By becoming her brother’s fiancée, Brunhild became royalty again. She was given a room appropriate for her status and was assigned exclusive servants. They gave her magnificent dresses and expensive jewelry, but it was all meaningless to her. The more magnificent the gift she received, the more she missed her life in the hut.
She wasn’t very good at interacting with other people. She had been rather poorly socialized to begin with. Still, in an attempt to engage with other people, she tried initiating conversations with the servants and nobles in the castle. However, the servants could not speak with her out of respect, and she couldn’t find anything to talk about with the nobles. Brunhild was ignorant of what was common knowledge to the denizens of the castle and the aristocrats, and she couldn’t even manage small talk. The more she spoke, the more starkly her unfitness for this environment came into relief.
Despite this, she slowly began to get used to her life at the castle. Perhaps it was more accurate to say she resigned herself to it.
One evening, when the moon was bright in the sky, Brunhild was sleeping in her room. She had come to love sleeping, as she would sometimes see the dragon in her dreams.
That night, she was able to meet the dragon again. They were cuddling by the banks of that river. Brunhild had forgotten the dragon had died.
Feeling happy, Brunhild said, “I hope we can be like this forever.”
The dragon began to rub his skin against hers.
She felt him slowly leaning against her. The weight increased, pressing her delicate frame into the carpet of grass.
“Hey, what are you…?”
The dragon dragged the end of his snout along Brunhild’s body like a dog. She laughed.
“That tickles.”
He began to press his nose harder against her. And not only that. The dragon also slid his nose underneath Brunhild’s clothing.
“Wait. Hey, I’m scared…”
The dragon didn’t listen to Brunhild’s attempt to stop him.
He said nothing, just pressed his nose against her body rather roughly. It made her think of a boar.
She grew uneasy. “…Say something.”
But the dragon said nothing.
Instead, he howled. His cry was like that of a wolf, and it made the trees rustle and the surface of the water ripple.
The dragon ripped Brunhild’s clothing with his claws and began to peel them off, exposing her pale skin beneath the cold light of the moon.
“No, stop. Stop it,” Brunhild said, wishing the dragon would go back to how he always was. But he had become a beast and would not stop.
“Please. Stop. Please…!”
Despite her pleas, he would not stop, so finally, Brunhild screamed, “Stop!”
Then she woke up.
She was no longer in the forest but in her bedroom in the castle. The only thing that was the same was the moonlight streaming in.
She was lying in bed. There was not a dragon sitting atop her but someone else.
Sigurd.
He had crept into her room to rape her. Her nightclothes were askew.
She cried out in fear, “Help. Someone, someone—!”
“Save you? You’re going to be my wife.”
“No. No. No…” It was so awful that the hairs on her body stood on end, but she couldn’t resist. When her brother looked at her, she froze with fear.
“Hic… Ah… Hng…” All she could do was cry. She wept and wailed like a child. Her face became a mess of tears and snot, and her cheeks turned bright red.
Seeing Brunhild’s crying face, Sigurd relented. Though he was still grasping Brunhild’s arms, he made no move to go further. Based on his expression, however, he didn’t appear to have stopped out of pity.
“How unsightly.” He fixed his own clothes and got off the bed.
“I would be sullying myself to claim a woman as sorry as you,” he spat at her right before leaving, and she lay dazed on the bed.
“We will be wed in six months’ time. That will make things clear.”
Brunhild just trembled, not even thinking about replying.
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll sleep in my room. You should have come there tonight in the first place.”
With that, he left.
Brunhild was in a daze. Slowly, her mind cleared, and sorrow welled up from inside her. Her situation finally felt real; she was going to marry her brother and bear his children.
She opened her desk drawer. Inside was a single claw, her memento of the dragon. She touched its tip to her neck. Should she use it to take her life? The claw dug into her flesh. It bled a little. Mild pain.
She could move it no further.
Embracing the claw, Brunhild collapsed.
She was pathetic. Her brother had been right.
She had no courage.
Not even the conviction to die, despite everything that had happened.
The claw in her hands, Brunhild leaped out of the room. She was so sick of it all that she wanted to run off.
She sprinted all around.
When she ran out of breath and could move no longer, she found herself in the garden. Red roses were in full bloom. Hoping the smell of flowers would calm her heart, she sat down on a wooden chair. She squeezed the dragon’s claw, but it didn’t make the sadness abate in the slightest.
