The crow that is after me
Chapter 01 –
Marriage with the Crow
“Ell, tell me what you think.”
Elena was standing before the greatest decision of her life. Her eyes—said to be as blue as the waters of the Jart Sea—were filled with deep sadness as she stared down at her silk shoes. At last, the Princess spoke first.
“Lift your head and look at me.”
When Elena raised her eyes to meet the Princess’s, the usual playful light in them was gone—replaced by confusion and fear. The Princess sighed softly.
Elena of the Duke of Selem family was one of the Princess’s ladies-in-waiting and had grown up with her since childhood, almost like sisters. The Princess cherished Elena like her own blood. Perhaps that was why the Princess found Elena’s situation even more pitiful.
“You must be very upset… But trust me, Ell. I swear on my name that this marriage is far better than becoming my brother’s mistress.”
Elena’s face darkened. The Crown Prince wanted her—not as a wife, but as a mistress. He already had a Crown Princess.
In the Empire’s southern capital, people often justified their pleasures between men and women. It was common for nobles to have official spouses and still keep lovers.
Only Elena’s family, the Selem Dukedom, had stayed pure from that corruption. Her father had loved only his wife, and Elena dreamed of a warm home like her parents’.
So how could she agree to be a royal mistress? Of course, she couldn’t.
“I would never dare doubt Your Highness,” Elena said loyally.
The Princess only smiled, a kind smile that eased Elena’s tension. The Princess would never do her harm. Elena had no reason to doubt her. With a calmer heart, she asked,
“Who do you wish to marry me to, Your Highness?”
“The Grand Duke of Varcian, in the North.”
The Grand Duke of Varcian. The man known as the King of Crows. Elena’s mind went blank. Seeing her face, the Princess nodded gently.
“The tragedy that struck the former Duke and Duchess of Varcian… was truly unfortunate. I know the northerners still bear resentment toward us. So, the choice is yours, Ell.”
Elena bit her lip. The Princess, reading her inner conflict, added,
“Still, I’ve heard northern men take only one woman in their lifetime. Sometimes, even women take several husbands instead, since women are so rare there.”
Even if Elena married another noble in the capital, the Crown Prince wouldn’t stop chasing her. He didn’t want her heart—only her body.
As long as she stayed in the capital, he would never let her go. In truth, Elena had no choice.
“Ell. Have you made up your mind?”
“Yes.”
Elena took a deep breath.
“I will take the Grand Duke of Varcian as my husband.”
The Princess kept her promise and arranged the marriage quickly.
On the journey north to marry the Grand Duke, Elena gazed out the carriage window in awe.
“Nanny, look at all that white snow!”
“My lady! You’ll catch a cold!” the old nanny scolded as she quickly closed the window.
“I thought I’d live and die in the South… but the North, oh dear.”
The North, infamous for its harsh cold and endless snow, was far from the gentle warmth of home. Elena sympathized with her nanny’s complaints—but after hearing them nonstop for two weeks in the carriage, she had no comfort left to give. She only smiled faintly.
“The North might not be so bad. People live there too, don’t they?”
“I just don’t understand why you agreed to this marriage,” the nanny muttered, shaking her head.
Elena stayed silent. If her nanny knew the truth—that this marriage was her escape from the Crown Prince—she would have exploded with outrage despite her age.
The Crown Prince wanted Elena not out of love, but because she was the only woman in the Empire who had dared reject him. He wanted to own her like a jewel.
Elena had wanted to refuse him outright. But even the mighty Selem Dukedom was powerless before the imperial family—the very source of their influence.
That was when the Princess intervened. Before the Emperor, she had pleaded:
“For decades, the North has defended us from the barbarians beyond the sea. Have you forgotten the bloody Battle of Hizenso seven years ago, Your Majesty? Yet how has the court treated them since?
A starving dog will bite even its master. If we want their continued loyalty, we must reward, not neglect them.”
Her words carried more weight than those of the Crown Prince, who was already bringing shame to the family by taking mistresses less than a year after marriage.
