Abolishing the First Night Right
Thinking he would only step out briefly to receive the gift and return, Hyunwoo had no choice but to follow Olmati. The chancellor led him to the door of a certain room. “Please go inside, my lord. Three very special gifts have been prepared for you.” He grinned broadly. Hyunwoo eyed him with suspicion and gently pushed the door open. The moment he did, a thick, musky pheromone scent assaulted his nose. Inside stood three women, completely naked, their full breasts thrust forward as they curiously stared back at him through the crack in the door. Each had a dense patch of hair between her legs that matched the color of her tresses. Prostitutes, surely? Frowning slightly, he pulled the half-open door shut again and spoke in a reprimanding tone. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Are you worried the lady might scold you? There is no need for concern. I may not look it, but I am quite perceptive. Heh-heh. I shall inform her that urgent business kept you from sleeping in your own chambers tonight.” Olmati gave a sly laugh.
“I have no need for women.”
“Do their faces displease you? If so, I can replace them. There is a line of women outside who would gladly throw themselves into your arms.”
“A line? What are you talking about?”
“The First Night Right, my lord. Because of your absence, no weddings have taken place in the territory for the past several months. When word spread that you had arrived to take up your post, every prospective bride in the vicinity grew so excited at the thought of marrying her betrothed tomorrow that they flocked to the Sky Chamber.”
The First Night Right—the vile custom allowing a lord to spend the wedding night with the bride before the groom. Had such a depraved practice truly been enforced in his domain?
“Effective immediately, the First Night Right is abolished. I do not know how many have gathered, but send them all home.”
“Good heavens, that cannot be done!” Olmati waved his hands frantically. “The First Night Right has been observed in our territory for over a hundred years. It has become an essential rite of passage. If you refuse to partake, people will grow suspicious. The bride in question may be branded as diseased, unlucky, or ugly, and her betrothed could very well call off the wedding. A healthy, fortunate, and beautiful woman would have no reason to be rejected by you.” He added, “Your taking her is seen as a public guarantee that she is a worthy bride. That is how the people of the territory view it nowadays. The bride herself feels proud, as it proves she has no flaws.”
Proud? They could take that pride and give it to the dogs.
“In any case, the First Night Right ends today. Announce it to every citizen the moment dawn breaks tomorrow.”
Hyunwoo turned and began walking back toward his room. Olmati hurried after him, his face pale with alarm. “The true purpose of the First Night Right is tax collection. If it is abolished, revenue will decrease and the territory’s finances will suffer. The women in that room were not brought here by force; they came because they could not pay the marriage tax and hoped to settle the debt with their bodies. There is no reason to feel uncomfortable about—”
Hyunwoo stopped and turned to face him. “Did the previous lord suffer from any illness?”
“I-illness? Well… there were rumors that he frequently took to his bed and was in poor health, swallowing all manner of medicines every day. At the time I was merely an outsider, so I do not know the details. Heh-heh.”
“Do you know why those rumors existed?”
“O-oh, you know the truth?” Olmati’s eyes widened with curiosity.
Hyunwoo stared at him in silence for a moment before speaking. “He caught a venereal disease from sleeping with countless women. Syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, AIDS, chlamydia, pubic lice, and so on.”
“I understand syphilis and gonorrhea, but I have never heard of AIDS or pubic lice.”
“The place where I was born and raised has far more advanced medicine than magic. We place great importance on hygiene there. I am not saying the three women in that room are dirty, but do you know what kind of lives they have led or what diseases they may have contracted? No—did you even have a physician examine their health before bringing them into the room today?”
“W-well, I only had the maids bathe them to ensure there were no unclean parts. I thought that if their bodies were clean, that would suffice. My knowledge of medicine is limited, so…”
Hyunwoo folded his arms and fixed Olmati with a pointed look. “So you only had them bathed? It seems you were hoping I would contract some foul disease and die quickly.”
“Good heavens! That is not true at all!” Olmati waved his hands wildly and jumped in place. “I only brought them into the castle to please you! I swear my innocence before the god I serve!”
“Enough. I understand, so calm down.” Hyunwoo smiled and patted one of Olmati’s shoulders. “You believe me, then…?”
