TDPMVI 1

Chapter : 01

There is a saying in this world:
If you hold your wedding on a rainy day, the couple will live happily ever after.

Perhaps someone believed those words and had a blissful ceremony.
Unfortunately, they did not apply to me.

“Huff, huff…!”

I—the bride—was running frantically, still wearing my wedding dress. The gown tailored for this day was already stained and horribly torn.

“Get inside, quickly!”
“Take cover at once!”

The guests had already scattered in panic.

“The rebels are about to storm in!”
“Escort His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress to the inner palace!”
“Summon the mages and priests! Prepare defensive formations!”

Everyone was scrambling to respond, yet not a single person paid attention to me—the bride.

Of course not.
This marriage was nothing more than a play.

I was the daughter of a Saint.

The reason I say was is because I am no longer the Saint’s daughter.

The family I belonged to—Agnito—was a ducal house of the Empire, known as “those blessed by God.”

For generations, the House of Agnito had produced Saints. Because their divine power was so overwhelming, only one Saint could be born in each generation. Naturally, many coveted the bloodline, and as a safeguard, the Saint was required to marry a person chosen by the temple.

The Agnito family took immense pride in these marriages. Everyone was desperate to wed a Saint.

But it all shattered in an instant.

The Saint—my mother—suddenly became pregnant with another man’s child.

The father was unknown.
My mother’s divine power vanished.
And the child born—me—showed no abilities whatsoever.

What followed was predictable.

My mother was officially declared to have died in childbirth, and the child was forbidden from ever stepping outside the estate.

A story all too common.

From Agnito’s perspective, I had stained the family’s honor. It was no wonder they despised me.

Regardless, the fact remained that I was born of a scandal.

With no powers at all, I was forced to remain alone in a single room.

If not for the child I met by chance, that would have continued indefinitely.

Thanks to that child’s help, I was able to slowly leave my room.

But that wasn’t enough. I wanted a family.

So I tried—desperately—to become a true Agnito.

Then one day—

“Get married, Hanisha.”

My maternal uncle, the Duke of Agnito, said this to me.

“They are the ones who rebuilt the Forbidden Land. Their momentum is formidable, but we lack justification to suppress them. His Majesty has ordered that we propose an alliance through marriage. You will wed their leader.”

“But, Your Grace…”

I couldn’t help but hesitate at the sudden proposal.

If a marriage were truly necessary, it would make far more sense for my cousin Esther to wed him—not me. Unlike me, Esther was the Empire’s only Saint.

But—

“If you handle this marriage well, you can become a true Agnito. His Majesty and the temple will acknowledge you.”

“……”

“This is for the sake of the family.”

I had never once been presented to the public. I was the family’s blemish. In fact, more people remembered me as “that stain” than by my name.

For someone like me, recognition from the family was the one thing I longed for most.

So I accepted the marriage.

I was afraid—but I also felt a faint hope.

Having a husband meant forming a family of my own.

And then, the long-awaited wedding day arrived.

“It’s the rebels! Move over there!”

The man who was to become my husband led an army straight into the imperial palace.

“We found her! Over there!”
“Miss, this way!”

I heard voices calling from behind.

They were the Agnito knights who were supposed to protect me—but I ignored them and ran.

Just before the ceremony, the Duke had told me:

“If anything happens to you, go to the inner western corridor of the palace. I’ve prepared another measure there.”

At the time, I thought he was looking out for me.

But no one was at the promised place.

Truly—no one.

“Congratulations, cousin.”

Suddenly, I recalled what Esther—the Saint and my cousin—had said to me before the ceremony.

“You’ll finally be free now. You’ve worked hard all this time.”

Only then did the puzzle pieces fall into place.

The entrance that connected directly to the imperial forest.
The corridor completely devoid of evacuees.
A scene deliberately emptied—

“It was all planned.”

This marriage was merely bait to lure the rebels into the palace.

“And I’m the discarded chess piece.”

The moment I realized it, I fled again. As if waiting for that exact instant, the Agnito knights began chasing me.

It became certain.

The Duke wanted me dead.

So he could gain proper justification to crush the rebels—and demand appropriate compensation from the imperial family.

“…Huff, huff.”

Why was it?

I thought I might cry, but I felt nothing.

Perhaps it was because I had always known this would happen.

No matter how hard I struggled, I could never become a true family member. I would never be acknowledged.

I had been alone from the beginning.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, someone seized my body.

