Early in the morning, as the warm golden sun began to spread its illuminating light over the world gradually, the knights woke up to start preparing breakfast.
Gabriel had already woken up a long time ago, as he was training under a tree with his huge German sword.
He was completely bare-chested, wearing nothing but black linen pants, as he waved his sword with strength and ferocity.
With every wave of his sword, the air made a sharp cracking sound.
Cold sweat soaked his muscular back, especially the tattoo with prominent Arabic letters that was carefully engraved on his back.
His sweaty gray hair hung over his forehead, and despite his profuse sweating, he did not gasp once, as his sharp turquoise eyes were completely focused on the sword.
He had been training like this for three hours, waving the sword without any rest.
General Oppenheimer watched his Caesar from afar, as he held in his hand a wooden plate filled with soup and a piece of soft white bread. Animal skin bag filled with cold water
Oppenheimer hesitated to interrupt his master's training but judging by the Caesar's sweaty appearance he honestly wanted his master to take a break
Taking a deep breath he decided to approach his Caesar and his footsteps landed on the grass beneath him and when he reached Gabriel, he called out to him in a respectful voice
He said cautiously
"Your Majesty, you have been training for three hours now. Perhaps it is time to take a break and get some food and water."
Gabriel stopped his training, his hand still gripping the hilt of his sword as he looked at Oppenheimer with a thoughtful expression
He was drenched in sweat, his gray hair sticking to his skin and his muscles tense from the strenuous training session. Despite his exhaustion, his sharp turquoise eyes were still focused and intense
He said firmly, his masculine voice a little hoarse
"I'm not done yet."
Oppenheimer sighed silently, realizing that his master's insistence His stubbornness was sometimes difficult to influence them.
He said calmly
"Your Majesty, I have brought you some food and water. It is important that you take care of yourself and rest a little."
Then he extended his hand to Gabriel with the bowl of soup, the piece of bread, and the leather bottle, hoping that the food would convince him to take a rest.
Seeing the hot, smoky soup, Gabriel stopped his training and asked his subordinate in a deep, masculine voice as he put his sword back in its sheath.
"Is Laila awake yet or not?"
The name Layla belonged to the bride of their Caesar and the daughter of the Arab Caliph. Oppenheimer recognized the name immediately and answered cautiously.
"I don't know, Your Majesty. Her Majesty has not yet left the tent."
Oppenheimer was aware that his master and Caesar had taken this woman as his queen, so despite his internal objections, he did not dare to say anything.
Hearing that his new bride had not yet left her tent, despite having slept early in the night, Gabriel felt anxious and took the hot soup bowl, soft bread and water bottle from Oppenheimer's hand.
"Then I will check if she has woken up or not."
After saying those words, the Caesar headed with the soup in his hand towards his queen's tent.
His strong, masculine steps quickly brought him to the entrance of the tent where his queen was sleeping. He stopped for a moment, thinking whether he should enter without warning or knock first.
While Hesitating to enter suddenly he heard a sweet female voice singing inside the tent
"Be spoiled, for you are worthy of that
And control, for beauty has given you
And the matter is yours, so decide what you decide
For beauty has entrusted me to you
And avoid it if it is my agreement
Hasten to it, I will be your ransom
And test me with whatever you wish in your love
For my choice is that which pleases you
In every case, you are from me
More deserving of me, for if it were not for you
And my humiliation and submission are sufficient for me in your love, and I am not one of your equals
And if I do not reach you through union, I am honored"
The voice was The feminine was very sweet and the strange and smooth words were very beautiful to Gabriel's ears even though he did not speak or understand Arabic.
For a brief moment, he forgot all about his own thoughts and simply stood there, enchanted by the mysterious melody coming from within the tent.
The mysterious quality of the song intrigued him, and he found himself unable to lift his ears to the enchanting tune the woman was singing.
He took a deep breath and shook his head, reminding himself that he had come here to check on the woman, not to listen to her sing.
With a determined look, he approached the entrance of the tent and decided to enter without warning, curious to see the singer himself.
As he entered the tent, he found a beautiful woman sitting on a chair while combing her long black hair and looking into the small brass mirror on the wooden table in the tent.
The beautiful woman with the captivating desert beauty was looking at her appearance in the mirror, mesmerized by her beauty as she combed her hair with the wooden hair comb that happened to be Gabriel's own comb.
She seemed not to even notice that he had entered the tent.
