Chapter 5

“So getting married has made you bold, has it? How dare you look down on the House of Rydel?”

“The House of Rydel abandoned me first, so I’m saying I have no interest in this family either. You don’t have to worry about me taking your place anymore, so shouldn’t you be relieved?”

Pesha spoke casually as she walked past Jeremy.

She had already been forbidden from leaving the house, so she did not want to keep bickering with Jeremy, get caught by her father, and bring unnecessary anger upon herself.

From behind her, she heard Jeremy knock on their father’s study door.

“Jeremy. Did you have a good lesson?”

And then came her father’s voice, sounding pleased to see his son, as if he had never shouted at Pesha just moments before.

It would be a lie to say that did not hurt.

But for now, finding a way to survive was more important.

The marriage between Count Owen Namoi and Lady Pesha Rydel was briefly the hottest topic in high society.

Because of Pesha’s unexpected behavior, people gossiped about it a little longer than usual, but that was all.

In the end, the marriage itself had not been canceled.

Duke Rydel had been humiliated at the party attended by the Emperor, so he changed the wedding into a private ceremony attended only by close relatives.

On top of that, almost nothing was known about Count Namoi’s private life. He had started life as a commoner and spent more than ten years of his youth on the battlefield.

Since people knew almost nothing about Owen Namoi, there was not much they could speculate about.

The only additional topic was the regret that Pesha, who was considered one of the most beautiful women in high society, was getting married so suddenly and without much fuss.

People quickly lost interest.

A month passed, and the day of the wedding arrived.

The bridal waiting room attached to the chapel of the temple where the ceremony was to be held had the gloomy atmosphere of a funeral hall.

Pesha was sitting in front of the dressing table, looking at herself in the mirror.

Mini, the maid who had taken care of Pesha for years, was brushing her hair with an almost tearful expression.

“My lady, you look so beautiful today. Sob… You’re so beautiful, so why…”

“Stop it, Mini. Do you want to get scolded by Father too?”

Pesha scolded her maid.

Her shining silver hair had been gathered into one thick braid that hung down her back.

Her light violet eyes, like violets, were just as gloomy as Mini’s, but she tried her best to comfort her maids.

“Girls, I’m not being sold off somewhere. I’m just getting married…”

Actually, I am being sold off.

The more Count Namoi’s reputation grew, the stronger public opinion became that he should be granted a ducal title.

It was what the people wanted.

No matter how powerful the Emperor was, there was no way he could ignore the overwhelming support of the people.

However, the Emperor was too proud to simply give a duke’s title to a young man who was not even thirty and had started out as a mercenary.

So the Emperor came up with a clever solution.

Instead of giving Owen a ducal title, he arranged for him to have a duke as his father-in-law.

Publicly, this allowed him to play the role of a generous ruler who had provided Owen with a powerful maternal family through marriage.

In reality, however, his intention was to prevent Owen Namoi’s influence from growing any further.

If it had been Io, she would have somehow managed to get through this marriage.

But Pesha was different.

‘If only I had that damn purification power too. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about any of this.’

Pesha secretly let out a deep sigh.

Even though she tried her best not to worry, anxiety kept creeping in.

What if he dislikes me because I humiliated him and makes things difficult for me?

Actually, it would not be strange if he did.

But when it was obvious that she would probably die after marrying him, how could she have willingly agreed to the marriage?

I really did live a good life. I never did anything bad!

As long as Owen’s territory remained contaminated and Io possessed purification abilities, the two of them would inevitably need each other.

‘This is my only option now. I’ll make as much money as possible as quickly as I can, hand Owen over to Io, and then run away as fast as possible.’

While she was thinking this, the time for the wedding procession arrived.

A servant outside the bridal waiting room knocked on the door.

“My lady. Are you ready?”

The maids all turned toward Pesha.

Pesha had been calming her nerves while looking at herself in the mirror.

She slowly nodded and stood up.

“Yes. I’m coming out now.”

