The gentle feeling of the brush against Ize's face reminded her of her wedding day with Anders, a decision she regretted ever taking.
In this lifetime, she won't become a devoted wife or a woman crazily in love but a crazy wife. The craziest queen the Oban kingdom ever had!
After the professional makeup attendant was done, they presented a variety of gowns for Ize to choose from.
But none was up to her taste. What she wanted was a red short gown, one that would make her look slightly crazy.
"I would go with the blue gown," she finally picked.
One of the attendants dressed her up while the other styled her hair into a perfect bun. A hairstyle she disliked so much.
After the attendants were done, they bowed then left, giving Ize the privacy she needed.
She reached for the knife closer to her, cutting the long gown short, barely covering her thighs. She loosened her hair, letting it fall on her shoulder.
She snuck out of her room through the wooden window. Since everyone's life depends on this, she did not want to be selfish, nor did she want to be an obedient child.
It's of no use being obedient. After all, she had never been rebellious.
….
Yiza gasped loudly after searching her daughter's room without finding her. The wedding was already going on, guests including the king were waiting for Ize.
She rushed out of Ize's room to her husband's before crying out. "Ize has left her room again! What is wrong with this daughter of ours? She is going to get this household annihilated today."
"Woman, speak calmly," Zam, Ize's father, instructed.
"Ize has escaped again."
"What?" Zam's brow furrowed, his vein almost popping out as he balled his fist.
So she is at it again? He thought almost dying would make her give up trying to run away from her fate, but it didn't.
Zam snapped out of his thoughts. He walked out to meet his personal guards before commanding; "Search all the corners! Search even holes and wells! Do not return if you did not find Ize!"
"Yes, Lord Zam!"
The guards all responded in unison before leaving.
Yiza joined her husband, locking hands with him. "I am sorry. I know you did not want this for our daughter."
"But there is nothing we can do. We can't be on Lord Xiv's bad side, nor can we turn down the late king's wishes to marry Ize off to his Majesty," he muttered before leaving to get dressed.
Since Ize decided to disgrace him, he would make sure she gets dragged to the wedding hall and be the most shamed queen, becoming a thing of mockery across the kingdom.
That is what she asked for herself!
Meanwhile, when Zam was busy searching for Ize, she was already dressed up to her taste, wearing her short gown and with her hair cut, making her look hot and sexy.
She left for the wedding hall, the direction where the noises were coming from. She knew everyone would be furious by now, trying to cancel the wedding.
If she could successfully get rejected by the king, her plan for revenge wouldn't be affected, right?
Even though it was obvious her world was different from this, she couldn't hold back the hate she felt towards that man who resembled her husband.
Gasps filled the hall, murmurs spreading like wildfire the moment she walked, taking elegant steps as she walked towards the king who was impatiently waiting for her.
"What the hell is this? Ize—"
Zam was interrupted by the king who raised just a finger, commanding silence.
The king walked up to her, his icy eyes roaming around her body. He knew she didn't want this wedding, but he didn't expect her to go this far.
A sly smile tucked on the corner of his lips. He didn't expect the woman he was taking as a hostage to find her family's weakness would strongly oppose their union to the extent she had embarrassed herself in front of everyone.
"If she likes, let her walk in here naked. All that matters is us getting married today. I can't keep delaying my marriage with my concubine just because of her," he said, disgust evident in his voice.
He walked back to the spot he stood, making Ize have a second thought. What is he talking about? According to the novel,
Her thoughts were short-lived when she recalled she didn't read the first chapter where the concubine was introduced.
The wedding ceremony went on and ended, Ize already exhausted from the judgmental gaze and ceremony itself.
It was nothing like modern weddings. This wedding was torture.
"Who is the king's concubine?" Ize asked the lady who dragged her to her parents earlier.
The lady hesitated, making sure no one was paying attention to their conversation before replying; "I don't know her name but I learned she is King Anders's—"
"His name is Anders?"
"Yes," the lady replied, barely audible. "The king's concubine is his mistress but because of his father's dying wish, he has to make you his wife and his mistress as his concubine," the lady informed calmly.
"Ize! I want to see you now!" His father instructed before leaving, not caring about the attention on him.
It can't be any worse than being a crazy queen's father!
"Did you lose your sanity due to that accident on the mountaintop? Or did you just decide to frustrate us because we gave you a wake-up call?" Zam asked, holding back the urge to beat sense into his fully grown daughter's head.
"Since I am already crowned and my wedding rite with the king has been completed, address me as the queen. My rank is much higher than yours, father," she said, her heart racing.
She had to sever ties with everyone to prevent them from getting hurt while trying to protect herself.
King Anders isn't marrying her to keep her by his side but to punish her. She doesn't care about his reasons, all she wants is to survive. Maybe until she goes back to her own world—though, she isn't over the thought of avenging her husband's crime on King Anders.