Chapter Prologue
Prologue: The Voice of Your Heart is Leaking Out!
Tistye Lacie was confused .
“What are you doing?”—
[“—I’ve just awoken… why is there such a perfect beauty here? She’s too beautiful…”]
She didn’t mishear it .
The voice came from her husband who would usually glance at her in contempt—Gaizel Verscia .
However, Tistye wasn’t only able to hear the words he spoke, but also the words he thought .
“F-forgive me, Your Majesty…”
“…I told you to call me by my name when we’re at home . ”
“T, that’s right, um, Lord Gaizel…”
“…”—
[“—I would be fine with her not adding the honorific ‘Lord’… but, maybe that would be rushing it . It might also bring some trouble… what a cute voice! Just like the tweeting of a lovely, little, bird!”]
“Um, if you don’t wake up soon, you’ll keep everyone waiting!”
When Tistye hurriedly spout out those lines, Gaizel’s eyebrows rose .
D, did I misspeak?
She received Gaizel’s cold gaze .
“I’ll be returning late again today, you can rest first . ”—
[“—damn! I’m so busy these days! It is going to be impossible to have dinner with Tistye! As I thought, I must tie that Randi-guy up!”]
“I, I shall wait for your return, Lord Gaizel!”
“…Have it your way, then—”
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[“—she is… kind, too kind… is she an angel, perhaps?”]
Gaizel finally went to work .
Seeing him off, Tistye exhaled a long, deep, sigh .
Her face was bright red—and it likely wasn’t due to a fever .
Only the voice of His Majesty’s heart resounds this clear… I wonder why…
Tistye Lacie—
—she had a mysterious power, which allowed to hear the voice of people’s hearts .
The two of them had an arranged marriage . As usual, it was for political reasons .
Tistye was the youngest princess of Lacie, a tropical kingdom . Her hair was snow-white and her eyes were as blue as the summer skies .
Her skin was clear white . She was very beautiful—however, the majority of Lacie Kingdom’s people had fiery red hair and red pupils, as such, Tistye’s appearance became inconspicuous .
One day, when she was a kid, Tistye casually answered the words that her mother muttered .
Her mother thought it was a coincidence—but, as she repeatedly witnessed Tistye’s mysterious power, her mother eventually started to hate her . Calling her, ‘a cursed daughter’ and such .
Then, the talk of marriage arrived for Tistye, who lived a semi-imprisoned life so as to be hidden from the public eye .
The marriage partner was none other than the emperor of the powerful Northern Kingdom Verscia—Gaizel Verscia .
After the collapse of his predecessor, he became a fierce man who survived the battle of succession involving the entire kingdom with only his armed forces .
Afterwards, the number of battles he led to victory were uncountable .
Called a genius of fighting, he was able to utilize anything from swords to spears, bows, and even fought unarmed .
He acted proudly and was merciless towards his enemies—
—as such, he was also known as, ‘The Emperor of Ice’ .
Jet black hair, which was the exact opposite of Tistye, and white skin suitable for a king of the Northern Kingdom… His eyes were blue, just like Tistye’s, however, the blueness of his eyes was deep, like the bottom of a dark sea .
When Tistye first saw those eyes of his, she inevitably felt scared .
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‘—they’re offering a hostage? How useless . ’
Tistye recalled what he said during the day she came dressed for a wedding .
In fact, Tistye was supposed to become the sixteenth wife of the previous emperor .
However, because the previous emperor had fallen, Gaizel succeeded the throne . For some reason, he was willing to take Tistye as his wife .
According to Gaizel’s words, Tistye was but a sacrificial pawn used as an offering to protect the Kingdom of Lacy .
Verscia, an almighty kingdom that dominated its neighboring kingdoms one after another, had claimed the Kingdom of Lacie .
To show their allegiance and that they had no intention of rebelling, they presented a princess to him .
But the Kingdom of Lacie refused to hand over the fine, most beautiful, princesses that were Tistye’s elder sisters—as such, Tistye was chosen instead .
