Chapter 2:
Norn’s Betrothal (Part 2)
LEAVE IT TO ME.
With those words, I went straight to laying the groundwork for the marriage. Norn was on board, so now the only question mark was Ruijerd. Considering his age, he ought to leap at the chance to marry my little sister. Plus, marrying into my family would serve the Superd too. Since days of yore, marriage had often served to solidify alliances. A marriage between Norn and Ruijerd ensured the Superd wouldn’t turn against the Dragon God, and on our side, it meant we wouldn’t abandon the Superd. It was a win-win situation.
But still, was that enough? And would this make Norn happy? If Ruijerd married her because he had to, would that be what she wanted? Could she hold back her tears when she realized he didn’t love her?
Currently, Ruijerd was responsible for the negotiations with the Biheiril Kingdom. That meant Norn would live not in the Magic City of Sharia, but in the Superd village. At least after what happened there, all the villagers seemed to know her face and name; they would probably welcome her. But would Norn be able to cope surrounded by people of a different species and an entirely different culture from Sharia? Worst case, Norn might even end up living alone in a nearby town.
I was worried. Genuinely worried.
When I asked my wives about it, Roxy said, “It’s Norn. I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Eris said, “It’s Ruijerd. They’ll be fine,” and Sylphie said, “You’re overthinking it.”
They were sure it would be fine, but still, I worried. I couldn’t bear Norn being unhappy. If she ended up crying, I’d have to face Paul’s resentful gaze in my dreams while Zenith sat at my bedside and slapped me in my sleep. For their sake as well, I had to give Norn the best chance to be happy—but even then, it would be up to her what she did with it.
I could trust Ruijerd, of course. I knew that even if he didn’t truly love Norn, he would give her everything she was due as his wife. He would ensure she had no reason to cry. Still, I needed to be sure. What if I set up an event to nudge the two of them together? I might be able to steer Ruijerd’s feelings toward Norn and make sure they would be happy.
“Right,” I said to myself.
That was how I ended up in the Biheiril Kingdom in the Superd village. Just a few months earlier, it had been under heavy construction, but now it was back to looking like a village again. It was surrounded by a tall palisade, within which there were houses and empty vegetable patches. When the Superd warriors saw me, they bowed their heads and warmly welcomed me into the village. I nodded back at them by way of greeting, then hurried off to Ruijerd’s house. It was a new build, of course.
Ruijerd’s house was big, maybe because he was a fairly important person in the village now. Yep, this was plenty of space for two—and kids.
“Ruijerd,” I asked tentatively, “are you home?”
“Rudeus?” he answered. Maybe he’d just finished a meal—he was sitting cross-legged in front of the hearth, his eyes shut as though he’d been meditating.
Without a word, I sat down in front of him. I was kneeling. At that, Ruijerd opened his eyes and looked at me questioningly.
“What is it?” he asked.
I held up a hand to him. “Give me a moment, please. I’m working out what to say.”
“All right.”
I lapsed into silence, staring into the flickering flames for what felt like an hour. Strange as it sounds, I hadn’t given any thought to what I should say. I knew what I had to ask: How did he feel about Norn? Did he like her? Hate her? Could he see himself marrying her?
The question was how to say it. Wanna marry Norn? Something like that? No, scratch that. Getting married and how he felt were two different issues. I couldn’t forget that.
I stayed quiet, but Ruijerd didn’t try to make conversation. He patiently waited for me to speak as though we had all the time in the world. I didn’t know what he had to do that day, but he was a busy man. He’d be like this with Norn too, I was sure. Maybe Norn would get annoyed at him for it. Maybe she’d snap at him to say something.
Nah, it was probably that side of Ruijerd that Norn had fallen in love with. A person you can be comfortably silent with is a rare thing. Though, admittedly, I was a bit uncomfortable.
“Norn made me tea the other day, and she was actually quite good at it,” I said, fishing for a reaction.
“Well, well. Norn making tea.”
A nibble from Ruijerd. Maybe he was interested in Norn after all. Had I cleared the first hurdle, then…?
Hold on, though. If a guy says something after being silent for a full hour, of course you’d latch on, no matter what he said.
Settle down, Rudeus. Conversation is all in the flow.
“Apparently, she’s always making tea at work, and that’s how she improved.”
“I see… I once drank tea she made when she came to the village. It was very good.”
Ruijerd smiled at the memory. So he’d had Norn’s tea before, had he? Maybe he wanted to drink it again. Maybe he was thinking he’d like her to make it every day just for him…
Dammit, how do I ask the question? I could do with some options. Is this how Orsted feels when he talks to me? How the heck do I do this?!
“Not only can she make tea, her cooking isn’t bad either.”
While I hesitated, the conversation still flowed.
Wait just a minute. What was that? Home cooking?