The Unlucky Bride Is Loved by the Fortunate Desert King - Chapter 6 - Broad Daylight

“Huh…?”

I’d been sure he’d saved me. The thugs lay knocked out across the sand, felled by the lion-like youth. None of them seemed fatally hurt. Even the wolves they’d brought, apparently frightened by the lion, had tucked their tails and were trembling.

So why did this man now have the tip of his sword pressed to my throat?
“He…didn’t you…save me?” My throat was bone-dry from not even having a drop of water. I felt weak and a loud ringing filled my ears.

The man narrowed his eyes.

“I heard thieves and the like were active around here. I only put an end to them. But I still don’t know who you are. Just because bad men attacked you doesn’t mean you’re a good man. You might have been fighting with them, for all I know.”

I shook my head desperately. “N-no, that’s not it… I’m Japanese. I came to this country to marry for someone—”

The man’s handsome face did not change much, but one brow lifted. “To marry? Oh. So you’re a bride.”

“…Yes.”

I stared straight at him. The man smiled, bold and a little cruel.

“Taking a husband? That’s not unheard of here. But the clothes you’re wearing — a pure white caftan dress — that’s women’s clothing. You were going to act as a substitute bride for some household, weren’t you? That does happen. Though usually in cases where they plan to assassinate the husband.”

(He’s figured it out…!?) Sweat dripped from my temple without my noticing. No way. I hadn’t even seen my fiancé’s face. And murder? Absolutely not. I’d come here to serve him honestly and faithfully. I never imagined anyone would suspect me of assassination.

The man pointed with a long, elegant finger at my bare chest. “That chest… I thought it was just small, but — you’re a man.”