As he watched the woman in amazement, Gabriel couldn't help but feel a strong surge of possessiveness and obsession.
Seeing her sitting on the chair, combing her long silky hair with a comb, and looking at herself in the mirror was like a spell that he couldn't take his eyes off of.
He had come here hoping to check her out, but now he found himself fascinated by her every move and gesture.
Layla didn't notice the man who entered her tent until she started smelling the delicious food, then she turned around and saw the handsome man with gray hair and pale skin, completely bare-chested, while holding a wooden plate full of soup and a piece of white bread in his hand.
When her big brown eyes fell on his turquoise eyes, the wooden comb fell from her hand to the ground, so she screamed angrily while taking her white cloak that was lying on the ground to cover herself.
"In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Do you know how to knock on the door when entering?? How dare you suddenly walk in on me like that?"
As he watched the woman scream at him, Gabriel couldn't help but feel a smile form at the corner of his lips. Despite her anger, he couldn't help but find her reaction charming.
He laughed softly, his deep voice echoing through the tent.
"I apologize if I scared you, my queen, but I came here to check on you, not to scare you."
He placed the wooden plate on the floor of the tent and continued speaking, still amused by her reaction.
"But your little scream was so cute."
He took a step closer to her, never taking his eyes off her. His tall, muscular figure loomed over her small frame, making her appear more delicate and feminine in contrast to his masculine presence.
He added in a low-pitched, deep, almost sexy voice.
"You shouldn't cover yourself up in front of your husband."
"..."
"Crazy psychopath"
Layla muttered angrily as she tightly covered her body with her white Arabian abaya, ignoring his talk. Gabriel about being her husband
As Layla muttered the word "crazy" under her breath, Gabriel laughed again, his turquoise eyes glinting with a hint of mischief
He then took another step closer, closing the distance between them even more. He could practically feel the heat emanating from her small body through the thin white cloth
"Oh so I'm crazy now, huh?"
He asked in a joking tone
"Is this any way to talk to your husband?"
Layla looked at him with her big brown eyes that were shining with defiance and a desire to rebel
"You are not my husband and you will never be my husband. This damned illegitimate marriage happened because of my drunken brother the Caliph in a moment of greed, but that won't change the fact that this marriage is illegitimate."
She said in a sharp feminine voice
Hearing her poisonous words, Gabriel laughed in amusement
"Illegitimate??" But our marriage contract, which was signed by both the Grand Mufti of Granada and Pope Francis, the Pope of all the churches of Granada, indicates that my marriage to you is legitimate, my queen."
He took out a yellow paper from his pocket to show it to her.
Seeing the yellow marriage paper, her big brown eyes widened in astonishment.
"Impossible...impossible. How can the Grand Mufti sign a paper like this!!!" How can he accept and legalize the marriage of a Muslim woman to a Christian!!"
She was speechless when she saw the paper, which did not appear to be fake.
After showing her the paper, Gabriel put the paper back in his pocket and turned away from Laila, as his eyes were fixed on the wooden comb lying on the ground, which happened to be his own comb.
He picked it up from the ground and watched it carefully, noticing the strands of silky black hair stuck between the comb's teeth.
There was something about seeing his comb in her possession that made him feel strangely possessive. He held the comb tightly in his hand as he turned to face Laila again, his turquoise eyes fixed on her like a predator watching its prey.
"In addition to being rude to your legitimate husband, you also use his things without permission and with complete rudeness."
He told her with a fierce side smile.
Laila clenched her teeth in anger and resentment at his words.
"You are not my husband, you are a hateful and insane person!!! And this comb is mine. Do you understand that?!"
She screamed at him with a defiant look in her eyes and her chest heaving with a mixture of anger and frustration.
She wanted to vent her anger at him when he cornered her by showing her a paper proving the legitimacy of their marriage so she was acting in this childish way towards him despite knowing that the comb was rightfully his.
He noticed the childishness in her words and actions but found it somewhat endearing and even cute despite her sharp words and defiant attitude.
He laughed quietly at her insistence that the comb was hers, finding her stubbornness amusing but he couldn't help but feel a strange possessiveness running through his veins whenever she called him a "psychopath"
"Oh you think I'm a "psychopath" huh?"
