novelraw Chapter 1: Forced into a Marriage with the Marshal
Chapter 1: Forced into a Marriage with the Marshal
A light drizzle fell, like a thin mist enveloping the vast manor.
The rain had been falling for half a day, and what should have been a bright midday was now overcast and gloomy.
Wen Shumu's heart is like this gloomy sky.
In a corner of the magnificent manor restaurant, he sat alone behind a long table, on which lay an exquisite lunch.
Standing next to him was a middle-aged man wearing a monocle and a sharp black tuxedo.
The man introduced each dish in turn, his voice carrying the elegant tone honed through years of working as a butler, but Wen Shumu didn't hear a single word.
After the butler finished his introduction, he said softly, "Thank you, Allison."
Allison gave a standard, polite smile: "Madam, please enjoy your meal."
Looking at Wen Shumu, who stood expressionless behind the long table, Allison's eyes held a different emotion than the smile on his face, revealing a hint of worry.
The boy's short, slightly wavy, flaxen-brown hair had a touch of gentle playfulness, but further down, his light brown eyes, which were a shade lighter than his hair, were like a stagnant pool, dull and lifeless, without a trace of light, completely unlike the look one would expect from someone in their early twenties.
His fingers mechanically gripped the knife and fork; the skin on the back of his hands was cold and delicate, but not a healthy white, rather a bloodless pale. His expensive shirt completely covered his upper body, with the top button fastened.
Judging by his attire alone, he resembles a conservative and traditional noble Omega.
Despite enjoying the finest delicacies in the star field, Wen Shumu showed no sign of enjoyment on his face.
Unable to swallow food.
After eating only a few bites, Wen Shumu lowered his eyelashes, his voice still very low, requiring Allison to concentrate extremely hard to recognize.
"Marshal...hasn't he said when he'll be back yet?"
Allison sighed almost imperceptibly: "Not yet. I will let you know as soon as I receive the news."
Wen Shumu nodded slightly, and under Allison's expectant gaze, reluctantly ate a little longer.
After finishing his meal, he returned alone to his empty bedroom and sat by the window watching the drizzling rain outside.
As his gaze followed the water droplets sliding down the window, Wen Shumu silently calculated the days in his mind.
He and Ling Suyu have been married for a year.
Ironically, the last time they met was at their wedding.
The wedding had just ended when Ling Suyu received a message from the military. He hurriedly led his men away from the scene to a border star and never returned home, nor did any private messages come through.
Wen Shumu could only learn about the coming beast tide from occasional news reports, and that Marshal Ling had led the First Legion to build a solid defense line on the border.
That's it.
*
A year ago, his half-brother Wen Boshuang came to his room, raised his eyebrows, and looked gloating.
"Brother, congratulations! Father said you're about to marry Marshal Ling. I heard he came from that... dirty and chaotic slum. But you also spent some time on the desolate planet before, so you two should have a lot in common."
Wen Shumu remained noncommittal; his first reaction was that Wen Boshuang was playing a prank on him again.
Everyone knows that Ling Suyu is the youngest marshal in the current empire and the new emperor's right-hand man. It was the new forces led by him that uprooted the Wen family, a group of aristocratic families that had been rooted in the empire for a hundred years, forcing them to move out of the imperial star and live in a corner.
Given my father's vengeful nature, how could he possibly be willing to get involved with the very people the nobles hate the most?
However, that evening, Wen Shumu's father, Wen Bin, the current head of the Wen family, called him into his study. Instead of taking out the rattan cane that was usually used to beat him, he smiled for the first time in a long time and told him to respect and love Ling Suyu after he married him, and not to be arrogant and rude just because Ling Suyu was of commoner origin.
"Shumu, this marriage is of great significance to us." Wen Bin smiled gently, but his eyes were full of calculation. "You represent not only the Wen family, but also the entire aristocracy. Your marriage to Ling Suyu can give the aristocracy some breathing room."
Wen Shumu was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Why were you chosen?"
Wen Bin seemed surprised that he would ask a question back, and his face froze for a few seconds.
Naturally, it was because no noblewoman of marriageable age was willing to marry a tyrannical marshal who came from the slums.
But of course he couldn't answer that way.
Wen Bin tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to make his smile look more friendly: "Originally, I wanted to send Xiao Shuang, but she just turned 18 not long ago and is too impulsive, not as steady as you. You are the most suitable candidate."
Wen Shumu looked at him intently and asked, "Has Marshal Ling also agreed?"
Ling Suyu is known to despise these arrogant and domineering nobles. Would he really agree to this marriage alliance?
