‘I, Lea Hamilton, love Allen. Even if the world points fingers at us, we’ll get married proudly and live happily.’

The Hamilton Trading Company of the Galdensia Empire was a merchant family that had continued for several generations.

Starting with wool trading in the countryside, it had now grown into a massive trading company that dealt with goods from distant continents, handling almost everything.

And today was the wedding day of Lea Hamilton, the sole heir to the Hamilton Trading Company.

“Miss, shall I apply a bit more makeup?”

Sara hurriedly brought the cosmetics.

“No, this level of makeup and dress is good enough.”

Lea decided to finish her preparations. Then she stood in front of the full-length mirror to check her appearance one last time.

“I want to be a bride fitting Allen’s status. Elegant and dignified, this is just right.”

She didn’t want to be caught up in unnecessary scandals while marrying a nobleman.

A rich merchant marrying a noble man, spending money all over her body…

In fact, how much talk had there been about her marriage to Allen?

All the daily newspapers in the capital treated Allen as a materialist, saying he chose money over noble pride.

“Miss Lea, it’s time to go to the venue.”

Only then did it sink in for Lea that she was really going to marry Allen. Her bouquet trembled in her hands.

Just then, the door opened and a man appeared.

“Allen!”

“Lea.”

Shining golden hair and blue eyes, fine features, and a tall stature.
Added to that, he was dressed in splendid ceremonial clothes, overflowing with nobility.

Indeed, he was befitting of an heir from a long-standing noble family.

There was no trace of hardship from a poor family visible in him.

“My princess, I’ve come to escort you.”

“I’m honored, my prince.”

Realizing that the wedding was about to start, Lea tried to erase her nervousness with excessive jokes.

“But tell me, is it alright to be this beautiful?”

“What…? Oh, Allen.”

Lea felt her heart would burst at the sight of Allen gazing at her intently.

Could there be another woman in the world as happy as her?

Finally, Allen extended his hand to Lea.

“Shall we go, my goddess!”

“Please refrain from such words. Others will laugh.”

“So what if they laugh? What can’t I say to my beloved woman?”

* * *

It was a perfect wedding in every way.

It was grand and splendid, and most of the invited guests were prominent nobles of the Galdensia Empire.

Until the Chief of Police’s heavy military boots trampled the wedding aisle mercilessly.

They turned Lea’s wedding into hell in an instant.

“A large quantity of dried poppy flowers was discovered on the Hamilton Trading Company’s cargo ship that docked yesterday. We have secured all evidence – goods, related persons, and documents – so you’ll have to come with us to the police station.”

The Chief of Police’s words caused an uproar among the guests.

Smuggling, and dried poppy flowers that could be used to make drugs at that – even for a large trading company, this couldn’t be overlooked.

As it was the most serious crime in the Galdensia Empire, in the worst case, they might not be able to avoid the death penalty.

“Let’s go, Mr. Richard Hamilton.”

As the officers moved to restrain Richard, Allen slowly moved with Lea towards the back door of the venue.

“Allen! Father…!”

“Lea, we need to escape first.”

“But!”

“The Chief of Police’s involvement means there’s an imperial edict from His Majesty. Don’t you know we’ll be charged with treason if we refuse?”

Allen hurriedly led Lea out of the wedding hall.

When Lea, led by Allen’s hand, passed through the church garden and reached a secluded alley, a loud noise erupted.

Bang bang-!

The sound of multiple gunshots and screams from the venue, along with the bustling noise of people trying to escape, made Lea stop in her tracks.

“This won’t do. I need to go to Father…!”

“Look at me! Lea Hamilton!”

Allen grabbed Lea’s shoulders and shouted. He seemed to catch his breath, then spoke in a calm tone.

“Mr. Richard Hamilton asked me. If anything unfortunate were to happen, he said to make sure you escape safely no matter what.”

“What do you mean?”

At that moment, as if prepared in advance, a carriage stopped in front of the two.

“Go to the countryside for now. The coachman will take you to a safe house.”

“What about you, Allen?”

“I have to save your father. Once I’ve resolved everything here, I’ll definitely come to find you.”

Only then did Lea burst into tears, overwhelmed by the fear that was creeping up on her.

Along with it came a shiver of terror that ran down her spine.

Allen hugged Lea, kissed her hurriedly, and then put her in the carriage.

“Wait for me. I’ll definitely come to get you.”

“Allen…!”

Lea called out to him as he grew distant, her face leaning out of the window.

* * *

The carriage was still running, and it was dark outside.

Where in the countryside were they going that they kept driving without rest?

Lea wiped her tears with the back of her hand and opened the carriage window. Immediately, the cold night air rushed in.

But she had no idea where this place was.

It was strange that the carriage seemed to be searching for treacherous roads without even gas lamps.

Perhaps they were taking remote routes to avoid possible checkpoints by the police force.

That’s when it happened. There was a thud from outside, and the carriage shook violently.

It felt as if the horse and carriage had separated.

Lea quickly stuck her head out the window.

“Oh my goodness!”

Lea was shocked by what she saw.

The horse and coachman had disappeared without a trace, and only the carriage was left, rushing down a slope.

No, it was speeding towards the edge of a cliff.

“No!”

Lea screamed and pushed the door handle to escape the carriage.

