IBYVS 34

Chapter 34

A week had passed since then.

And today, from the morning, I made a declaration of surrender.

“Enough! I give up!”

The reason was simple.

“I won’t go on a diet anymore! I said I won’t!”

It all started with the incident where I had announced I’d go on a diet.

“Is that true, Elia?”

“Phew. You heard her. Everyone, stand down.”

At my declaration of surrender, Kalib and Cedric spoke.

Following Cedric’s orders, the people who had brought in mountains of food, desserts, and fruit—enough to break the table—began to clean it all up.

I watched them with a weary gaze.

A week ago, while Cedric, Kalib, and I were still in the townhouse in the capital, it was decided that Renard would be executed by beheading.

At the time, Cedric and I hurried back to the Grand Duke’s castle, not wanting Kalib to witness anything gruesome.

Though it was Kalib who had put Renard on trial, it was our duty to protect his childhood innocence (?).

Once we returned to the Grand Duke’s castle, many changes followed.

The most notable one was the shift in attitude from the vassals who had opposed my marriage to Cedric.

‘How would you like to proceed with the wedding ceremony?’

‘Since the weather is nice, what about holding it outdoors?’

‘Wouldn’t it be meaningful to honor the late Grand Duke and Duchess by holding it in the temple instead?’

As if they had never been against it, they flipped their stance completely and poured their efforts into preparing the wedding.

It was only natural—their leader Renard had been executed, so the faction dissolved.

But I never imagined they’d cling so eagerly.

On top of that, the dismissive looks people used to give Kalib had also diminished.

Apparently, the reason they had treated Kalib coldly all along was because they’d been benefiting from Renard’s scraps.

Anyway, thanks to so many people pitching in, preparations for the ceremony were nearly complete in just one week.

They worked as though they had been waiting for this moment.

After such a whirlwind of busy days, the wedding was now right around the corner.

But there was one problem.

The problem was that I, the bride, wasn’t prepared at all.

I realized that three days ago.

That’s why I had declared I’d go on a diet.

……Well, which I just revoked today.

I knelt down in front of Kalib, who came trotting over.

“You really hate the idea of me dieting that much, Kalib?”

“Yes.”

He answered without hesitation.

He nodded so hard that the afterimage of his crimson eyes lingered in my sight.

As he crouched down in front of me, he fiddled with my hair and said:

“I don’t want Elia to disappear, not even a little. If you lose weight, you disappear by that much, don’t you?”

“……Uh, uh-huh.”

I never thought I’d hear words I’d only ever seen online come out of a seven-year-old’s mouth.

Of course, I knew exactly why Kalib and Cedric were so against it.

Kalib loved the food I made, and Cedric could only taste food if it was made by me.

They must’ve been afraid that if I dieted, I’d cook less.

But it’s not like dieting means I’d stop cooking altogether……

My annoyance faded quickly, and instead, I burst into helpless laughter.

“Still, it’s not just any diet. It’s a pre-wedding diet, you know?”

“It doesn’t matter. A diet is still a diet.”

Kalib replied firmly, as if to stop me from sweet-talking him.

“Fine, fine. I really won’t go on a diet.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Well…… it only lasted three days anyway.”

“That’s fine. If anyone gives you trouble, just blame me.”

Kalib spoke solemnly, as though he were my reliable backer.

But he was still only seven.

From the townhouse until now, he’d been eating well, his cheeks rounding a little.

In short, he was so cute I wanted to bite him.

Just as he had stroked my hair, I gently patted his.

Maybe he liked the touch, because his cheeks turned red as he quietly leaned into my hand.

And then—

“Kalib. It’s time for your business studies lesson.”

“Already?”

Cedric brought the unwelcome news.

“Time flies too fast when I’m with Elia.”

Kalib grumbled with regret.

I tilted my head and asked him curiously.

“You don’t want to go to class?”

“It’s not that…… I just want to stay with Elia a bit longer.”

Business studies was Kalib’s favorite subject.

He even studied through video communication devices when we were at the townhouse. For him to slack off just to stay with me!

Part of me wanted to say, Let’s just play together today.

But unfortunately, I also had an appointment today. One that couldn’t be postponed.

Because today was the day I tried on the completed wedding dress.

Cedric suddenly looked at me.

‘This is troublesome.’

His expression seemed to say.

As the days passed, Cedric found Kalib’s clinginess more and more endearing.

But at times, it clearly troubled him.

Especially when Kalib clung to me like this.

Maybe because it was something he couldn’t resolve for him.

Even as this was happening, news came that the business studies tutor had arrived.

Kalib let out a deep sigh and left.

His drooping shoulders, his dragging steps……

He looked like a child hoping someone might call him back. It made me feel uneasy watching him go.

