Chapter 2

Ivy sat at the dining table, waiting for her husband even though it was already quite late, especially for dinner. Ivy gazed at all the food served that night but hadn't touched it. Ivy intended to eat with her husband, but he didn't show up.

"Did he forget?" she murmured.

"But how could he forget? Wasn't he the one who instructed all the servants to prepare this? Then, what should I do?" Ivy spoke again.

She sighed deeply and stood up from her seat. Ivy looked at the food on the table again and held her hungry stomach.

"I'll eat tomorrow morning. I want to eat with him. Isn't this our first meeting? Why didn't he come to meet me?”

Ivy was about to return to her room when someone suddenly stood before her. Ivy lifted her head and widened her eyes in disbelief upon seeing a man with a fairer skin than hers, dark brown hair, and a firm face.

"Who are you?" she asked, taking a step back.

"Ivy Marionet?" the man uttered, questioning.

"Um."

"Are you Ag... Agnito? Ah, why did I forget his first name?" Ivy continued.

"Winter Agnito, the crown prince in the eastern region."

"As far as I remember, my husband is not a crown prince," Ivy retorted, thinking Winter was her husband.

"He's not a crown prince," Winter replied.

"So, why are you here? Did you come with my husband?" Ivy asked, looking at Winter.

"No," Winter answered briefly.

"So?"

"I just wanted to see you. I was curious about who Ivy Marionet is, the one who successfully married Race Agnito," Winter stated.

"Huh?"

"Race is not an easy man to win over. Who are you really, Ivy? Why did Uncle and Aunt choose you to be Race's wife?" Winter questioned again.

***

Ivy woke up late this morning. Last night, she used a lot of her magic to conceal all the scars on her body so that no one would see them. She also skipped dinner, so she had no energy left. Miranda had entered Ivy's room a while ago and placed a glass of warm milk on the table near Ivy's bed. Seeing that Ivy still hadn't woken up, Miranda huffed in annoyance and left the room.

Several hours later, Ivy, who had regained her strength, woke up. Ivy stretched and yawned, scanning the room with her eyes. She was startled to see a man sitting on the chair near the window.

"Aaaaaa!!!" Ivy screamed and quickly moved away.

The man, who had been looking out the window, turned his gaze towards Ivy with a furrowed brow.

"Why are you screaming?" he said.

"W-who are you? How did you get inside my room?" Ivy asked, her voice filled with fear.

The man, who was more attractive than Winter in Ivy's eyes, gave a faint smile. He stood up and approached Ivy's bed.

"Hey! Hey! Don't come any closer! Stay there!" Ivy said, moving away again.

"Why can't I sit here? I have the right to be in this place too."

The man's words made Ivy's mind work, and she covered her mouth in surprise.

"Agnito... Ag ai shhh, what's your name?" Ivy asked, unable to remember her own husband's name.

"Race Agnito. How could you forget your own husband's name? Hurry up and get ready! I'll wait for you at the dining table."

Race stood up and walked towards the exit, but Ivy quickly grabbed his hand.

"Wait!"

Race was surprised by what Ivy did and instinctively jerked his hand away roughly. Now, it was Ivy who was shocked by Race's reaction. She stared at her hand that Race had brushed off somewhat harshly.

***

Ivy was speechless as Race continued to eat his lunch, cutting into the grilled meat with his knife.

"There won't be any welcome party or introduction party for you. I'm too busy to handle all that," Race said while Ivy played with her cream soup, which she had chosen for lunch.

“Don't expect me to wait for you to come home. I won't return to this pavilion unless it's urgent. If you need anything, tell Miranda. She's the longest-serving servant and knows this pavilion well.”

Race then ate the meat and chewed while Ivy stirred her soup absentmindedly.

"One more thing, we are indeed husband and wife. But don't expect me to fulfill my duties as a husband to you. I won't demand anything from you either. But don't worry. You will still receive your rights as my wife here. I will provide for all your needs, but not the needs of a husband and wife," Race emphasized, his gaze fixed on Ivy now.

