Chapter 1
“I, Lea Hamilton, love Allen. Even if the whole world points fingers at us, we’ll proudly marry and live happily together.”
The Hamilton Merchant Guild in the Galdensia Empire had been a well-known trading family for generations.
They had started out selling wool in the countryside. Over time, the guild had grown into a massive trading company, doing business across distant continents and handling almost every kind of merchandise.
Today was the wedding day of Lea Hamilton, the only heir to the Hamilton Guild.
“Miss, would you like me to fix your makeup a bit more?”
Sarah asked urgently, bringing over some cosmetics.
“No, I think this is just right. The makeup and the dress, everything is fine as it is.”
Lea decided not to change anything. She walked over to the full-length mirror to check herself one last time.
“I want to be a bride who matches Allen’s dignity. Graceful and elegant, this should be enough.”
She didn’t want to attract unnecessary gossip just because she was marrying into the nobility.
People already talked, saying she was just a rich merchant trying to buy her way into a noble family, or that she was covered in money from head to toe.
There had been endless rumors about her marriage to Allen.
Every newspaper in the capital accused him of choosing money over noble pride and called him a sellout.
“Miss Lea, it’s time to go to the ceremony.”
Only then did it truly hit her. She was about to marry Allen. Her hands trembled slightly as she held the bouquet.
Just then, the door opened and a man stepped in.
“Allen!”
“Lea.”
He had golden hair, clear blue eyes, sharp features, and a tall frame.
Wearing a dazzling ceremonial suit, he looked noble and refined.
He truly looked like the son of an old and honorable noble family. There was no trace of struggle or hardship in his appearance.
“My princess, I’ve come to take you.”
“Thank you, my prince.”
Trying to ease the tension, Lea answered with a playful smile.
“But really, are you allowed to be this beautiful?”
“What? Oh, Allen…”
As Allen gazed at her with deep affection, Lea felt like her heart might burst.
Could any woman in the world be happier than she was right now?
Allen finally reached out his hand to her.
“Shall we go, my goddess?”
“Please don’t say things like that. People might laugh.”
“So, what if they do? I should be able to say whatever I want to the woman I love.”
The wedding was perfect.
It was grand and beautiful. Most of the invited guests were prominent nobles from across the Galdensia Empire.
Until the Chief Constable’s heavy boots stomped down the aisle and shattered everything.
In an instant, Lea’s wedding turned into a nightmare.
“A large quantity of dried poppy flowers was discovered on the Hamilton Guild’s cargo ship that arrived yesterday. We have secured all the evidence, including documents and the people involved. You need to come with us to the Central Guard.”
The Chief Constable’s voice caused an uproar among the guests.
Smuggling, and not just anything, but dried poppy flowers that could be used to make narcotics? No merchant, no matter how powerful, would walk away from that easily.
In the Galdensia Empire, it was one of the most serious crimes. In the worst case, it could lead to execution.
“Come with us, Mr. Richard Hamilton.”
As officers moved in to arrest Richard, Allen quietly took Lea’s hand and led her toward the back of the hall.
“Allen, my father…!”
“Lea, we need to get out of here first.”
“But…”
“If the Chief Constable is here, that means the Emperor gave an official order. If we resist, it’ll be considered treason. Do you understand?”
Allen pulled her quickly through the back of the wedding hall.
They ran past the church garden and into a narrow alley, when a loud noise erupted behind them.
Bang. Bang.
Gunshots rang out from the ceremony hall, followed by screams and the panicked noise of people trying to escape. Lea froze.
“This is too much. I need to go to my father…”
“Lea Hamilton, look at me!”
Allen grabbed her shoulders and shouted. He took a deep breath and then spoke calmly.
“Your father, Richard Hamilton, asked me to protect you. If anything went wrong, he told me to make sure you got out safely.”
“What…?”
At that moment, a carriage pulled up in front of them as if it had been waiting all along.
“Go to the countryside. The driver will take you to a safe house.”
“What about you?”
“I need to help your father. Once everything is resolved, I promise I’ll come find you.”
Finally, Lea broke down. Tears spilled from her eyes and her body trembled with cold fear.
Allen held her tightly, gave her a quick kiss, and helped her into the carriage.
“Wait for me. I swear I’ll come for you.”
“Allen…!”
Lea leaned out the window, calling his name as he grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
The carriage kept moving through the darkness.
Where in the world were they going that required such urgency?
Lea wiped her tears with the back of her hand and opened the window. A sharp rush of cold night air filled the carriage.
She looked outside, but she had no idea where she was.
The carriage was taking only rough, dangerous roads with no gas lamps in sight.
It felt strange.
Was the coachman trying to avoid inspection by the Central Guard by staying off the main roads?
At that moment, there was a loud thud from outside, and the carriage shook violently.
It felt like the horses had broken away from the carriage.
Lea quickly leaned out the window.
“Oh my God!”
She was horrified by what she saw.
The horses and coachman were gone, and the carriage was racing down a steep path all on its own.
No, it was heading straight for the edge of a cliff.
“No!”
She screamed and shoved the door handle, trying to escape.
With a heavy jolt, the door burst open, and one of the back wheels came off.
The carriage was moments away from flying off the cliff and into the deep, rocky valley below.
