🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 4
Taylor, the foundation of the Dekan Empire, the land of golden wheat.
The vastness of the Duchy of Taylor was so immense that its end could hardly be seen. Wheat grew across its endless fields, feeding the people of the empire.
‘Make sure no one starves to death in Taylor lands.’
Following the principle established by the first Duke, every Duke of Taylor throughout the generations had always devoted himself to the well-being of the people and focused on developing agricultural techniques that would ensure stable wheat harvests.
As a result, the Duchy of Taylor grew into a vast granary responsible for feeding the entire Dekan Empire. It was only natural that an ear of wheat was engraved on the Taylor family crest. The third Emperor of the empire, deeply impressed by Taylor’s contributions, personally bestowed upon the family a chapel and a beautiful cloister.
Wearing her wedding dress and veil, Grace slowly walked down the cloister that bore the glory of Taylor.
The nobles looked at Grace and whispered among themselves.
“She looks exactly like the late Duchess.”
“Who could have imagined? For the Taylor heiress to marry a mere Count of Sachsen…”
“Shh! She is the Empress’s family now. You could get into serious trouble for saying that.”
Count Sachsen looked Grace up and down as though appraising a piece of merchandise before muttering exactly like his son would have.
“She’s worth the money.”
Meanwhile, Rosette clenched her fists in pointless frustration. She could not stand having everyone’s attention focused on Grace, even for a moment. Rosette desperately wanted to scatter the gazes fixed upon the bride, and her wish came true when the other protagonist of the wedding appeared.
“Oh my…”
Someone’s gasp spread through the crowd like a contagious disease.
“My goodness.”
The groom had appeared behind Grace.
With dark-blue bruising around his eyes and an expression as menacing as could be.
Without realizing it, people turned their eyes toward the beautiful bride standing at the entrance of the chapel.
“What a shame.”
Nothing more, nothing less. Those few words seemed to say it all.
What a pity.
Joseph, the adjutant standing beside Walter, felt no differently. He clicked his tongue softly before asking,
“A good-for-nothing and a Taylor? He really did send out the wedding invitations himself, didn’t he?”
Walter glanced at him and quietly warned,
“Shut it.”
Joseph immediately closed his mouth and quickly scanned their surroundings.
The two of them were practically hiding in a secluded corner of the garden in front of the chapel. The problem, however, was Walter Richmond’s appearance.
The sculpted muscles he had developed while fighting monsters on the battlefield, combined with his massive frame, gave him the air of a god of war even though he was dressed in formal attire. Unlike the nobles whose hair was neatly combed back, even his short, unstyled hair radiated a wildness that caused several noblewomen to blush for no apparent reason.
“Who is he?”
The nobles stole glances at Walter, each of them tilting their heads in confusion. He was a handsome man one could never forget after seeing him even once, yet they were certain they had never seen him before today. And despite his formal attire, there was no crest or insignia indicating his family.
“Could he possibly not be a noble?”
“Would someone who wasn’t a noble have been invited?”
Just as someone murmured those words, the bell announcing the ceremony rang. The nobles who had been sneaking glances at Walter suppressed their curiosity for the moment and headed toward the chapel.
Amid the flowing crowd, an elderly man with hair that had turned mostly white muttered,
“He resembles His Majesty.”
The son attending him was startled and whispered,
“Please don’t say things like that. I’m afraid someone might hear you.”
But the old man merely shrugged indifferently.
“If he resembles him, then I should say he resembles him. What else am I supposed to say? It has already been more than a decade since His Majesty failed to awaken… Everyone has forgotten what he looked like. I thought I had as well, but… If His Imperial Highness had survived, wouldn’t he look exactly like that?”
“No one thinks that!”
“So many things changed in an instant. In a single instant…”
The old man paid little attention to his son’s words as he stared absently at Grace’s back while she walked toward the bishop.
She had been raised so beautifully. So beautifully that she even made the heart of an old man with no relation to her ache.
If the spirit of the late Duke were watching her now, he would surely be beating the ground and weeping bitterly.
The Archbishop, who was watching the bride and groom approach from the front, had thoughts similar to those of the old man.
The groom’s blue-black bruises around his eyes made him look like nothing more than a thug, no matter how generously one tried to view him. And even as the solemn ceremony was beginning, he was shamelessly looking the bride up and down.
The bishop sighed at the pathetic sight.
When the two finally arrived before him, they respectfully knelt with the assistance of the priests.
Multicolored sunlight filtered through the stained glass, painting patterns across the bishop’s splendid vestments. The bishop personally rang the bell before touching holy water to the foreheads of the bride and groom.
Even then, Jack Sachsen’s gaze remained fixed on the bride.
As he looked at Grace’s profile, delicate and elegant like a porcelain doll, the Count’s son kept thinking.
She was an unbelievably beautiful woman.
He had definitely never met her before today, so why did he feel as though he had seen her somewhere?
