My father's face still looked worried. I held his hand tightly and smiled brightly. I smiled as if I knew only happiness lay ahead, as if he didn't need to worry.
“I just want you to be happy.”
My heart sank at my father's words. Looking around, I saw my mother, already sobbing, and Ruin and Adam, sitting with faces that looked as if they were about to cry, or with determined expressions.
My family, who loves me with the deepest of hearts.
How could I have just let such lovely people go in my past life?
Why didn't I struggle a little more?
I felt like I was about to cry, so I urged my father to take my hand. He nodded and walked with me, holding my hand.
Finally, I arrived in front of Julian. We always stood, Julian on the right and I on the left. Julian suggested we do the same for our wedding, so he wouldn't have to hold my hand made of stone.
Julian was about to stand on my right, as had already been agreed upon. But I stood on his right, slowly placing my hand on his shoulder.
I could see Julian's eyes widening in confusion, but I smiled and held out my hand.
The restaurant was bustling.
At weddings, the groom usually stands on the left and the bride on the right. There was no need to insist on that. But if the only reason was that I couldn't hold his hand, I felt compelled to insist.
“Your Highness, take my hand.”
Julian stared down at my hand without answering. But when I looked up at him and squeezed and released my hand, he slowly took hold of mine. Even though he was wearing gloves, his hands were much thicker and larger than those of an average person.
I heard someone swallowing, but I didn't care.
The person Julian feared most here was Julian himself. And the person Julian wanted to harm was Julian himself.
I hadn't known Julian for long, but I knew this much clearly.
Julian led me carefully, and I walked slowly, holding his hand. The sound of my wedding dress being dragged behind me blended with the music.
“I don’t know you.”
Julian muttered. He looked confused. What could it be? I wondered what expression he was making behind his mask.
“I’m just doing my best.”
Then he opened his eyes slightly and nodded. For a moment, he seemed to be in a bad mood. But now, he seemed fine again.
What should I say? It felt like a sudden, abrupt resignation or acceptance.
Because of that, I couldn't quite hear the officiant's words. I was worried that I might have said something wrong.
As he left the room after hearing the officiant's words, he whispered again.
“If you do your best, I will do my best too.”
That was the word I was waiting for. So I nodded quietly.
That was the end. We didn't even share a loving kiss. We simply exchanged rings to bind them together.
We became a couple through that contract.
After the wedding, we walked around the reception, side by side. There were many guests at the wedding.
The most notable of them all was undoubtedly the First Princess, Abigail.
Princess Abigail was a young woman, barely a girl, who had just had her coming-of-age ceremony, and her silver hair, mixed with purple, was incredibly beautiful.
She wasn't enjoying the party; she was just relaxing in the break room, and we had to go there.
Because she was no different from someone who came here on behalf of the Emperor.
“Hello, Her Royal Highness Abigail, the First Princess.”
When I greeted her, Princess Abigail smiled mischievously, her pretty eyes closed.
“Are you Yul's wife? You're pretty, as rumored, but you're also a bit noisy.”
“Abby.”
Julian immediately stopped the rude behavior. However, I was more surprised by Julian's nickname than the Princess's rudeness. I stared at him with wide eyes, and Princess Abigail burst into laughter. Her dignity was nowhere to be seen.
"Yul and I have known each other since we were young. We even proposed marriage. If I hadn't been the Emperor's daughter, but just another member of the royal family, would we have actually gotten married?"
Princess Abigail took on an arrogant attitude, looking at her neatly applied manicure.
It was rude to say something like that to a man who was already married, even on his wedding day. Even if I was offended, no one would say anything.
In fact, Princess Abigail was staring intently at my face, waiting for me to frown.
But I didn't want to do that. First, I didn't want to be played into her hands, and second, she was the Emperor's daughter. It wasn't easy to interfere in a struggle for the throne and challenge the Emperor's precious jewel.
“My husband is more than enough for me.”
I answered obediently. Princess Abigail snorted in exasperation and looked at Julian.
“I guess your wife doesn’t love you very much?”