As I kept staring in the direction Kalib had disappeared, Cedric spoke.

“The salon madame has arrived. Let’s go.”

Naturally, he offered his escort.

Before the wedding, the etiquette teacher had advised that I get used to it in advance.

‘From now on, Lord Cedric, escort Lady Elia as naturally as breathing. Do it with the formality of walking down the wedding aisle.’

Following her advice, Cedric and I always walked side by side, no matter where we went.

Even if it was just to sneak to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

Fortunately, Cedric was born with a natural talent for it.

Even someone like me, who was more used to supporting others or pushing wheelchairs than being escorted, could walk comfortably with him.

“I purposely scheduled it to overlap with Kalib’s business studies, but maybe that was a mistake.”

I said, resting my hand on Cedric’s arm with a little more ease than before.

“Indeed. I never thought Kalib would even put off business studies…….”

Cedric sighed, sounding genuinely surprised.

Feeling like I’d been accused of spoiling him, I shrank my shoulders.

We soon arrived at the dress room, where the salon madame was waiting.

On the way, I glanced out the corridor window at the bright garden and muttered without thinking.

“The weather’s so nice.”

“It will be just as peaceful on the day of the ceremony.”

As Cedric said, the sound of birds chirping outside was utterly peaceful.

But his casual use of the word ceremony snagged in my mind.

Soon, Cedric and I would be holding our wedding.

Even if it was a contract marriage, a wedding was still a wedding.

Everyone else believed it was a great love story that overcame differences in status.

Honestly……

Even though I had transmigrated into a romance novel, I had skipped all the flirting and dating and jumped straight to marriage.

I had agreed to it knowing everything, but still, it didn’t quite feel real.

And the scale of the wedding?

Just thinking of the scale decided in the past week made me weary.

‘This much could cover the operating expenses of a modest noble house for half a year.’

Edwin’s voice echoed in my head.

No, above all else, the most surreal part was that Cedric was my husband.

I snuck a glance up at him.

Damn, he looked devastatingly handsome today too.

The fact that such a man was my husband……

Sure, it was only on paper, but every time I remembered, it felt strange and made my stomach flutter.

Like butterflies were flapping around inside me.

But the thing that confused me the most wasn’t the early marriage, nor Cedric—it was Kalib.

Honestly, I’d started getting confused lately.

Confused about Kalib’s true nature.

What kind of child was Kalib, really?

‘Elia!’

Was the bright, innocent side he showed me really genuine?

I knew these thoughts sounded absurd, like something people would dismiss as nonsense.

Because I knew Kalib was destined to become the mastermind villain in the future. I also knew that in the original work, he had been committing villainous acts since childhood.

So, any normal person would assume the latter was his true self.

But I had seen him change with my own eyes.

The boy who had never even tasted cocoa now lived with chocolate by his side.

The boy who had once buried his face in his palms out of fear of his brother’s eternal sleep now made plans for places to visit together once the curse was lifted.

The boy who once feared the Grand Duke’s castle now led vassal meetings with composure.

Thanks to him, when Cedric formally declared he would give up his right to succession, there was no great uproar.

I thought Kalib had escaped the future where he became the mastermind.

But I was wrong.

‘I will lodge a formal protest against this matter.’

He cornered Duke Calvados Marinest.

‘This is outright betrayal, and I will see him tried in a noble court.’

The Kalib who had spoken those words about putting Renard on trial—

He really looked like the mastermind.

Like the one who would drag this world into a pit of terror, nearly bringing the imperial family to ruin……

The difference between knowing it and witnessing it was enormous.

So much so that I even dreamed about it!

Once, I dreamed Kalib became the mastermind villain even though Cedric hadn’t fallen into eternal sleep.

No—more precisely, I dreamed that Yoon-i became Kalib.

When I woke, I was shaken to the core.

Honestly, the reason I had grown attached to Kalib so quickly was because of Yoon-i.

Their face, voice, behavior, circumstances—everything was so similar.

But even so, I didn’t think I was equating Yoon-i with Kalib.

Yoon-i was Yoon-i, Kalib was Kalib.

I thought I had drawn the line clearly.

But then I dreamed Yoon-i became Kalib and turned into the mastermind villain.

“……So, I was thinking of sending an invitation to the Marinest family as well. What do you think?”

It felt like I had just confronted the truth that, deep in my subconscious, I was equating Yoon-i with Kalib.

“Elia?”

Ugh, my head ached from all these tangled thoughts.

Even if they had just been a stream of consciousness, there was too much to consider……

“Elia!”

“……Huh? Y-Yes?!”

Cedric suddenly raised his voice, startling me.

“What has you so deep in thought? You’ve been lost in it the entire way here.”

It seemed I really had been spacing out.

When I came back to myself, we were already standing in front of the dress room.