“I do. You are doing your utmost to make me happy even at this very moment.”
“Thank you for understanding. Whew.” Olmati placed a hand over his chest and let out a long sigh.
“In any case, send those women away. And all the others waiting inside the castle as well. Once again, the First Night Right is abolished as of today. We will find a replacement source of revenue through thorough discussion to make up for the taxes previously collected through the practice.”
“If that is what you truly wish, my lord, then I understand. I shall follow your command.”
Hyunwoo nodded and smiled with satisfaction. He turned and walked away. “I will go ahead. I will see you tomorrow.”
After assuming control of the territory, the first public event Hyunwoo held was officiating a mass wedding for the citizens. Though he should have been busy assessing the state of the domain and appointing new officials to vacant posts, word reached him that many couples had been unable to marry because of his absence. With the sudden abolition of the First Night Right, their weddings had been further delayed. Left with no choice, he set everything else aside and decided to hold the joint ceremony first.
He invited all thirty couples who had been waiting to marry to the garden of the Sky Chamber and conducted the mass wedding. In front of a large crowd of citizens, he presented each of the thirty couples with a marriage certificate and then officiated the ceremony. “May the two of you who have become husband and wife love each other more than anyone else, be loved in return, and live a happy married life…”
While Hyunwoo recited the wedding address, the hall grew noisy with murmurs as people learned that the lord had abolished the First Night Right. Some clicked their tongues or looked bewildered.
“Goodness, I heard he didn’t do it the other day.”
“The lord didn’t? Then those brides are all still virgins?”
“Hah, why wouldn’t they be? It’s tradition.”
“If we stop doing what we’ve always done, the gods will be angry and send down divine punishment. What will we do?”
“Forget the gods—what about our ancestors buried in this land? They’ll be furious that we’ve ignored a tradition observed for so long. They might fling open their coffin lids and rise up.”
Others, however, welcomed the change. “They say he ordered the First Night Right to be uprooted as a relic of a bygone era and an outdated custom.”
“Oh my, the lord is quite decisive.”
“The First Night Right was a vile system designed by corrupt nobles to exploit their subjects.”
“Honestly, it was something only beasts would do. People are marrying because they love each other—why should that be taxed?”
“Indeed, indeed. Our new lord is a truly good man. How fortunate we are, how very fortunate.”
***
While Hyunwoo smoothly conducted the mass wedding, Dana sat in the seat reserved for the lady of the castle and quietly watched the proceedings. Her eyes shone with pride as she gazed at his back on the podium, a constant smile playing on her lips for reasons she could not quite explain. Beneath the bright sunlight, Hyunwoo stood before the many citizens in a velvet tunic with a crisp white collar, his jet-black hair gleaming. To Dana, he looked gallant, dignified, and every bit like a king of a nation.
She stared at him in a daze for a long while before suddenly realizing that he was standing in front of thirty brides dressed in pure white gowns. She flinched and her eyes widened. A wave of anxiety washed over her.
A great crisis is right in front of me, and I only just realized it.
She had been so lost in happiness that she had completely forgotten she would soon be holding a wedding with Hyunwoo herself. Her expression hardened unconsciously as worry gnawed at her. When her troubled gaze drifted to the floor, Unia, seated behind her, suddenly leaned forward. “What’s wrong? Something on your mind?”
The woman smiled as she asked, her perceptiveness almost frightening. Dana met her eyes, blinked intermittently, and reluctantly leaned in to whisper in her ear. Unia had plenty of experience and knowledge in such matters; she would surely offer good advice. After whispering hurriedly, Dana pulled back. Unia stared at her in surprise. Dana tried to remain composed, but her face flushed bright red. No woman could speak of such an embarrassing subject without her cheeks burning.
Is this really all right? Dana’s mind went completely blank, as though she had become an idiot. She realized how impulsive and reckless her action had been. Unia, however, merely gave a sly smile and narrowed her eyes. There was a playful glint in her gaze that made her look mischievous, and Dana immediately regretted asking for advice.
“Once the mass wedding is over, come to my room.” Unia directed a suggestive smile at Dana.