That was a far-fetched statement. Julian couldn't have been offended by those words. Such things only apply to a loving couple. But for some reason, I felt compelled to refute them.
“I respect my husband very much.”
But that was all I could say. I was worried that if I said I loved him, Julian would think I was crossing the line.
Princess Abigail laughed with her mouth covered.
“Enough, this isn’t fun. Get out.”
“I will be leaving. It was an honor to meet you.”
I came back out and sighed deeply in front of the break room. Julian must have sighed too, as I could hear him breathing nearby.
“Why is Your Highness sighing?”
“I apologize for the Princess. She was raised so preciously...”
“It’s okay. I’m not angry.”
"Is it okay if she's raised preciously?" Honestly, I wasn't particularly happy about it, but I felt a bit bad about Julian explaining it this way, so I cut him off. But Julian added one more thing.
“You weren’t like yourself earlier.”
So you're telling me to grab the Princess's hair?
Before I could reply, Julian took the lead. I couldn't even stomp my feet, so I just pouted.
We headed straight for my family. They all came running as soon as they saw me. Their eyes were so bright, it seemed like they'd be wagging their tails if they had them.
“Layla, you’re so pretty!”
My mother's exclamation of admiration began, and the entire family praised me. I smiled and gently pulled Julian. Suddenly, everyone became silent and looked at each other.
The first one to step forward was, of course, my father.
"Welcome back, Your Highness, the Grand Duke of Duchzan. I entrust you with the care of my humble daughter."
My father greeted him politely. Julian looked down at him and nodded.
“The Count’s daughter is wise and has much to teach me.”
I rolled my eyes at Julian's well-spoken compliment and spat for no reason.
“What’s the point? Because I know how to use my time in a way that’s not typical of me?”
Julian's eyebrows furrowed at my impertinent remark. Then, my father, embarrassed, began to sweat profusely.
“La, Layla. Why, Your Highness...?”
“Look. It finally looks like its original form.”
“That’s right, I’m just a pretty rascal.”
Julian touched his forehead. The family watching from the sidelines was on the verge of fainting. I didn't know why I was suddenly so upset, and even less why the anger I'd been suppressing exploded.
In a political relationship, such feelings were meaningless. He wasn't at fault. I belatedly bit my lip and then muttered an apology.
“I’m sorry...”
But Julian stopped me from saying that.
“You can’t simply call a woman who fights to protect her fiancé’s honor a brat.”
I blinked at those words. The duel was indeed for show, but I didn't expect it to reach Julian's ears. He seemed uninterested in such matters.
“Did you know?”
“Are you asking if I knew that you were doing such a fancy job?”
“Your Highness, you don’t seem to be interested in parties... so I assumed you wouldn’t know.”
“I’m not that interested in my fiancée.”
“...Really?”
I felt a little better. Julian sighed briefly, perhaps noticing my composure.
"So, is this okay now? Shouldn't you talk to your family?"
"Yes, yes!"
I asked my dumbfounded family if they liked the food and what the wedding was like. They seemed lost in thought, saying everything was great, very good. Then my mother pulled me in and whispered in my ear.
“Since when have you and His Highness become so close?”
“Becoming friends? We just had a fight.”
My mother smiled faintly at my words. Then she whispered.
“I’m a little less worried because it seems like things will go better than I thought.”
I replied with a smile.
“His Highness the Grand Duke is a good person.”
“It’s like a parrot.”
My mother tapped my lips with her index finger. I shrugged and smiled bashfully.
The wedding was uneventful after that. The number of guests invited was small, so the guests were a small number of distinguished guests. This meant that someone as rude as Kaiser Amber wasn't even invited in the first place. Of course, there was nothing we could do to stop Princess Abigail.
Princess Abigail seemed very interested in Julian...
Thinking that, a corner of my heart trembled strangely. I frowned slightly and rubbed my chest. Was the illness bothering me again? But my mouth didn't taste bitter... Instead, it felt parched.
Even as I was worrying about that, time passed, and the final ceremony of the wedding approached.