The maids, who had been wearing gloomy expressions, quickly composed themselves and lifted the hem of Pesha’s wedding dress.

“Open the door.”

At Pesha’s command, the maids opened the door to the bridal waiting room.

Pesha tightened her stomach as though gathering her courage and walked out with stiff steps.

The chapel, located directly beside the bridal waiting room, had its doors wide open.

It looked like the gaping mouth of a terrifying beast waiting to swallow its prey.

Feeling as though she were willingly walking into a tiger’s den, Pesha stepped inside.

The first thing she saw was her relatives sitting in the chapel.

The relatives of the House of Rydel were seated on the left.

And on the right…

Huh?

Pesha’s steps suddenly stopped as she was about to walk down the aisle.

There were only four or five people sitting on the groom’s side.

They were wearing ordinary formal suits, but their perfectly straight posture made it obvious that they were soldiers.

Judging by their appearance, they were probably Owen’s adjutants.

‘Oh my goodness. There weren’t enough people to fill the seats, so he brought his adjutants.’

It made sense.

Owen was an orphan.

Since he did not even know who his parents were, there was no way he could invite relatives.

But still!

Pesha could clearly see the relatives of the House of Rydel whispering among themselves while pretending not to notice the completely empty right side of the chapel.

The sight bothered her a little.

Pesha glanced at Owen, who was standing at the end of the aisle.

She did not know whether he was aware that she had arrived.

He was only looking at the high priest standing at the front, who had been chosen to officiate the ceremony.

Pesha stared at his broad back, so wide that the fabric covering his body was stretched tightly across it.

She swallowed nervously and walked toward him almost as if she were charging into battle.

For a bride, her steps were surprisingly brave.

When she reached Owen’s side, the officiating priest, who looked just as flustered as the guests on the bride’s side, cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Well then, we shall begin with the declaration of marriage.”

“……”

“The bride and groom have vowed to become husband and wife and share both happiness and hardship for the rest of their lives, in this honorable place surrounded by their family and relatives who have gathered to bless their union. Is that correct?”

“……”

“Is that correct?”

The priest asked again, but Owen gave no answer.

So Pesha belatedly replied in a small voice.

“Y-Yes…”

She glanced sideways.

Owen was staring at the high priest with a stiff expression.

‘Does he hate this marriage so much that he’s even glaring at the innocent officiating priest?’

The thought made Pesha dislike the marriage even more.

‘It’s not like I’m getting married because I want to either.’

While she was silently pouting, the priest continued with his wedding speech.

Pesha remembered that even the weddings she had attended as a guest in the past had had ridiculously long speeches.

But perhaps because this frightened high priest wanted to escape Owen’s intimidating gaze as quickly as possible, he hurried through the rest of his speech.

“Then please exchange the rings.”

For the first time that day, Owen turned toward Pesha.

She was finally able to properly see his face.

As he slipped the ring onto her finger, Pesha stared closely at him for the brief moment it took.

Until now, she had been so consumed by the fear that this man might kill her that she had never really noticed.

Owen was an incredibly handsome man, handsome enough that once you looked at his face, it was difficult to look away.

Beneath his slightly tousled caramel-colored hair were thick eyebrows following his strong facial features.

His black eyes, set beneath slightly sharp, raised eyelids, were so intense that anyone meeting his gaze would instinctively shrink back.

Then there was his sharply defined nose and tightly pressed lips.

If it were not for his social status, noble families would have lined up to propose marriage to him because of the overwhelming masculinity he gave off.

While Pesha was staring blankly at him, the ring was slipped onto her ring finger.

Now it was her turn to put the ring on him.

With slightly trembling hands, Pesha slipped the ring onto Owen’s thick finger.

The matching rings glittered in the sunlight.

For some reason, seeing them made her heart feel unbearably heavy.

As she silently sighed and stared at the ring, the officiating priest continued.

“Now, we shall proceed with the ceremonial kiss.”