Although there was a delay due to Aria’s foolish act, the wedding still proceeded smoothly.

First, Odin instructed to continue with the ceremony, and Hayden conducted it flexibly, successfully completing everything up to the bride and groom’s procession.

Of course, the bouquet toss was omitted, as it had already been thrown to Aria.

Nevertheless, Clea was satisfied.

She had worried what if Aria stayed quiet, but as expected, she couldn’t hold back and caused quite a scene.

“What on earth were you thinking to do such a thing!”

“D-Dear! Please stop!”

“Stop? Do you realize what situation our family is in right now?!”

“Eek!”

Thanks to that, Duke Hersher was now in agony.

He struck Aria.

He wanted nothing more than to flee to the Hersher mansion right away.

How the guests looked at them after Aria’s sudden action.

The more the Duke thought about it, the more furious he became, raising his voice.

“Answer me! What were you thinking when you did such a thing?!”

The most critical issue now was that she had acted disrespectfully in front of the Emperor.

There were not just one or two noble families that had fallen after acting rashly, even if they were dukes.

Especially at the Crown Prince’s wedding, which could be considered a truly important event for the imperial family, Aria’s actions were hardly forgivable.

The Duke’s eyes turned red.

But Aria didn’t say anything. She just remained quiet with a dazed expression.

When Aria kept silent until the end, the Duke’s gaze turned to Lloyd.

“Did you know about this as well?”

The Duke’s question was complex.

It meant whether he knew about Aria’s actions as well as the fact that Clea had been selected as the successor in the Grand Duke’s family.

“Even if I’ve been pushed out of succession, I’m still a member of the Percy family. Duke, please show me proper respect.”

Unlike when he trembled in fear and did nothing in the venue, Lloyd countered the Duke brazenly.

It was because if he gave in to the Duke now, his position would be completely diminished and his promised marriage to Aria would become nothing but a bubble.

However, the Duke found Lloyd’s behavior ridiculous and pressed on.

“Ha, then you could go to the Grand Duke right now and ask him to confront you with the successor, right?”

“Th-That’s.”

The Duke mocked Lloyd who couldn’t say anything. It was something he knew Lloyd couldn’t do.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

The Duke looked at Aria and said.

“From now on, you are mentally ill.”

“……”

“You committed an act that shouldn’t have been done because you’re mentally ill.”

He planned to beg for forgiveness, saying it was due to a chronic illness, and then ask to leave.

He thought that was the only way for the Hersher family to survive.

Aria, who had been quietly watching this, merely furrowed her brows.

But then, an imperial messenger came to the lounge where they were.

“I have a message for the Duke.”

Seeing the imperial messenger, the Duke froze.

He could sufficiently guess why he had come.

“The Emperor commands that all members of the Duke’s family must attend the reception without fail.”

Everyone must attend.

This was a strict imperial order.

The option of returning home in defiance of the imperial order did not exist in his mind.

As even the solution he had come up with became impossible, the Duke bit his lip and said.

“I must have an audience with His Majesty.”

“His Majesty is busy now.”

“It’s an urgent matter! Please, let me see His Majesty!”

He was willing to throw away all his pride and beg even now. To plead for his life, that is.

The Duke, who had been by Odin’s side for decades, knew his character well.

So he desperately begged to be allowed to see him.

But the imperial messenger firmly rejected him.

“That is all I have to convey.”

“Ah…!”

Watching the imperial messenger walk away, the Duke was dumbfounded.

In an instant, his family’s and his own future seemed completely ruined.

The Duke glared at Aria with fierce eyes.

“Go and beg.”

“……”

“I said go and beg for forgiveness until your hands and feet wear out!”

The Duke kept shouting at Aria, but Aria remained silent.

The more she did so, the more the Duke felt his insides burning up.

* * *

“Aria, what are you going to do now?”

Duke Hersher finally left, unable to bear it anymore, to seek an audience with the Emperor himself.

Worried about the Duke, the Duchess also followed after him, so only Lloyd and Aria remained.

Lloyd looked at Aria with resentful eyes.

What trouble he had gone through because of this damned suit he was wearing now.

Thinking about that point, Lloyd was furious at Aria who had prepared this suit.

But even at this moment, he hoped Aria would make excuses.

That he too had been deceived and that’s how this happened.

That they had fallen into a trap set by Clea, that is.

However, Aria glared at Lloyd, narrowing her brows.

