VSBO 01

Chapter: 01

Epilogue

“What kind of woman is she?”

“They say she’s nothing special—just an utterly ordinary woman.”

“Oh my, she’s not even pretty? Then how did she manage to win over His Grace the Duke…?”

“According to people, she is pretty, but not so stunning that she could become a duchess without any background.”

“Wow, then she must be incredibly good at charming men.”

“Exactly. Coming from a family with nothing—how on earth did she…?”

“It seems His Grace the Duke doesn’t have as good an eye for women as one might think.”

“Heh, looks like it.”

Among the finely dressed ladies, a conversation far beneath the value of their jewelry was being exchanged. Chatting like that, they walked into the garden.

Flowers had been placed all over the garden. At the aide’s suggestion, flowers were arranged wherever the eye could reach throughout the venue.

Naturally, flowers were not to Kairon’s taste at all. He found it hard to understand why anyone liked such useless things. Even so, he couldn’t simply ignore his aide’s words: “If there are many flowers, the bride will like it.”

Kairon stood on the terrace overlooking the garden where the ceremony would take place.

There was no special reason for holding the wedding outdoors. It simply felt like it would suit the bride. Even he didn’t know why he thought that.

“The bride’s preparations are nearly complete.”

There was still some time before the ceremony began. Kairon had long since finished preparing and was waiting while looking over the garden. The bride, too, would now have some time before the ceremony.

He began to walk.

He was curious about the bride.

Almost everything about this wedding had been decided by Kairon himself—down to the smallest details.

It wasn’t that the wedding held any great meaning for him. Not as a once-in-a-lifetime special event, nor as something to display to the world with grandeur and splendor.

He simply felt it was natural that all decisions rested with him.

Even the bride’s dress and accessories had been chosen under his direction. It wasn’t that he hadn’t asked for her opinion, but he first narrowed down the options and then presented them to her.

Strangely, when it came to her, he found himself thinking about what would suit her best.

For other noble ladies, no matter what they wore, they didn’t even catch his attention. Yet his bride had the ability to make him imagine, “What would suit her better?”
She was a peculiar woman.

He didn’t intend to visit the bride’s waiting room directly. It wasn’t like he wanted to have a meaningful conversation. He was simply curious and wanted to see her with his own eyes.

He could see her soon enough once the ceremony began, but he didn’t want to wait.

There was a place from which the bride’s waiting room could be seen from outside. There was a high window in the waiting room, connected to another room.

Without hesitation, Kairon went to that room and stood before the window overlooking the bride’s waiting room.

He could see her below.

She looked exactly as he had imagined. The dress he had chosen, the beautiful accessories.

Seeing with his own eyes that they suited her strangely satisfied him. Perhaps it was because he had chosen them himself.

The bride looked somewhat tense. That was understandable. From a small rural family to becoming part of a ducal house—such a thing would naturally feel unfamiliar and nerve-wracking.

I wish she would smile.

He hadn’t come all this way just to see her frozen like that. He wanted to see her smile. Even when he went to propose, she had only shown a brief smile—she hadn’t smiled much.

Will she smile once the ceremony begins?

He stared at her as if observing her. It was hard to look away.

The first time he saw her was at the imperial banquet. The second time was when he went to propose. Today was the third time.

Perhaps because he had seen her so few times, his gaze kept drifting toward her.

In truth, it had been the same during the first and second meetings as well.

She really is a strange woman.

Just as he was thinking that—

The bride suddenly lifted her head and looked toward the window.

The very window from which Kairon was watching.

Their eyes met in midair.

The bride’s eyes, which had never expected someone to be watching, filled with surprise.

She wasn’t the only one startled.

Kairon himself was also surprised.

He quickly turned his head away. Even though doing so couldn’t undo what had already happened, it was the only thing he could do in that moment.

He was not someone who got flustered easily. He was always calm and composed. That made this situation all the more unfamiliar.

He didn’t know how to deal with this kind of embarrassment.

If it had been someone else, he wouldn’t have been this startled. He could have held their gaze calmly without any disturbance.

But because it was her, it was different.

She made him flustered.

She really is a strange woman.

Eket sat in the bride’s waiting room.

She tried to shake off her nervousness, but it wasn’t easy.

The marriage had been arranged suddenly. And to a ducal family, no less.

She had expected to marry soon since she was of age, but she never imagined it would be into a ducal house. Nor had she expected it to proceed so quickly.

Her future life would clearly be completely different from before. She would never be able to return to her past life again.

It was only natural that she felt afraid, anxious, and extremely tense.

On top of that, she had heard that a large number of guests had come for today’s ceremony. Even members of the imperial family were attending—there was no need to explain how burdensome that made it.

As she anxiously searched for a way to calm herself, she suddenly lifted her head.

She felt someone’s gaze from the high window.

“…!”

She was startled.

She had never imagined someone would be there.

And not just anyone—the Duke.

The Duke was looking at her with expressionless eyes. Was he observing her?

She still didn’t know what kind of person he was, so it was hard to guess what he was thinking.

Still, since he would soon be her husband, she thought she should at least smile when their eyes met.

But at that moment, the Duke abruptly turned his gaze away.

Coldly.

“…”

Eket stared at his retreating figure.

That man would soon become her husband.

He already seemed cold and composed at first glance, but he appeared even colder than she had imagined.

Still, she was curious why he had been looking at her.

As she speculated about his actions, time passed, and soon it was time for the ceremony to begin.

At least her nervousness had eased a little.

Determined not to make any mistakes, Eket stepped into the garden. She had already practiced the entrance, so even though she was nervous, she managed it fairly well.

A path of flowers had been laid through the center of the garden.

As she walked along it, she saw the Duke standing at the end.

He stood there, well-dressed. His balanced silhouette looked quite impressive.

Thankfully, Eket completed her entrance without trouble and soon stood beside him.

She faced him.

This seemed like the moment.

“Why were you looking earlier?”

She asked in a voice too quiet for others to hear.

She assumed there must have been a reason for him to go out of his way to quietly come and look into the waiting room.

But the Duke didn’t give a clear answer.

“…Because I was curious.”

That single sentence was all.

Ah, he really is a cold person.

She had expected it, but his reaction was even more distant than she thought.

Eket decided it was better not to ask further. This wasn’t a marriage of love to begin with—there was no need to feel hurt over such a response.

The ceremony proceeded exactly as rehearsed.

Though she remained tense, everything went smoothly without major mistakes.

There was a short break.

She would soon need to change into another dress, but for now, there was a brief pause.

The Duke—now her husband—stood beside her.

Even though they stood together, they barely spoke. It was awkward.

She wondered if they would ever overcome this awkwardness, or if they would remain like this forever.

But since she had already experienced how cold he was, she didn’t dare to speak first.

And then—

“Braided hair suits you well.”

Unexpectedly, the Duke spoke first.

Eket couldn’t help but be surprised.

She hadn’t expected him to comment on her hair.

She had always liked braiding her hair. That’s why she had worn it that way at the imperial banquet, and also when he visited her hometown.

And yet—he had noticed.

Startled, she looked at her husband.

Then he spoke again.

“Your shoes look uncomfortable. Why not take them off for a while?”

“My shoes…?”

He nodded.

“I don’t mind.”

She had thought he was only a cold person.

But this was unexpected.

He had even noticed that her shoes were uncomfortable.

In that moment, her feelings toward her husband shifted—just a little.