There was a brief clash with Kishian over the dress, but fortunately, nothing much happened after that.
So I was able to focus solely on preparation, and time passed quickly without any way to stop it.
As time passed three days before the wedding day, all preparations were finally completed without a hitch.
'Now all we have to do is eat.'
I wasn't anxious because I checked and rechecked again to make sure there were no, even the smallest or most trivial, problems.
So I sat down in my little makeshift office and breathed a sigh of relief.
And at that moment, an unexресted and terrible event occurred.
"Your Highness. I have received a letter from the Imperial Family. Would you like to check it now?"
As soon as Madame Bianca told me so, I could sense something was wrong.
Feeling ominous, I checked the letter from the imperial family.
And...
"..."
For a while, I was so depressed that I couldn't even breathe.
It was from my father, and it said congratulations on my wedding and such.
The first part was quite ordinary.
My father, who sold me as a substitute because he didn't want to hand over Letie, was congratulating me on my marriage in such a kind and considerate way.
If I had only read that far, I wouldn't have been so confused and angry.
What really became unbearable was when I saw his 'real business' written at the end of the letter.
[Please grant the earnest request of your only sister. I trust you understand what I mean.]
Yeah, I could understand.
How many years have I lived watching my father's face, yet I don't understand what he means?
Now, he was ordering me to allow Letie and the Duke of Herssen to attend the wedding together.
I clenched my teeth and held my pounding head.
'Letie can do that. She's so immature. But you shouldn't be like that. This play was planned by you...!'
It was my father who decided to deceive Kishian.
I'm just an actor in the play he's put on.
But he was trying to ruin the play he had planned with his own hands.
To grant Letie's foolish request.
'.... I have to refuse. But how? Is there a way?'
The wedding is already three days away.
Even if I sent the letter now, I doubted whether it would even reach the palace.
So this was a notice. A notice that was delivered unilaterally, ignoring my opinion.
I want to deny them entry, but if I do, there will be a ridiculous uproar. No matter how much I think about it, there is no way to stop them now. First, I have to convince Kishian.
The Grand Duchess kicks out her only twin sister at the wedding hall?
There was no way of knowing what kind of rumors would spread if I did something like this.
Father will also become very angry and go on a rampage.
Since it had already become something unstoppable, we had to at least prevent the uproar from spreading too much.
I roughly crumpled up the letter, folded it up, and threw it in the drawer before speaking to Madame Bianca.
"Go and tell the Grand Duke. I have something urgent to discuss, so I will come see him soon."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After nodding, the woman headed straight to Kishian's office.
Now that I had told him, I planned to calm down for a moment and then go see him.
But as always, Kishian was faster than me.
"I heard you have something to discuss."
Before I could even get there, Kishian came to me first and asked right away.
He's a man with absolutely no cute qualities, but the fact that he always comes running whenever I look for him is praiseworthy.
I felt my mind calming down a little and sat him down on the couch for a while.
After that, I also sat across from him and slowly started to cry.
"The Duke of Herssen and my sister Elona, the Princess, will come to the wedding."
It felt a little awkward to call her 'Elona', the name I'd used my whole life, as if it were someone else's name.
Fortunately, Kishian seemed oblivious to the awkwardness and responded.
"Is that why you asked to meet me? Of course they'll come. I invited them both."
To him, who seemed bewildered as if he were saying such an obvious thing, I continued to tell him an even more absurd story.
"They will come together."
"...?"
"It means that the two come together as partners."
To my words, Kishian showed no reaction for a moment.
As if he didn't understand what he was hearing.
"What on earth are you talking about? Duke Herssen, he was with you in the past..."
"Yes, that's right."
"But now you're saying he'll be attending your wedding as your sister's partner?"
Kishian's pupils were shaking slightly.
I think I know what Kishian must be thinking about in his head right now.
Wouldn't Duke Herssen be considered a crazy person who would attend his ex-lover's wedding with his ex-lover's sister?
As if that were true, laughter erupted from Kishian.
"How did you end up with such a person as your lover?"
After asking that question with a hint of laughter, he burst into laughter again.
"I guess he really has the same tastes. He turned to those twin sisters as soon as he lost you."
"Don't make any wild guesses about the relationship between the two. They're just attending together."
"Well, let's say that's true."
He couldn't stop laughing as he answered.
In Kishian's eyes, it would have seemed as if the Duke of Herssen had betrayed me.
But seeing him smiling so happily, it seemed like he was quite happy about the situation where I was betrayed.
I knew it was a natural reaction, considering how he felt about me, but I still felt a little sad.
It was at a time when I was sadly chewing over the new fact that even Kishian, who was my husband, wanted to see me suffer.
"By the way, you must be very upset?"
Hearing his question that was suddenly thrown out, I immediately furrowed my eyebrows and retorted.
"Should I be upset? I repeat. I have no feelings for the Duke, and I don't care who he attends with."
"No, not that."
"Then..."
"It's your wedding. But if those two come together, won't they be the center of attention?"
I was momentarily dumbfounded by his unexpected response.
While I was frozen like that, he emphasized again.
"When it's your wedding, you should be the center of attention. You're the main character."
I had forgotten the obvious fact that this was my wedding and that I was the main character.
Because I was so focused on Letie. I ended up forgetting that obvious fact.
"Center of attention..."
I rolled those words on the tip of my tongue.
Even though I tried rolling it out loud for no reason, I couldn't get used to it.
Even if it wasn't just this time, I've never been the center of attention before.
The main character was always Letie, that child.
I was not chosen as the savior of the empire, so I was just that child's follower.
That's why even while preparing for my wedding, I was only thinking about that child...
"On that day, no matter what anyone says, you have to be the best. If my wife doesn't get the attention she deserves and is pushed to the corner, it will ruin my reputation."
As usual, his speech was arrogant and crude.
It was just a warning to not lose face.
That's all.
It was strange how the piece of ice in my heart, which no amount of affectionate consolation could melt it, melted a little at those rough words.
"..."
I tried to find a way to thank him for his concern, but then I shut my mouth again.
It wasn't even meant for me anyway, so I thought I would end up overreacting on my own.
So I just nodded quietly and sent him out again.
Unlike the day before, when I couldn't sleep properly because I was nervous about the wedding, I was able to fall into a deep sleep that day for the first time in a while.
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