On a day when the plump, full moon hung in the clear blue summer sky.

The Duke’s residence was abuzz with excitement. No, all of the North was stirring.

Because it was the day Frost Ielheim, the lord of the North, would welcome his consort.

The central garden of the Duke’s residence, which had never been opened since the former Duke and Duchess passed away leaving behind their young son due to the schemes of the Emperor’s faction, was now wide open for the wedding ceremony.

The guests invited to the hastily arranged ceremony hurriedly donned their prepared suits and dresses and entered the central garden with flushed faces.

In the cross-shaped lake at the center of the garden, migratory birds that had flown in during spring were splashing about. The well-groomed garden trees and flower beds maintained their appearance even after the former lady’s touch had left them.

The wedding of the young Duke and Yuriella Grande, who was veiled, was held on the terrace next to the fountain.

“I, Frost Ielheim, vow to take you, Yuriella Grande, as my wife from this moment forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

The nobles of the North who remembered Gideon Ielheim, the strong and merciful former Duke, felt their hearts ache as they saw the image of the former Duke’s younger days overlapping with the gallant groom who had protected the North through countless battlefields.

The noble ladies of the North who had loved Adelia, the beautiful and dignified former Duchess, recognized that the elegant wedding dress worn by the bride was the very one Adelia had worn at her own wedding, and had to take out their handkerchiefs to wipe their moist eyes.

When the Duke, with a slightly flushed expression, lifted the long wedding veil after finishing the marriage vows, the face everyone had been curious about was finally revealed.

Soft exclamations of admiration flowed from the mouths of the invited guests.

Is this what a forest fairy suddenly appearing in the verdant green garden would look like?

Strawberry blond hair fluttering in the breeze. Milk-white cheeks tinged with a blush. Red lips as if holding a rose blossom. A soft neckline.

A mysterious atmosphere as if she would disappear with the wind at any moment, along with the lace hem fluttering in the gentle breeze.

Every single aspect drew gasps of admiration. But what drew the most attention were her eyes.

The bride’s red eyes, holding a clear and transparent light, sparkled more enchantingly than the rubies set in her tiara and necklace, captivating the hearts of those who beheld them.

Even the people of the Grand Duchy, who had treated her worse than an insect, rubbed their widened eyes, wondering if this was really the illegitimate child they had known.

The head maid, who had been busy since dawn urging Yuriella and fussing over the bridal preparations, couldn’t help but gape in amazement.

What kind of magic was this? Standing beside His Grace the Duke, Her Grace the Duchess, already beautiful, was shining so brightly it was dazzling to the eyes.

The head maid recalled words the former Duchess had once said to her.

[Rosalinne. When a woman is beside the one she loves, a fire is lit in her heart. That fire is reflected in her eyes. The glow of her skin is an added bonus.]

It seems a fire has been lit in our Duchess’s heart. Her eyes are shining so brightly.

As the head maid watched with satisfaction, doubt soon crept into her eyes.

The brightly lit fire in the Duchess’s eyes seemed to be turning into a smoldering blaze that could scorch anything.

Come to think of it, she had been unable to focus on the ceremony, stealing glances here and there. Each time, her pretty smile subtly cracked.

‘What is she looking at?’

Rosalinne, following that gaze, stiffened with a start.

The one constantly drawing the Duchess’s attention was none other than the Emperor!

The master of the empire, sitting in the front row with his legs crossed haughtily, wearing an expression of world-weariness.

‘Could it be that the Duchess resents him for injuring the face of our handsome Duke yesterday?’

That was as far as Rosalinne’s thoughts could go.

But even wearing a pure white wedding dress and a dazzling tiara, the core was Solas Moretti! The former head of the Imperial Knights and the wielder of the holy sword Flamme.

‘Damn. The assassination is out of the question now. Emperor Justin, consider yourself lucky today.’

Due to yesterday’s commotion, the Emperor’s guard had doubled.

Yuriella, who had been glaring at the Emperor, glanced at the seats where the members of the apothecary group were sitting with startled eyes. There was a presence that shouldn’t be here, circling above the head of Leon the coachman.

