Hilda reached out her hand to take Rhea's. Hilda could see Rhea's bright smile through the veil as she placed her hand on Hilda's.
Hilda's heartbeat quickened. Even though she had countless women, she never married. To make matters worse, the women with whom she had spent her time were not entirely innocent. They were well aware of what they were getting themselves into as they climbed onto her bed.
'Perhaps that is why her innocence works so well against me.' So Hilda reasoned. She would have forced a kiss on her if they hadn't been standing right outside the door to the inner sanctum of the ancestral shrine.
Rhea was wearing a long white gown that covered every part of her body till to her neck. She had a veil on her face, with a tiara above her head. The enormous emerald embedded in the tiara was especially eye-catching.
Hilda had only seen her twice, but something within her cared deeply for Rhea. Hilda wasn't sure what that feeling was. However, Hilda didn't think it was love.
'Maybe sympathy.' So Hilda thought. Sympathy towards someone who had been through the same pain she had gone through after coming to this world.
Unlike Hilda, who had a mature soul inside her, Rhea was just a child who had lost her mother. Even if his father cared for her, he couldn't move. She was all alone.
Wolfy had been with Hilda for all of these years. Rhea was not so lucky. She had lost all the people she could rely on when the emperor replaced all the servants and maids of the Ashgard manor.
The emperor made sure she couldn't speak again because she was the last person who knew the emperor's secret. It was a miracle that a four-year-old girl survived after her tongue was severed.
*Creak*
While Hilda was reorganizing her thought, the giant door on the wall slowly opened. Hilda had a good idea about the construction capability of the world.
'Could they really carved the entire thing under the mountain?' Hilda, taking Rhea's hand, slowly walked through the aisle.
On both sides, there were statues. Statues of all the previous emperors craved to the last detail. And at the end of the aisle, there were three cauldrons.
The middle one, which was higher than the other two, was engulfed in a brilliant blue flame. The royal blue was the ancestor's color. The red flame in the right cauldron represented the reigning emperor.
The cauldron remained lower than the other two and was devoid of flame. This enigmatic cauldron would decide who would be the next crown prince.
Seven people dressed in white stood in front of the cauldron. It wasn't until Hilda got closer that she realized they were all women.
"Your highness imperial third prince, Hilda Sunborne, please put your hand on the orb."
"Your highness countess, Rhea Ashgard, please put your hand on the orb."
Two of the women spoke at the same time.
There were two colorless orbs in front of them. Hilda led Rhea in front of one before she stood before the other one.
As soon as they touched the orbs, they glowed in bright white light. As much as Hilda knew about it, the white did confirm their virginity.
However, in the blindingly bright light, none noticed that an emerald flame flickered in the left cauldron for a moment before everything returned to normal.
'Good thing, it didn't consider blowjob as losing virginity.' As Hilda sighed in relief, thinking it was all over. However, to her surprise, it was just beginning.
On Earth, it was a simple ceremony. Here they had to respect every statue of the previous emperor, followed by an oath of eternal partnership, then read some old scroll and drink the wedding wine.
Just as she thought it was over, one of the seven white ladies let her know they had to go to the imperial palace to pay respect to the emperor and the empress.
So they returned to the imperial place, paid respect to the emperor before returning to her manor in the high noble district of the capital.
The ancestral shrine ceremony had begun at noon and had lasted nearly six hours by the time they were sitting at her dinner table.
However, looking at the food in front of her, Hilda couldn't help frowning. She was already accustomed to exuberant meals, but the reason for her displeasure was in front of Rhea.
The food in front of Rhea, who was sitting just beside her, looked dull. There were seven plates full of soup and viscous liquid. There was a stark contrast to her food and Rhea's.
[Annonbee: If a person lacks a tongue, he will struggle to control the position of food inside the mouth, and as a result chewing the food will be difficult.]
"The Imperial Princess could not chew her food. We have prepared the food in such a way that it is easier to swallow. Even if they looked different, it is the same food my lady is eating."