The end of the wedding, the fruit of the wedding.
The first night, I mean.
“I just want you to be happy.”
My heart sank at my father's words. Looking around, I saw my mother, already sobbing, and Ruin and Adam, sitting with faces that looked as if they were about to cry, or with determined expressions.
My family, who loves me with the deepest of hearts.
How could I have just let such lovely people go in my past life?
Why didn't I struggle a little more?
I felt like I was about to cry, so I urged my father to take my hand. He nodded and walked with me, holding my hand.
Finally, I arrived in front of Julian. We always stood, Julian on the right and I on the left. Julian suggested we do the same for our wedding, so he wouldn't have to hold my hand made of stone.
Julian was about to stand on my right, as had already been agreed upon. But I stood on his right, slowly placing my hand on his shoulder.
I could see Julian's eyes widening in confusion, but I smiled and held out my hand.
The restaurant was bustling.
At weddings, the groom usually stands on the left and the bride on the right. There was no need to insist on that. But if the only reason was that I couldn't hold his hand, I felt compelled to insist.
“Your Highness, take my hand.”
Julian stared down at my hand without answering. But when I looked up at him and squeezed and released my hand, he slowly took hold of mine. Even though he was wearing gloves, his hands were much thicker and larger than those of an average person.
I heard someone swallowing, but I didn't care.
The person Julian feared most here was Julian himself. And the person Julian wanted to harm was Julian himself.
I hadn't known Julian for long, but I knew this much clearly.
Julian led me carefully, and I walked slowly, holding his hand. The sound of my wedding dress being dragged behind me blended with the music.
“I don’t know you.”
Julian muttered. He looked confused. What could it be? I wondered what expression he was making behind his mask.
“I’m just doing my best.”
Then he opened his eyes slightly and nodded. For a moment, he seemed to be in a bad mood. But now, he seemed fine again.
What should I say? It felt like a sudden, abrupt resignation or acceptance.
Because of that, I couldn't quite hear the officiant's words. I was worried that I might have said something wrong.
As he left the room after hearing the officiant's words, he whispered again.
“If you do your best, I will do my best too.”
That was the word I was waiting for. So I nodded quietly.
That was the end. We didn't even share a loving kiss. We simply exchanged rings to bind them together.
We became a couple through that contract.
***
After the wedding, we walked around the reception, side by side. There were many guests at the wedding.
The most notable of them all was undoubtedly the First Princess, Abigail.
Princess Abigail was a young woman, barely a girl, who had just had her coming-of-age ceremony, and her silver hair, mixed with purple, was incredibly beautiful.
She wasn't enjoying the party; she was just relaxing in the break room, and we had to go there.
Because she was no different from someone who came here on behalf of the Emperor.
“Hello, Her Royal Highness Abigail, the First Princess.”
When I greeted her, Princess Abigail smiled mischievously, her pretty eyes closed.
“Are you Yul's wife? You're pretty, as rumored, but you're also a bit noisy.”
“Abby.”
Julian immediately stopped the rude behavior. However, I was more surprised by Julian's nickname than the Princess's rudeness. I stared at him with wide eyes, and Princess Abigail burst into laughter. Her dignity was nowhere to be seen.
"Yul and I have known each other since we were young. We even proposed marriage. If I hadn't been the Emperor's daughter, but just another member of the royal family, would we have actually gotten married?"
Princess Abigail took on an arrogant attitude, looking at her neatly applied manicure.
It was rude to say something like that to a man who was already married, even on his wedding day. Even if I was offended, no one would say anything.
In fact, Princess Abigail was staring intently at my face, waiting for me to frown.
But I didn't want to do that. First, I didn't want to be played into her hands, and second, she was the Emperor's daughter. It wasn't easy to interfere in a struggle for the throne and challenge the Emperor's precious jewel.
“My husband is more than enough for me.”
I answered obediently. Princess Abigail snorted in exasperation and looked at Julian.
“I guess your wife doesn’t love you very much?”
That was a far-fetched statement. Julian couldn't have been offended by those words. Such things only apply to a loving couple. But for some reason, I felt compelled to refute them.