“What do you mean, what am I going to do?”

“Aria.”

“You said you’d wear it in the first place.”

“Is that what you should be saying to me right now?”

“No, I still have a lot more to say to you.”

Lloyd was dumbfounded by Aria’s brazen attitude.

No matter how much he loved her, could he still love her even when she was pushing him off a cliff?

He too realized how critical the situation he was in right now.

Just moments ago, he had seen the Duke take such a humble attitude in front of the Emperor’s messenger that he looked pathetic, so he couldn’t help but realize.

He had now crossed a line that shouldn’t have been crossed.

And the one who made him cross that line was Aria, whom he had loved so dearly.

“If you hadn’t wanted to be with me, today wouldn’t have happened.”

Meanwhile, Aria looked at Lloyd with disgusted eyes.

If Lloyd had also expressed opposition to the marriage, it could have been overturned.

But Lloyd didn’t oppose. Rather, he had a significant influence in finalizing the marriage.

What if she hadn’t been about to marry him?

Then Aria wouldn’t have taken such a risky move as she did now.

Time was on her side anyway, so she would have waited very slowly.

For the day when Clea dies and Admund becomes alone.

But if she marries Lloyd, that opportunity would never come to her.

Even if Lloyd dies, having been married once would exclude her from consideration.

“Aria, please stop it!”

Meanwhile, Lloyd felt like he was going to have a nervous breakdown.

“Do you think Admund will forgive you for this? Do you?!”

Seeing Aria whose heart had completely turned black, Lloyd grabbed both her hands.

He tried to persuade her with a desperate heart.

“It’s all over now.”

“What are you saying?”

“It’s better this way, Aria. Let’s run away together like this.”

Aria frowned at him for casually suggesting to run away in this situation.

If they ran away like this, it was clear that her turn would never come.

Of course, even if they didn’t run away, there was no chance, but Aria didn’t want to run away.

Running away was no different from admitting guilt.

She was as righteous as ever. That’s why she had no intention of running away.

“If you want to run away, go alone, Lloyd. You’ll be caught by someone soon anyway.”

“Aria!”

Despite her firm rejection, Lloyd didn’t let go of her hands.

He forcibly pulled her as if he couldn’t give up in the end.

But that only lasted for a moment.

“Get out of the way!”

There were knights in front of the lounge door.

They didn’t open the way at all despite Lloyd’s orders.

Trembling more and more in fear, he showed his impatience.

“I said get out of the way!”

“There was an imperial order to attend the reception. You can’t go anywhere until then.”

The time to leave had long passed.

Aria had already accepted that, but Lloyd still couldn’t accept it and struggled.

Nothing changed just because he struggled.

The knights drew their swords without hesitation towards Lloyd who was approaching.

“Are you going to disobey the imperial order?”

“Ugh!”

Lloyd had to feel despair as there was nowhere to escape.

‘There’s still a chance.’

Even in this situation, Aria was aiming for just one opportunity.

Just one very sharp moment, that is.

* * *

“Your Majesty, please.”

Meanwhile, Grit and Steve were also facing a desperate moment.

“Please forgive our mistake.”

They thought Clea wouldn’t be able to do anything even if she became the Crown Princess.

They thought the nobles would look down on her who had left the family and become a commoner.

But the moment the Grand Duke stepped forward and declared her as the successor of the Percy family, the situation changed.

“You ask for forgiveness?”

“Yes. We have been foolish and committed disloyalty to Your Majesty.”

“F-Father.”

“Hush, Steve. This is before His Majesty. No matter how precious a sister she once was, mind your manners.”

Steve looked at Grit as if he was having difficulty accepting the current situation.

Grit had emphasized his pride as if he would never bend, right up until they left the Duke’s mansion.

But now was not the time to show pride.

Even if it meant being servile, Grit tried to look ahead to the long-term situation.

‘If time passes and Clea dies without producing an heir, we’ll have a claim to succeed the Grand Duke’s family.’

Her bloodline was clearly based on the Odoi family.

Grit aimed for that part and came forward to try to restore their relationship with her even now.

Meanwhile, Clea found it absurd. She could clearly see what Grit was thinking.

‘Everything’s going exactly as expected.’

Since everything was exactly as she had anticipated, Clea clicked her tongue inwardly as she looked down at the beings before her.

‘I’ve heard enough, so shall we bring this to an end now?’

It was time to deal with those two who still didn’t understand their place.