Looking at Tikan quickly disappearing out the window, Casius fell into deep contemplation.

When he heard that Rachel knew about his terminal illness, he was afraid she might make the same choice as him.

‘What if Rachel turns back time like me and becomes terminally ill?’

The mere thought made his heart sink.

He could risk his life for Rachel, but Rachel shouldn’t do that for someone like him.

He didn’t care if someone called him a coward for it.

What could he do about the fact that a world without her would be worse than hell? Damn it.

Fortunately, time hadn’t been reversed yet.

Everything was the same, except for Rachel’s disappearance.

So Rachel would return soon. Even if she had such thoughts, he just needed to find her first.

He had endured each day, organizing his thoughts like this.

‘But what if her disappearance was because of the Duke of Snowfell?’

Although it was still just circumstantial evidence, Casius was boiling inside.

There was no guarantee that Snowfell, who had done such things in his previous life, wouldn’t do it again this time.

Although he had announced that he would accept Vivian as the Crown Princess, it was clear that Rachel was still their biggest threat.

There was no telling what their desires might have led them to do.

Bang– He slammed the table hard enough to shake the room, then immediately stood up.

A terrible cracking sound formed around the table.

But he paid no attention to such things and moved towards the bridal chamber with an icy demeanor.

*

Vivian had been waiting for Casius for hours already.

Just maintaining her posture with the heavy hairpiece was a daunting task in itself.

Outside, the confused murmurs of the priests could be heard.

‘Is Casius not coming today?’

At this rate, they might go down in history as the first couple to fail to consummate their marriage.

While she understood Casius’s feelings, such a thing shouldn’t happen.

If it did, there was no telling how the nobles would react.

With all the talk about the Crown Prince already, there were considerable forces ready to attack Casius.

‘Should I go to him first? Would Casius accept me if I did?’

If she made such a move and the consummation still didn’t happen, things could get even worse.

Every action needed to be careful now, with the priests’ attention focused on them.

‘What should I do?’

As she was deep in thought, the door suddenly burst open.

There was only one person who could enter the bridal chamber without warning.

As she turned her head, a massive figure revealed itself under the soft light.

Outside the door, the voices of confused priests could be heard.

Regardless, Casius closed the door with enough force to nearly break it.

Bang−

With the loud crash, the door closed, and a suffocating silence fell over the space where only the two of them remained.

Because of this, his rough breathing resounded vividly through the room.

A fierce energy rested on Casius’s characteristic blue eyes.

It was a different, alien light from the emotionless face he had shown at the ceremony.

Her throat involuntarily gulped at the predatory appearance that was hard to believe was a man coming to spend his wedding night.

‘Why did he come?’

Even as a joke, it was hard to believe that this current intensity was for consummating the marriage.

He approached her forcefully, without giving her time to think.

Her breath caught at the suddenly narrowed distance.

His gaze, coldly settling on the rose bushes surrounding the bedroom, sent a chill through her.

‘Is he remembering the promise he made to Rachel?’

In this Gracio Room, he had confessed to Rachel – that is, to me – with the brightest smile in the world.

“No matter what happens, I’ll love only you forever.”

Judging by his sunken gaze, he seemed to be recalling that unfulfilled promise.

Casius’s clenched fist on the opposite side came into view. He seemed to be gritting his teeth.

As if revealing that all his expressions until now had been a mask, his current desperate look felt more alive.

Seven years. For seven long years, have you been living like this?

My heart crumbled. Yet the fact that you were living, no, surviving, brought a sense of relief.

‘Yes. Live on like that, Casius.’

In this life, I will surely bring new light into your life with my own hands.

The more I faced this bleak reality, the more clearly I realized that I needed to seduce Casius somehow.

“Your Highness.”

Casius’s expressionless face slowly turned towards me.

At that moment, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but I ignored it and tried to put on the most seductive expression I could while looking up at Casius.

I wasn’t unaware of what the contractor meant by “successful seduction.”