After recovering from Gaizel’s words, Tistye went to the hall where all the servants were waiting .
The butler approached and read out that day’s schedule .
“Lady Tistye, we have history and language lessons today, and dance lesson in the afternoon . ”
“Thank you, I shall return to my chamber and prepare myself . ”
She thanked the butler, who bowed politely, then withdrew to her room .
As she walked through the wide corridor, Tistye once again recalled the question—
As I thought, I can’t hear the voice of the others… only His Majesty’s—why?
Tistye’s mysterious power wasn’t really available at all time .
When she was small, she could hear anyone’s voice as long as they were nearby, but, as she grew, her ability had apparently deteriorated .
There were many things she couldn’t hear these days . She also couldn’t hear it clearly unless she focused on listening to the voice of other person’s heart (Tistye would call this ‘hearted’) .
In addition, this ‘reception’ also required unusual poses, such as raising her arm high and placing her foot at a wide angle—as such it wasn’t possible to do in public .
On the other hand, if the person had the same wavelength as her, she could hear the voice of their heart without even concentrating .
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However, the number of people who shared that wavelength were very small .
Usually, Tistye would only hear the ‘voices’ of those people coincidentally .
—but, the first day she came to this kingdom and met Gaizel…
[“—there’s a Goddess . ”]
Shocked, Tistye looked around her surroundings .
“What are you doing, introduce yourself . ”
“F, forgive my rudeness . My name is Tistye Lacie…”
[“—Tistye… what a pure sounding word . I wonder what could the meaning be, a flower fairy? Or a jewel-studded place? Either way, it’s wonderful . I thank her parent for bestowing such a beautiful name . ”]
“…”
She didn’t mishear it after all .
The voice of the heart she had just heard belonged to none other than His Majesty Gaizel .
“Must be rough, traveling all the way here . For today, rest . ”—
[“—even though I was supposed to pick her up today! That bastard Randi! For him to give me a job exactly on this date! Due to that, I can only meet her at a time like this!”]
“T, thank you very much…”
“…”—
[“—as I thought, was it because I’m a bit nervous…? Why is it that at such a time like this, I can’t even muster a single kind-hearted sentence…?”]
Tistye gently peeked at Gaizel’s face, listening to both of his voices .
Gaizel’s expression in the office was steep, and his eyes were glued on documents—in short, he never spared her a glance .
All the words he uttered were cold—if she couldn’t hear his other voice, Tistye would surely have been frozen by now .
Those words… were his true impression of me, right?
She was referring to the rhetorical phrase she had heard earlier .
At first, she was wondering if His Majesty’s lover was next door, but that was His Majesty’s private room . No matter how she looked at it, they were the only two there—Tistye and Gaizel .
Adhering to his words, Tistye excused herself from Gaizel to rest .
After closing the heavy wooden door, she could no longer hear Gaizel’s heart—it was as if the thread had been cut .
At last, Tistye sighed in relief .
It really is the voice of His Majesty’s heart… but why can I hear it clearly?
It was too vivid, and if she didn’t pay close attention, she might mistake it for his actual words .
When she thought about it—could it be, His Majesty ‘shared the same wavelength’ with her?
But said wavelength’s level was terribly high!
I feel guilty for listening to his true feelings as I please… but at the same time, why do I feel so embarrassed…?
Tistye realized her cheeks were burning .
As soon as they met, he had already called her a goddess, an angel, and whatnot . Even though all that could be read from his face was, ‘I’ll kill you if you commit the slightest mistake . ’—
—w, what was with that huge discrepancy between his words and his true feelings?!
For the time being, I shall go to bed . Starting tomorrow, I must do my best!
Rubbing her hot face, Tistye exhaled quietly .
Eventually, her blue eyes shone with determination .
I’m no longer in Lacie . My slightest misstep will be a source of conflict…
Whatever treatment she received, she must never show any indignance—no matter how humiliating it was .
She was offered to that kingdom—as a hostage .
Therefore, I must accomplish my given role .
Tistye vowed so as she headed towards the room that was assigned to her .