“You’ve grown so much and now you’re getting married. I have no regrets left.”

Rani’s eyes were already red. In contrast, the bride who would be married in a few hours looked utterly indifferent.

“I’ve already done this once before.”

“That wasn’t a real marriage. If I had known Lady Cordelia was treated so cruelly, I would never have let those people get away with it.”

Rani wiped her wet eyes and said with a growl. After belatedly hearing what Cordelia had gone through at the Abrams, she became enraged and insisted that Abrams should be completely erased from the map.

“It’s fine. Leonard has already taken revenge.”

She learned only later that Helena Abrams had met a mysterious death in the tower, and Arnold Dylan had gone mad, unable to even recognize himself. There was no need to ask who was behind it.

“I was worried because Lady Cordelia is secretly weak to emotions, but as expected, the Archduke Atilei is truly just. I’m very relieved.”

Cordelia wondered if “truly just” was an appropriate modifier to use here, but she let it pass. Rani said with a very satisfied smile.

“I’m sure Lady Grita in heaven must be rejoicing as well.”

“I hope so. By the way, thank you for coming, Rani. You must be busy with the coronation.”

“The coronation is still far off.”

“Huh? Why? Leonard said you were appointed as the High Priest.”

“That’s true, but in Yeratcus, even if nominated by the previous High Priest, there are several rituals one must go through.”

“It seems different from ascending to the throne as a king.”

“Similar, but different.”

As they continued to discuss the peculiar political system of Yeratcus for a while, the topic of Pablo Vasquez’s recent situation came up by chance.

“Have you heard news of Archduke Vasquez?”

Noticing the emotionless tone without even the title of father, Rani briefly examined Cordelia’s face before casually replying.

“Yes. I heard he died after getting into a brawl with commoners at a tavern.”

“Not surprising, it’s a fitting end for an Archduke like him.”

A sneer-like expression hung on Cordelia’s lips.

The first one to inform her of this news was Leonard. One day, he led Cordelia to a quiet place and told her about Pablo’s death.

When Cordelia remained silent for a while, he took her hand worriedly.

‘They say he got caught in a fight and his wounds worsened, his condition deteriorated so quickly that the doctor had no time to intervene.’

‘Did you assign a doctor to him?’

‘I had someone keep an eye on him.’

She didn’t ask why he did that. More precisely, she didn’t care much whether he had someone watching Pablo or not.

‘I see.’

‘Are you alright?’

‘Well, now we have a good reason not to invite Archduke Vasquez to the wedding.’

Leonard’s lips twitched slightly at her cynical response. Seeing his face, Cordelia realized her mistake. She wondered if she should have at least pretended to be sad, after all, he was her father. But Leonard squeezed her hand tightly and said,

‘I’m glad.’

‘About what?’

‘That you’re not sad because of that man. I was a bit worried you might want to postpone the wedding.’

‘Was that what you were worried about?’

‘What else would I be worried about?’

He asked back as if perplexed. Cordelia smiled softly, relieved at his response.

Now, with the wedding just around the corner, she tried to recall her last moments with Pablo, but nothing was clear. She only vaguely remembered that he used to visit the Atilei townhouse every day, and then at some point, he stopped appearing.

“Don’t worry too much about it. He merely met the most fitting death for him.”

“Thank you for comforting me.”

It would be a lie to say there was no resentment towards her father at all, but now the past related to him felt like a very faint scar. It had been a long time since she lost contact with Dennis, whom she had believed to be her younger brother.

The word ‘Vasquez’ could no longer leave any scars on Cordelia.

“I did hold a funeral for him though. There were no mourners, but still.”

The reason there were no mourners was that no one was invited, but Cordelia didn’t bother to explain that.

It was probably the most desolate and unremarkable funeral Cordelia had ever attended. There were no flowers to honor the deceased, no priest to recite prayers. They just called a gravedigger and erected a single cheap headstone.

It was far too shabby for the grave of one of the eight sacred families, the Vasquez, and that was exactly what Cordelia wanted.

Ironically, when the coffin was covered with enough soil to be out of sight, a single tear rolled down Cordelia’s cheek. Leonard, who was standing by her side, silently took her hand.

‘Are you okay?’

‘He’s dead. Really dead.’

