northernbook Chapter 283 Extra: Tini (Part 1)
Chapter 283 Extra: Tini (Part 1)
When Tini heard that the Ocean Empire had sent someone, she was sitting in front of her dressing mirror, wanting to adorn her hair with a few fresh flowers.
She carefully selected these clothes, stepping through the morning dew and not hesitating to get her skirt wet.
She was both delighted and shy.
Although my sister will soon become the First Lady of the prestigious Ocean Empire, she also has her own destiny, doesn't she?
Compared to the unparalleled glory of being a First Lady, finding a true love is not necessarily a better option for anyone.
So when the servant came to announce her arrival, she nearly cut her finger with the scissors in her hand. Why was she chosen to go when a distinguished guest from the Ocean Empire was visiting? Shouldn't her sister have been the one to receive the guest?
She hadn't considered any other possibilities, and could only comfort herself by thinking that they must be asking her to accompany them.
Well, it's best not to steal the spotlight. Although her sister's beauty is as radiant as the moon, she can't compare to her at all. But Tini still took off the beautiful flower from her hair and casually put a simple beaded string in her hair instead.
But my sister isn't here.
When she followed the servants into the hall, she saw only a few people and was met with her parents' eager gazes. It wasn't until the man standing by the window turned around and looked at her indifferently that she suddenly realized something was wrong.
A faint, chilling feeling quietly rose from behind her.
She nervously gripped the hem of her skirt, suppressing her panic, and forced a smile, just about to greet him.
The mother spoke first.
“Tini, what are you waiting for? Come and greet the Emperor of the Ocean Empire—His Majesty Ryan Julia.”
It was actually His Majesty himself who came.
So what does this mean?
Tini felt her forced smile begin to tremble.
It was as if she had fallen into a long, drawn-out dream. When she came to her senses, she was already being stuffed into a carriage bound for the Ocean Empire.
The strong and beautiful older sister looked at her with pity, with her lover, who had once held her hands in the moonlight and looked at her with affection, standing beside her.
She no longer needed to ask anything. It turned out that everything was just a fake play of switching the prince with a cat. Everyone knew that the person promised to the Ocean Empire was not their family's renowned jewel, but the deeply hidden second young lady—Tini Olsen.
Only she didn't know.
All the past events came rushing back, and details that she hadn't understood and had always overlooked were magnified before her eyes.
Women are so precious, and she was carefully guarded and treasured. How could that man have repeatedly slipped past the guards, secretly climbed over the forest and high walls, and gradually fallen in love with her?
The act of giving her everything that once moved her to tears was nothing more than a carefully planned scheme.
Why was her more beautiful sister not kept hidden away like her, but instead taught to be famous and become a role model and example for women throughout the Forest Empire, a mountain that she could only look up to for her entire life?
The renowned Olsen family had two daughters, but they abandoned the other one from the start.
It turned out to be just a smokescreen; everything was designed to lull her into a false sense of security. In the beginning, the deal between the Ocean Empire and the Forest Empire involved exchanging the little-known second young lady of the Olsen family.
In this way, the Forest Empire will not lose its prized possession, and it can also lower the Ocean Empire's guard, allowing the Ocean Empire to be secretly informed without its knowledge.
In this way, the Ocean Empire can obtain a gift that has little reputation or presence, and can be molded and shaped at will.
By the time Tini figured all this out amidst endless fear and confusion, she had already stepped onto the soft sands of the endless seashore, imprisoned within the many palaces of the Ocean Empire, bathed in sunshine and caressed by the sea breeze.
The first person to offer her warmth was none other than His Majesty the Emperor.
The emperor of Yulia's generation was named Ryan, a name that neither sounded heroic nor looked particularly remarkable. He was neither a general who expanded territories nor a strategist who was resourceful.
Because he really isn't.
It is said that only a dozen sacred whales surfaced to celebrate his birth. The emperor left the ceremony dejectedly, and the people looked at each other in bewilderment. Although they had still made careful preparations for the celebration, they ultimately felt that it did not live up to their expectations.
Even after he ascended to the throne, he remained very low-key, and Tini had almost never heard any rumors about him until it was said that he would become her brother-in-law, and now he has finally become her husband.
She arrived at the palace of the Ocean Empire on the eve of her coming of age, waiting to be announced as the First Lady at the Partner Selection Conference, with His Majesty Ryan becoming her first husband.
She was almost completely isolated and didn't know how to get along with Ryan, but luckily she had gotten used to being alone when she was in the Forest Empire.
Ryan transplanted many unique plants from the Forest Empire for her and ordered the construction of a palace in the style of the Forest Empire deep within the palace grounds. This gave her a glimmer of hope amidst her anxiety, suggesting that this seemingly unremarkable, aloof, and arrogant emperor might harbor warmth and affection for her.
So after experiencing the deception and betrayal of her relatives, she grasped at the only straw in this foreign land without much hesitation.
They had happy times together, and even though she never experienced overwhelming love, it was enough to satisfy her.
They discussed the newly completed buildings together; they strolled together on the beach enclosed by palace walls; he introduced her to the features of the Ocean Empire, and she taught him how to care for the plants of the Forest Empire.
Ryan didn't have much time. The more Tini spent with him and the more familiar she became with him, the more she could sense his panic and insecurity.
Ryan was an extremely meticulous person, even to the point of being nitpicky. He detested the whispers of the palace servants and would thoroughly investigate any unfounded rumors circulating among the people.
He feared that he was unworthy of his position and that the empire would be ruined under his watch.
Tini didn't know how to comfort him. She tried awkwardly a few times, but to no avail, and he didn't seem to care at all. When all her efforts were met with his puzzled and troubled look, Tini felt as if he treated her like a toy, something to amuse her and relieve his mood in his spare time.
After all, even if you pick a rose from a faraway place, you'll still carefully tend to it and put it in a vase.
She felt somewhat lost and depressed, but before she could cheer up and muster the courage to try and win back her emperor husband's heart...
These hazy hopes and the budding, still somewhat insecure feelings of a young girl were shattered by her destined husband amidst a series of events.