I Became a Barbarian’s Bride - Chapter 126

There had been strange things all along, but he had simply chosen to ignore them, so he hadn’t noticed.

Kagan slowly rubbed his face, licking his lower lip with a fierce expression.

“Send word to the countries around Roshan soon. Tell them if they don’t want to be dragged into this, they better stay out of it.”

“Yes.”

“Anything else?”

“The report ends there for now.”

“Good work. You can rest for a while.”

“Thank you.”

The man rose, bowed deeply, and quickly left the room.

Kagan, his face still grim, pulled back the heavy curtains he had closed earlier.

Nisha was no longer visible beneath the window.

“So, they broke her that much.”

Until my princess resorted to poison herself.

Perhaps I should have slit her father’s throat right in front of her, twisted his body, and tossed his guts to the beasts.

My delicate wife would have scowled, but surely, a part of her would have felt a sense of satisfaction.

“What a shame.”

But once a country has been conquered, conquering it again won’t be hard.

“The issue is finding the reason…”

Starting a conflict without cause will only draw unnecessary attention from surrounding nations.

Xieman has grown, and with the Katun, I’ve been considering expanding our territory more aggressively.

I don’t need extra burdens from meddling nations.

So I need a reason.

A reason to crush Roshan again and wipe it from the map.

‘It worked out well. I needed territory anyway…’

A stable source of food supply, so she wouldn’t have to sacrifice herself by healing the barren lands of Xieman.

Roshan was a country abundant in crops and resources. While it lacked natural resources, its geographical advantage made trade prosperous.

If he were to conquer it, there would be no more headaches over agriculture.

‘The problem is who to entrust it to.’

He needed someone who wouldn’t betray him, but power had a way of making men entertain unnecessary thoughts.

“A headache.”

When he first took this position, he hadn’t wanted to think about these things.

He’d risen to the position of Kagan early and handled his duties well, but recently, it all felt a bit tiring.

‘I lack time.’

If only he had more time, he could spend it by her side, getting closer.

As he rubbed his forehead, Kagan Xieman thought to himself.

‘The princess comes first…’

He couldn’t understand why she was so willing to sacrifice herself.

If only she would rely on him a bit more.

“Kagan, my dear. It can’t be helped. Adin must have had his reasons. It pains me most that I cannot see your face.”

“I don’t understand why Adin did this.”

“He must have his reasons. We are simply destined to follow what has been given to us.”

Recalling his mother, Kagan let out a short breath.

His mother had always said the same thing, “It can’t be helped.”

Even though so much had been taken from her, not once did she complain. She never resented his father, nor did she blame the gods. She lived as if it was all natural.

His father, perhaps feeling guilty, granted her every wish, except for leaving him or going somewhere alone. Whatever else she asked for, he fulfilled.

And yet, despite losing so much, his mother never mistreated herself.

‘But why…’

He couldn’t understand why Nisha didn’t value herself.

It was fine for her to say it hurt, that she was in pain. But instead, she bore it all alone, endured it alone, and persisted alone. Perhaps it was because she had lived that way for so long.

For such a long time, Nisha had lived alone, enduring everything by herself, unable to recognize the support around her, even if it was right there.

In that warm land, she alone had lived through a long winter, which was why her gaze had always been so cold.