‘Aeri. What are you doing there…! What if you get caught…!’

Aeri, concealing herself within a spherical wind, pouted her lips at Yuriella and sent a gust of wind that only Yuriella could hear, grumbling.

[Aeri won’t get caught. My barrier is perfect!]

Yuriella glanced at Frost, rolling her eyes. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have noticed Aeri’s presence.

‘Still, I’m worried, so go. Quickly.’

[Do you know that the Emperor’s soldiers positioned at the entrance to the North have raised their alert level to the highest? They’re prepared to march in immediately upon signal due to the previous sword fight.]

‘What…!’

[Still want me to go?]

Aeri informed Yuriella, who was winking at her not to leave, of the information she had gathered.

Yuriella herself had sensed through their presence that elite members of the Angelus Knights proficient in archery were hiding throughout the tall, lush garden trees, and half of the servants attending were mercenaries the Duke had separately summoned.

However, she was unaware that the nobles of the North each carried a magic communication device in their bosoms that could send their private soldiers to the path where the Emperor’s troops would come at any time.

The ornamental hairpins of noble ladies and young noble daughters had sharp needles coated with deadly poison at the tips. And well-sharpened daggers were hidden under the skirts of the maids attending them.

‘No wonder… There was a sense of bloodthirst everywhere.’

If half of the excitement and vibrancy stirring up the Duke’s residence and the North was the festive atmosphere celebrating the young Duke’s marriage, the other half was the tension caused by the Emperor’s visit and the anxiety of not knowing when war might break out.

The wedding venue was prepared to turn into a bloody battlefield at any moment.

‘These people must not get hurt.’

She was already Solas, who had stained the Duke’s land with the blood of innocent Northerners. She couldn’t let a single drop of blood be shed in vain here.

Yuriella inwardly sighed and glanced at Justin through the corner of her narrowed eyes.

The Emperor was sitting back leisurely in his chair, his face scrunched up in an expression of utter boredom.

‘Truly carefree, aren’t you.’

This trip to the North was a move completely unlike the Emperor. The Emperor was someone who calculated coldly and meticulously considered every matter before making a move.

Abruptly throwing a sudden flirtation at the woman who would become his cousin’s wife, asking her to come to the Imperial City with him.

Deliberately throwing a sword at the Duke, injuring him, even though there was no benefit to be gained.

Sitting there, yawning boredly, even though he clearly knew that there were assassins targeting him everywhere.

These were actions the usual Emperor would never take. But why…?

Using his own body as bait, and accumulating justification to sweep away the North when the opportunity arose?

No. That selfish brat would sacrifice thousands of lives, but he would never be the kind of person to directly throw his own precious body into enemy territory.

Yuriella was at the point of wanting to crack open that pretty head of his and see what was inside.

‘How should I kill that brat to be told I did a good job of killing him?’

Lowering her lush eyelashes shyly like a bashful bride, Yuriella mentally went through 101 ways to kill His Majesty Justin one by one.

As the imagination progressed, the methods became more specific, and when a satisfactory result was vividly depicted, Yuriella’s plump, red lips softly curved into an arc.

Frost, who had been watching Yuriella’s ever-changing expressions from above, raised an eyebrow.

‘What thoughts are occupying her so busily?’

Even if it was a contract marriage in name only, it was irksome to have a bride who couldn’t focus at all.

Her busy eyes scanning here and there throughout the wedding venue.

The deep contemplation reflected in her red eyes as she gazed at those her eyes stopped on.

The various expressions that became complicated at the end of that contemplation.

And the halfhearted attitude of not being able to focus on the officiating minister’s solemn recitation of the marriage declaration at all.

Everything twisted Frost’s mood.

“The bride seems to have a lot on her mind.”

Frost suppressed his boiling emotions and extended his hand to Yuriella.

“I wasn’t thinking much.”

Even as she took his hand, her pretty eyes were not directed at him.

“I heard brides often have a lot of anxiety about marriage. Since it’s a hastily arranged ceremony, even the mental preparation is not fully−.”