He asked in a low voice, the smile still playing on his lips
He approached her with slow steps while the fierce and dead look in his eyes did not leave her face
He moved closer to her and his towering figure appeared above her small body, forcing her to take a step back until her back hit the wall
The distance between their bodies was a few inches, and Laila felt the heat emanating from his bare chest. He leaned closer to her, his face now a few inches away from hers, and she felt his hot breath on her skin as he spoke
He said in a deep and almost sexy voice
"Then tell me why are you using my things without my permission, my dear wife?"
Layla swallowed hard, her breath catching in her throat as he leaned into her so hard that she could feel the heat radiating from his muscular body. She felt a strange mix of discomfort and something else, she couldn't explain, stirring in the pit of her stomach.
She tried to push him away with her hands, but it was like trying to push away a brick wall.
He had her pinned against the wall, and there was nowhere for her to escape.
"Your stuff? It's just a stupid comb!"
She tried to sound strong but her voice came out breathless.
"Since you think I'm a psychopath, how about I act like one?"
He said with a big laugh that decorated his blood red lips and with a quick movement from him with his big muscular hand he grabbed her head forcefully to bend towards her lips and kiss her forcefully
Layla was surprised by his sudden and aggressive move and in a moment, she found her head in his strong grip and he swallowed her lips with a rough kiss
Her eyes widened in shock and surprise but she couldn't resist him or push him away His body was so strong and dominant, he held her in place with an iron grip while his lips demanded her lips mercilessly
She resisted him and tried to hit his chest violently and she even tried to pull his hair forcefully until the man was as firm as a solid rock
Despite her futile struggles and attempts to hit his chest and pull his hair, Gabriel didn't move an inch
He remained unfazed and his thick muscles felt like an impenetrable wall under her small hands He continued to kiss her passionately and she didn't leave his lips Her lips for a moment
Pressed her against the wall more, his solid muscular body holding her in place as he held her head tightly in his fist, forcing her to submit to his kiss
He pulled away from her as the tip of his tongue trickled into the corner of his lips for him to lick while looking at her with his turquoise eyes wickedly
"Here I am acting like a psychopath. Did you like our first kiss, my queen?"
Layla left herself breathless, her face flushed and her cheeks burning with anger
She stood there, her back leaning against the wall, trying to catch her breath from the forced kiss. Then, the man's words snapped her out of her daze, her brown eyes narrowing in annoyance
"Our first kiss?? It wasn't a kiss! It was an assault!"
She screamed angrily as she reached out to slap him hard
But before she could slap him, he grabbed her wrist tightly but gently, preventing her from hitting his face
He grabbed her wrist tightly, his turquoise eyes shining with amusement
"Okay okay"
He said in a low, almost mocking tone
"Is this how you treat your dear husband, my little desert rose?"
He pulled her towards him, her small body stumbling and falling on his hard, muscular chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to his body, leaving her no room to escape
Then he leaned his face towards hers, his lips just inches away from hers, and spoke in a deep, rough voice
"You're fierce, aren't you? But I love it, I love it when you fight me. It makes me want to tame you even more."
"Bitch!!!"
"Layla said fiercely while baring her teeth to bite his hand hard and fiercely.
Her fierce and stinging bite surprised him, so he let out a groan of pain and joy, then released her wrist from his grip and raised his hand to look at him.
A small bleeding bite mark appeared on the palm of his hand, evidence of her sharp teeth.
He looked at her with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.
"Oh, little girl."
He muttered in a low voice.
"You have a strong bite, don't you?"
Looking at the bite mark that started to bleed, Gabriel licked the blood from his hand as he moved away from Laila who knelt on the ground with trembling feet and she was still affected by his fierce kiss.
Gabriel sat on the floor of the tent where the food was previously placed to cut a piece of white bread to dip it in the soup.
"Come and eat breakfast because we will be leaving soon and then we will not have time to rest and eat."
He ordered her coldly as he put the dipped piece of bread in his mouth.
The cloak slipped from Laila's head who was staring at the ground absentmindedly while trying to wipe the mark of his kiss with her hand in disgust.
The look in her eyes was the look of someone who feels that he has committed a sin.
When the cloak slipped from over her head revealing her beautiful face and her disheveled black hair, he could not help but wander his gaze over her features appreciating her attractive oriental beauty.
He noticed the look in her eyes, a mixture of disgust and contempt, which Making him laugh quietly to himself
He asked with a sarcastic smile
"Are you ashamed of our kiss, my dear wife?"
