“Lady Ariel, Lady Ariel. Please open your eyes.”

“Anna?”

“Please wake up. You usually get up early, how could you oversleep on your wedding day?”

Hearing Anna’s nagging, Ariel laughed out loud. She had dreamed of being chased by an unknown man. It was a frightening dream because the man was large and dark.

The lingering effects of that dream hadn’t faded, and she sat up in bed, staring blankly at Anna. Anna grabbed the large, billowing curtains blown by the wind through the open window and tied them neatly with both hands.

“Anna, thank you for coming back safely. I’m always grateful and I love you.”

Anna smiled broadly, seemingly surprised by Ariel’s sudden words. Anna had returned last night an hour after Ariel had gone out and come back. She reassured Ariel that she was late because she had personal matters to attend to, but Ariel didn’t believe it. Anna would never do that knowing how worried she would be if she was late.

“Lady Ariel. Please come over here.”

The two sat facing each other at the table where a light meal was set.

“Tell me the truth. Did Ludvian really just take the oil and let you go?”

It was just for a moment, but Ariel saw Anna’s face harden.

“Anna.”

At the urging voice, Anna let out a light sigh. She had intended to tell her after the wedding if possible. Seeming to have made up her mind, Anna put down the coffee cup she was holding.

“Actually, yesterday… I was held by Ludvian and he released me late, telling me to relay this message. He said that from now on, he won’t send back anyone who comes in your place unless you come in person.”

“Ah… I’m sorry, Anna. It’s because of me. I’ll do it myself next time.”

“Why don’t you ask the Duke instead?”

“No!”

What a terrible thing to ask.

“That’s not possible. Absolutely not!”

Anna’s eyes widened slightly at Ariel’s attitude, which was more resolute than expected. But since she wasn’t one to act without reason, Anna simply acquiesced.

“Alright. You need to start preparing now.”

Ariel followed her like a child, led by the gentle hand pulling her towards the bathroom.

After soaking in the tub filled with scented oils and coming out, Madame Bella had arrived with the staff who had come before. As Ariel greeted them, she was a little surprised. Despite her changed appearance, they acted calmly without any sign of flustering.

“You’re not surprised.”

At Ariel’s quiet words, Madame Bella approached closer, smiling even more quietly.

“The Duke gave us prior notice.”

Ah…

It was just like the man who hated even the slightest thing going awry. Throughout the journey from Letiana to Tris, Ariel had learned a bit more about him. This was because Sir Carsen, Hearn, and Lemon, who had been with Kaius for a long time, provided a lot of information. As Ariel was lost in these thoughts, her body was transformed into that of a bride under the hands of experts, regardless of her will.

When Ariel, dressed in her wedding gown, stood in front of the mirror, small exclamations could be heard from here and there.

Madame Bella called a nearby staff member, who brought a box. It was the box that Kaius had brought from the jewelry shop on Mofa Street on the day they came to Tris. Inside was a set of necklace and earrings.

“As expected of Elbartan. Such large blue diamonds.”

Admiring words mixed with envy leaked from the staff behind. Madame Bella, who quietly cautioned them, put them on Ariel’s neck and ears.

The last was the bride’s bouquet. Madame Bella handed it to her and stepped back.

“It’s finished now.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

As Ariel looked at her reflection in the mirror, she suddenly realized an surprising fact. Her mind was already thinking about what to do after finishing this marriage. How to prepare for the cooking competition. What excuse to make to go to the Brandt Library. Such things.

It was a failing grade for a bride’s mindset on the verge of marriage. As she gently shook her head, the long dangling earrings swayed with the movement. While Ariel was gazing at the high autumn sky by the window, a knock was heard at the door.

“My lady, it’s time to go downstairs.”

As the door opened, Kaius was standing there, looking at her with indifferent eyes.

In a perfectly elegant and dignified manner.

Kaius extended his hand to Ariel, who was standing there blankly.

“Shall we go?”

As Kaius escorted Ariel down the stairs, Anna and Madame Bella followed behind, then Lemon carrying Kaius’s sword and Butler Raymond, and finally Sir Carsen and the guard knights at intervals. The clicking sound of shoes echoed like a beautiful melody.

“Thank you.”

Ariel whispered in a small voice as they slowly descended the stairs, looking ahead.

“For accepting my proposal.”

