Chapter 6

“So you’ve been recognized as husband and wife… And you dare stand before me and tie yourself to another woman instead of me?”

Biting her lower lip in irritation, Valoa glared at Princess Elodie.

“Is that true?”

“…It is. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you beforehand, Valoa. Since this concerns the Hartwell family and the Dalton family, I first sought my father’s approval.”

As if she’s actually sorry.

For the record, it had been the princess herself who suggested obtaining the Emperor’s approval before the wedding.

‘At the time, she seemed strangely enthusiastic about it…’

Now that Beatrice thought about it, Elodie had probably been preparing for exactly this situation.

If she wanted to use Valoa’s recklessness without allowing the wedding itself to fall apart, she needed a shield as powerful as the Emperor.

“Hah… Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

As expected, even someone as uncontrollable as Valoa couldn’t openly defy the Emperor.

“So you’re telling me to back off? I’m supposed to watch these two shamelessly cling to each other right in front of me, do nothing, and leave? Ha!”

Her fury seemed to reach the very top of her head.

Unable to contain herself, she suddenly grabbed a flower vase and smashed it.

Crash!

Ignoring the gasps of the guests and the approaching guards, Valoa spoke through gritted teeth.

“It seems you’re all trying to paint me as the villain. Fine. I’ll leave quietly today, just as you want.”

“…”

“But remember this.”

Her golden eyes blazed.

“I never give up on what I want. If I can’t have it, I’ll break it, tear it apart, destroy it if I must, and take it anyway. Even if I end up throwing it away the moment I get bored of it.”

As though trying to carve her foul mood into everyone’s memories, she slowly swept her gaze around the room.

Then she turned sharply and strode away.

Naturally, no one tried to stop her.

***

The storm-like wedding, destined to be remembered throughout high society for years to come, finally ended.

After seeing off the last guest, the bride and groom found themselves being seen off in return.

Standing before their carriage, family and friends offered their final congratulations.

“Congratulations again, Bea! Have a great trip!”

“Mm. I’ll bring back something delicious. Thanks for staying until the very end, Miriel.”

“Congratulations to you too, Senior! You two look wonderful together.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for coming, Lady Susanna.”

“And don’t worry too much about Lady Crawford. That’s just the kind of person she is. Everyone in high society will take your side anyway.”

“Exactly! You’re legally married now. What’s she going to do about it? Just pretend it never happened!”

Pretending it never happened would be difficult considering how memorable the incident had been.

Still, did the facts really matter?

What mattered was the concern her friends were showing.

Beatrice nodded enthusiastically and wrapped Susanna in a tight hug.

“Who even showed up? I don’t remember seeing anyone except you guys.”

“Come on~!”

“Brother, take care of my friends while we’re gone!”

“Don’t worry about them. You two focus on traveling safely. And try not to start punching each other during your honeymoon.”

As a proper younger sister, Beatrice completely ignored her brother’s advice and climbed into the carriage.

Clyde, who had boarded before her, helped her inside and bowed his head toward the others.

“We’ll greet everyone properly when we return.”

“Good.”

The newlyweds stood close together and waved through the carriage window.

The moment their families disappeared from sight, however, they immediately scooted as far apart from each other as possible.

The timing was so precise it looked rehearsed.

“Ugh. That was seriously horrifying.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Clyde loosened his cravat as he answered.

Beatrice was about to retort when something seemed to occur to him.

One eyebrow rose.

A familiar grin spread across his face.

It was the dangerous smile he always wore when he was about to tease her.

“But what are you going to do?”

“What?”

“You’re going to have to get used to a lot more of those ‘horrifying’ moments from now on.”

“That’s nonsense—”

She stopped.

Then her face froze.

“…Wait. You’re right. Damn it. The wedding alone was exhausting, and now we’re supposed to keep acting like that all the time? Even our forms of address have to change to h-hu…”

“Honey.”

“I didn’t forget the word!”

“If that’s uncomfortable, there are alternatives. Darling. Sweetheart. My love. Oh, and Honey.”

The more affectionate nicknames Clyde listed, the colder Beatrice’s expression became.

Her eyes rolled as if she hated every single one.

“I hate those even more.”

“Really? They come surprisingly naturally to me.”

“What? You’re lying!”

The moment she looked at him suspiciously, Beatrice realized she had made a mistake.

Clyde smiled back at her with the expression of a benevolent angel.

Far too suspiciously.

Sensing danger, she immediately reached out to cover his mouth.

Unfortunately, he was faster.

Catching her hand effortlessly, Clyde intertwined their fingers and smiled warmly.

“Lying? Darling, are you saying you don’t trust your one and only Honey, your better half?”

“Urgh.”

“My love doesn’t trust me this much? Poor Clyde is heartbroken. I think our sweetheart needs to comfort me.”

“AAAH! Fine! Fine, I get it! I admit it! Happy now?!”

Beatrice bit her tongue in her panic.

Clyde leaned even closer.

“Hm? Admit what? Oh dear, why are you struggling so much? Are you embarrassed, Darling? But if you flail around too much in a moving carriage, you could get hurt, Honey.”

“I GET IT! Your tongue is practically coated in oil! Stop it, you lunatic!”

The lunatic in question wrapped an arm around her waist to stop her from escaping.

Beatrice immediately swung a seat cushion at him.

Clyde released her hand, caught the cushion effortlessly, and shrugged like a victorious champion.

“If you don’t want me doing this every day, you’d better get used to it too. We’re going to be saying these things constantly from now on.”

“Hah! That’s an exaggeration. We weren’t even this bad during the wedding. Why would we have to stick this close all the time?”

“Well…”

For once, Clyde trailed off.

Beatrice narrowed her eyes.

She was trying to determine what nonsense he was about to say now.

Ignoring her obvious suspicion, Clyde sat silently for a moment, deep in thought.

Then he suddenly asked:

“Since it’s just the two of us, let me ask honestly. Bea, how did you feel when the princess supported our marriage and helped us hold the wedding so quickly?”

“What kind of question is that…?”

She almost complained.

But Clyde looked much more serious than expected.

Resting her chin on one hand, Beatrice blinked several times before answering slowly.

“Well… first of all, it felt satisfying. Since I know how everything ends, part of me was looking forward to it.”

“And?”

Her gaze dropped slightly.

She pressed her lips together.

‘And it made me uncomfortable.’

She wasn’t entirely sure what emotion it had been.

But she remembered a strange twisting sensation in her stomach.

It was contradictory.

She had felt satisfaction and relief.

At the same time, she had felt frustrated and irritated.

‘How do I explain it? Like winning, but somehow still feeling defeated.’

“Then how did you feel when Valoa Edvain Crawford showed up and caused trouble?”

“Huh?”

Well…

‘Wait. Why am I answering these questions?’

Wasn’t she the one who had asked why they needed to get so used to acting like a married couple?

Just as she was about to point that out—

“I was frustrated.”

The calm statement from beside her made Beatrice’s eyes widen slightly.

When she turned toward him, Clyde was no longer smiling.

“We handled things intelligently. In the end, we won. We used the princess as a shield, and we managed to smooth over Valoa’s rampage.”

“…”

“But putting all of that aside… I’m frustrated that this was the best I could do right now.”

If he had possessed enough power, influence, and ability to solve the situation without relying on someone else’s help…

‘Of course, even then I would’ve used every advantage available.’

But there was a huge difference between making a choice while fully controlling the situation…

And making a choice because there was no better option.

Beatrice understood that better than anyone.

‘Because she’d already lived through it once.’