Wolfy had no problem understanding Hilda's thoughts. She patted Rhea's head as she explained the reason with a sad look on her face.
If it was any other noble mansion, then none could predict the fate of Wolfy, who was patting the head of an imperial princess.
But the girl, who had never known love or received any ethical education, didn't mind being patted on the head. She simply smiled at Wolfy before returning her attention to the food in front of her.
Hilda locked her gaze on the girl who drank a spoonful of every dish placed in front of her. She quickly took two plates and never touched the other soups for the second time.
"Wolfy, can you bring some more of this?" Hilda could understand that other than those two, Rhea didn't like most of them.
Wolfy nodded and left to bring some more food. Hilda patted the head of Rhea and said, "Eat slowly."
On the other hand, Rhea had already emptied her plate and was staring at the one in front of Hilda. Hilda pushed the plate in front of her with a smile.
Rhea was about to jump in, but she turned to Hilda and said, "yyee eeaa." Hilda, of course, had no idea what was going on. "You can eat it," Hilda replied with a simple smile.
Rhea, too, understood that Hilda couldn't understand her words. So she took a spoonful of soup and tried to feed Hilda. However, the position of Hilda wasn't convenient, and the soup fell on Hilda.
In a blink, blood drained off Rhea's face as her mind went blank. She knew she had done something wrong and tried to salvage the situation. However, as soon as she pulled the napkin, she pulled the plate of soup along with it.
After splashing the soup on her own body, the plate dropped on the floor and shattered. And there was pin-drop silence.
"What are you doing?" As soon as Hilda noticed the hot soup all over Rhea's dress, she instinctively screamed. And it didn't help.
Confusing Hilda's concern as anger, Rhea just sat there, with her eyes staring on the floor. She didn't dare to look into Hilda's eyes.
"Hey, stand up," Hilda shouted. Rhea's body shuddered in response but followed the order, nonetheless.
Fiona had told her hundreds of times that she should behave in front of her husband. If she failed to please her husband, she would be beaten or even sold to the brothel.
Rhea didn't have any knowledge about the ethics and rules of the nobles. When they threw out her nanny and cut off her tongue, she had never left her room again.
In the Ashgard manor, she had followed two rules. First, no matter what, always smile. And don't make a sound when beaten.
At this moment, Rhea couldn't feel the stinging sensation of the hot soup. More than the pain, she was worried about her future. Being wiped would be painful, but it would be better than being thrown out.
She was rubbing her icy hand while thinking of a way to escape the fate of throwing out. However, before she could come to a decision, her feet left the ground.
"Ahhhhhhh." Fearing the worst, she let out a scream as she tried to grab hold of something.
"Calm down. It's me." Hilda comforted her and moved through the corridor to the bathroom.
Hilda's dark face convinced her that she would be thrown out. Her body, however, couldn't break its habit of smiling and continued to do so even as tears streamed down her cheeks.
*Splash*
"Aww owoh eewa ee." As soon as her body touched the lukewarm water, she started to scream in an intangible language while throwing her hand as if she was drowning.
"Slow down. Blisters will form if you do not soak the area with water." However, all of her reasoning fell on deaf ears. As soon as Hilda got close enough, Rhea tangled her arms around her and continued to scream in an intangible language.
It wasn't until Wolfy had come and calmed her down that she stopped. Rhea continued to sit in the water, hugging her knees.
"Don't worry." Wolfy continued to pat her back while solely taking off Rhea's cloth. Whether she was in a trance or not, she co-operated with Wolfy.
"This is?" What Hilda saw as the cloth left Rhea's body shook her to the core. The scars riddled the white skin on her back. Some had dried up, while some were in the process of drying up.
"It's a whip," Wolfy said.
"But who?"
"Can't you guess?"
Of course, she could guess. But Hilda couldn't believe that someone could be so cruel. But before she could say anything, Wolfy said, "I will take care of her. You should go. Hati is waiting for you."
