Chapter 3.5
“According to what the maid told me, Lady Leilia is excessively honest. She supposedly has no talent for lying at all.”
Cassian observed Rosena, recalling Ted’s report. In fact, Cassian had barely listened to the report that day, deeming it insignificant.
He probably would never have remembered it if Rosena hadn’t accidentally let slip a clue.
After all, the idea that someone incapable of lying could exist was a claim even a three-year-old wouldn’t believe.
Indeed, Cassian was still half in doubt.
However, looking at Rosena Leilia in front of him, he was often gripped by a strange conviction that such a person might actually exist.
No, more than that, once he harbored the suspicion that Rosena couldn’t lie and observed her actions, he found himself laughing at how he could have been so oblivious until now.
Especially as he compared the information on “Rosena Leilia” collected by the Baltinart family with the “Rosena Leilia” Cassian had seen in reality, his certainty only grew.
The gap between the two pieces of information, which couldn’t be narrowed, perfectly aligned like interlocking gears when viewed through the lens that “Rosena Leilia cannot lie.”
Since she can’t lie, she can’t say things she doesn’t mean. To others, she might appear to lack social skills. For the same reason, she can’t say sweet words of love to Cassian.
‘She’s been good at hiding it until now. Avoiding social circles, perhaps thanks to Baron Leilia’s efforts all this time.’
He had found it odd that the rumors about Rosena circulating in the Barony of Leilia weren’t actively suppressed, but there was a reason for not offering any excuses. It was to protect a greater secret.
It was too soon to be entirely sure based on these clues alone, but judging by the surrounding circumstances, Cassian felt quite certain.
Cassian, who had been quietly watching her now just poking at her salad with a prim expression, opened his mouth again.
“Rosena.”
“Yes.”
A cold voice replied.
“…I apologize for what I just said.”
“It’s fine.”
“But why are you only eating salad? I didn’t mean to scold you for being a picky eater.”
“……”
“Pfft.”
“Ugh, seriously! Stop teasing me!”
As soon as Cassian finished speaking, Rosena quickly moved her fork to the steak, making Cassian burst into laughter.
Rosena pouted sullenly.
“It’s all because the chef’s skills are too good. It’s not that I’m eating a lot.”
“Did I say anything?”
“……”
Her icy blue eyes seemed to say ‘you did,’ but Cassian feigned ignorance.
“Do you know? Sometimes, I can see what you’re thinking just from your expression. It seems you wouldn’t be able to deceive anyone, which is a big problem.”
“…Pardon?”
“As a Grand Duchess, there will be times when you have to say things against your conscience. In a place where political disputes come and go, you can’t always stay pure, can you?”
“…Th-that’s true, I guess?”
Rosena ran a hand over her face with a subtle expression and nodded. On one hand, she seemed to want to figure out the hidden meaning behind Cassian’s words.
Her expression showed conflict about whether Cassian knew her secret and was saying such things, or if she should just take the sentence literally.
Cassian had no intention of telling Rosena what he had discovered just yet.
“So, I’ll have to stay right by your side.”
Of course, if Rosena had known this, she would have called off the marriage and returned to the barony. But unfortunately for her, Cassian had no intention of letting Rosena go even if his suspicions were correct.
And what he had found out would only be revealed on the day of their wedding.
And before long, the wedding of the two, which had caused a stir throughout the Agzent Empire, was just around the corner.
The weather on the wedding day was dazzlingly clear.
In contrast, Rosena, trembling with nervousness in the bridal waiting room, thought to herself.
‘Ugh, I want to lie down.’
When preparing for the wedding, there wasn’t enough time, so she had just put on something suitable and gone along with it, unaware.
She hadn’t realized the corset would be so tight that she couldn’t properly bend at the waist!
It was the moment the reason brides sat perfectly straight at weddings she had attended with Baron Leilia since childhood was revealed.
On top of that, people passing near the bridal waiting room even peered curiously into the entrance…
“Rosena!”
“Pernille?”
Just then, a familiar face appeared, boldly opening the bridal waiting room door and entering.
“Good heavens, what is this! How could you not tell me a word? Why did you make me hear such important news from someone else?”
Pernille, adorned in a dazzling red dress, stopped her scolding and gasped in admiration.
Rosena today was undeniably the perfect bride.
“Didn’t I tell you at the cafe that day? I said the Grand Duke’s reason for proposing was probably true.”
“…Ahaha.”
“I knew I was right. And looking at you now, I’m very satisfied. They said the Grand Duke went wild for this marriage, and I’m very pleased. You’re a good match.”
Pernille was busy covering her mouth with her black-gloved hand as she spoke.
This was because reporters were everywhere.
Surprisingly, they had a skill to understand what people were saying even from a distance by reading their lips, so nobles often covered their mouths when saying something important or undignified.
“Oh, right. Baron Leilia might arrive a little late. It’s precisely the season when monsters are rampant, you see.”
“Ah, right.”
Pernille shook her head, annoyed.
In the outskirts of the Agzent Empire, during certain periods, monsters lacking food often attacked civilian homes. To prevent damage, the Imperial Family had sent Marquess Deckermand to the south.
“But recently, it’s been rare for monsters to come down to civilian homes. Has something happened in the south?”
“They say the Imperial Family has been holding back the army lately and not deploying them. It’s not just the south that’s not getting support. Other regions are experiencing the same thing. It’s a bit strange, but what can you do?”
Rosena’s complexion darkened with worry. If the Imperial Family didn’t dispatch extermination teams, the Leilia Barony would surely suffer unavoidable damage.
Pernille patted Rosena’s shoulder, telling her not to worry too much.
“Smile! It’s your big day. No high-level monsters appear near the barony, so it will be fine.”
“Okay.”
Seeing Rosena’s darkened expression, Pernille deliberately raised her tone and dramatically changed the subject.
“More importantly, Rosena. Do you know that you’re so famous in the Empire that no one doesn’t know you? It’s a complete uproar.”
Indeed, once the Agzent Daily published a detailed article on the future Grand Duchess from the Baltinart family, the social world was turned upside down.
Even if they were speculative articles, information published in the Agzent Daily often turned out to be true.
As such, their credibility was high, the nobles leaned towards believing it.
Of course, this time, the nobles unanimously said that the Agzent Daily’s report must be wrong. Most nobles’ reactions were like this:
“If not, then did the Grand Duke hit his head? I haven’t heard any news of him falling from a horse. Or is he about to die?”
“What? Are you serious? Is Grand Duke Baltinart crazy? Marriage aside, he proposed to a rural baron’s daughter I’ve never heard of? I guarantee it. Absolutely not. If that’s true, I’ll abandon my family name. I can even swear to it.”
These were mostly the words of unidentified nobles who had overlapped with Cassian during their academy days.
It couldn’t be confirmed whether they had actually abandoned their family names, but according to their oaths, dozens of nobles would have been demoted to commoners overnight.
They weren’t the only ones in an uproar. Nobles who remembered Rosena were also in the same boat.
“…Rosena Leilia? You don’t mean the one called a fool?”
It was unbelievable. Even looking at the wedding invitation with their own eyes, no one could believe it. Among them, several nobles turned pale and tried to deny reality. These were the so-called “bad” nobles who had bullied Rosena during her school days.
Social circles were turned upside down in many ways.
In contrast, the atmosphere among the imperial citizens was opposite to that of the nobles. The daily newspapers were busy proclaiming the marriage of a high-ranking Grand Duke and a rural baron’s daughter as the love of the century, and advertisements for plays featuring their story soon to be seen in theaters were put up.
And finally, the marriage of Cassian Baltinart and Rosena Leilia, which had caused all sorts of controversy, was taking place today.
“This is the most luxurious wedding in the history of the Empire. Probably no future wedding will break this record. And the former emperor is officiating, they say.”
“…What? Who’s coming?”
“The former emperor.”
“……”
“Wait, you didn’t know?”
Silence fell.
She hadn’t known. She really hadn’t known.
“I heard he finished his recuperation and rushed to the capital specifically for this wedding… I naturally assumed you knew.”
As time passed, Rosena’s expression hardened, and Pernille subtly closed her mouth.
Whatever it was, her reaction showed that it was an unagreed-upon detail.
‘…The former emperor is officiating?’
If the former emperor officiated, divorce was impossible. To be precise, divorce was technically possible in principle, but unless there was a truly grave reason, it would be rejected by the court.
What crazy judge would dare accept a divorce from a marriage officially recognized by the Imperial Family?
Unless Cassian himself filed for divorce, a divorce between the two would be impossible for life.
Then…
‘Does this mean divorce is out of the question now?!’
No, that couldn’t be it. Nobles like Cassian Baltinart never lost out in marriage. He must have sent a marriage proposal to a mere baronial family with divorce in mind. That means…
‘You never intended to let me ask for the divorce first, did you?! You fraud!’
Rosena felt a throbbing ache at the back of her head. He had been plotting such a thing behind her back all along. It was then.
“Rosena.”
“…Oh my, Your Grace has arrived! You two should talk it out, okay? Sort things out. I’ll be at the wedding hall!”
Pernille, who had been nervously watching, realized the seriousness of the situation, brightened at Cassian’s appearance and quickly exited the bridal waiting room.
Left alone, Rosena broke the instruction not to move alone in her wedding dress and abruptly stood up.
“Cassian. Don’t you have something to tell me?”
“What happened?”
“Do you think pretending not to know solved everything? Why didn’t you tell me that the person officiating today was His Majesty the Former Emperor? You fraud!”
Cassian, however, responded in a tone as casual as saying, “The weather’s nice today, isn’t it?” It went without saying that Rosena froze at his words.
“And Rosena, you didn’t tell me you couldn’t lie, either.”
Thump.
Rosena felt her heart had dropped to the floor.
Her trembled blue eyes stared at Cassian in disbelief. The shock caused Rosena’s hands to lose strength, and the bouquet dropped to the floor. Cassian, who had been calmly looking down at it, gently led Rosena back to the sofa.
“The ceremony will begin soon, so it would be best to calm yourself.”
Even as she was seated on the sofa, Rosena’s eyes were filled with confusion.
So, what exactly was going on right now? They say that when people are too shocked, they can’t think of anything. It wasn’t wrong. That’s how Rosena felt now. Her mind went completely blank, unable to think of anything but silently staring at Cassian.
Finally, after much thought, the words that came out of Rosena’s mouth were…
“…How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
This was the best question she could manage.
“If I had told you I knew, wouldn’t you have run away?”
“……”
“How heartbroken would I be if my bride ran away?”
More like his pride would have been hurt rather than his heart broken. Rosena warily retreated into the corner of the sofa.
“Our marriage is invalid. And there was no mention of asking His Majesty the Former Emperor to officiate. Why did you do that without consulting me?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“Of course not! If His Majesty the Former Emperor officiates…”
Cassian finished Rosena’s trailing words.
“Then divorce is out of the question?”
Cassian clicked his tongue as if he had expected this.
Rosena bit her lip.
She wasn’t sure how long he had known, but it wasn’t like she didn’t expect it. Cassian had been openly hinting at it, so it wasn’t like he didn’t know.
“I’ll let you know when I find out.”
She didn’t know that was what he meant. What he had said in the restaurant that day must have been a hint that he knew Rosena’s secret.
Rosena’s face turned pale, and she swallowed dryly.
Then how much did Cassian know? Did he possibly know everything, even that she was from the Divine Clan? Although it wasn’t widely known about the Divine Clan, he was a Grand Duke. Furthermore, he maintained a very close relationship with the imperial family.
‘No, no. That might be jumping to conclusions. Cassian doesn’t know that much yet.’
If Cassian had known precisely about the Divine Clan, Rosena would have been immediately executed. The Baron’s territory wouldn’t have been safe either, and the clan’s safety would have been jeopardized. The Imperial Family would never miss such a good opportunity.
“…H-how did you know? The fact that I can’t lie.”
“I wasn’t entirely certain. But Rosena, you just confirmed it for me.”
“Of course, since Rosena wishes for this fact not to be known, I intend to pretend not to know.”
“……”
“How is that possible?”
As expected, Cassian didn’t seem to know the full truth.
“Well, that doesn’t matter. I don’t know for what purpose you accepted this marriage.”
Cassian smiled and spoke to Rosena coldly.
“If you promise not to run away from me even if you achieve that purpose, I will keep your secret. That’s not such a bad deal, is it?”
Cassian Baltinart, with his mask partially removed, had a much colder expression than she had imagined. As he lightly kissed the back of Rosena’s hand, Cassian’s red eyes curved gently.
“Then I’ll be waiting in the wedding hall, Rosena.”
Rosena held the newly made fragrant bouquet in one hand and, on the other side, the hand of Baron Leilia, who had arrived precisely on time, as she entered the wedding hall.
Baron Leilia said with teary eyes,
“You’re so beautiful today, Rosena.”
“…Father.”
That’s not important right now. It feels like everything’s ruined.
Rosena felt her insides burning, but she smiled sweetly without a word. Baron Leilia nodded as if he understood.
“Oh, you must be nervous. I was like that too when I got married. So incredibly nervous.”
This wasn’t the time to reminisce about happy pasts. Rosena bit her lips in frustration and sighed deeply.
A quick glance at the wedding hall showed that all the influential nobles from the Agzent Empire seemed to be gathered.
At this rate, even if she ran away, her face would be known to everyone, and Cassian would catch her soon enough.
“Enter the bride!”
As the marching music began, the two held hands and entered the wedding hall. It was then that Rosena suddenly wondered.
‘Why hasn’t Father said anything about the Former Emperor officiating?’
No way.
“Father.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you already know who would be officiating the wedding?”
“……”
“Father.”
As Rosena pressed him sharply, Baron Laelia responded in a quiet voice, almost like ventriloquism.
“…Ahem. Wasn’t it agreed upon with the Grand Duke? I can only see fragmented scenes, and I don’t know the details. You know that.”
“No, it was not agreed upon. And a very big problem has come up.”
“Everything will be fine.”
Baron Leilia smiled faintly. However, to Rosena, it didn’t seem like things would be fine. Baron Leilia could only say such things because he didn’t know what Cassian had said when he barged into the bridal waiting room.
Kwak. She clenched her bouquet so tightly that the back of her hand turned white, and the bouquet trembled. She felt utterly betrayed and boiling inside. It was a blessing that her veil covered her face.
Look at Cassian Baltinart over there, smiling as if he were the happiest man in the world, looking at her.
‘Still, it’s a relief there’s a prenuptial agreement.’
In fact, there were many grounds for divorce even without the contract.
The Grand Duke’s family would need an heir to succeed Cassian, so if there was no news of an heir between the two for several years, the family would surely start talking.
‘Yes, let’s get kicked out instead.’
No matter how influential Cassian was, wouldn’t the family line have to continue?
Rosena was making plans that would be impossible if Cassian found out.
‘…No matter how much of a Cassian Baltinart he is, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about the succession issue.’
One step. One step.
Before she knew it, the two stood facing each other, and Cassian extended his hand.
“Rosena. Come here.”
Rosena released Baron Leilia’s hand and placed her hand on Cassian’s arm. Baron Leilia looked down at his empty hand, showing a strange expression for a moment. Then he quickly erased his expression, smiled at Rosena, and gestured for her to go.
Rosena reluctantly walked alongside Cassian. She looked up at the platform. There stood the unfamiliar Former Emperor, smiling with a contented expression.
“Hahahaha! The bride and groom are such a good match! I think I saw the Grand Duke when he was little, and now he’s all grown up and getting married, it’s truly a special feeling. The sky is so clear today in the Empire, which was once plagued by a long rainy season, so the two of you will surely live happily ever after!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Cassian smiled sweetly and replied. After that, the Former Emperor’s long congratulatory speech began.
How much time had passed?
“Do you, Rosena Leilia, swear to stay by his side in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
As silence descended around her, Rosena felt something strange and came to her senses.
“…Do you swear?”
“……”
“Bride?”
“……”
“Bride?”
As the murmuring around them grew louder, Cassian stepped forward.
“It seems Rosena is very nervous. We ask for your understanding, Your Majesty.”
“…Ahem, the bride seems nervous. Yes, it’s a wedding, so it’s understandable.”
“……”
“From this moment forward, I declare, in the name of the Agzent Imperial Family, that the two of you are husband and wife!”
Ding, ding.
The golden bells, celebrating the sacred marriage, rang clearly.
Was this what it meant for life to be over?
As she stared blankly at where the bells rang, Cassian whispered with amusement.
“I knew you couldn’t lie, but I didn’t expect it even in front of His Majesty the Former Emperor.”
“……”
“You won’t be able to deceive me your whole life, will you?”
This crazy bastard.
“How ecstatic would I be if the words ‘I love you’ came from your lips? I think I’ll die from bliss right there on the spot.”
Rosena barely managed to hold back a stream of curses.
And so began the start of their precarious married life.
