"I don't want to marry a bride with a cold."
Brandt said to me in surprise, as if making an excuse. I stared at him. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what to say. Brandt responded to my gaze and suddenly frowned.
"Why did you do that?"
Brandt asked in a voice as distant as an abyss.
"Tomorrow is the wedding, and then it's all over, but did you hate that so much? To the extent that you tried to escape after dying?"
The voice eventually became loud and raised its volce.
My startled body slowly sank. I understood that it was inevitable that there would be a misunderstanding. I was just trying to get back into my world, but I was trying to kill the woman he loved right in front of him. I felt truly sorry for him.
As I looked at him pitifully, Brandt lowered his head in disbelief.
"I don't know what to do with you here."
"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
I held Brandt's hand, trembling with anxiety. His large, calloused hands flinched.
"How can I believe that..."
"Is it okay if I'm not the person I used to be?"
Brandt looked down at me with eyes asking what I was talking about. He didn't seem to mind that my questions were ignored. In the darkness, his innocent eyes shone like the moon.
"What kind of stupid thing is that?"
Brandt asked in a voice of pure questioning. I knew there was no way he could understand me. Even though I knew it, I felt a little bitter, and my grip relaxed.
"See you tomorrow at the Temple of Mua."
"..."
"I'm going to wear that dress you sent me."
I pointed to my wedding dress and said it again. Brandt looked at me and the wedding dress alternately, with even more confused eyes.
"I don't know what you're thinking."
He sighed softly. Actually, I don't really know what I think. But I knew for sure that I had decided to stay here on the way back, and I didn't want to mess with anything anymore.
"It's changed. What... You've changed."
My distraught heart froze in an instant at the sound of Brandt's voice. He was in pain, but he couldn't help but suffer.
"People said that. It's been weird since the day Lady Edita fell into the pond."
I was afraid. Even after making a vague confession, I was afraid that Brandt would now know who I was. I've never felt anything like this since I've been here.
"...Don't you like it because it has changed?"
I dared to ask, and Brandt looked at me with a smile.
"I tried to hate you. But I could hate you, but I couldn't help but like you."
His language came to me and then dispersed.
"...This is how it ended up."
He raised his head, closed his eyes, and turned back to his desolate stride.
When I heard the door shut, I suddenly became tired. I couldn't think of anything. Eventually, I fell into a sleepy sleep for the first time in nearly a month.
Outside, it was still shining with the blue of dawn. Even though I hadn't slept for a long time, I was very refreshed. It seemed like I had slept soundly for a short time. The charcoal in the brazier had already turned to ashes and was cold, but there was still warmth in my body..
When I came to my senses, I suddenly remembered what I had to do. It was sudden, but it was something that could only be done now.
I hurriedly put on my cloak and headed to the main palace of the menstrual gel. The guards who were on duty were quite surprised by the appearance of Lady Edita, who was about to get married today.
"I'm here to see my father."
"I'm sorry, Lady. I have not heard anything about him."
The guards stood in my way. I didn't think it would be easy in the first place. He is the Emperor of the world, and no matter how much I am favored by him, the sudden visit of an ambitious perspective could not go smoothly.
"What's going on?"
At that time, someone approached without a sound of footsteps. A thin man with a nice white beard recognized me and greeted me.
"I am His Majesty's chief attendant, Getz Vikander. Lady Edita came to visit for some reason."
"I came to see His Majesty."
"At this time?"
"I don't think it's going to be hard to see him if it's not now."
The Emperor's attendant, Vikander, looked at me with thin eyes. When the sun rises, I marry and become the wife of Duke Albrenovic. Even if I were the Emperor's daughter, if I became a member of another family, it would not be easier to meet my father in the future.
Vikander readily gave me the way.
"Follow me."
The grand corridors were lined with gilded columns. At the point where the spacing between the pillars narrowed, a large golden door was seen. Guided by Vikander, I had to pass through two more gates after passing through the first gate. Vikander stopped in front of the Emperor's precinct.
"Go inside."
He seemed to notice why I had come this far. I smiled slightly, thanked him, and entered the Emperor's predicament alone.
A mournful sobbing sound echoed over the heavily carved marble wall, as if to show the majesty of the Emperor. Surprised, I hurriedly searched for the source of the cry. I didn't want to believe it, but it was Emperor Paul who was crying.
He was sitting on a large and high bed that was incomparable to mine, curled up with his heavy body, crying like a child.
'Is today the day when men cry as a group?'
Brandt's tears were pitiful, but the Emperor's tears were embarrassing. However, I couldn't leave the crying Emperor behind, whom I had come this far.
Knowing how rude it was to enter his residence without the Emperor's permission, but knowing that I would never have a chance to do so now, I mustered up the courage to approach him.
"Edita?"
But before I could step on the carpet in the settlement, the Emperor looked up. Covered with tears, he was amazed.
"I wanted to see my father before the wedding, so I stopped by even though I thought it was rude. I don't think I will have a chance unless I do it now."
"Who let you in? Has anyone stood in your way in front of you?"
"Everyone was friendly. The chief of the chamberlain, Vikander, personally guided me."
"I'm going to give Vikander a 200-fold increase in this month's salary."
The Emperor muttered, still teary-eyed. He was a hot man both when he killed and when he was saved.