[Annonbee: Aren't our mc double-faced?]
"But." Hilda was hesitant, not willing to leave Rhea alone.
"I will take care of her." Wolfy sighed. "And next time, don't try to be forceful with her. Even if she is older than you, she doesn't know how the world works. So be patient with her."
"I'll do it." Hilda was at a loss for words. She was never cut out to be a mother or a patient woman. Nonetheless, she was aware of what she should and should not do.
"I understand she is your wife, and I know you are trying to control yourself, but you should wait until she naturally accepts you. Otherwise, it may leave a scar on her mind that she will never be able to overcome."
"What kind of human do you think I am?" Hilda wanted to refute, but the words got stuck in his throat.
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't waiting for the sun to set all day and throw herself on Rhea. Hilda knew she could use the excuse that she didn't know about it, but she simply said, "I will listen to you."
And she left the bathroom without a word. Neither Hilda nor Wolfy had noticed that a pair of eyes were staring at Hilda's back with a tinge of sadness.
Getting out of the bathroom, Hilda just stood there for a moment. After clearing her mind, she went to find Hati.
The man who was waiting for her had an attire similar to the beggar of the street. He was wearing a dirty cloth with unsophisticated patchwork all over the cloth, along with a tattered cloth covering his head.
As soon as he noticed, Hati removed his headcloth and went on his knees.
"You know I don't like this kind of thing," Hilda said as she gestured for him to take a seat. Exposing his over-grown canine, Hati smiled and took the seat opposite of her.
"Chief, I am going to leave for the north tomorrow." Rather than my lady or my highness, Hati and other half-wolves of her tribe called her chief. After all, that was how things were done in the wolf tribe.
Hati was among the most powerful of the half-breeds who had joined her. He was far more intelligent than the other eight elite wolf-warriors. He was one of the few people she could entrust an important task to, aside from Wolfy.
"Do you know what you have to do?"
"Checking the situation around the silver mine. Examine the situation of the garrison as well as the three forts along the border."
"And the barbarians." Hilda completed his words. "That is the most important mission. However, you should report me within one month."
"Don't be concerned, chief. Have I ever disappointed you?" Hati smiled confidently and asked, "But Chief, don't you want us to fight the barbarian? We would undoubtedly outperform those feeble humans."
"You are my trump card," Hilda smirked and explained why she didn't want to expose the existence of her own pack.
Later they continued to talk about the distribution of her pack, so not a single thing could happen along the border without her knowledge.
By the time they had ended the meeting, it was deep in the night. After Hati vanished in the dark of the night, Wolfy asked, "Are you sure about the plan? If you infuriate all the tribes of the barbarians…"
"The imperial court me to fail. A simple defense wouldn't do anything. They would just blame me and… I don't know what they are planning to do."
"However, if my plan works, I might be able to catch them off guard and buy some time for myself. But…" Hilda didn't complete the sentence and grabbed the hand of Wolfy and pulled her into her lap.
"That isn't relevant right now." Hilda couldn't help but steal a kiss from her when she saw Wolfy's shocked expression. "I had been told that I needed to be patient with my wife, so I would."
"However, someone must take care of me while I am patient with my wife."
"But you should have your first time with your principal wife. You…" She couldn't complete her sentence as Hilda arrested her lips.
She only let her go when she needed to breathe. Hilda smirked as she felt the powerless body in her arms. "Do I look someone like who cares?"
"But what about Rhea?"
"Didn't you say that she had fallen asleep?"
"No, I mean shouldn't…"
Wolfy was unable to finish her sentence once more. Hilda's fingers were already invading her wet bottom hole, so she knew Hilda wasn't going to stop now.
At this moment, all she could do was accept her fate. After all, she was looking forward to this day for a long time.
Hilda carried Wolfy like a princess to Wolfy's room, whispering in her ear, "tonight, I might not stop until I knot someone."