Kaius’s gaze slowly moved to Ariel’s face at the unexpected words. He had thought that this woman might be regretting her marriage to him. She was the woman who had been avoiding him constantly since that moment he kissed her in the greenhouse, who had been pulling the sofa to block the door connecting to his bedroom at night.

And yet she says thank you?

Just like the moment when she had brought a bag full of gold coins to pay for the greenhouse, making him feel humiliated. He had thought that a moment might come when she would bring the penalty fee and ask to cancel the contract.

And.

At some point, vaguely, no, precisely, he had realized. Even if such a moment came, he wouldn’t be able to accept it willingly.

A frustrated sigh escaped between Kaius’s lips as he turned his head forward.

He recalled the actions she had taken to make him accept the marriage. To think that he had thought all those efforts might be nullified by mere matters between a man and a woman. Kaius, who laughed lowly, looked at Ariel once again.

This woman, that is, his woman, possessed both wisdom and stubbornness to the point of frustration.

Therefore, she would never leave him until she achieved her goal. As that certainty was engraved, his eyes deepened. In response to his action of silently gripping her hand tightly, her golden eyes smiled at him like the spring sun.

The corners of Kaius’s lips curled gently as he quietly faced that smile.

At last, as the two came down to the first floor, the tightly closed doors of the mansion opened wide.

It was a cloudless blue autumn sky.

The stone walls leading to the virgin road seemed to have been put in considerable effort, as if a wall had been made of roses. It was then that Ariel’s shoulders began to tremble slightly as she was looking at the pretty sight.

“How on earth did she seduce the Duke?”

“What else, it must be her pretty face. That’s probably all she has.”

“I don’t like her in many ways. Moreover, I hear she didn’t even show her face to the relatives who arrived early. There are already rumors that the Duke has fallen under her spell.”

The ladies’ malicious gossip heated up the garden like the midday sun.

“Did you fall for my face? Duke?”

Kaius chuckled at that small question and answered by firmly gripping her hand.

“Stop talking nonsense. The Duke is not someone who would fall for appearances.”

“That’s right. He’s definitely not someone who would fall for a woman. They’re talking without knowing anything.”

“Everyone should know that this marriage is by the Emperor’s order. There’s too much unnecessary talk.”

The male nobles deeply trusted Kaius.

“You must be pleased, Duke.”

With those words that sounded like a soliloquy, the lavish path decorated with roses also came to an end. The guests waiting began to stir as they confirmed the appearance of the two.

“It seems the news from the gazette about love at first sight was true after all.”

“Perhaps because she’s a princess, she exudes an elegant and graceful dignity.”

Ariel’s appearance was striking enough to dispel all those rumors and raise new speculations.

“It seems the rumor about the bad relationship between His Majesty the Emperor and the Duke was false. Rather, they must be very close friends.”

It was predictable to anyone that this kind of article would grace the front page of tomorrow’s gazette. The basis for the article was also easily guessable.

That the Emperor had given up a woman prettier than the Empress to the Duke.

Kaius quietly looked down at Ariel, who had contributed to heating up the cold autumn air. Feeling his gaze, Ariel looked at him with an innocent face, not knowing anything, and smiled, causing Kaius to laugh softly.

His friend Rashid von Baltesran, who had just arrived today, almost spat out his wine as he watched this scene from the guest seats. In over 10 years of friendship, he had never seen such an expression. A smile that seemed genuine.

After Rashid, who felt thirsty, downed the wine on the table in one gulp, he turned his gaze again to see Emperor Hart approaching Kaius from afar. Deciding it was too good a sight to just sit and watch, Rashid finally stood up from his seat.

“I wonder what will happen today.”

Most of the time when Kaius and Emperor Hart met, interesting things tended to happen. Having been so for all this time, Rashid’s face as he approached was full of anticipation.

Ariel, who had been wondering why Kaius was smiling, heard the quiet message from a knight who had approached.

Emperor Hart had arrived, he said. It was unexpected. Knowing that their relationship was not good, it seemed ungentlemanly to attend the wedding anyway.

As Ariel slowly looked around, curious about the face of the shameless emperor, she was shocked.

…Blue hair and blue eyes?

That ruffian from yesterday had appeared again, and was even approaching them. Ariel’s brow furrowed as she recalled last night’s unpleasant incident.