"Father, why were you crying?"
I studied his expression and asked cautiously. The Emperor quickly wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand.
"I... I...I... uh, when did I cry...."
I thought the Emperor who made excuses was a little cute. I approached him and wiped the tears from his cheeks. The Emperor just hugged me tightly.
"Oh, father!"
"Edita, let's stay like this for a while."
He rubbed my cheek and begged me. Feeling the Emperor's wet beard tickle my cheeks, I was captivated by the thought.
'Maybe?'
"Father, did you cry because of me?"
"Yes... Huh?"
"I think you cried because you were sad because I got married today...."
"Oh, no."
"Lie."
"I really can't hide anything from you."
The Emperor, who had hugged his daughter enough, let go of my body. But even then, he looked around my whole body as if it was regretful. It was a burdensome look, but I didn't hate it. I could feel that this father loved his daughter so much.
"Edita, I couldn't bear to think that you were leaving my arms now."
When his daughter gets married, he is an Emperor who cries like a child. He was a really cute father. I was heartbroken at how I thought of dying with such a father.
"You couldn't even attend the imperial dinner as a member of the imperial family until the day you got married and left the palace."
"I'm fine. It was more fun to have a lot of time to eat alone with my father."
The Emperor clasped my hands together.
"I'm sorry that you married Prince Albenovich without asking your opinion."
After all, I knew I wasn't answering at the time, but I got engaged!
"I thought it was in your interest to reunite with someone with power as soon as possible. Please understand."
"I understand, father."
To be honest, I can't understand everything 100 percent, but I can tell that this is his sincerity.
"If you ever get married and Prince Albenovic is upset, tell me. I... his limbs right now!"
"It's okay, father! We are very, very good!"
This was a 100% lie, but I didn't want to hear the next words after... limbs, so I had to make up for it in a hurry.
"We are very good."
The emperor's grieving cheekbones rose.
"How much your mother would have liked it when she saw this."
The Emperor said with eyes full of memories.
Edita's mother. A woman who dares not be easily talked about in the imperial palace. The Emperor still missed her. I wanted to know about her. Through the Emperor and no one else.
"Please tell me the story of the mother that my father knows."
At my words, the Emperor nodded.
"Edita, you really look like her. Both face and personality... She was beautiful, deep-hearted, and had something to say. Sometimes I surprise this body like you."
I smiled because I was a little embarrassed. The Emperor also looked at me and smiled.
"I wanted to make your mother happy. It was difficult. So you must be happy, Edita."
The emperor hugged me again. I leaned comfortably into his arms.
***
"Oh my God!"
When I came back from the bath, I was surprised by Madame Marie's excitement. She was shaking with a bouquet of flowers I had never seen before. It was a bundle of flowers with green and pointed leaves, crimson flowers with round leaves, and small mist flowers that were as white as snow.
"Did His Highness Albenovich go there last night?"
"How did you know that?"
"I knew it when I saw this bouquet."
Then I remembered what I had heard during the bridal class. In Ludenbach, there was a tradition that the husband-to-be personally delivered the bouquet to the bride on the eve of the wedding ceremony.
'Did you come to the palace to deliver this?'
I imagined Brandt sneaking over to see me quietly asleep. He knows Edita's palace well, so sneaking in would not have been a problem. But the moment he put the bouquet down, he realized that there was no bride in the bed, and he was confused.
I took a bouquet from Madame Marie and smelled it. The sweet and cool smell refreshed my head.
"The Duke didn't come yesterday, so I couldn't tell you, but I was so sad. But he left it when I wasn't there. I guess he wanted to tell you when he was alone with the Lady. His Highness is a romantic person."
He is a romantic person. I remembered Brandt, who was crying expressionlessly in my head.
'Brandt is a bit of a sad person to be romantic.'
I wore a wedding dress prepared before sunrise and dressed up as a bride. It was a dress I had tried on many times during rehearsals, but today my mindset was different. It wasn't just because I was getting married today.
It was because I realized that I had decided to live here as Edita. That first day was my wedding day.
"Sob...Hhh..."
However, the maids who were decorating me began to shed tears one by one. After the marriage, the only person who went to the Albrenovic co-residence with me was Mrs. Marie, the nanny, so today was the last time I would be with them.
'These children must have been with Edita for a long time that I don't know, so I will be very sorry.'
It was a short time, but I felt sad when I saw the maids crying. When I wiped my tears with my hands, the maids were not surprised and grabbed my hand.
"The lady is so kind until the end. You were always nice to us."
"No. It's a pity that I couldn't do better."
I was embarrassed to receive the thank-you that Edita should have received instead.
"Even when my mother was sick, you gave me all the money you had saved. Among the precious people who go in and out of the palace, the only one who cares about trivial things like us is the lady."
"It's pathetic that the maids don't want to come to the lady's palace. They may pick up a few congos to eat, but when our maids are really in trouble, the only one who will not throw them away and reap them."
The maids all nodded in agreement.
'Edita was such a woman.'
She is not a timid woman who is always timid and can't speak, but a kind-hearted woman who knows how to carefully pay attention to her surroundings.
After saying goodbye to them sincerely, I took a coral-colored carriage to the Temple of Mua, where the wedding ceremony was held.
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