“I respect my husband very much.”
But that was all I could say. I was worried that if I said I loved him, Julian would think I was crossing the line.
Princess Abigail laughed with her mouth covered.
“Enough, this isn’t fun. Get out.”
“I will be leaving. It was an honor to meet you.”
I came back out and sighed deeply in front of the break room. Julian must have sighed too, as I could hear him breathing nearby.
“Why is Your Highness sighing?”
“I apologize for the Princess. She was raised so preciously...”
“It’s okay. I’m not angry.”
"Is it okay if she's raised preciously?" Honestly, I wasn't particularly happy about it, but I felt a bit bad about Julian explaining it this way, so I cut him off. But Julian added one more thing.
“You weren’t like yourself earlier.”
So you're telling me to grab the Princess's hair?
Before I could reply, Julian took the lead. I couldn't even stomp my feet, so I just pouted.
We headed straight for my family. They all came running as soon as they saw me. Their eyes were so bright, it seemed like they'd be wagging their tails if they had them.
“Layla, you’re so pretty!”
My mother's exclamation of admiration began, and the entire family praised me. I smiled and gently pulled Julian. Suddenly, everyone became silent and looked at each other.
The first one to step forward was, of course, my father.
"Welcome back, Your Highness, the Grand Duke of Duchzan. I entrust you with the care of my humble daughter."
My father greeted him politely. Julian looked down at him and nodded.
“The Count’s daughter is wise and has much to teach me.”
I rolled my eyes at Julian's well-spoken compliment and spat for no reason.
“What’s the point? Because I know how to use my time in a way that’s not typical of me?”
Julian's eyebrows furrowed at my impertinent remark. Then, my father, embarrassed, began to sweat profusely.
“La, Layla. Why, Your Highness...?”
“Look. It finally looks like its original form.”
“That’s right, I’m just a pretty rascal.”
Julian touched his forehead. The family watching from the sidelines was on the verge of fainting. I didn't know why I was suddenly so upset, and even less why the anger I'd been suppressing exploded.
In a political relationship, such feelings were meaningless. He wasn't at fault. I belatedly bit my lip and then muttered an apology.
“I’m sorry...”
But Julian stopped me from saying that.
“You can’t simply call a woman who fights to protect her fiancé’s honor a brat.”
I blinked at those words. The duel was indeed for show, but I didn't expect it to reach Julian's ears. He seemed uninterested in such matters.
“Did you know?”
“Are you asking if I knew that you were doing such a fancy job?”
“Your Highness, you don’t seem to be interested in parties... so I assumed you wouldn’t know.”
“I’m not that interested in my fiancée.”
“...Really?”
I felt a little better. Julian sighed briefly, perhaps noticing my composure.
"So, is this okay now? Shouldn't you talk to your family?"
"Yes, yes!"
I asked my dumbfounded family if they liked the food and what the wedding was like. They seemed lost in thought, saying everything was great, very good. Then my mother pulled me in and whispered in my ear.
“Since when have you and His Highness become so close?”
“Becoming friends? We just had a fight.”
My mother smiled faintly at my words. Then she whispered.
“I’m a little less worried because it seems like things will go better than I thought.”
I replied with a smile.
“His Highness the Grand Duke is a good person.”
“It’s like a parrot.”
My mother tapped my lips with her index finger. I shrugged and smiled bashfully.
The wedding was uneventful after that. The number of guests invited was small, so the guests were a small number of distinguished guests. This meant that someone as rude as Kaiser Amber wasn't even invited in the first place. Of course, there was nothing we could do to stop Princess Abigail.
Princess Abigail seemed very interested in Julian...
Thinking that, a corner of my heart trembled strangely. I frowned slightly and rubbed my chest. Was the illness bothering me again? But my mouth didn't taste bitter... Instead, it felt parched.
Even as I was worrying about that, time passed, and the final ceremony of the wedding approached.
The end of the wedding, the fruit of the wedding.
The first night, I mean.
Comments
Post a Comment