It wasn’t a tear of mourning or sadness. It would be more accurate to describe it as relief and reassurance.

The fact that Pablo Vasquez could no longer have any influence on her life gave Cordelia a great sense of liberation.

“Actually, you know.”

Just as she was about to confess these feelings to Rani, the bride’s room door suddenly burst open.

Of course, there was only one person in this castle who could do such a thing, so Cordelia wasn’t surprised.

“Did you take your medicine?”

“Is that the first thing you say to a bride on her wedding day?”

Cordelia said, wrinkling her nose. Leonard paid no heed and strode towards her.

His smooth platinum blonde hair was glossed with camellia oil, not a single strand out of place. Leonard’s appearance in his white ceremonial attire was so perfect that Cordelia lost herself for a moment, staring at him. He could have been mistaken for an angel descended from heaven.

The angel tapped her forehead.

“I asked if you took it.”

“There’s still two days left, you know.”

“The wedding lasts for three days, you might forget during that time. Take it now. In front of me.”

He spoke very firmly. Cordelia was quite pleased with Leonard’s excessive worry, so she swallowed the antidote without much protest. Rani, who was beside her, asked anxiously.

“What medicine are you talking about? Are you unwell somewhere?”

“It’s the antidote for the poison that Archduke Embly made me drink. I still have to take it once every ten days.”

“Oh my.”

Rani’s face immediately darkened. Cordelia, on the other hand, seemed unbothered. Leonard crossed his arms and stared at Rani.

“High Priest. I think they’re calling for you downstairs.”

“Ah.”

There was no one in this castle who could summon Rani. It was an obvious dismissal. Noticing this, Rani hurriedly stood up.

“It seems I’ve taken up too much of your time. I’ll see you later, miss.”

“Miss? How long do you plan to call her that? It’s proper to address her respectfully as Lady Atilei now.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not yet accustomed to the correct form of address. Please forgive me, Lady Atilei.”

Rani immediately changed her attitude and bowed politely.

“I don’t mind… No, that’s right. You may withdraw now.”

Seeing Leonard glaring at her with wide eyes, Cordelia had no choice but to accept Rani’s bow.

Once they were alone in the room, Cordelia said with a sigh mixed in,

“Rani is now the High Priest. And she was also my nanny. Can’t she speak comfortably in private?”

“Once you get used to your position, that will be fine.”

Leonard crossed his legs and leaned back. Cordelia was about to say something but held back. They had already quarreled once over a similar issue.

She wanted to speak comfortably in private with those she was close to, for example, Beluce, who had become the Marquis of Ingrion, but Leonard strongly objected with glaring eyes.

“Have all the guests arrived?”

“Yes. Everyone who’s coming is here.”

“But is it okay for you to be here?”

“It’s my wedding, so it’s up to me.”

“I see.”

Cordelia blinked her innocent eyes. It was actually her first proper wedding, and since she had no decent relatives, she had never attended such a grand wedding before.

So she didn’t know that originally, both the bride and groom were supposed to come out and greet the guests before the ceremony.

Leonard naturally put his hand on Cordelia’s shoulder and pulled her towards him.

“How do you feel?”

“Right now? Good.”

Cordelia also comfortably rested her head on his chest. Leonard glanced at her and grumbled.

“…What? Is that all? You should be trembling, excited, or at least nervous.”

“The wedding preparations have been too long for that. Honestly, I was a bit bored.”

For the first month, she was nervous. She would touch the sleeve of the prepared dress hanging in the corner of the room every night.

But the wedding that was originally supposed to be held in autumn became more and more grand, increasing the things to prepare, and eventually, it was postponed from autumn, through winter, to spring of the following year. In other words, Cordelia had been staying at the Atilei main castle with Leonard for over half a year.

The castle servants already called her ‘madam’, and Cordelia was half-doing the duties of the lady of the house. They had even submitted their marriage vows to the temple, making them legally married.

By this point, the feeling of wanting to get rid of a long-overdue task was stronger than nervousness.

“Bored, you say? Bored! What kind of bride talks about her own wedding like that? Have you done this before or something?”

“No, I couldn’t even dream of a wedding like this before. Why do you keep harping on about that? Does it bother you so much that I’ve been married once before?”

“Yes. It bothers me.”