I stroked Casius’s neck, his weakest spot.

At times like this, the tips of his ears would often turn red.

‘Somehow, now they seem white rather than red.’

I had an ominous feeling, but I decided to proceed anyway.

“Let me help you change.”

For some reason, Casius just stared at me intently.

Trying to ignore his persistent gaze, I reached for Casius’s suit.

Just as I was about to unbutton it, he grabbed my hand.

Strong force soon followed on that hand.

When I was Rachel, his touch was always gentle, so the surprise made my body flinch.

Casius, still holding my hand, pushed me onto the bed as if throwing me.

Casius, who had somehow climbed on top, faced me with a sharp gaze.

‘What’s this? Was he into this kind of thing?’

I thought he was an innocent puppy… but this was even better.

If things went this way, I might fulfill the contract conditions in one night, making the contractor cry.

But such thoughts evaporated as soon as I met those overwhelming blue eyes.

One corner of his mouth was now subtly curled up.

After slowly stroking my face, he finally spoke.

“Like father, like daughter, I suppose. Your delusion is admirable.”

If I were a normal noble lady, or if I were really Vivian, I would have felt incredibly humiliated by those words.

Telling a wife who offered to help him change that her delusion was admirable.

Moreover, his cold eyes, devoid of emotion, showed no feeling.

‘If I’m trembling at a time like this, I must really be crazy.’

Casius’s gaze, as he naturally straddled me, met mine directly.

It felt as if my body was burning up wherever his gaze touched.

As if to smack the back of my head, Casius coldly sneered.

“Surely you’re not having delusions of receiving my love?”

His blue gaze, honed like a blade, pierced through me coldly.

‘This was all expected, but….’

It still hurt. The fact that I was now this kind of existence to him was too clear.

‘Is this why he married Vivian?’

The chilling sensation on my arm put an end to my questions and intensified the pain.

He who used to be so careful about touching my body was now grasping me as he pleased.

I turned my gaze away to hide my trembling from his obvious stare. If he caught me trembling even now, I’d really be a crazy bitch. I wanted to avoid such a mishap at least.

But even that wasn’t allowed.

Casius’s other hand roughly grabbed my chin and pulled it back. As if telling me to look at him straight.

“Tell me where you’ve hidden Rachel.”

Rachel?

“What do you mean…?”

“You must know. What your family has done to Rachel.”

My body stiffened at these unexpected words.

But my mind had already drawn one conclusion.

‘Could it be that he thinks Snowfell has done something to me?’

“There seems to be some misunderstanding, Your Highness.”

“Misunderstanding?”

His eyes were infinitely cold as he roughly let go of my chin. His following words were equally so.

“Listen well, this is the last of my patience for tolerating nauseating you.”

Casius’s breath reached me as he quickly closed the distance.

‘What is he thinking?’

He was so close that even the minute movements of his pupils were visible.

Casius’s face, which didn’t miss this, was so composed it was shameful.

‘While I feel like I’m burning up…’

His long, white fingers that trailed down my neck lingered dizzyingly, as if about to open the lace at any moment.

The slow movement made my breath catch involuntarily.

The thought that there were various ways to inflict shame raced through my mind.

As if unsatisfied with just that, he gently traced my jaw with his long, white fingers.

The trailing touch soon gently caressed my collarbone.

My head became chaotically dizzy, and the areas his touch reached burned achingly hot.

Casius showed not a single change in expression, making it hard to believe he was the one doing such things.

His hand, which had torn my dress, roughly wrapped around me.

Only after seeing my flustered face did he stop his taunting touch.

A sardonic smile had bloomed on his lips.

“Just tell me where Rachel is.”

“……”

“If you do, I might grant you the one night the Crown Princess is so desperately begging for.”

With those final words, he got off the bed and disappeared without looking back even once.

Now I seemed to understand clearly.

The reason Casius went through with this wedding was solely to bring down Snowfell.