Chapter Text
He knew from the moment he saw her jump.
Perfect.
The one quality he had as a prerequisite to anyone becoming his wife.
The ability to escape.
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Arnold had known from a young age that he was a curse. His mother made it abundantly clear with every slap. Despite that, he wanted to survive. After all, there was a true enemy to face.
Arnold may be a demon, but his father was truly a remorseless monster beyond any he had encountered.
What was the point in taking a wife? Anyone close to his father’s clutches was in danger, especially women, whom he looked at as nothing more than a vessel to breed. Arnold had moved his sisters as far away as possible to keep them out of his father’s sight. Unfortunately it was impossible to protect his brother the same way. As second heir, his father would never deign to let him far from his grasp. Arnold made do with distancing himself from his brother, so that when he enacted his plans that at least his brother would not be caught up in the flames. Cruel and icy as he was, his brother was soft, gentle and beloved. Opposite in every way to Arnold. If he laid his plans correctly, his brother could be a generous ruler, he was already a leader of the people.
Arnold loathed the idea of bringing another to the imperial capital. His father could have them murdered at a whim. At the same time, the Emperor refused to let him be, no matter how many times he told him he would not take a wife.
“I won’t have the work I put into making you go to waste. My bloodline must go on. How can it do that if you won’t produce a son?”
The very though brought bile to his throat. A child. Visions of his infant sister’s skull being crushed flashed in his mind. Not that. Never. If he was forced to produce a child, he would immediately send them far away from his father’s clutches. And by that age, should it protest, it wouldn’t matter.
After all, it wasn’t as if Arnold was planning on a long life for himself. He forced himself to be strong, strong enough that he would be able to end his father and all his allies. It was the only way his brother and sisters could be safe and free.
It was too late for his father’s wives. The current Empress was cruel as her husband, he didn’t care about her. For the others he felt only pity. He would make their deaths swift. With no hostage brides, the nations they had forcibly bound to Galkehein would rebel. Good. He needed their ire.
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Within the span of less than an hour he had confirmed that she was the ideal bride. She had the reflexes of a knight, clever and fearless. She would not be able to escape from Arnold himself, but when the time came he would have no need to hold her. She only needed to escape from one person: his majesty the Emperor. And she was amply qualified for that role. His father was utterly dismissive of the capabilities of women, he would never be able to prepare himself for someone like Rishe.
“I’ve fallen for you.”
She was far too smart to believe him, which was for the best.
“You will not lay a single finger on me!”
Just when he thought she was perfect, she became even better. She would not ask him to sleep with her. He had to exert control to keep his blank expression as he felt an enormous surge of relief. He would not be responsible for creating another life in his father’s image. He would not bring a helpless being in the world only to watch its blood splatter the floor beneath his father’s feet. It was as if she had been created out of his dreams.
Yet he would never in his wildest dreams imagine what she had in store for him.
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It was his own fault for lowering his defenses. Despite what she had shown him, he still underestimated women, herself included.
She made him smile. He knew immediately that he wanted to protect her, but this possessiveness took him aback. At first he felt nothing but loathing until he examined himself more closely.
Don’t be a fool. Don’t endanger yourself.
What are you doing to me?
He had planned for years to usurp his father’s rule. He had envisioned, in detail, exactly how he would kill him. Slowly, cruelly, with the maximum amount of suffering as a small payment for the vast evil he had inflicted on the world.
What are you doing to me?
Of course he had considered allying with other nations. He just never thought he would actually be able to do it. Making friends was something other people did. His brother could make allies, show kindness. Arnold was incapable of doing so. When he looked in the mirror all he saw was his father’s face.
He was second-guessing everything he had planned, everything he had known. She was showing him another path.
He wanted her close to him, always. He told himself it was to protect her. To keep an eye on her and her extravagant schemes. He wouldn’t control her the way his father controlled his wives but he felt possessive. Increasingly the thought of being parted from her was driving him out of his mind.
She can escape. But will I be able to let her go?
He must. He must. He could not, he would not hold a wife against her will. He would not force himself upon her the way his father did.
He had to keep her near though. He had to marry her. His father would never stop demanding he take a wife and there was a great danger that if Arnold did not marry, his father would start capturing wives again. She can escape, but only after his plans were in place, closer, just a little longer. Perhaps in three years, she can go, he found himself rationalizing.
To his surprise, she showed no signs of wanting to leave. She was investing herself in allies that would certainly help if she wanted to flee, but it was almost as if she was making allies for his sake.
“You are demons, husband and wife both!”
The rogue was half right. If he was a demon, she was his angel.
Arnold’s well laid plans had him standing alone, so that when he went down, he brought no one else with him. He now found himself with someone shoulder to shoulder, her body pressed against him as if it belonged there all along.
He looked towards his right, and found her already gazing up at him, a gentle smile on her face.
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