For a second, she thought about jumping. But the carriage was moving too fast. She couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Still, she had to try. If she stayed inside, she would surely die when the carriage fell.
Lea held her breath, bracing to jump out.
But as she moved, the full skirt of her dress got caught in the door. The fabric tore with a harsh rip, trapping her in place.
Now she couldn’t move. In that instant, with the edge of the cliff rushing toward her, death came straight at her like a shadow.
“Aaah!”
With a terrible crash, the carriage flew off the edge and plunged into the darkness.
Lea’s scream cut through the night.
The carriage slammed into the rocky slope, tumbled violently, then shattered into pieces.
Dogs barked in the distance. Footsteps followed, along with the sound of unfamiliar voices. They were men.
Lea struggled to open her eyes.
People.
She shifted her eyes to the side. But from the neck down, she felt nothing.
One dog, two, three, four. No, just three dogs. One man.
There were three hunting dogs, and a man stood behind them, his figure outlined by the moonlight.
Lea’s eyes followed his expensive hunting boots upward. In his hand, he held a long rifle.
His black hunting coat was marked with a golden eagle, embroidered across his chest.
As the wind blew, his cape fluttered behind him like wings.
Lea wanted to see his face more clearly, but her eyes wouldn’t fully open.
She could only make out his black hair and what looked like sharp, piercing eyes.
Just as her consciousness began to slip away again, the man’s voice reached her.
“Dying peacefully is a blessing. I hope you find rest, wherever you go.”
His voice was calm but full of regret. Those were the last words she heard before the darkness returned.
It felt like she had been drowning, holding her breath underwater, and was finally reaching the surface.
She inhaled softly, slowly.
It was as if her soul had drifted away like smoke, only to find its way back again.
Lea had endured a terrible nightmare.
But even pain has its end. Her body now felt light, as though she were floating.
I must be dead.
How else could she feel this free, without pain, as if nothing held her down?
Like a dandelion seed, she drifted gently through the air.
Did I become wind after I died?
The world around her turned vibrant, glowing with color. The wind carried her to a place she didn’t recognize.
Then, like a fallen leaf, she drifted down and landed softly in front of a grand castle.
It was a stormy night. Rain poured from the sky.
A man and a woman stood outside, completely soaked, shouting at each other.
“Terran, why do you keep delaying the wedding? Then why did you get engaged to Grace in the first place?”
“Grace, stop throwing a fit. This is getting ridiculous.”
Lea was completely confused.
What am I seeing? Is this a dream?
Why was she witnessing a fight between two people she had never seen before?
Then, as if he sensed her presence, the man named Terran turned slightly.
His sharp eyes glanced in her direction.
“This is the man you saw on the cliff.”
Lea instinctively tried to run away.
But before she could, her body was swept into the embrace of a woman named Grace, as if caught in a tremendous vortex.
No matter how much she struggled to free herself, she felt like she was sinking into a swirling swamp.
Only after her entire body was pulled in completely did her consciousness fade away.
“Death was not the beginning of fear but a kind of rest.”
Only then did Lea feel a deep sense of calm.
Sometimes her head pounded, and she would have violent coughing fits, but each time someone would come and gently place a cool towel on her forehead.
That was not all. At the proper time, she was given bitter medicine to swallow.
After enduring high fever and intense pain repeatedly, cold sweat finally broke out over her body, and the fever subsided.
“Ugh… mm!”
Lea groaned as her eyelids fluttered, and soon hurried footsteps approached.
“Miss, are you awake?”
Through her blurred vision, she saw a woman with neatly tied black hair and freckles dotted on her nose.
Lea thought, “That isn’t Sarah. Then who is she?”
As her confusion grew, the stranger launched into a rapid stream of admonishments.
“You know how the Duke can be. Why did you insist on getting married on a rainy day, practically begging him to take you?”
Lea wondered, “What do you mean? It didn’t rain on my wedding day, and Allen isn’t a duke.”
“Men lose interest more quickly when a woman is too forceful, as I have often told you.”
“Who… are you?”
Lea managed to croak out the words through her dry, cracked lips. The woman looked somewhat like a maid, yet Lea was curious about her name.
“My goodness! You have forgotten my name after all your illness? I am Pauline.”
“Ah, Pauline. I want to get up.”
Pauline helped Lea to sit, propping her up with several pillows placed behind her back.
Lea looked around the room. It was unfamiliar, yet not completely strange.
Her own room had once been even more luxurious, with the finest furniture, lighting, curtains, and sculptures. Besides, this room carried a scent she had never experienced before.
A scent of loneliness and deficiency.
At that moment, the door opened, and a cool breeze flowed in.
Familiar heavy boots echoed across the floor, and soon a man entered who exuded such a strong presence that the entire space seemed to shrink around him.
“Who is that man?”
Lea recognized him immediately.
He was the one who had appeared to her at the very edge of death, the same man who had returned to her side every time she drifted away like a stray feather.
His jet-black hair contrasted sharply with his pale skin, and his intense eyes shimmered with a deep, dark gleam. His sharp, proud nose and tightly pressed lips made his features appear as if they were perfectly drawn.
He was undeniably handsome, but it was his overwhelming presence that truly captivated those around him.
“I am glad you have awakened, Grace.”
Lea’s heart skipped a beat. “Grace? Me?”
