Chapter 2:
The Wicked Princess and the Adopted Brother-in-Law
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HOW UTTERLY depressing.
Stale, my little brother, was finally due to arrive at the castle.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around having a brother-in-law, even an adopted one. I mean, I was only eight years old, a bit young for that kind of thing. I even tried to convince Father to drop it, but he insisted we adhere to the tradition. In Freesia, custom demanded the heir to the throne have a special assistant or servant, a boy adopted into the family precisely for this purpose. He had to be younger than the heir, which, combined with his gender, would make him ineligible for the title, even once he became a member of the royal family. It shielded him from assassination attempts so he could perform his function.
“Stale…”
I sighed. I still found the whole thing weird. Stale probably suffered so much after being ripped away from his own family to serve mine.
Stale Royal Ivy had lost his father to illness at a young age and spent his childhood with only his mother. While a commoner, he too possessed a special power. Stale could transport anything he touched, including himself, like a sort of teleportation.
In the game, Pride took advantage of Stale’s desire to return to his mother to lock him into a “fealty contract,” a horrible deal that forced him to obey Pride’s every order without fail. He wasn’t even an assistant at that point—he was just a puppet.
Of course, I had no plan of putting him through anything like that. But I couldn’t help worrying that my good intentions would mean little. For one thing, why would Stale listen to his new sister-in-law at all? And what would I do if he didn’t? Would I become like that other Pride, the Pride from the game? Part of me feared she was the one making me think such ugly thoughts in the first place. In the game, she savored Stale’s rage, his hatred. Ultimately, she forced him to commit an act he never recovered from.
“Your new brother-in-law has arrived at the castle, Your Highness,” Lotte said, jolting me out of my anxious thoughts. “Your father would like to introduce him to you.”
I had no choice but to follow her to where my father awaited, his hand resting on the shoulder of a boy with glossy black hair and dark eyes. Stale looked just the way I remembered from the game, from his pale skin to the high bridge of his nose. Though youthful now, I knew he would grow into a quiet, intriguing, bespectacled, intelligent man. It seemed the glasses would come in to the picture later.
“Pride,” Father said. “This is Stale. He’s to be your younger brother-in-law. He’s one year younger than you, and he’ll be serving as your steward and assistant. Once you rule, he will be your seneschal. Though he’s a commoner, his power of teleportation is quite impressive. I expect the two of you will get along splendidly.”
At first, I saw nothing but the character from the game, the Stale I expected. Then I noticed something I never saw in the game and jerked back a step.
Everything about his appearance was ordinary enough—aside from the handcuffs binding his wrists. His hands weren’t completely constricted, but it was still a shocking sight. Stale glared at the floor with a grim expression. Even a child could easily tell that these weren’t normal handcuffs. They were made of some kind of shiny material and decorated with jewels.
“Ah, did the handcuffs startle you?” Father said. “While I pity the boy, this is necessary for now. He kept escaping via teleportation while we were traveling here. He even injured a guard at one point. He seems to have settled down for now, but we can’t have him disappearing on us again. These shackles will prevent him from using his power until he can enter a subordination contract with you tomorrow. Then there’ll be no point in keeping the chains on any longer.” He stroked Stale’s hair as he spoke, an oddly tender gesture when contrasted with his words.
I had to remind myself that all of this was normal in this world, regardless of what my morals and ethics from my previous life dictated. Even the “subordination contract” was just an ordinary part of what my younger brother-in-law could expect. That contract existed so he could never betray me. It was a kind of bond found only in our kingdom and backed up by enchantments so neither signer could break the conditions of the contract. My brother-in-law would need to remain within a certain physical distance of me at all times and remain loyal to my commands.
The Pride of the game took it a step further, forcing Stale to sign a bond of “fealty.” That was a stricter bond that tacked on compulsory obedience to every command. In ORL, Pride stole that contract from her dead father’s study, switching it for the supposed “subordination contract.”
“Once you sign this, I’ll let you see your mother again,” she told him.
From that moment on, Stale was doomed. Even if he signed a subordination contract, the stricter fealty contract always took precedence. Stale, the seven-year-old commoner who could read and write no more than his own name, only realized the horror of what he’d done after the contract was complete.
But I’d never do anything like that!
Stale was still studying his feet. I rushed to his side and took his shackled hands in mine, giving them a gentle squeeze.
“I’m Pride Royal Ivy,” I said. “It’s so nice to meet you, Stale. We’ll be family from here out, so let’s get along, okay?”