The Sand Bride - Side Story 2.23

Her black hair and the line of her mouth resembled him, but while Karzhen was like a sharp and fierce beast, Rima was a girl who looked as cute as a docile young kitten. Therefore, Karzhen firmly believed all the more that such a child would never be recognized as royalty.

However, once her inner self was revealed, Rima’s actions were far too removed from a kitten’s small pranks or pettiness. It was a gap so wide that Karzhen had been unable to believe Nair’s report for a long time, despite Nair being so loyal she would rather cut out her tongue than lie to him.

Because the report Nair gave was the story of how Rima had cracked open the crown of Brum—Iphir’s eldest child—during a dispute.

The activities Rima enjoyed—drawing or making flower crowns—were originally far removed from the games usually played by Gharyam locals, especially the children of the royal family, so Rima was always alone.

Nevertheless, instead of feeling alienated or lonely, Rima played well by herself—yet Esther’s eyes would well up with tears every time she saw Rima like that. She was heartbroken that Rima had no friends.

However, after observing the children of the Gharyam upper class to see if she could find a playmate, she fell into a weary conflict. The sight of Gharyam’s elite children playing by hunting birds with crossbows or practicing swordsmanship and grappling was far too shocking for Esther.

Yet, seeing her daughter constantly playing alone, Esther deliberated over and over whether she should swallow her pride and help Rima endure the world outside the greenhouse.

In truth, though everyone kept it quiet, Rima was subject to whispers of being a “hybrid,” just as Greta once was. Greta’s greatest concern had become a reality.

Even Greta, whose appearance more closely resembled the Kemut tribe, had been subject to such scrutiny. Rima, who resembled a Southeasterner even more—from her looks to her behavior—found it all the harder to escape those gazes. As a result, mention of Rima was eventually forbidden within Greta’s palace.

However, unlike Greta’s mother, Esther was in Gharyam, and if bad rumors about Rima circulated, it was certain that Esther would cry.

And if Esther cried, it was certain that Karzhen would personally tear the head from the body of whoever made her cry, so those who knew the situation kept their mouths shut more cautiously than they had with Greta.

They simply followed the laws of Gharyam and worried about the conflict that would arise between Karzhen and Esther when Rima eventually went to be adopted by another noble family.

While the adults who knew Karzhen were careful with their words, things were a little different for the children. Brum, Iphir’s eldest son, was older than Rima but still close in age, and he took a dim view of Rima, who behaved like a Southeasterner.

“Despite inheriting the blood of the Sayar, you spend your time drawing things like flowers. Do you have no shame?”

The day the incident occurred, the sunlight was exceptionally pleasant. Furthermore, it was the day a small flower bud finally appeared on the cactus Esther was growing. Rima was drawing that cactus on a stone slate she habitually used, when Brum approached her and mocked her.

Brum used formal language toward Rima, but his face was filled with contempt and was fierce in a way that didn’t suit a child.

Even if she wasn’t recognized as a child of the royal house, Brum had to use formal language with Rima because she was of the Sayar’s bloodline, and that must have particularly wounded his pride. Other than Rima, Brum didn’t need to use formal language with anyone else among his peers.

Brum couldn’t stand the fact that she was doing something like drawing a cactus with a flower bud. However, Rima looked up at Brum, who blocked the view between her and the cactus, with clear and innocent eyes and quietly said a single sentence.

“I can’t see the pot. Move.”

It was a low-voiced request. However, Brum snorted, lifted his head, and replied.

“Then try and make me move yourself!”

His arrogant face vividly displayed the haughtiness of a young boy asking what she could possibly do.

It was no coincidence that Nair saw this. At Esther’s ‘request,’ Nair had the responsibility of watching over Rima, and she quickly noticed Brum’s bullying.

Recalling Brum’s position, Nair sighed with a troubled expression and moved her feet to save Rima from the thoughtless boy’s harassment. However, before she could even take five steps, her purpose became completely worthless.

“Aargh……!”

Because Rima, the target, had swung the stone slate she was holding and smashed it against the crown of Brum’s head.

Though the slate was thin, the moment it struck his head, blood poured from Brum’s scalp. Rima continued to blink her innocent eyes as she looked down at him rolling on the ground, a smile still on her face. Then, wearing an expression that seemed to say what a helpless child—a smile unmistakably resembling her mother Esther’s—she asked.

“Does it hurt a lot, Brum?”