He took another piece of bread and dipped it in the soup
Layla raised her head to look at him with her big brown eyes filled with hatred and tears
She muttered in a trembling feminine voice full of hatred
"I will kill you...either by poison or by sword I will kill you I swear to God I will do that"
Layla swore with extreme anger
His kiss caused her pride to be trampled
She was a princess and the man in front of her was someone who was supposed to be her enemy so his kiss made her feel like she was defiled by the enemies
His mocking smile widened at his threat and his eyes sparkled with a hint of sadistic amusement if she thought this threat might cause fear or hesitation, she was completely wrong
He laughed coldly and took a bite of bread
"Continue trying to kill me my dear wife but let me tell you something you are not the first person who wanted to kill me there are many who wanted to take my life but I crushed them in the end to take and monopolize that throne do you know for what??"
"....."
"For the sake of having you my queen and my dear wife"
Gabriel laughed out loud as he pushed back his gray locks
For the sake of having me!!!
Laila violently wiped the tears from her eyes while biting her inner lips harshly in an attempt to hold back the tears that threatened to fall at any moment.
Looking at him eating there carelessly, Laila felt more hatred to say in Arabic, which she knew Gabriel was not good at.
"May God make you choke on the bite."
The Arabic dialect she spoke was the dialect of the people of the Arabian Peninsula, the original homeland of her ancestors, specifically from her mother's home, which is located in the southwestern part of the eastern part of the peninsula.
Gabriel did not understand a single word of what Laila said, but his intuition told him for some reason that she was cursing him, so he looked at her with a big smile.
"You can curse me as you wish, my dear wife. In fact, I find those angry eyes of yours very funny."
His words were enough to ignite Laila's remaining anger to throw at him anything that fell in front of her eyes in the tent.
"A despicable scoundrel "There's no way you're the same person!!! There's no way you're the prince monk I know. You're just a dirty piece of trash." Hearing her words, Gabriel stopped eating and looked at her with a big smile as madness oozes from his sharp, masculine turquoise eyes.
He got up from the ground to head towards her again
When she found that he was coming towards her, Laila threw everything she could see at the man in front of her, to the point that the tent literally turned into chaos
Gabriel seemed unaffected by the things she was throwing at him, looking at her with his eyes that carried a flash of amusement and madness
A side smile adorned the corner of his blood red lips
"Of course I am not like the stinky and weak child you knew before because he died a long time ago..... He died when you left him alone injured between life and death"
"..."
"He died when he knew that he broke his covenant with God..... He died when he knew that he had forbidden feelings towards you, which a man who dedicated his life to serving God is not supposed to feel... That child died and will never come back again"
Hearing his torrent of words and feeling the madness oozing from his eyes, Laila trembled with fear while tears did not stop pouring from her eyes
Gabriel reached out his hand towards her to touch Her cheek tenderly
In contrast to his tender touch, the words that came out of his mouth made the hair on Laila's entire body stand on end
"You asked me earlier in the carriage why I went to all this trouble to marry a Muslim woman"
"..."
"I told you why I went to all this trouble before, but I want to change my answer now.... The reason I went to all this trouble is very simple, it's because I'm in love with you and you know that very well as I know that very well"
After saying those words, Gabriel removed his hand from her cheek to leave the tent after that, leaving Laila there in a state of chaos
After eating breakfast, the soldiers prepared to continue their way home
This time, the Kaiser was wearing silver war armor, unlike yesterday's royal uniform
He was at the forefront of the army on his black Germanic horse, and he was gazing at the woman wearing a white cloak from afar
She was talking to the soldiers who were separating the frame of her tent
"You "Knight, can I borrow your horse for a bit?" The orange-haired knight who was busy separating the tent frame asked
Seeing the new bride of the emperor who was talking to him, the knight felt nervous and put everything in his hand on the ground
"Yes... yes my lady... I mean your majesty the queen"
The knight looked at the young woman who covered her entire body with a white cloak nervously
Layla removed the cover from her face only to look at the knight in front of her while asking him politely
"Can I borrow your horse? I want it for the rest of the trip"
"..."