“Save me…” The words spilled from her lips. “Someone, save me…”
It was so quiet that no one else would hear. She didn’t mind if no one could hear her plea. She didn’t think anyone would actually save her anyway.
And yet, someone did hear.
“Brunhild…?”
She lifted her chin and saw a familiar face.
It was Richard.
Unable to bear it all, Brunhild flung herself into Richard’s arms. She buried her face in his chest. “I wanted to see you…” Richard was one of the few people on her side.
“But why…are you in a place like this?” she asked him, meaning to ask why he was in the garden so late at night.
“Because I’m always watching you.”
His words eased the sadness in her heart just a little. It was nostalgic. He had often tried to make her laugh with these sorts of jokes.
“Why are you out in the garden so late at night, Brunhild?”
“I missed the smell of flowers, so I came here. You know, since I was living in the forest all this time,” she told him, a spontaneous lie. She didn’t want to worry him.
Brunhild drew away, and the two of them sat side by side on a bench.
“It’s been a few years,” she said.
“Six,” Richard corrected her. “I knew that you’d come to the castle. I actually wanted to see you right away, but I was busy handling the king’s orders and just couldn’t find the time.”
“I thought you were no longer at the castle.”
He lowered his eye. “I wanted to talk to you—and apologize.”
“Apologize? For what…?”
“I wasn’t able to do anything for you after you were expelled.”
“I’m not upset by that. My brother told you not to get involved with me, didn’t he?”
“I still should have opposed him…”
Brunhild shook her head. “You can’t go against him. You don’t know what might happen.”
Richard didn’t respond to her statement. “…I heard what happened to you. It’s a shame the dragon died…but you can’t just keep drowning in regret. You’re back at the castle, so you have to live here…”
“Live here…?” Her brother’s repulsive behavior rose in her mind. “Brother said he would make me his wife… He’s gone mad.”
Richard looked quite disgusted. “…I’m sorry. That’s…my fault.”
“Huh?”
“I advised him to do it. To take you as his bride, that is. If I hadn’t…he would have killed you that night.”
After apologizing, Richard told her about his conversation with Sigurd on the night he’d killed the dragon. He explained he had used the fact that Brunhild held the dragon’s gift as a pretext to save her life. Brunhild figured Richard couldn’t have gotten Sigurd to listen to him and spare Brunhild’s life any other way, as the king was quick to anger.
Brunhild brought her fingers to her throat. She had a feeling that was where the dragon’s power lay.
“It appears…my brother very much covets this power. But I don’t know what it is. Do you, Richard? Are you aware of the true nature of the power the dragon bestowed to me…?”
“I know. But it’s best that you don’t.”
“Why?”
“Because of that necklace.” Richard looked at Brunhild’s throat. “The moment you use your power, the necklace will punish you for it. I wouldn’t want you to discharge your power on accident and hurt yourself because I gave you incomplete information about it.”
He apologized once more. “I’m to blame for that, too. If only I had gotten to Tauber Village earlier or I had managed to advise him better…”
Brunhild had absolutely no desire to blame Richard, but the man wore an expression of sorrow.
“It’s all my fault,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it. You did it for my sake.” Brunhild told him “thank you” with as much gratitude as she could.
But Richard couldn’t accept that in the slightest. “I will take responsibility for this… I swear I’ll manage things somehow.”
Even if Richard couldn’t actually do anything, Brunhild was still glad he had expressed an intent to. Just having someone on her side in this castle was encouraging.
“Thank you. But…it’s fine.”
Richard cocked his head curiously. “It’s fine? What is?”
“You don’t have to save me.” She smiled weakly. “Offering me support will only threaten your position. I hate my brother, but I don’t want you to meet misfortune because of that.”
“You don’t have to worry about me—”
“I’m saying this because you’re important to me.”
At this, Richard’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“It’ll be okay,” said Brunhild. “I’m used to bearing things. And I’ll…I’ll do that this time, too.”
She had no other choice—
—not when she had been unable to resist him out of fear, even when he’d stolen a kiss from her.
Richard gave a little shake of his head. “I don’t think it’s right for siblings to marry.”
“Oh my, Richard. You’re so well learned, so you should know. There are many examples in other nations of close relatives marrying one another in order to preserve their bloodlines.”
She didn’t want to worry him, so she put on a smile.
But it was no use. Her grin faltered from the disgust she was feeling after her brother’s assault.
Richard said, “…You don’t have to put on a tough face in front of me.”