Clea looked at the lavishly decorated banquet hall with an expressionless face.

This place, rarely used normally, was where only very grand events like the Emperor’s coronation were held.

For the Crown Prince’s wedding to be held in such a place was a very special occasion.

This meant that Odin genuinely approved of their marriage, and furthermore, wanted to declare their union as a great blessing for the nation.

“You don’t look very happy.”

“I don’t think I’m the type to show my emotions on my face.”

“Still, it’s your own wedding. You could be feeling quite pleased.”

The one who appeared beside her was Archbishop Hayden, who had helped during her penance.

The reason Hayden was here was because he was the officiant for the ceremony.

Clea spoke quietly without even glancing at the person standing next to her.

“You seem to be in a better mood than I am.”

“Thanks to someone, I’ve firmly secured my position within the church.”

She had asked despite already knowing the answer.

Since then, Hayden’s status had risen.

Though bishops from various regions who couldn’t accept losing the bet with Hayden protested, they were all replaced.

The newly appointed bishops were all Hayden’s people, which helped effectively root out the corruption that had long been prevalent within the church.

“Now that I’ve answered, please tell me your answer to the question.”

Hayden’s fine brow drew closer to her.

The shortened distance could have been uncomfortable, but Clea met his brown eyes directly.

“I was just imagining for a moment.”

Clea recalled the happy ending of the original story.

Admund and Aria, free from Lloyd’s interference, having a wedding full of blessings.

There was no mention of where they held their wedding ceremony back then.

She imagined in her mind what it would have looked like if the two had gotten married here.

She doubted if Admund truly loved Aria.

The Admund she knew wasn’t foolish enough to love Aria.

‘Still, it’s annoying. Thinking about him marrying someone else instead of me.’

Hayden didn’t bother asking what she had imagined. Seeing her expression, he seemed to think it wasn’t a pleasant thought and changed the subject.

“How are you feeling these days?”

Hayden had witnessed with his own eyes what had happened at the Odoi mansion before.

The sight of her already weak body being stained with blood from a sword wound.

Before becoming an archbishop, Hayden had traveled to dangerous places several times as a believer to help people.

What he experienced that day at the Odoi mansion was even more shocking to him than what he had gone through in those places.

“As you can see, I’m fine now.”

“If it’s too much, I’d prefer you didn’t push yourself.”

“Hayden, I’m not so weak as to melt away like snow.”

Hayden also knew well that Clea was not weak.

If she had been, she would have long since crumbled under all the evil things she had endured since her academy days.

But she had endured those days to the end, and now she was sharpening the blade of revenge.

As time passed, that blade was becoming quite sharp.

It was an undeniable fact that she was a strong person, but what Hayden was worried about was something else.

“The princess’s curse is still ongoing, isn’t it?”

Aria’s curse.

This curse that must be broken somehow.

If only this curse could be broken, she would no longer have to be dragged along by Aria.

‘But there’s no need for me to be hasty. I’ll be able to find out everything eventually anyway.’

In the long run, time might seem to be on Aria’s side, but that didn’t mean she had the luxury to be complacent.

If Aria came by like last time and dropped hints bit by bit, she would surely be able to figure it out.

Clea smiled.

She thought that if she couldn’t figure it out in the end, she could just turn the Hersher house upside down searching.

Meanwhile, Clea asked Hayden, who was looking at her with concern.

“If you’re so worried about me, could you try stealing that princess’s heart? I’m getting tired of her constantly getting in Admund’s way.”

“I’m afraid my face isn’t as handsome as His Highness the Crown Prince, so it would be impossible for me to steal the princess’s heart.”

Hayden’s fine brow furrowed completely at Clea’s words.

He expressed his refusal with a serious face.

“Why don’t you ask that viscount instead?”

Knowing that the viscount Hayden referred to was Bawin, Clea smiled.

“Oh my, unfortunately Bawin also said he couldn’t do it and recommended you.”

“Haha, I feel a bit offended. That he thought of me too.”

It was the same answer she got when she made the same joke to Bawin.

