Time for the Bride to Enter
The moldy stench stabbed at my nostrils. Just moments ago, I'd been lying in the Saintess Palace bedroom, buried under silk blankets amid the scent of lilies. The air in this underground dungeon was the worst. Even the dingy basement room I'd lived in before was better than this.
The floor was hard stone, and the creepy crawlies skittering across it brushed against the smooth skin between my legs.
"Hic... sob..."
I huddled on the cold stone floor. It was freezing. My body shivered. I'd barely managed to pull together the Saintess robes that Skeban had shredded, but it was no use. My shoulders were already exposed, and through the tatters ripped up to my thighs, my flesh was laid bare without filter.
What the hell... Usually, when you get isekai'd to another world, good things happen... So why... Why the fuck is this happening to me?
This was insane. In all those typical isekai reincarnation stories, the protagonists were OP as hell. So why was I like this? Why was I stuck in this shithole?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
...No. This wasn't the time to just curse. I needed to figure out how to escape this mess first.
That emperor bastard. What the hell was he thinking?
Up until he'd ripped my clothes to shreds, I'd been certain. I figured the madman would pounce like a beast and defile the symbol of my chaste sainthood. It terrified me, but part of me thought it might be better that way. If he raped me once, at least he wouldn't kill me after.
But it was unexpected. Instead of lunging like an animal, he'd looked at me with disgust and ordered his men to throw me in this cell. That cold gaze. That scared me more.
Putting me in danger without rape... That meant something even more horrific.
A chill settled in my chest. It reminded me of my past life, being chased by debt collectors. The guys swinging fists right in your face were less brutal than the ones smiling and saying "see you tomorrow."
"Ha... ugh..."
As the terror rose, my body started trembling uncontrollably. Being in a woman's body made it worse.
"God... please help me... please..."
A hollow laugh escaped me. I knew better than anyone there was no god. Just like the emperor said, I was a fraud.
But here I was, begging that god for help? Oh my god. My ass.
"O God... please... please... your child begs you."
Still, prayers kept spilling from my lips. It was instinct etched into this body. In this hellish situation, prayer was the only thing I could do.
Screeech.
Suddenly, the heavy iron door creaked open. A sharp beam of light poured into the pitch-black darkness.
"Come out."
"...Wh... where are you taking me?"
"Shut up and follow."
"Kyaa!"
A brutish Imperial soldier grabbed me roughly and dragged me along. I had no choice but to stumble after him, tears streaming down my face like livestock headed to the slaughterhouse.
**
The place they dragged me to was the dressing room... where I'd changed clothes before. Of course, I hadn't dressed myself. Maids had always done it for me. Surrounded by countless mirrors, I'd admired myself here, reveling in my superiority.
The only difference was the outfit.
A blindingly white wedding dress hung on a mannequin. It wasn't just any wedding dress. Layers of the finest lace. Hundreds of diamonds embedded. The pinnacle of luxury.
"Why... why make me wear this...?"
"Put it on her. By order of His Majesty the Emperor."
At the soldier's sharp command, the maids huddled in the corner approached, trembling. Just yesterday, they'd washed my feet and murmured, "Saintess, may you live long and prosper." Their eyes were already swollen from crying.
"Saintess... sob, what do we do... what are we going to do..."
One maid wailed as she stripped off my torn clothes. The silk fabric pooled on the floor, and my naked body reflected in the dressing room mirrors. Porcelain-white skin, dizzyingly curved breasts rising proudly, a slender waist. A body millions of times more beautiful than that BJ streamer I'd envied in my past life.
But right now, this body had no power. It was just a lump of meat to be handled by others.
"Why... why do I have to wear this? Tell me!"
I demanded desperately, but the maids said nothing, fastening a corset around me and yanking the laces tight. Riiip, riiiip. My slim waist felt like it would snap.
"Hngh!"
Breath caught in my throat. The corset forced my breasts upward, the dress's deeply plunging neckline emphasizing their tops like they might burst free. It was humiliating. Too provocative and sensual for a bride's gown.
"Saintess... we're so sorry... we have no power..."
The maids draped a pure white veil over my head. In the mirror, I looked like the most beautiful, noble bride in the world. But beneath that veil, my expression was that of a condemned prisoner facing death.
**
The capital square in front of the Saintess Palace. The holy place where tens of thousands of people had knelt at my feet, waiting for holy water blessings. But today's air filling the square was different.
The grand doors of the Saintess Palace swung open, and as I appeared, thousands of gazes locked onto me.
"S-Saintess...!"
"Saintess Elise...!"
The theocracy's people called my name through tears. But Imperial soldiers with gleaming blades blocked them.
I was led onto the platform. The white wedding dress fluttered in the cold wind. Through the veil, I saw Emperor Skeban. He lounged sideways on a golden throne, watching me with the intrigued eyes of a theatergoer.
An Imperial herald knight stepped forward and unrolled a scroll. The square fell deathly silent.
"The Terranos Theocracy and the Persius Empire hereby declare a ceasefire today!"
Sighs of relief from some citizens. But the knight's voice turned cruel.
"As a symbol of eternal peace between the two nations, Saintess Elise of the theocracy shall wed His Majesty Emperor Skeban's beloved steed, Knulu."
"...What?"
My mind flashed white. What had I just heard? Beloved steed? A horse? Marriage between a person and a horse? What kind of bullshit was this?
"If the saintess you worship is real, your god will strike me down!"
The emperor bellowed, and the square went still.
"But if your god doesn't save her, it proves no such god exists!"
The square erupted into chaos. Citizens screamed in horror. Some fainted.
"Impossible! A beast?! How dare you do this to our Saintess!"
"Kill us instead! Kill us!"
Stab!
"Gaaahhh!"
"Aaaah!"
Controlling people is easy. Just make an example.
"Aaah!! Spare me!! I'll stay quiet!! Please, spare me!!"
Against the Empire's might, the citizens' resistance was futile. Then, heavy footsteps from behind the platform, and a massive creature was dragged out. Knulu. A mountain of a black stallion with glossy jet-black fur. As the emperor's personal mount, it looked ferociously savage.
Excited by the unfamiliar scents and the square's heat, it scraped the ground with its front hooves and snorted roughly.
When my eyes drifted to its underbelly, my heart stopped. From the excited horse's groin dangled a red cock thicker than a man's arm, grotesque and veiny, blood-engorged and ready to tear anything apart.
"Hii, hiik...!"
I recoiled instinctively. My foot caught in the dress hem, and I collapsed. The pristine white wedding dress soiled, but that wasn't the issue.
If that goes inside me... aaah... no!! No!!
Skeban descended from the throne and approached slowly. He gripped my chin, forcing my terrified eyes to meet his piercing stare.
"Nice expression, Saintess. Finally looks human."
"P-Please... spare me! I'll do anything!! Please!!"
Tears and snot poured down madly. Seeing it, the emperor sneered again.
"Why cry? On such a joyous day."
Skeban leaned close to my ear and whispered low.
"Soon they'll all know. The ugly truth about you, the so-called voice of god."
It was unfair. I hadn't been here long. And I hadn't even exiled him! But I couldn't fight back. Overwhelming killing intent. My tears and snot gushed even more.
Unfair. So fucking unfair. It wasn't me. Wasn't me...
Why did I have to suffer this?!
"Now, time for the bride to enter?"
At Skeban's gesture, Imperial soldiers seized me and dragged me before the beast. Before thousands of citizens, I faced becoming the black stallion's bride.