"Ling Suyu has a nickname, do you know what it is?" Wen Bin's smile unconsciously turned malicious, "A cursed lone star."
"He's not young anymore, and His Majesty is concerned about his marriage, but hasn't found a suitable partner for him yet. Because... none of the Omegas His Majesty has found for him have a pheromone compatibility of 20% with him."
Logically speaking, an Alpha and an Omega need a pheromone compatibility of over 40% to barely be able to get together and live a normal life.
"But you're different."
Wen Bin squinted at the pale-faced Omega in front of him: "After I presented your information to His Majesty, the Imperial Star conducted tests and found that your pheromone compatibility with Ling Suyu was as high as 97%. His most beloved Emperor read the test report and personally issued an edict to bestow marriage upon you. You have no choice but to agree."
Wen Shumu left the study in a daze and stood in the corridor for a long time before he realized that he was really going to marry Ling Suyu.
The only photo of Ling Suyu on the StarNet is a picture of his back during the awarding of a medal. The tall Alpha is wearing a black Imperial military uniform, and the silver epaulets reflect a cold, hard light under the lamplight.
According to Wen Boshuang, Ling Suyu is cruel, ruthless, and tyrannical, making people want to avoid him at all costs.
But it doesn't matter... as long as we can escape the Wen family's huge prison, any method is acceptable.
It doesn't matter if Ling Suyu is truly cruel or extremely disgusted with him.
Anyway, all the people in this world who would truly care for him are no longer here.
Grandpa, Mom... and my brother.
When he was kidnapped by the Wen family's enemies and left to fend for himself on a desolate planet, a boy a little older than him found him in the rain.
The boy said he had no name.
In fact, most of the original inhabitants of the underground city on the desolate planet do not have names.
Because names are meant to be used to address people, but everyone keeps to themselves and hardly communicates with each other.
Wen Shumu then called him his elder brother.
He was less than 5 years old at the time, and his older brother was not much older, around eleven or twelve.
I heard the marshal is 29 years old. If my brother were alive today, he would be about that age.
A pair of deep blue eyes, as deep as the ocean, flashed through Wen Shumu's mind.
Later... he insisted on going back to find his brother, but his father said that his brother was already dead, just like his grandfather and mother, who had completely left him.
Perhaps, as his father said, he really will bring misfortune to those around him.
*
Wen Shumu never expected that after 17 years, he would see those familiar ice-blue eyes again.
It was at her wedding with Ling Suyu.
My brother is not dead.
Wen Shumu looked up at the Alpha in front of him, dressed in the uniform of a Grand Marshal, who was as handsome as a god, and his eyes gradually welled up with tears.
The black-haired marshal had refined and sharp features, and his deep blue eyes were devoid of warmth, scrutinizing him with a cold and sharp gaze.
Under such gazes, Wen Shumu understood one thing—
His brother didn't recognize him.
He comforted himself, after all, he was still very young at that time and hadn't grown up yet. In addition, he had wasted so many years in the Wen family, and his personality had changed a lot. It was normal that his brother wouldn't recognize him.
Wen Shumu lowered his eyes to avoid the question, forcing himself to remain calm as he completed the wedding ceremony.
But before he could recognize Ling Suyu after the ceremony, Alpha left.
Wen Shumu considered asking Allison for Ling Suyu's contact information, but every time he was about to ask, he would feel a complex mix of emotions, like being reluctant to leave home, and he would back down.
Nearly twenty years have passed, has my brother already... forgotten him?
Perhaps it would be better to tell Ling Suyu in person.
A year has passed, and Ling Suyu still hasn't returned.
*
The weather was unforgiving; the rain outside the window suddenly turned from a light drizzle into a downpour.
Wen Shumu left the window, changed into loose pajamas, and lay on his side on the soft, large bed in the bedroom. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing a small section of his arm with light-colored whip marks.
The scars were particularly glaring against the pale skin.
With today's advanced medical biotechnology, even old whip marks of this severity can be completely removed with just one visit to the hospital.
But Wen Shumu did not want these traces to disappear.
This is proof of Wen Bin's and even the entire Wen family's mistreatment of him, and it must be kept.
His slightly wavy flaxen hair was softly spread on the pillow. Wen Shumu's gaze swept over the whip marks and finally stopped on his own hand. His fingers curled slightly as he recalled the warmth of the large hand that held his when they exchanged rings at their wedding.
It was a warmth he had never experienced since being brought back to the Wen family from the desolate planet.
Only his older brother could make him feel that way.
The light brown pupils reflected a rare sweetness.
I miss my brother so much, please come back soon.
They returned to his side, and no one could ever separate them again.