It was the Agnito knights.

“Just because we call you ‘Lady’ doesn’t mean you actually are one—”
“Let go!”
“Come with us!”

Their grip was merciless as they dragged me away.

Then—

“Khk…!”

With ragged gasps, the knights began collapsing one by one.

Because of someone who had appeared before me without a sound.

Hair as black as the night sky.
Golden eyes.
A man whose face was masked from below the eyes down to his feet.

I didn’t need to ask who he was.

Rene.

The master of the Forbidden Land—and the Emperor’s illegitimate son.

Abandoned at birth, yet he survived. He united magical beasts, beastkin, elves, and many other races into one force—the leader of the rebels.

And… the man who was to become my husband.

Without the slightest presence, he had cut down countless knights. Slowly, he rose to his feet.

Only then did he seem to notice the blood dripping from the tip of his sword, shaking it off irritably.

Our eyes met.

“……”

He stared at me silently.

I stumbled back, unsure what to say or do.

Then—

Rene began walking toward me.

I flinched again, my gaze fixed on the blood still dripping from his blade.

Perhaps that was why—

“…Ah.”

Tears began to fall—tears that hadn’t come even when I realized I had been abandoned. It felt as if that sword would pierce me at any moment.

Rene frowned as he watched me retreat. Then he glanced down at his sword.

“……”

He looked back at me.

I swallowed dryly, fearing he would charge at me with the blade still in hand—

Clang!

With a sharp crash, the sword fell uselessly to the ground.

Rene had suddenly thrown it aside.

As if he had noticed that I was afraid of it.

Before I could fully comprehend the situation—

“I was told the wedding hall is that way.”

An unfamiliar voice cut in.

Black hair fluttering with the dust.
Red eyes.
A dark aura swirling around him.

It was Pater Stukia, Duke of the North.

The House of Stukia was one of the Empire’s Four Great Ducal Houses. Once, due to certain incidents, they had walked the path of ruin.

But that was all in the past.

After the man before me inherited the title, the house flourished once more as one of the Empire’s most powerful.

Of course, if you included their notorious reputation as “trash” in that prosperity.

When had he arrived? The Duke of Stukia stood slightly in front of me, blocking the way.

“The bride and groom are here, so I can’t have mistaken the location.”

“……”

“Then am I the officiant?”

He shrugged lightly as he asked.

But I couldn’t answer.

Why was the Duke of Stukia here?

We had never met before, and he had no reason to protect me.

And his face—wait, that was…

“Lady.”

“……!”

Though I visibly flinched, the Duke remained unshaken.

“What’s your name?”

He asked in a leisurely tone. Few had ever asked my name before, so I stammered:

“Ha… Hanisha.”

“Yes, Hanisha. I know my face is handsome enough to leave even a bride-to-be speechless, but shall we try to gather your senses?”

His slow, teasing voice carried a sharp point that brought me back to myself.

“It seems the bride is frightened. Perhaps today isn’t the day. As for the jilted groom—try again next time.”

At those words, Rene—who had been expressionless until now—furrowed his brow.

“…Move.”

A low voice emerged from behind the dark veil.

“Pushy men aren’t attractive. The bride might run away. That’s advice from experience.”

“I do not kill the innocent. But if you do not move, I will kill you as well.”

“Violent, too. Lady, that makes him the worst candidate for a husband. How about reconsidering this marriage?”

Even as he spoke, the Duke of Stukia slowly drew up his power—magic he had not revealed for years, as if it were a secret.

“My apologies to the newlywed, but I cannot step aside either. I’m rather desperate myself.”

“So you stand with the Emperor.”

“If one must label it, yes.”

The moment he confirmed it, Rene’s gaze turned icy.

The magic leaking from both men clashed fiercely in the air.

No one moved. Heavy pressure crushed the space between them.

Then—

Boom.

With a thunderous roar, the ground shook.

At the same time, the sky began to darken.

An earthquake? Another spell?

I had never seen magic that spread darkness across such a vast area.

Ah.

Like lightning striking my mind, realization came.

It wasn’t the sky darkening.

The imperial palace was collapsing.

Above my head.

In that instant, my entire life flashed before my eyes.

“Lady!”
“…Nisha!”

Voices called out to me from somewhere.

But I couldn’t look away.

“If…”

As I stared at the falling debris rushing toward me, I thought—

“If, by some impossible chance…”

“If I were given another opportunity…”

And then, my vision went completely black.