Chapter 1
You Must Marry Duke Harzent of the Arkan Empire
Night had fallen, as black as pitch.
“Damn it! Why won’t this horse move!”
A man urged his horse along, relying on the moonlight, but despite pulling the reins, the stubborn animal refused to budge. Irritated, he cracked his whip.
The horse whinnied in pain but still barely moved forward.
Just as the man was about to swing the whip again, a servant spoke cautiously:
“Count, perhaps we should take a short rest? We’ve been riding all day, and it’s so dark you can’t see a foot ahead…”
Count Randel twisted his mustache in annoyance.
“We’re near the Beasts’ Swamp! We must get out of here as fast as possible! If you don’t know, then stay quiet!”
Even after his outburst, the count wasn’t satisfied. He glared at the black carriage trailing behind him, muttering under his breath:
“If only we were escorting Princess Brigitte, we wouldn’t have had to take this route!”
It was supposed to be a historic union: an alliance between the Arkan Empire and the Kingdom of Hayworth through marriage. The count had been thrilled at the idea of playing a role in such an event. But upon learning that the bride-to-be was none other than Princess Anette—called the Seed of Beasts—he was thoroughly outraged.
Instead of a grand ceremonial procession, he now rode dangerously close to the Beasts’ Swamp with only a servant and four knights, as if fleeing criminals, on the way to the Arkan Empire.
Spitting, he cursed the one responsible for this situation.
“Damnable trash!”
The servant gasped, “Count!”
Randel asked boldly, “Did I say something wrong?”
The servant only gave an awkward laugh.
Hearing the conversation, Anette, who had been leaning against the carriage window, slowly lifted her head.
‘Trash, huh…’
Not an inaccurate description.
Anette Hayworth, who could no longer wield a sword, was now almost useless.
She looked at her left hand reflexively. Just a month ago, this hand had held a sword—something she’d done for nearly half her life.
But now…
She glanced at the scar crossing her wrist and lightly clenched and unclenched her empty hand, feeling awkward.
Though the wound had left a deep scar, unlike the severe injury that had almost severed her nerves, there was no pain now, and her daily life was unaffected.
Perhaps it was because she was the Seed of Beasts, or perhaps it was her extraordinary natural healing.
‘Maybe… one day I could hold a sword again and create sword energy.’
Even if not for sword energy, Anette had plenty of ways to deal with beasts.
‘Or perhaps I could start over completely.’
She glanced at her intact right hand, then lowered her gaze with a sigh. There was no need to dwell on it further.
Because now…
“You’re going to become the Duchess of the Arkan Empire, after all. Everyone knows the emperor favors Duke Harzent. If you make a mistake in front of him, the alliance could fail, so be careful.”
“I wouldn’t dare say anything like that in the Empire. Don’t worry, nothing of the sort will happen.”
The count boasted to his servant but didn’t stop mocking:
“Seems like the Empire didn’t have any suitable candidates for the duchess? They mentioned noble blood in the proposal, and yet they accept a Seed of Beasts as a princess?”
“But if we consider bloodline alone, she does meet the criteria. Her late Majesty the Queen came from the prestigious Richelle family…”
“What nonsense is this?”
The servant’s careless comment made Randel leap.
“So you’re saying Princess Brigitte is not nobler than that Seed of Beasts? That the Empire asked for this one instead of Brigitte from the start?!”
He drew the line, worried the knights might hear and report back to the kingdom.
Having never left Hayworth, he had no qualms insulting Anette, yet feared the wrath of the reigning queen and even dared mock the Empire’s duke.
“Even a war hero and royal blood, what’s the point? Rumor says Duke Harzent’s face is grotesquely deformed from the beasts’ blood! They say he usually hides behind a black mask.”
Hearing this, Anette lifted her lowered gaze, her brow furrowing.
No matter how fearful Queen Esther was, a minor count mocking the Empire’s duke?
Duke Harzent, the Arkan royal heir, was the emperor’s cherished younger brother, his right-hand man, and the ruler of the Empire’s northern borderlands. Even by a superficial comparison, he was a man none—neither she nor Brigitte—could hope to rival.
<No! I’d rather die than marry that monster!>
Anette closed her eyes tightly, recalling Brigitte screaming and crying.
A week earlier
Anette had been summoned by King Hayworth to the audience chamber.
There, she paused at the sight of the king holding an envelope bearing the Arkan royal seal and Brigitte weeping at his feet.
Queen Esther soothed Brigitte, trying to convince her:
“Brigitte, think carefully. It’s not all bad. The mighty Arkan Empire…”
“His face is hideous! How could I live with such a monster for life, wwaaah!”
As Anette watched the eighteen-year-old princess crying and Queen Esther comforting her, the king noticed Anette and frowned.
“Your Majesty, I…”
“The Arkan Empire has proposed an alliance,” the king interrupted coldly.
“An alliance…?” Anette’s expression brightened.
The kingdom had lost much of its military strength since she’d been injured and forced into semi-retirement.
The Bayendor Empire in the south might strike at any moment. An alliance with Arkan would be invaluable.
As a natural commander, she immediately considered the strategic advantages and wondered who the Empire intended for the political marriage.
The Arkan royal family’s bloodline was limited; the answer was obvious.
‘The emperor is already married, and the crown prince is too young. No foreign princess would be given the empress’s position.’
The only remaining candidate: Duke Cardin Harzent, second in line to the throne.
‘He’s twenty-two, two years younger than me… four years older than Brigitte…’
Her face hardened at the thought. Brigitte’s protests about marrying a monster came to mind.
Duke Harzent was an undefeated war hero, fighting beasts and enemy nations alike—but rumored to have lost his handsome appearance to the beasts’ blood.
Anette finally understood why the king, who despised every strand of her hair, had summoned her.
The king’s words were a sentence:
〈Anette, you shall marry Duke Harzent of the Arkan Empire.〉
Anette almost laughed bitterly. After a lifetime of being treated as no more than a princess in name, now this?
Had Duke Harzent’s reputation not been so frightening, this proposal would never have come to her.
Queen Esther’s expression was similarly bitter.
‘If Brigitte becomes the Arkan duchess, it’ll be easier to make the youngest son, Raon, the next crown prince.’
But she could not bring herself to marry her daughter to a monster, and Brigitte had fiercely refused anyway, so she had reluctantly given up.
Anette expected the Empire would reject her anyway; then they’d try to persuade her reluctantly.
The point was, no one cared about Anette’s opinion. The king hadn’t asked her consent—he commanded her to marry.
Fortunately, Anette had no intention of refusing.
As soon as she accepted the king’s order, he sent a messenger to the Arkan Empire.
The reply came immediately.
Surprisingly, the Arkan emperor consented to the marriage between Anette and Duke Harzent and even sent the engagement documents along with it.
Anette, who had secretly expected rejection, was a little surprised.
A princess of Hayworth, with noble blood, requesting marriage—without hesitation.
‘At first, I thought they diplomatically avoided refusing a Seed of Beasts… but they seem to be in a rush, regardless.’
Unfazed, Anette nonchalantly signed her name beside Harzent’s sharp, elegant signature.
The marriage arrangements proceeded smoothly, without complication. Ironically, Queen Esther’s pride was the one that suffered.
Even she soon realized that, like Count Randel, the duke was simply eager to secure a bride under the guise of an alliance.
