew, other fresh seafood dishes, and even sugar bread with cinnamon for dessert, she had no room for other food.

Even though Karzhen, having eaten with her, would know that better than anyone, he didn’t care and had the servant open the lid.

“…….”

Esther frowned immediately. A terrible smell spread as soon as the lid was opened. The medicinal meal, made with all sorts of medicinal herbs said to be good for the body, might be the best for health, but the taste and scent were the worst.

Esther, who had a weak stomach, felt like vomiting just from smelling it, but Karzhen didn’t seem to feel any particular revulsion. He nonchalantly pushed the dish closer to Esther himself.

“Here, eat.”

Esther, glancing at Karzhen, had no choice but to lift her hand listlessly when he gestured toward the spoon with his chin, wearing a stern face. As if lifting a tremendous weight, her spooning continued slowly and laboriously.

As expected, the moment she put a spoonful in her mouth, a taste so bitter and disgusting that she wanted to retch immediately spread inside. However, Karzhen merely popped some small nuts fried in sugar water into her mouth and urged her with his eyes to eat again.

Having swallowed the nuts, Esther had to scoop the medicine again with a face that looked like she truly wanted to cry.

After spooning that felt like an eternity ended, and the medicine in the bowl finally half disappeared, Esther couldn’t endure it and spoke up.

“I can’t… eat anymore.”

“You haven’t even finished that. There’s one more bowl left.”

“…….”

However, at Karzhen’s retort, Esther shut her mouth again. It was rare for her to exchange more than three words in a conversation with Karzhen.

Beside Karzhen, Esther had come to choose shutting her mouth tight and enduring rather than resisting or persuading. That method, born of experience, had held firm and hadn’t changed even now, a year later. But this time, the repulsiveness of the medicine defeated that method.

“It tastes too bad…….”

To be precise, it went beyond tasting bad; she wanted to throw up at any moment. Esther glanced at Karzhen and put down the spoon she was holding. It was an expression of her intent not to eat.

To such an Esther, Karzhen spoke as if reasoning with a child.

“I tasted it before giving it to you, so I know. But medicine is originally bitter. They say the better it is for the body, the more bitter it is, don’t they?”

“…….”

“If it’s really that bad, shall I put sugar or honey in it? Don’t you think that would be a bit better?”

It seemed it wouldn’t get better, but rather become more terrible.

As Esther’s face hardened, Karzhen spoke with a dissatisfied look.

“What, what is it that you don’t like now?”

“…….”

Esther did not answer. She only looked at the spoon she had put down in silence. Esther really didn’t want to eat.

Watching Esther shut her mouth again, Karzhen felt like he was dying of frustration. Since he was the one taking contraceptives anyway, pregnancy would be no problem anytime as long as Esther became healthy. Yet she said she hated even that, so Karzhen was utterly perplexed.

Before that, whether she got pregnant or not, wasn’t getting healthy a good thing? She was good now, but it would be truly nice to see soft flesh on that dried-up, thin body.

Then she wouldn’t cough or get a fever from even a little exertion like now, and even in bed—though this was from Karzhen’s perspective—it was certain she wouldn’t pass out so quickly.

On days when Esther passed out completely before Karzhen had satisfied his greed, he had to relieve himself alone or c*m using her limp body.

Aside from being pathetic, it was a sight the old Karzhen would have considered unsightly, but if he thrust deeper in that state, Esther would groan in pain the next day, so there was no other way.

Unaware of his inner thoughts, Esther remained silent. With her hand clenched into a tight fist, not touching the spoon, she firmly displayed her will to eat no more.

“Damn it…….”

Spitting out a small curse, Karzhen eventually had the dish taken away. But since he hadn’t given up, he vowed to devise another method after today’s chat time ended.

When the medicine was cleared, Karzhen kissed Esther briefly and rose from his seat. He walked out of the inner palace with reluctant steps, as if he wanted to stay longer. His steps toward the audience chamber in the central palace were hasty. He had to go even if he didn’t want to.

He had a lot of business with Iphir.

* * *

In Gharyam, children of the two Kings and the Sayar were raised as siblings sharing the same parents from the moment they were recognized as royalty. And for the sake of sibling affection, there was a time for the royals to chat about twice a month.

And even before that time, Karzhen, who had been pestering Iphir privately, began to shamelessly roast his brother, who now couldn’t even run away.

He asked how Iphir had improved the relationship with his wife, which had been bad, and Iphir sweated profusely, trying somehow to give an answer that would please Karzhen. To him, his eldest brother had been a terrifying existence from childhood until now.

“So, she likes it if you give her pearls?”

“N-No, I’m not saying my words are necessarily correct. It is a personal preference.”

“Esther seems to like agate and coral the most.”

At Iphir’s words, Karzhen raised one eyebrow and argued.

“But no matter how much I give her, she hasn’t changed like your wife. That’s why I’m asking what you gave your wife.”

Karzhen narrowed his eyes and interrogated Iphir.

“What did you give her to make your relationship so good?”

“That is…….”

“Won’t you speak quickly?”

At Karzhen’s shouting, Iphir just looked troubled.

It was understandable, as the reason his relationship with his wife improved was not beautiful jewelry or clothes, but the child. To be more precise, even before the child, their relationship had only been strained due to pride; fundamentally, they loved each other deeply enough to have married for love.

Iphir, who had lived outside the capital for a while, did not know the details of what happened between Esther and Karzhen, so he perceived Esther, Karzhen’s wife, as a very haughty and cold woman.

It was because he had been scolded by his eldest brother, hearing only that she did not rejoice even at the clothes and jewelry that he, with his high aesthetic sense, had carefully selected and presented at Karzhen’s command.

You’ve become quite the peddler. Watching this from the side, Greta sneered coldly. It was because the sight of Karzhen, who used to delight in stories of weapons, war, military, and hunting, focusing on Iphir’s words with jewelry as the topic was beyond absurd—it was laughable.

“Brother. I merely restored our broken relationship by talking with her. Although the child was the catalyst. So, Brother, you should also restore the broken relationship with her through conversation…….”

“Broken?”

At Iphir’s concern, Greta laughed openly.

“Brother’s relationship with his wife isn’t broken. It was never connected in the first place.”

“What?”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Karzhen glared at Greta with a ferocious face, but Greta didn’t blink an eye. Hakan also just sighed and rubbed his forehead, offering no real mediation, so Iphir was busy just rolling his eyes in the middle. He looked as if he didn’t understand why the two were acting like that over Karzhen’s wife issues.

Karzhen glared at Greta as if he wanted to chew her up alive for sneering about him and Esther, but he knew he couldn’t actually do her any harm. After all, it was Greta’s own subordinate who had pulled that woman Bianca out of the desert and brought her back.

She was dying from massive blood loss, but perhaps because half-Kemut blood flowed in her veins, Bianca survived miraculously.

Karzhen, whose trust with Esther had already collapsed due to the incident with her father, demanded Greta show the living Bianca to Esther, but Greta neatly ignored his demand. Asking why she should do something her brother would like.

Since Karzhen thought her heart would soften even a little if Bianca were alive, he swallowed his pride and consistently demanded Bianca from Greta. Although, like the wedding ceremony, he was being brutally ignored even now, a year later.

Eventually, that day too, Greta ignored Karzhen’s request to send the hidden Bianca, and the two began to argue again. Watching them, Iphir still only rolled his eyes in the middle, and Hakan just sighed deeply.

Far from affection, it was a chat time that was nothing but a disaster.