Moved by pity for the neglected Crown Princess and persuaded by his daughter, the Emperor granted Elena’s marriage to the northern Grand Duke while the Crown Prince was away hunting.
Soon after, Elena was sent north with treasures and dowry, without even enough time to say proper goodbyes to her friends.
“I must think of the North as my new home now,” Elena whispered.
Her nanny stayed silent, sensing the determination behind her words.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped. Both women exchanged worried looks. They had just rested, so this wasn’t a planned stop.
“Bandits?” the nanny gasped.
“If it were, it wouldn’t be this quiet,” Elena said calmly.
“I’ll go check—please stay inside, my lady,” said one of the guards.
“There’s no need,” Elena said firmly. She tapped the window, signaling her knight, Sir Jace, to come close.
“What’s happening?”
“We’re facing northern soldiers, my lady.”
“Northern soldiers?”
“I will get down,” Elena said.
With Jace’s help, she stepped out of the carriage.
A man stepped forward and bowed deeply on one knee. “Lady of Selem, I am Arthur, Captain of the Varcian Knights.”
On his shoulder perched a black crow, and his armor bore the same symbol. Elena recognized him immediately. These were the infamous “Crows of the North.”
“Please rise,” she said with a polite smile. “Have you come to escort us?”
“Please lower your tone, my lady. You are to be our mistress.”
Elena only smiled faintly at his formality.
“By order of the Grand Duke,” Arthur continued, “our knights will escort you from here.”
“I cannot allow that!” Sir Lanchester, the southern escort leader, protested sharply.
It wasn’t just about escort duty. There was something else behind his refusal.
Elena held out her hand, and Lanchester gave her a sealed paper. After reading it, her face hardened.
“So only I am permitted to enter the North?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, my lady,” Arthur said without hesitation.
The Grand Duke wanted to cut her off from her own people even before she arrived.
“Lady Elena, we don’t have to obey him,” Lanchester argued. “We’ll stay with you till the end.”
“The Grand Duke won’t tolerate uninvited soldiers entering his land,” Arthur replied coolly.
The two men glared at each other until Elena intervened.
“Lanchester, I am now of Varcian. I must follow his command.”
“My lady!”
“Take the others and return. Take care of my nanny.”
Lanchester looked heartbroken, as if she were walking into a den of wolves. Behind the carriage door, the nanny sobbed loudly.
“My lady! You can’t go alone! Who will care for you if not me?”
“The generous Grand Duke has already prepared a maid for her,” Arthur announced loudly, as if to show off.
Generous, indeed. He even sent his crows to watch her.
Elena looked up at the black birds circling overhead and forced a small, bitter smile.
Her nanny collapsed to the ground, crying harder. Elena gave Arthur a reproachful look, and he quietly stepped aside.
Elena helped her nanny stand and whispered, “Don’t worry. And you were just saying you didn’t want to leave the capital, remember?”
“I didn’t mean without you!”
Elena’s heart ached, but she held her tears back and hugged her nanny tightly.
“Please don’t cry for me,” she murmured.
The nanny wiped her eyes, realizing Elena was barely holding her own tears.
“At least you’ll get your wish,” Elena added softly. “You’ll live and die in the South, just as you always wanted.”
The nanny shook her head. “It’s my foolish wish that caused all this. How will you survive alone in that harsh land?”
“I’ll be fine. You wouldn’t last a week there, anyway,” Elena said gently.
As Arthur returned to escort her, Elena smiled weakly at her nanny. “Write to me when you reach the capital.”
Her nanny promised again and again.
“This way, my lady,” Arthur said, offering his arm.
Elena turned for one last look at the people and home she was leaving behind. Then, slowly, she stepped into the carriage prepared by the Grand Duke himself.
Before closing the door, Arthur removed his thick cloak and handed it to her.
“Please take this. The northern winds are harsher than you imagine.”
“And you?” she asked.
“I am a northerner, my lady. You need not worry about me.”
Elena accepted the cloak, and Arthur closed the door respectfully.
Left alone, Elena sat quietly. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
