Mourya froze, his hand still in the air, slowly turning towards his daughter with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "Premi? (Lovers?)"
Maruti stamred, clearly panicking, "Y-yes! We're in love! So much love! We're... uh, very lovey-dovey!" She was just saying whatever nonsense ca to her mind at this point.
Desperately, she glanced at Esdeath, motioning her to nod in agreent.
Esdeath, still utterly confused by the situation, saw Maruti's frantic gesture and quickly bobbed her head up and down three tis, not knowing why but figuring it couldn't hurt.
The mont Esdeath did this, the air in the atmosphere changed. It was as if soone had lit a fuse. The entire crowd erupted in fury. Gasps filled the air, and everyone's faces contorted with shock and rage. How could soone claim to love the patriarch's daughter, especially when her marriage was already arranged? It was like breaking a sacred law!
"Kill this girl!" one man shouted, waving his weapon in the air, and the others quickly followed, all raising their swords and spears, ready to strike Esdeath down.
Even Esdeath was taken aback, her eyes wide with panic. She had no idea what she'd just agreed to, but clearly, it was not good.
Before the mob could rush at her, Mourya bellowed, "STOP!" His voice bood with such authority that everyone froze in place, not daring to take another step.
He then turned back to Maruti, his expression caught sowhere between disbelief and frustration. "Are you ssing with , Maruti? What could you possibly see in her? She looks like she could collapse at any second!" His voice carried both concern and annoyance, as though he was truly baffled.
But Maruti could sense this was working. "Love is blind, Father! She even promised she'll never leave , no matter what!" she said dramatically, her eyes sparkling as she spun her latest lie. Then, she quickly turned to Esdeath again, urgently signaling her to play along.
Esdeath blinked, now under the intense gaze of the entire village. Her face scread confusion, her thoughts racing with a single question: *What in the world is going on?*
She hesitated, her lips parting slightly as she considered what she'd just been roped into. The villagers' eyes were practically burning holes into her, waiting for her next move.
Esdeath's head was spinning. "What was that?! The mont I nodded 'yes,' they scread like they were ready to kill !" Her thoughts were in complete disarray. "Is Maruti trying to get into trouble while saving her own skin?" Esdeath glanced at Maruti with suspicious eyes. "What if this is revenge for what happened between us before?" The idea made her even more paranoid.
But one burning question kept bouncing around in her mind: "So... should I nod 'yes' or 'no' this ti?" After overthinking for a mont, Esdeath ca to a decision. She would nod 'no' this ti. Maybe that would fix things.
So, without any hesitation, she shook her head 'no.' But the result was imdiate—and terrible.
A man in the crowd angrily yelled, "She shook her head 'no!' That ans she's saying she'll never leave the young mistress!"
"KILL HER!"
"KILL HER!"
The villagers raised their weapons again, their roars shaking the ground as they prepared to attack Esdeath once more.
Esdeath's heart skipped a beat. "Wait, what?! What did I do now?!"
Once again, Mourya had to step in, forcefully stopping them. "STOP!" His voice echoed with authority, and the mob had no choice but to pause, though they still glared at Esdeath with anger in their eyes.
Mourya was stuck in a complicated situation. On one hand, he had already promised his younger daughter's hand in marriage to the son of another tribe's leader. But now, here was Maruti, claiming she had already found the love of her life. Mourya, despite being a tough leader, was surprisingly soft when it ca to family matters. He didn't want to break his daughter's heart, but he also didn't want to go back on his word.
Maruti could sense her plan was working better than she had hoped. "This is perfect!" she thought to herself. She knew exactly how to play her last card.
"Father," she said in a hurried voice, "she hasn't eaten since last night! Look at her, she's so weak! We should go back to the village and discuss this in peace. I'm sure she's already feeling dizzy!" She turned quickly to Esdeath, desperately signaling her to agree.
Once again, all eyes were on Esdeath. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Esdeath was on the verge of losing her mind. "I nodded 'yes,' and they nearly killed . Then I nodded 'no,' and they went absolutely wild! What do I do now?! What choice do I even have? Should I nod 'yes' or 'no' again? What on earth is Maruti telling them about ?!" Her mind was in a ss, her confusion plain on her face as the entire crowd stared, waiting for her next move.
Esdeath finally had enough. Her mind was a ss, and she could no longer figure out whether to nod 'yes' or 'no.' She gritted her teeth and thought angrily, "Yes? No? I reject them both!" In a fit of frustration, she began shaking her head wildly, swinging it back and forth like she was caught in so strange dance of confusion.
To her surprise, the crowd gasped. Everyone thought she was dizzy and about to collapse! In an instant, the rage that had filled the air lted away, replaced by concern. Several people rushed toward her, their anger forgotten.
"She's fainting!" one of them cried.
Before Esdeath knew what was happening, three n grabbed her at once and lifted her into the air like she was so kind of fragile trophy. She blinked in disbelief. "What the fuck? "
anwhile, Maruti's father, Mourya, sighed heavily. He was tired of the whole ss. "Alright, let's head back to the village," he commanded. "We'll deal with this later!" With that, everyone started moving back to the village.
As they prepared to leave, two carriages were brought out—one for Mourya and one for Maruti. But now that Esdeath was part of the situation, the n carrying her didn't bother to ask where she wanted to go. Instead, they simply tossed her into the sa carriage as Maruti, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Esdeath landed with a soft thud inside the carriage but, surprisingly, she didn't mind. In fact, she was… happy? "I don't know what just happened, but it worked!" she thought to herself, a small smile spreading across her face.
She glanced at Maruti, who finally seed to relax, letting out a deep breath and closing her eyes. Clearly, she was exhausted from the whole ordeal. She quickly fell asleep, probably trying to clear her mind.
Esdeath settled back into her seat, still a little dazed but relieved. "It looks like we're heading to the Vanara Tribe," she mused. "Once we get there, I'm definitely asking her what she just did!"* With that thought, she leaned back, enjoying the bumpy ride, secretly proud of how things had turned out—even though she had no idea how!
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