With a clatter, the door opened and the rear wheel of the carriage came off.

Indeed, it was about to fall off the cliff, a thousand-foot precipice.

For a moment, she thought about jumping out, but the carriage’s speed was too fast to even attempt it.

‘I still have to jump out.’

If she stayed like this, she would inevitably die trapped in the carriage as it fell to the bottom of the cliff.

Lea took a deep breath and tried to jump out of the carriage.

With a ripping sound, her voluminous wedding dress tore and got caught in the carriage door, leaving Lea unable to move.

Now, at the crucial moment when she was about to fall off the cliff, the shadow of death rushed before her eyes.

“Ahhh!”

Thud! The carriage raced to the edge of the cliff and fell into the pitch-black abyss below.

Lea’s desperate scream tore through the night air.

The carriage hit the sloped cliff, rolled, and shattered into pieces.

* * *

The barking of dogs and unfamiliar presence. More precisely, it was men’s voices. Lea tried to open her eyes.

‘People…’

Lea moved her eyeballs to the side. But she couldn’t feel anything below her neck.

‘One dog, two dogs, three dogs, four dogs. No, one person.’

Three hunting dogs and a man with his back to the moonlight.

Following the high-quality hunting boots upward, she saw a large rifle in the man’s hand.

On the man’s black hunting outfit, an eagle emblem was elaborately embroidered in gold.

Just then, as the wind blew, his cape fluttered like wings.

Lea wanted to open her eyes wider to see the man’s face, but even that was not easy.

He seemed to have black hair and sharp eyes.

Then, as Lea’s consciousness began to fade again, she heard the man’s voice.

“It’s fortunate to die peacefully. May you go to a better place.”

The man’s sympathetic words were the end of her consciousness.

Lea felt as if she had been holding her breath underwater and finally came up for air.

She breathed very calmly and slowly.

It felt like her soul was disappearing like smoke and then blooming again.

Lea had been through a terrible nightmare.

But as if there was an end even to pain, gradually her body felt as light as a feather and seemed to be floating in the air.

‘I’m dead, aren’t I.’

Otherwise, how could her body be so free without such terrible pain.

Lea was blown about like a dandelion seed.

‘Have I become the wind after death?’

The world changed to full color, and the wind carried her to an unfamiliar place.

The place where she fell helplessly was a magnificent castle.

On a rainy night, a woman and a man were arguing in the rain.

“Terran, why do you keep postponing the wedding? If you were going to do this, why did you get engaged to Grace?”

“Grace, stop whining so much.”

Lea was perplexed.

‘What am I seeing? Is this a dream?’

She didn’t understand why she had to watch the love quarrel of a couple she didn’t know.

Then, for a moment, the man’s sharp gaze looked at Lea.

‘It’s that man I saw on the cliff.’

Lea instinctively tried to run away.

But as if swept up in a huge whirlpool, her body was sucked into the woman called Grace.

No matter how much she struggled to escape, it felt like she was trapped in a swirling swamp.

Only after her body was completely sucked in did her consciousness fade away.

‘Death was not the beginning of fear, but rest.’

Lea finally felt peace.

Sometimes her head hurt and she coughed severely, but each time someone would come and put a wet cloth on her forehead.

That wasn’t all. When the time came, bitter medicine would also go down her throat.

After repeated bouts of high fever and pain, cold sweat flowed all over her body and the fever broke.

“Uh… ung!”

As Lea groaned and blinked her eyelids, hurried footsteps were heard.

“Miss, are you coming to your senses?”

Through her blurry vision, she saw a woman with neatly tied black hair and freckles on the bridge of her nose.

‘That’s not Sara. Then who is it?’

Just as she was wondering, the unfamiliar woman burst into a flood of nagging.

“You know the Duke’s personality, don’t you? Why did you insist on getting married on a rainy day?”

‘What is she talking about? It didn’t rain on the day I got married. And Allen isn’t a duke.’

“I’ve told you many times that men get easily tired of women who pursue them aggressively, haven’t I?”

“Who… are you?”

Lea managed to make a sound with her dry, cracked lips.

She seemed like a maid, but Lea was curious about her name.

“Oh my! After being sick, have you forgotten my name too? I’m Pauline, don’t you remember?”

“Ah! Pau… line, I want to get up.”

Pauline supported Lea and propped several pillows behind her back.

Lea looked around the space she was in. It was unfamiliar, but not entirely so.

Her room was more luxurious than this, with the finest furniture, lighting, curtains, and even statues. Moreover, there was a scent here that she had never smelled before.

‘A lonely and deprived scent.’

Just then, the door opened and a cool breeze entered.

The familiar sound of military boots approached, and soon a man with a strong presence that filled the entire space stood before her.

‘Who is this man?’

Lea remembered this man clearly.

He had appeared before her repeatedly, even in the moment when her consciousness was fading, and when she had become a floating seed in the world.

Jet-black hair contrasting with pale skin, fierce yet contemplative eyes that were a brilliant black.

From his stubbornly proud nose bridge to his firmly closed lips, he looked perfect as if drawn.

He was undoubtedly handsome without flaw, but what overwhelmed people was his intense presence.

“I’m glad you’re awake, Grace.”

‘Grace, me?’