Frost tried to subtly express his twisted mood and sought her answer, but.

“Your Grace! Please go ahead and rest first. I’ll go meet my father and then come.”

As soon as the wedding ceremony was concluded with the launching of fireworks, Yuriella ran off into the crowd of guests as if she had been waiting for it.

Without even looking back. As if the man who had just become her husband moments ago was of no concern to her.

“……”

His cold, blue eyes stopped on the coachman boy, no, the leader of the apothecary group Ricarion Greco, who was greeting Yuriella with delight.

‘Definitely. She kept glancing at that boy.’

It was Aeri that Yuriella had been constantly glancing at, but Frost had failed to notice the wind spirit’s presence until it left.

It wasn’t because the wind barrier was sturdy, as Aeri had boasted.

It was because his mind was distracted by the report the head butler had placed on his office desk at dawn.

He had scoffed at the absurd title. But the head butler’s report was not in the wastebasket, but in his inner pocket.

The head butler had thoroughly investigated not only the Duke’s residence’s servants but also the members of the Angelus Knights, people visiting the Duke’s residence, and even the nobles and knights of the places the apothecary group had been to, narrowing down the list of suspected culprits and compiling them into a report.

During the ceremony, Frost had scanned the suspects the butler had identified among the guests with sharp eyes.

Could it be that her first love, the ‘bad guy’ who ‘came and went’ right ‘in front of her eyes,’ impossible to forget even if she tried…?

The coachman Leon was at the very end of the list of suspects, with a single line stating, ‘Coachman. Orphan. Kind. No notable points.’

Frost, knowing that he was Ricarion the leader of the apothecary group, crossed out that line and wrote Ricarion’s name at the top of the report.

It would be more likely for a worm to become a butterfly than for the Emperor to be Yuriella’s first love. The butler probably couldn’t even imagine it. The Emperor and the dancer of the apothecary group.

But Frost wrote the Emperor’s name above Ricarion’s.

Although it would be higher for a worm to become a butterfly than the probability of the Emperor being Yuriella’s first love.

Frost trusted his instincts.

As if to prove his belief, the Emperor stopped at the sound of Yuriella’s clear laughter, turned around, and accurately found her among the people, taking her into his eyes with a faint smile.

As if it was an unintended gaze, the Emperor soon frowned in annoyance and abruptly turned and left.

The head butler approached Frost, who was glaring at the Emperor with an irritated expression.

Alexis glanced around, took out a small bottle from his inner pocket, discreetly placed it in his master’s hand, and winked.

“It’s a perfume I obtained with difficulty. It’s not only butterflies that are drawn to a beautiful fragrance. Present a passionate night to the bride on the wedding night to make her completely forget past ties.”

“I told you I finished talking with the priestess. I’m only going to pretend to attend the wedding night and leave.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Then why are you doing unnecessary things?”

“Still, it’s the wedding night.”

Human affairs are unpredictable, and you two are at a passionate age. Alexis muttered as if talking to himself and even let out a silly laugh.

An unexpected sight unfolded before Frost as he entered the bedchamber prepared for the wedding night.

Yuriella was sitting on the bed strewn with rose petals, wearing only a nightgown like dragonfly wings, her cheeks flushed.

“I’ll drive away the priestesses!”

Yuriella clenched her fists and displayed excessive enthusiasm.

It seemed the head maid had deliberately kept silent about the fact that the wedding night attendance was a mere formality and had arranged it so extravagantly like this. What kind of expectations did she have?

“When I was young, I worked as an errand girl in the pleasure district, and I’ve also run errands for noble lords and their concubines, so I know quite well. Things I’ve heard, things I’ve seen. If I mix this and that and add some spice, the innocent priestesses will flee, exclaiming, ‘Ah! It’s hot!'”

“Hey, young lady.”

“Leave it to me, Your Grace! I’ll give a proper performance that will completely fool them!”

“No, I’ve already…”

“No! I’ll do all the embarrassing parts! I can do it well! I’ll present a very, very passionate night to them that the priestesses won’t be able to endure without running away!”