In every city and every town they had passed by, the citizens of the empire watched in awe the line of royal carriages like a grand parade. Sometimes, they would catch a glimpse of the main attraction of this spectacle. The second carriage, the most luxurious of them all, boarded two of the strongest humans in the world and the princess whose ethereal beauty was unrivaled.

Dhein and the others had been traveling for hours now. Though they minimized their rest stops, it would still take them several hours more before reaching their destination.

From the outside, Dhein and the princess’ carriage might have looked like the most elegant among the others. But in reality, all this time the ride had been nothing but awkward, at least for him.

His most beloved sister had been glaring at Shina for hours now. For some reason, however, the princess didn’t seem to notice.

Her gleaming sapphire eyes were fixed outside the window as she was repaying the crowd’s enthusiasm with smiles and small waves. Those who were lucky enough to lock eyes with her jumped up and down in joy, and she tried to divide her attention for all of them, making sure everyone was accounted for equally.

‘You don’t really have to do that though,’ Dhein thought.

Perhaps she really loved her people that much. In any case, Dhein couldn’t imagine keeping a smile for that long.

Finally, they exited the last town. The road ahead would be surrounded by nothing but forests and wide farming lands from this point onward.

Dhein sighed in relief. But it only took a few seconds before he realized what was next.

He slowly turned to Zarria. She had her arms crossed, her back leaning on the cushioned rest of their seat.

Her sharp, golden eyes were still glued on the Princess.

Shina closed the window and then shifted her presence of mind inside the carriage. Finally, she met Zarria’s gaze.

Dhein swallowed…

But to his surprise, when Shina looked at her, Zarria immediately looked away.

He stole a glance at his sister, confused.

“It’s our first time speaking to each other. Am I right, Zarria?” Shina suddenly asked. She was wearing an innocent, clueless smile.

Right now, Dhein realized that she didn’t know Zarria’s personality.

She and Dhein had always been very close since childhood. He knew how much she idolized him as an older brother, and that was fine and all. But she could get pretty possessive and would lash out on anyone who she felt was stealing Dhein’s attention from her — especially to girls.

And judging by her unfriendliness towards Shina, he could tell this wasn’t going to go smoothly.

The dark-haired girl faced the princess and then replied.

“As per the previous circumstances, yes.”

Shina happily reached out for a handshake.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Zarria. Soon, we will be sister-in-laws.”

Zarria stared at the outstretched arm.

Dhein only grew even more nervous.

Zarria let out a sigh and then eventually reached out for the handshake.

‘Phew…’ Dhein celebrated in his mind.

But just when he thought it was over, Zarria said something.

“You’re right. But please keep in mind that Dhein is only marrying you because it’s for the best interest of our clan and empire. It’s not like he loves you or anything.”

Dhein’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, Zarria looked at him and asked:

“Isn’t that right, Dhein?”

He was utterly speechless in the next few seconds. Turning to Shina, he was expecting to see the worst, but to his surprise, Zarria’s statement didn’t seem to bother her at all.

“I am aware of that,” she said.

“But Zarria, I still believe that I am the most worthy to be Dheinyrus’ wife.”

Zarria scowled.

“Oh really?”

A confident smile crossed Shina’s face.

“With complete certainty I say this: there’s no one else in the world who loves him as much as I do.”

Dhein saw how Zarria’s polished nails dug into the fabric of her dark gown as she tightened her grip to her arm.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Your Majesty. You don’t know the first thing about Dhein.”

Unfazed, Shina responded.

“I already know everything that I have to know about him.”

Zarria uncrossed her arm. Now, anger was already evident in her face.

“Just because he’s marrying you doesn’t mean you have a special connection with him. This is all formality, a superficial relationship. That’s all there is to it.”

Dhein figured that it was time for him to speak up.

“Zarria,” he firmly called.

The girl turned to him, her golden eyes widening.

“But it’s the truth, isn’t it, Dhein? You wouldn’t be marrying her if you can help it!”

For the first time in a long time, Dhein gave her a warning look.

“Zarria.”

His sister stared at him for a moment, her eyes gave away that she was hurt. But nonetheless, she sat quietly and looked away.

He turned to Shina.

“Sorry about this. I wasn’t able to talk to her last night about my decision.”

With a frown, Shina looked at the two. As much as it pained him, Dhein figured that there was nothing more he could do with Zarria. He would just wait for her to calm down and talk to her some other time.

‘Who the hell even placed us three in the same carriage?’ he asked in his mind.

Then suddenly, Shina spoke with a concerned tone.

“Zarria, do you hate me?”

The girl didn’t respond for a few seconds. But when she realized it might seem rude and anger Dhein even more, she answered.

“I… don’t.”

After a moment of silence, Shina asked:

“Are you against our marriage?”

Zarria lifted her gaze to look at her.

“I am.”

Sadness spread across Shina’s face.

“Why?” she asked.

Zarria immediately replied.

“Because it’s unfair.”

As she said this, Dhein threw her a glance.

“It wasn’t you, who answered his every call. It wasn’t you, who trained tirelessly just to be able to stand beside him. It wasn’t you, who knew his struggles. It wasn’t you who shared the pain of failure with him.”

“Yet you’re taking him away from me. Your Majesty, don’t speak as if you know Dhein as much as I do. As much as I want to object, I have to respect his decision. But you’re insulting me by saying you’re the one who loves him the most.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep