As the bride and groom cannot enter separately, Vivian, who arrived first, naturally had to wait longer.

It was quite a struggle to wear such heavy tiaras on her head without even being able to enter the venue.

The corset was so tight it made her heart feel constricted, and Vivian’s complexion gradually turned pale.

In reality, making the bride stand like this was a very insulting thing to do.

But she didn’t show any reaction, as if nothing was wrong. Like a person for whom nothing was happening.

It was Marianne who spoke up, unable to contain her anger at Vivian’s precarious appearance.

“This is really too much. How can they make the bride wait this long?”

Even in this situation, Vivian maintained a calm demeanor as if it wasn’t her own affair.

‘I must be displeasing to them.’

There was no shock, as she hadn’t expected the marriage to proceed smoothly anyway.

She was just puzzled.

‘If they were going to act like this, why did Casius allow this marriage to proceed? Was it really just to vent his anger?’

Well, there was no way he would have agreed to the marriage with normal intentions.

She was prepared to endure anything if it could make Casius feel better, even if it meant venting his anger like this.

Even if it meant standing here waiting for hours.

As she waited for Casius with resignation, there was constant murmuring from inside.

She could tell without even seeing.

‘They must all be talking about me and Casius.’

Amidst that, Diarob Snowfel would be sweating to maintain his dignity.

And father…

The name ‘Siron Rosemary’ written on the guest list was clearly imprinted in Vivian’s eyes.

‘I didn’t think he would come…’

She couldn’t even begin to fathom her father’s feelings, seeing another family’s daughter standing at the wedding where his daughter should have been.

Nevertheless, she could guess the intention behind his coming here.

Her father was quite fond of Casius.

Casius, who would do anything for her, was a person difficult to find fault with.

It suddenly crossed her mind how her father, who rarely spoke heavily, had praised Casius more enthusiastically than anyone else.

‘If father hadn’t come here, the issue between Casius and Rosemary would have been brought up again.’

That would surely have had a negative impact on Casius. Especially now, when there was so much talk about that issue.

Standing in front of the venue, I looked at the tightly closed doors and made a decision to speak.

“Open the doors.”

“Pardon? But…”

The attendant, unable to say that Casius had not yet arrived, reluctantly opened the doors at Vivian’s resolute gaze.

As the doors opened, all eyes turned to me.

Duke Diarob, who had brightened up thinking the wedding march was finally starting, visibly frowned upon seeing his daughter standing alone.

The Duke’s gaze was sharp as he tried to hide his trembling and suppress his boiling expression.

As someone with a stronger desire for honor than anyone else, it was an expected reaction.

That’s why I couldn’t hide my satisfaction even more.

Of course, opening the doors now wasn’t just to spite Diarob.

In a corner opposite to Diarob sat my father, Siron Rosemary.

As expected, no one was seated around him.

It was the reality that they needed to look good to the Snowfel family rather than the fallen Rosemary family.

Everyone knew about Diarob’s pettiness in deliberately taking a seat on the opposite side, but no one could blame him for it.

After all, the real power in the current noble society was the Snowfel family, who would produce the future empress, Vivian.

Given the situation, father was clearly an uncomfortable presence for the nobles to deal with right now.

While many nobles sympathized with him or brought him up as a topic of conversation, that was all.

That’s why I opened the doors.

I wanted to remove him, even if briefly, from the gaze that was putting him to shame.

For now, that was all I could do.

Through the open doors, my father’s side profile came into full view.

Deepened wrinkles, a bitter and empty gaze, slumped shoulders…

Left alone, he exuded an even more lonely feeling.

His eyes, empty as if he had lost everything in the world, stared into space, not even aware of his surroundings.

There were not even tears on his face, dry like a withered branch. As if even the tears to shed had dried up and withered away.

‘While I was gone, those left behind were in the depths of hell.’

I thought this was the best way to save him, but when the moment actually came, a weak heart wavered.

The only consolation was the fact that we were at a distance.

If we had been closer, he might have caught me with reddened eyes, looking unsightly.

I wanted to run to him right away and shout that I was Rachel, that I was his daughter.

But if I did such a thing now, all that would come back would be ‘death’ for breaching the contract.

All the emotions I had been trying to ignore for the past few days welled up inside me.

Of course, I didn’t regret making this choice. It was Casius’s time and life that he had reversed from the beginning.

But thinking about the family that would live in hell from now on made me feel like my heart was sinking into the depths of the sea.

I couldn’t help but resent myself for not being able to do anything but watch.

‘If only Tikan could have stayed by father’s side…’

As a guard who had to stay by his lord Casius’s side, my brother’s duty today was crucial.

It was natural that father wouldn’t have allowed him to leave his duty for his sake.

Shedding tears of blood in my heart, I repeated words that he couldn’t hear.

‘Father, I’m sorry.’

Thoughts filled with tears bloomed hazily in my head like fog.

‘I’ll survive and come to see you, I promise.’

If I can just fulfill the conditions set by the contractor, the ban will be lifted and everything – family, lover – will return to how it was before.

So I must succeed. The will took firm root and rose above my heart.

*

It was quite a while before Casius entered the entrance of the venue.

Only when he revealed himself did the terrible murmuring that had filled the space cease.

After placing my hand on his formally extended arm, the procession down the virgin road continued.

The sense of distance felt uncomfortable despite being in contact.

His unrealistically handsome face made his characteristically empty gaze stand out even more, and his sharp-lined face showed no expression of what he was thinking.

However, one thing was clear.

He had no will for this marriage at all.

Casius’s face was so pale it wouldn’t have been strange if he died right away.

‘I used resurrection magic to save him, so his body should have recovered by now.’

His pallor, almost transparent, was not something that could be hidden even if he tried.

Casius’s haggard face, seemingly having gone through severe mental anguish, looked only half there.

On his finger rested the ring he shared with me.

I was grateful that he hadn’t taken me off even at a moment like this, but on the other hand, it was heartbreaking.

What I have to erase from you now, Casius, is my past.

‘Can I do it? Can I take that ring off you? Can I erase myself?’

I quickly shook off the doubt.

It’s something I have to do anyway, so questions will only confuse my thoughts.

Finally, at the end of the virgin road.

The high priest who was officiating declared clearly.

“The bride and groom, please join hands as a promise of eternity.”

Casius’s aura was so intense that I worried he might refuse.

If he was going to do that, he wouldn’t have agreed to this marriage in the first place… but he looked that unstable.

After a moment of silence, he slowly turned and extended his hand.

Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief and my legs wobbled. To think I had to be this nervous even for such a small action. And yet I have to seduce him. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

Trying hard to compose myself, I carefully placed my hand on his, and a cold sensation flowed through my fingertips.

Even without turning my head, I could feel his intense energy flowing in like an electric current, overwhelming me.

Despite having watched Casius closely for a long time, I couldn’t tell at all what he was thinking now.

His tightly closed lips held only an emotionless aura that didn’t fit the wedding venue at all.

*

On the way down the white road, I could feel the nobles’ piercing gazes all over my body.

Well, anyone with eyes could see the atmosphere. A marriage without a shred of love.

The groom entering late, faces without a hint of a smile, pale complexions… Even faces reminiscent of a battlefield rather than a wedding venue, cold as ice.

Every single thing was supporting that.

In that scene, the nobles naturally thought of Rachel Rosemary.

“Could it be that His Highness hasn’t forgotten Lady Rachel?”

“I heard rumors that he’s still looking for Lady Rachel…”

“What are you saying? If that were true, why would he marry Lady Vivian?”

“Maybe the Snowfel family has caught His Highness’s weakness.”

Given the situation, not only the high priest officiating but also all the nobles were busy just reading the atmosphere. Only after the wedding ended quickly, thanks to the high priest’s flexibility, did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

*

Casius, who had maintained a stern expression and hadn’t even looked at me throughout the wedding, rushed back to the Crown Prince’s palace as soon as the ceremony ended. Tikan hurriedly followed him.

Judging by the typically flustered expression of a blood relative, it seemed Tikan hadn’t predicted this situation either.

The after-party, without its main characters, quickly became noisy.

Although everyone was still being cautious because Snowfel’s people were still around, they were surely talking about the relationship between me and Casius behind our backs.

It was obvious what kind of talk would circulate, with Casius arriving late for the entrance and leaving earlier than anyone else.

It was clear that if I stayed here longer, the attention on me would increase even more. I wanted to get out of this stuffy place quickly.

Perhaps due to the tension since yesterday, or maybe disappointment, fatigue was also considerable.

My aimless steps only stopped when I spotted my father.

Ah. Father was still in this party hall.

His gaze was blankly directed towards the band, as if waiting for the next song to begin.

‘Being a cautious person, he’s probably trying to leave when attention isn’t on him. Let’s endure until father leaves.’

I didn’t think anything would change by me being here, but still, I couldn’t bring myself to leave while father was still here.

As I filled the space, noble ladies came to greet me one after another.

Words mixed with courtesy and flattery, disguised as greetings, piled up.

Although they were probably cursing inside about how cruel the Snowfel family was, their efforts were commendable.

Of course, I had no intention of cursing them. That’s just how the social world is.

After maintaining an appropriate smile and accommodating them for a while, Duke Diarob, who had been trying to maintain his dignity among the nobles, approached me.

Although he was smiling, I could already guess what kind of knife was hidden inside.

As the nobles made way at the Duke’s approach, he pretended to smile kindly while spitting out venom with his words.