‘You’ve been thinking you’re the bride this whole time? How pitiful.’

Rosé’s voice echoed endlessly in Doana’s head.

‘I wanted to believe it was a lie……!’

She believed that Rosé, blinded by jealousy, was only playing a prank.

But everything Rosé said was true.

‘Why… Why didn’t anyone tell me!’

Everyone in the Earl’s family was in on it.

From Tersia, the servants, even to Eric……!

What could they have possibly thought, watching her who was completely clueless and flustered.

“Heehee.”

“That woman seems to be continuously staring at the young lord of Ducal Decar.”

“You don’t suppose she’s going to pull her by the hair and start a fight here, do you?”

“She should know her place. If anything were to happen, she’ll be the one to lose a limb to Ducal Decar.”

“My, how savage.”

The nobles murmured, quietly hoping for such an event to occur. The whispering reached Doana’s ears.

“Hmph.”

“Hey, don’t laugh. Heehee.”

The servants too were busy mocking Doana.

Doana clenched her trembling hands into fists, biting her lip.

She was angry, but the embarrassment was far worse.

If she could, she would want to hide in a mouse hole. Her nose was tingling, and her eyes were welling up with tears.

But Doana tried not to cry.

‘Pull yourself together… If you cry here, you’ll only make yourself look more foolish.’

She gritted her teeth, trying hard to swallow her tears.

‘I need to find Eric first.’

Doana turned her head to find Eric. Among the throng of people, the first person to enter Doana’s sight was not Eric, but Rosé.

Rosé was casually lifting the corner of her mouth, a relaxed expression on her face.

Rosé, locking eyes with Doana, squinted her eyes into crescents and gave a slight smile.

‘…!’

Doana frowned at the mocking actions of Rosé and turned her head.

‘So annoying!’

She must be finding her current state amusing.

She had bragged about becoming the countess.

Doana stood still, looking for Eric, but he was nowhere to be found.

Then, she felt a piercing gaze from her side.

It was Belliar.

Doana instinctively clenched her stomach at the sight of Belliar’s cold eyes.

She felt threatened. It was not pleasing for the bridetobe to know that her husband had a lover.

Belliar, dressed in a white dress, looked at Doana and thought,

‘…I didn’t hear about him having a girlfriend.’

She knew about his exwife. The real Belliar had told her everything.

But she had no idea that there was another woman.

Belliar looked at Doana with an innocent gaze, but it didn’t feel that way to Doana. She met Belliar’s eyes with a trembling gaze.

She didn’t want to lose.

It was obvious that she would be looked down upon if she admitted defeat from the beginning.

Belliar also didn’t avoid Doana’s gaze. However, her intentions were different from Doana’s. She didn’t know what to do with the gaze Doana gave her.

‘Why is she staring at me like that?’

If she were the real Belliar, she would have slapped Doana’s cheek in a show of dominance, but this Belliar wasn’t her.

She didn’t know how to react in this situation.

But to others, Belliar’s demeanor seemed exceedingly cold.

“Oh my, look over there. Count Wens’s official wife seems to be quite determined to attack.”

“Tsk, tsk, the young lord of Ducal Decar won’t just stand by.”

“The duchess is known for her temperament, just like her husband.”

Just then, a sound poured cold water on the bustling atmosphere.

Ding Ding.

The clear sound of the bell from the top of the temple. It was the bell that signaled noon.

The people who were watching Doana and Belliar whispering to each other suddenly seemed to lose their excitement at the sound of the bell.

“The wedding ceremony is about to begin.”

“We should go in now.”

They had been hoping for an interesting spectacle, but Doana and Belliar only glared at each other without doing anything.

“Your Grace, shall we go back now?”

Rosé whispered to the Duke.

“Do you intend not to see the ceremony?”

At the Duke’s words, Rosé nodded and said,

“I’ve seen everything I wanted to see.”

She had achieved her goal. Rosé did not want to waste time unnecessarily.

“……Are you leaving?”

As Rosé was trying to leave without hesitation, Jane grabbed Rosé’s sleeve. Seeing her teary eyes, Rosé couldn’t easily shake her off.

“Jane, what time do you finish today? Shall we meet briefly after work?”

“Me, really?”

Jane, surprised by Rosé’s unexpected words, opened her eyes wide and nodded.

“At six o’clock!”

“Okay. Then I’ll wait for you at the ‘D’ café in the square.”

“Yes!”

With that, Rosé lightly moved her steps.

As the twelfth and final bell rang, Eric came walking slowly from afar.

Belliar naturally turned her gaze to Eric.

‘That man is going to be my husband….’

Eric had come to the waiting room before the meal, but he only showed his face briefly and left.

She glanced at Eric. He looked quite noble, just like a wellgrown young nobleman.