Ivy, who had been looking at Race since he started speaking, widened her eyes in disbelief. She swallowed hard, struggling to hold back her urge to ask Race what he meant by all these words.

"Do you have any questions?" Race asked.

"If you have nothing to ask, continue eating! I'll return to the training base camp. I'm a leader of the royal soldiers, so I can't relax and dine with you three times a day. Start adapting here!" Race added.

Race stood up and walked away, leaving Ivy sitting there in silence. Ivy clenched her spoon tightly and then closed her eyes for a moment.

"So, why did you agree to marry me if you don't have time to pretend to be a husband? You should have just refused this arranged marriage. It didn't have to happen if you didn't want it to. If you had rejected marrying me, I would have chosen to stay in the West. After all, we never really knew each other, did we? Why are you busy explaining things you could have easily avoided, Race?" Ivy muttered to herself.

***

"Is the young mistress not eating anymore?" Selina asked.

Seeing Gareta enter the kitchen carrying a tray of food that seemed untouched by Ivy, Selina grew more concerned about her.

"Yes, it seems she's having some difficulty adapting here. The food here is also very different from up north. The food here seems a bit oily," Gareta responded.

"Ah... you're right, Gareta," Selina agreed.

Not long after, Miranda arrived and laughed mockingly at her two colleagues. Miranda then took a piece of chicken cooked in sauce by Selina earlier. Without hesitation, Miranda put the amount of chicken in her mouth.

"It's not the food that's causing the young mistress Ivy to refuse to eat," she said with her mouth full.

"Then what?" Gareta and Selina asked simultaneously.

"The young mistress is not welcome here. Even young Master Race doesn't want to see her, let alone the Agnito family. Their arranged marriage is solely for the Agnito family's benefit. The master must have his agenda in marrying young master Race to the young mistress Ivy. What's certain is that the young mistress Ivy is neither a wife nor a daughter-in-law here," Miranda explained.

"Then what?" Gareta asked again.

"A hostage."

Ivy, behind the kitchen door all this time, turned around and clenched her clothes tightly. Ivy, who had intended to ask for a glass of juice to regain her strength, instead heard this dreadful news from her own servants' gossip. Ivy took a deep breath and abandoned her intention to ask for juice.

"It turns out that wherever I am, I am nothing more than a hostage. I was taken because I am needed and useful to them."

To overcome her sadness, Ivy took a walk in the pavilion area. Unfortunately, Ivy ended up walking too far into the forest.

"Where am I? Which way should I go to get back to the pavilion? Why has the path split?"

Ivy looked confused as she saw the two diverging paths before her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes gently. After reciting a few mantras, Ivy opened her eyes again and saw the two paths alternately. Ivy smiled with joy when she saw one way brightly lit. Without hesitation, Ivy walked along that path to return to the pavilion.

Ivy had just arrived at the pavilion when it was dark. Ivy was startled to see Race in front of her.

"Where have you been? Don't you know it's already dark?" Race scolded.

"I was just taking a stroll around the pavilion," Ivy answered, slightly frightened.

"Then why did you go alone? You should have asked one of the servants to accompany you, like Miranda. Didn't I tell you that you're my responsibility here!"

Race sounded angrier.

"Sorry, I didn't know it would make you angry. I thought you wouldn't come back here. Didn't you say you would only come back if there were something urgent?"

"If I didn't return, would you spend the whole day walking around? It's nighttime now. I heard you didn't even have breakfast or lunch. Do you want to die here, huh? If you want to die, don't do anything dangerous in my pavilion! Don't do anything that jeopardizes anything if you want to be my wife!" Race said again.

"Why should I obey your words, Race? Isn't it better for you if I'm not here?" Ivy asked, staring intensely at Race and starting to gather the courage to defy him.

"Don't defy me, Iv! You have no right to defy me here!"

"Then what rights do I have? Should I remain silent when everyone treats me like a hostage wherever I go?"

Ivy stared at Race, who was also staring back at Ivy sharply.

"You're not a hostage. You're a threat to me, especially Winter."

***