Of course, at first Bawin was willing to go along with it for Clea’s sake.

But then he recalled Lloyd’s existence and refused, worried it would become troublesome.

Clea thought about what she should do to break this curse from now on.

Was Aria really free from the curse?

How much more was there that she didn’t know about the curse?

Clea thought there must be something that wasn’t explained in the original story.

“Clea, what are you doing here?”

Just as she was lost in thought, someone else appeared beside Clea.

.

Hayden had already distanced himself and was bowing his head.

Clea greeted along with Hayden, turning towards the voice.

“We greet Your Majesty the Empress.”

It was Elina, the Empress of the Empire.

Elina approached and stopped Clea as she was about to bow her head.

“There’s no need for such formal greetings between us.”

Elina, like Odin, had already acknowledged Clea.

It wasn’t that they had chosen the lesser evil to avoid the worst. To Elina and Odin, Clea was the best candidate.

She wasn’t harboring other ambitions behind a pure face like Aria, and there was also less chance of the imperial family being threatened by her relatives.

Moreover, she was the only one Admund had taken to heart. He acted as if he wouldn’t marry anyone but her.

Like father, like son – they had already experienced it once through Odin, so they didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble.

“Clea, if you’re not busy, could you spare me some time?”

“That’s fine with me.”

Though she didn’t know what it was about, Clea accepted as there was no reason to refuse.

“Then I hope you two have a pleasant conversation. I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Thank you for saying so, Archbishop. Let’s meet again next time.”

Hayden tactfully left his seat.

Pleased with his behavior, Elina took Clea’s hand and led her.

Clea was perplexed at suddenly having her hand held. But more important was where they were heading.

When Clea asked where they were going from the banquet hall, Elina smiled and said.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

There was no trace of the secretiveness often seen in nobles in her seemingly pleasant smile.

Clea’s unease disappeared at that pure expression.

A short while later, the place they arrived at was none other than the Empress’s Palace.

“Your Majesty?”

The numerous dresses that came into view as soon as they entered rekindled the anxiety that had disappeared.

“It’s a wedding, we can’t choose the dress carelessly, can we?”

Clea retraced her past actions.

Rupia had asked her several times to properly choose a wedding dress.

But finding it bothersome, she had roughly picked one that caught her eye from among those in the design book.

Admund seemed to have some reservations, but respecting Clea’s wishes, it had passed without any particular issue.

But it seemed this news had eventually reached Elina’s ears.

“Let’s try them all on and decide which one is the prettiest.”

“All of them, you say?”

In any case, the problem was from now on.

“Yes, you must try them all on.”

* * *

“Sigh.”

Admund let out a sigh.

The groom-to-be hadn’t been able to sleep well for the past few days before the wedding.

For a few days, someone hadn’t let him sleep, but for other reasons, this exciting feeling prevented him from closing his eyes.

Though he felt tired, he didn’t overtly show it.

‘If it’s her with her sharp intuition, she’ll notice right away and tell me to be careful.’

What bothered Admund most was that the time he spent with Clea might decrease.

He arrived at the Empress’s Palace with a stiff body from accumulated fatigue.

Elina had sent a letter telling him to come to the Empress’s Palace without explaining why.

He wanted to refuse because he had many things to do, but Oberon and several others advised him to head to the Empress’s Palace.

Thinking there might be something related to Clea, Admund immediately set off.

Hoping it wasn’t anything serious.

“Clea?”

The scene that greeted him as soon as he opened the door confused Admund.

More precisely, he couldn’t recognize who was in front of him for a moment.

Clea, hidden behind a veil along with a snow-white wedding dress, looked even purer than usual.

As soon as he saw her beautiful figure, the fatigue weighing on his shoulders completely disappeared.

He approached her slowly, as if enchanted.

“How is it? Do I look pretty?”

“Yes, very much so.”

Clea, who was a bit surprised at first when Admund appeared but was still glad to see him, asked.

Her question was about the dress, but Admund was only looking at her face.

“You’re more beautiful than anything.”