And besides, why did the area around his eyes seem to hurt even more when he was beside this woman?
The pain throbbed, making the Count’s son frown.
The bishop conducting the ceremony frowned as well.
What kind of man is this?
He had been blatantly staring at the bride throughout the entire ceremony. The bishop found the sight thoroughly unpleasant.
Among the honored guests, a quiet murmur began to spread.
“What is this? A sudden case of devotion?”
Joseph, watching the ceremony from afar, muttered under his breath.
Walter let out a hollow laugh.
His own gaze, like the Count’s son’s, had remained fixed on Grace the entire time.
The ceremony was almost over, yet he still could not figure out what exactly that audacious young lady had been implying when she spoke to him.
Meanwhile, the ceremony proceeded quickly, and only the vows remained.
It was the ritual in which the bride and groom promised before God that they would enter the marriage with pure body and heart and spend the rest of their lives loving and devoting themselves solely to their spouse.
The bishop cast a cold glance at Jack Sachsen before deciding to skip the question concerning purity.
It would be ridiculous to ask a man who already had six illegitimate children whether his body and heart were pure.
“Jack Sachsen, do you swear before God to take Grace Taylor as your wife and cherish and love her for the rest of your life?”
For the first time since entering the chapel, the Count’s son turned toward the bishop and solemnly made his vow.
“Yes, I swear.”
The bishop’s gaze shifted to Grace.
She had listened to his words from beginning to end with an unwavering and noble bearing.
The bishop asked her the question.
“Grace Taylor, do you swear to enter this sacred marriage with a pure body and heart?”
It was a very old question.
Everyone always answered yes. It had become nothing more than a ritual, no different from having holy water placed upon their forehead.
Grace slowly raised her eyes.
Reflected in the bishop’s eyes, which gazed down at her, was the image of herself wearing a wedding dress.
She shifted her gaze slightly farther back.
Behind the bishop stood the statue of God.
The memories of the past flashed through her mind.
‘Lady Grace. The most important thing in hunting is to wait for the right moment.’
As the bride remained silent, murmurs spread among the guests once again.
The bishop cleared his throat in an attempt to draw her attention.
“Ahem.”
The God who had always looked down upon her with an emotionless expression was doing the same today, merely gazing down at her.
Grace looked up at God and spoke silently.
God, the time has come.
“Grace Taylor, do you swear to enter this sacred marriage with a pure body and heart?!”
The bishop’s voice, louder this time, echoed through the round chapel.
Everyone’s eyes fell upon Grace.
Grace felt as though she were standing alone in the middle of enemy territory.
A chill ran down her spine, while at the same time, the ball of fire she had kept buried deep within herself surged upward, filling her chest with heat.
She firmly tightened her abdomen and drew in a breath.
And finally, she opened her mouth.
No.
She drew the sword she had been hiding all this time.
“No. There is someone else whom I love.”
At the bride’s shocking declaration, a silence fell over the chapel as though someone had poured ice over the entire room.
Count Sachsen and his wife sucked in their breaths, their eyes widening.
The Duke and Duchess of Taylor also covered their mouths with both hands, rendered speechless.
They were not the only ones taken aback.
Jack Sachsen, a man who had six illegitimate children despite being the Count’s son, stared at Grace with his eyes wide in disbelief.
The bishop was equally stunned and cleared his throat several times.
Unprecedented!
No matter how frantically he searched his memory, there had never been anything like this in the history of the Temple.
As the murmuring grew louder, the flustered bishop hurriedly continued with the next question, pretending he had not heard her.
“Grace Taylor, do you take Jack Sachsen as your husband and swear before God to cherish and love him for the rest of your life?”
The bishop looked at Grace desperately.
Please. Just say yes!
But contrary to his hopes, Grace slowly turned her head and calmly looked at the Count’s son.
Her calm and graceful demeanor made her feelings perfectly clear.
The honored guests’ murmurs died down as their gazes followed hers toward the groom.
Without realizing it, they nodded.
“…Goodness. What on earth did he do the night before the wedding for his eyes to be that blue?”
“…I suppose even I would have trouble loving or respecting him.”
The Count’s son’s increasingly ragged breathing only added weight to the sentiment hanging over Grace.
“Bishop! What are you doing?! Why aren’t you proceeding with the ceremony?!”
Perhaps unable to endure it any longer, Count Sachsen suddenly rose to his feet and shouted.
The bishop, desperate to somehow bring the ceremony to an end, hurriedly tried to move on.
But Grace was faster.
“And therefore, I don’t think I can love this man.”
Her clear voice struck everyone’s ears.
The bishop closed his eyes and sought out God.
Oh, God. Why have you subjected me to such suffering?
“I cannot love even a single hair on Jack Sachsen’s head.”
The moment Grace drove the final nail into the coffin, the notorious violence of the good-for-nothing suddenly erupted.
“You fell for another man before the wedding, and you dare say whether or not you can love me?!!”
