261: 6.21 Arranged Marriage

6.21 Arranged Marriage

Jillian raised his hand to summon the waiter and asked him to open a private room where they could talk freely. The waiter's eyes flicked back and forth between him and Maia, and Jillian had the strong urge to gauge his eyes out for the subtle indication of tease within. If not for the steadfast presence of Regius beside him, Jillian would have snapped the first second that audacious woman dared to defy his words and sit in front of him.1

He ignored the eyes behind his back and gestured for the woman — what was her name again? — to enter first. Afterall, he had been raised with etiquette and if Bassil could see him now, he would definitely be so proud and burst into tears. She gave him a surprised look, eyed the box in his hand with an intriguing look and complied in the end.

"So, what are—"

But as soon as the door closed behind them, Jillian abruptly yanked the woman's shoulder back. Ignoring her surprised gasp, he pressed his sheathed sword to her throat, pinning her to the door. "Speak." He all but forced the words through gritted teeth. "Why should I trust you?"

"Oh wow…" She glanced down at the sword before looking back at Jillian. As much as he loathed to admit it, he was impressed to find no fear in her obsidian eyes. On the contrary, she looked mildly offended. Even the soldiers he had trained for years still couldn't look straight into his eyes sometimes. "Is this a special treatment or are you just plainly rude?"

Jillian didn't deem that question worthy of an answer. He pushed the sword harder until a choked sound escaped the woman's throat. 

A series of frantic knocks suddenly resounded behind them, followed by a young woman's quivering voice that sounded on the verge of tears. "Miss— Miss Maia, are you okay?! Please answer me! Oh goodness, the Chief will have my head if something happens to you!"

Maia — Jillian remembered it this time — raised a challenging brow as if saying, "There, the evidence. Do you trust me now?"

Jillian leveled her with a stare but Maia stood her ground with unexpected stubbornness. For a few excruciatingly long seconds, the two simply stared at each other with sparks clashing midair. If Maia's personal maid were to see them right now, she would be utterly terrified. Why… Why could she see the faint shadow of a snarling tiger and a hissing snake behind the General and her lady respectively?!

With a harrumph, Jillian backed away and sat down begrudgingly while Maia opened the door only enough to poke her head out, saying in a cheerful tone. "I'm okay, Frey. You're such a worrywart! I am going to talk about something very, very important with the General so you can't come in, okay? Just wait outside or somewhere else. I will search for you later." Without waiting for an answer, she added swiftly with "Okay, bye!" and then shut the door with a bang, wiping any imaginary sweat on her forehead. 

"Where are we now?" She sat down opposite Jillian and poured herself a cup of tea before grimacing again when the bitterness lingered on her tongue. "Right, the peace treaty. What do you think about that?"

"Miss Maia," Jillian mustered every drop of patience there was in him, which was almost nonexistent in the first place anyway. "I don't doubt your identity now but... Forgive me for my rudeness, but how much power and influence do you have in your tribe?" He must have caught something from Maia's stiffening smile and sneered quietly behind the cup. "So what are we talking about this for? It's not like you alone can make a difference."

Maia gnashed her teeth tightly and resisted the urge to curse out loud. This bastard! If this man hadn't been capable enough to break her neck in a matter of seconds, Maia would have smashed the boiling kettle on his head. How rude! Well, what he said was a fact, anyway. A cruel, bitter fact. Despite being the daughter of the chief, Maia was often underestimated by the others. Often because she was a woman, and women were deemed emotional creatures that would get in the way of politics. Maia couldn't help but scoff. As if those men could think straight once their dicks were involved.

"You're right." Maia pinched her brows. Goodness, she only wanted to have a look at the General's infamous doll. How the hell did she land herself in such a situation?! "But to tell you the truth — and this is crucial information, General, I hope you appreciate how it pains me to say it — the situation on our side is not that good, either. Just like how you have, what you call it, ministers? Right, just like how you have ministers beneath your king, we have elders who are supposed to be the advisor to the Chief, my father. Right now, they are already split into two. Half of them support my father to advance with the war, while the other half think that it's meaningless."

It wasn't only boredom that compelled Maia to run away but it had gotten quite suffocating to remain home. The tension was palpable in the air and she felt like a fight was going to break out every time the elders convened a discussion. The war was devastating and adding to their rapidly draining food reserve, everyone was getting agitated and anxious.

Maia inhaled deeply and stomped down her pride to ask. "Do you think… you can umm… share—share your supply with us? At this rate, it will be hard for us to get through winter and—"

Jillian raised a hand and gave her a disbelieving look. "Excuse me, Miss. But first, your people were the one who decided to attack our country and take over our cities and now, you're asking me — us — to help you?" How shameless could you be? The last sentence hung in the air, echoing louder than when it was spoken out loud.

Maia's cheeks heated up and she could feel tears of shame forming on the corner of her eyes. Damn it, Maia, this wasn't the time to cry! She knew that her tribe was to blame for the war but she couldn't help the sting of humiliation and anger that constricted her throat, choking the air out of her lungs. She reminded herself again and again that the General couldn't possibly have any idea. 

He had no idea of how hopeful they were everytime their men departed for hunting in the morning only to be disappointed again and again when they returned empty-handed, how the elderlies chose to starve and give more food to children, how they feared for their lives every time the storm was coming, how Maia huddled with the kids under the blanket, soothing their cries and listening to their complain of hunger and fatigue, how they got so hungry that they had no choice but to munch on the snow and dried tree roots. How the troops were putting their lives in this war for hope that they could save everyone.

Maia pressed her lips together and practiced the breathing technique she had learned since young to control her fiery temper. When she didn't quite succeed, she poured the tea with shaking hands and downed it, using the burn and bitterness as distraction. Fortunately, it worked. Somehow. She quickly calmed down and what was left was only restlessness.

"I know it sounds… impudent but," Maia rolled the sentence on her tongue, carefully choosing each word. "Our tribe — I know you call us barbarians, don't you? — is not that bad, as unbelievable as it sounds. Our women are proficient in crafting, weaving and sewing." She lifted her arms to show the clothes hanging on her body. Mild interest flashed in the General's eyes which somehow injected a boost of courage in her and without her realizing, she started to blabber. "All of these are handmade. They are exquisite and of high quality. Not only that, we also have a wide knowledge of plants and medicines. I am not kidding when I say that we can grow anything out even from the driest soil. We have many exceptional qualities you can't find in your people. I'm just saying…" Maia shrugged. "...it will be nice if we can unite and work together."

Then because Maia had burned her brain to crisp along with the tea, she blurted out. "Should we get an arranged marriage? Usually, that works well to unite two opposing forces and I don't mind marrying into your country."

She only realized what she said when Jillian's face abruptly darkened. "The King is without any offspring."

So if they proceeded with the arranged marriage then the one who would most likely become the candidate was the most capable, trustworthy, influential bachelor in the country, who coincidentally happened to be… Maia blanched and cried out indignantly. "I don't want to marry you!" 

Jillian scoffed and crossed his arms, somehow managed to look repulsed and grossed out without even a twitch on his eyebrow. "Good to know we share the same sentiment. Now, Miss Maia, I don't think we—"

"Wait." Suddenly, a silhouette materialized in thin air on the chair beside Jillian. A man so ethereal with knee-length inky hair clad in pure, untainted white robe. In an instant, the air seemed to have been purified and there was even a faint scent of sweetness in the air.

Maia's jaws went agape and her hold on the teacup loosened, causing it to crash to the ground and shatter into pieces. 

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