Seeing her uncover her face, the young knight with auburn hair felt like he stopped breathing for a few seconds
The face he saw before his eyes was the face of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life
With a small oval face, a soft, drawn jaw, a small, sharp nose, large, alluring, slightly sleepy brown eyes, arched, thick black eyebrows, and thick, full, dark pink lips
The face in front of him was perfect In an unbelievable way to the eyes
The knight was speechless as he looked at the face of the woman in front of him without any response
The young knight's reaction did not go unnoticed by the soldiers and other forces around them. The whole thing
A murmur spread among the audience as they all cast sidelong glances towards the white-cloaked woman, amazed by her delicate features and enchanting beauty. Many of them had heard of the Tsar's new bride, but they had never actually seen her. Now, the sight of her delicate face stunned everyone who looked at her completely.
Two men elbowed each other, whispering to each other as the woman's face was revealed.
"Is this the Tsar's bride?"
"My God, she's beautiful, isn't she?"
"I never would have imagined that the Tsar would marry such a young and beautiful woman. Where would he find such beauty?"
"For Christ's sake I can't believe that her face alone caused chaos among the knights but I can't deny that she is beautiful"
"Come on princess of course she would be beautiful even if she was a Muslim God does not disgrace the features of the faces of the infidels even if they are infidels God is merciful to everyone"
"You're right"
One of the older knights approached the young knight with the red hair and slapped him on the shoulder with a sly smile
The older knight said jokingly
"Boy, close your mouth your saliva is running down your chin like a damned fool"
The young knight woke up from his stupor and quickly closed his mouth. He realized that he was staring at the woman's face like an idiot and his mouth was half open, a small amount of saliva was running down his chin
His face turned red with anger and he felt extremely embarrassed by his reaction especially in front of his companions
He muttered shyly
"Sorry, sorry"
Wiping his chin with the back of his hand
The older knight laughed and slapped his shoulder Again
He said with a smile
"No need to apologize, boy. I don't blame you. That's the most beautiful face I've ever seen."
The other soldiers around them nodded in agreement, still stealing glances at the beautiful woman.
"But maybe you should put your tongue back in your mouth before the Kaiser sees you looking at his new bride like that"
The young knight blushed even more at the mention of the Kaiser's name, realizing that he wouldn't accept his soldiers watching his new wife.
He quickly gathered his strength and tried to act nonchalant as if he wasn't drooling over the Kaiser's bride.
He said while clearing his throat.
"Okay, okay, of course I'm sorry, I'll try to control my tongue from now on."
Layla was listening to the two knights' conversation with complete boredom.
She said in a feminine voice with a perfect German accent, bringing them back to reality.
"You, red-haired knight, I'm tired of repeating my request for the third time. I said I want to borrow your horse for the rest of the trip."
The young knight scratched the back of his head awkwardly before replying shyly.
"Oh yes… of course… My lady, I mean Your Majesty."
He looked around for a moment before pointing to a horse behind him.
"That's my horse over there, you can take it for the rest of the journey."
The other soldiers around them laughed quietly at the young knight's awkward stuttering.
The older knight who had been mocking him earlier couldn't help but shake his head with a mocking smile.
"Smooth, boy, really smooth."
"Thank you."
Laila thanked him as she looked at the brown horse tied to the tree trunk in the distance.
She wasn't planning on staying with that crazy man for much longer.
Riding the horse alone was much better.
Thinking about the horse that if she rode it, she would be able to escape from this place easily. Laila glanced furtively at the soldiers who were watching her from afar.
Despite owning the horse, the idea of escaping would be extremely stupid, especially since she was surrounded by knights on all sides.
She wouldn't be able to escape from here alive, and her scoundrel brother had sold her for a huge dowry, so she wasn't welcome in Granada anymore.
Thinking about it logically, Laila actually had no choice but to follow the man who was currently claiming to be her husband.
Also, in Europe, it was not desirable in the culture of these people for a woman to ride a horse alone.
The more Laila thought about it, she found herself gradually retreating from the idea of continuing the journey on the back of a horse alone
While Laila was lost in her thoughts, she suddenly felt a strong hand surrounding her waist to lift her up in the air easily.
"Oh my God, what's going on!!!"
Laila gasped in shock when she was suddenly lifted off the ground and found herself in the arms of a huge man.
She raised her head and her eyes widened even more when she realized that the man carrying her was none other than Gabriel. His strong grip was tight around her waist, making it clear that he had no intention of leaving her.
Gabriel looked at her with a sarcastic smile and a mischievous look in his eyes.
"Where do you think you're going, my little wife?"
He placed her in his lap, holding her steady so that she wouldn't fall off his fierce and arrogant black horse