Chapter 011
There was only one person who could be addressed as “Lord” here.
As the door opened and Sioden entered, Paiden greeted him with a haughty and exaggerated gesture. Sioden passed by him as if he were invisible and approached me.
He glanced around at the luxury items scattered everywhere and asked, “Did you live with such things in the South?”
Unlike the last time I saw him, his voice was not imbued with coldness. It seemed he was genuinely curious rather than emotional.
As if he were collecting some kind of information.
It was then that Paiden abruptly interjected.
“She used things much better than this.”
Sioden glanced back at him. The warmth in his gaze, which had been present when we first met, was now icy.
“The vassal of Rowen is more arrogant than he appears. He thinks he deserves to be respected by me.”
Although Sioden was around my age, he was the Duke of Raslet. He held a position similar to that of my father, not Iswen or Damian.
Paiden was in a position where he could hardly raise his head in front of my father.
It was an insult to intervene in Sioden’s respectful words, which were intended for me, and he would have no excuse if he were thrown out of this place.
“It’s strange to boldly say you brought something inferior to what you usually use as a dowry.”
“…….”
“Did the Duke of Rowen send a vassal who is lacking for the marriage of his cherished daughter?”
Paiden’s complexion immediately turned pale. He bowed his head deeply.
“That’s not what I meant; it seems the lady finds it difficult to respond…”
Without listening to any more of his words, Sioden turned away.
To be honest, seeing Paiden, who had been annoying me all along, floundering like this was quite satisfying.
But the moment Sioden’s deep blue gaze turned toward me, I couldn’t help but think that to him, Paiden and I must look the same.
Sioden, tense, briefly looked down at my stiff expression and said, “You don’t look well.”
“…….”
“The North is not as barren as you think. I can guarantee a standard of living similar to what you enjoyed in the capital, so there’s no need for that expression.”
Taken aback since that wasn’t what I meant, I raised my gaze, but Sioden’s face showed little difference from when he dealt with Paiden.
“Since she’s a cherished daughter, I should at least do that for her.”
With those final words, Sioden turned his back.
Only after the sound of the door closing did Paiden lift his head and approach, trying to regain his composure.
“It seems he is aware of which family he is marrying into.”
But that wasn’t what Sioden intended.
If it was a warning or a sneer suggesting that I shouldn’t forget I was a Rowen, perhaps that would make sense.
‘If Raslet showed you any favor, it was merely a fleeting interest for a night. Under the name of Rowen, it will leave no trace.’
Iswen’s words were not wrong.
The man who had been kind on the night of the harvest festival no longer existed in front of the Duke of Rowen.
It should have been obvious, but why did it hurt as if something precious had been taken from me?
Before I could find the reason, the wedding day approached.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
In the end, before entering the brilliantly decorated banquet hall as per my father’s orders, I looked into the mirror in the waiting room. More than the hair accessories or makeup, the dress caught my eye.
The wedding dress chosen with Iswen was made of white silk, in vogue in the capital and the South. It matched well with the shining gold thread, but it was ill-suited for the Northern weather.
Although Lathilde had added a lining, my shoulders were fully exposed, and there was no way it wouldn’t be cold.
I had also ordered an outer garment to match the dress, but for some reason, it did not arrive with the procession.
When I asked the servants from Rowen about it, the answer was always the same.
“The outer garment was taken by the young lord.”
Since Iswen had no reason to take my clothes, I was suspicious.
However, no matter how much I probed, they did not provide any further information.
It was then that I heard a knock on the waiting room door.
“Come in.”
“Miss.”
“Apple.”
Apple’s face was filled with concern. I understood what that expression meant.
Apple was worried about me.
She had always treated me that way. More precious than anything else. As if she wouldn’t trade me for a fortune.
Meanwhile, my family was busy weighing their own interests, selling me off here and there.
Approaching me with a worried expression, Apple knelt and took my hand. Since she wasn’t wearing gloves, she rubbed my exposed wrist. A bit of warmth spread.
Looking up at me, Apple said, “……I won’t give you any blessings or congratulations for the wedding. Others have probably done that enough already.”
It was true. I had received congratulatory letters for the wedding from all directions, to the point of feeling sick of it.
Although they were all empty words.
Still, I didn’t want Apple to bless this marriage. I hoped she would give me something genuine, whatever it might be. Whether it was worry or lament.
As long as it was her true feelings, I would gladly accept it.
However, Apple did not bring up any of the things I had anticipated.
She whispered while rubbing my skin, sending warmth through me.
“Even if this marriage doesn’t go well, I will always be by your side.”
“…….”
“I cherish you more than anything in the world. No matter how others speak or act, that is an unchanging truth.”
Her words, filled with sincerity, were so warm that I felt my mouth freeze, as if I had swallowed a spark.
At that moment, Apple lowered her head. At the same time, a drop of water fell onto my hand.
Before I could grasp what it meant, I heard a knock on the door.
“Your Highness, it’s time to come out.”
As I instinctively turned my gaze toward the sound, I saw Apple already rising from her seat with a composed expression.
“Please go, Miss.”
She took a step back.
Apple could not attend my wedding.
Officially, it was because she was unwell, but the real reason was that my father had not permitted it.
The excuse was that, being of commoner descent, she might make a mistake in an important setting, but since becoming my maid, Apple had never once erred in etiquette.
Her commoner status was known only to a few from Rowen.
My father simply wanted to demonstrate that he could exert influence even while I was with Raslet.
I felt sorry for Apple, but I thought that this was better.
It was a marriage that someone who truly cared for me could not celebrate.
Apple was straightforward and deep, so even if she didn’t show it on the surface, she would be upset for a long time.
…Like the single tear that had fallen onto my hand.
Leaving Apple behind, who might now be twisting her expression in sorrow, I approached the opening door.
No matter what fate awaited me outside, I had to move forward.
It was the only way to keep Apple, even just in spirit, with me.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
When I entered the ceremony hall, the hand that held mine was not Paiden’s but a distant relative from Rowen.
Although Paiden had been my father’s long-time advisor, he could not receive the treatment of a blood relative.
He walked with his head held high, riding on my father’s coattails, but if my father had to choose between him and an actual relative in an official setting, he would undoubtedly choose the relative.
The nobles of the Empire lived this way, prioritizing bloodlines and status. It was not out of love or belonging, but rather a means to tighten leashes on one another and monopolize privileges.
A distant relative, whose face I barely remembered, leaned slightly toward me before entering the banquet hall and whispered softly.
“What the young master said to convey…”
I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say. Without turning my head, I merely moved my lips to respond.
“Don’t expect anything, right?”
Iswen had told me just before I boarded the carriage to Raslet.
“Don’t expect anything from that marriage, lella.”
I didn’t want to hear that from a boy who looked to be around my age again.
“I’ve already heard it.”
The young, unfamiliar, distant relative looked stunned, his lips moving in surprise, but before he could say anything, the doors to the banquet hall opened.
With a creaking sound, the wedding hall revealed itself, just as opulent as I had imagined, but the guests’ gazes were sharper than I had anticipated.
Countless eyes scrutinized me. Some looked like they had much to say, their lips moving, while others were so displeased they seemed to be clenching their jaws tightly.
The guests from Rowen were not much different.
Few could make it all the way to the North, so most of Rowen’s guests were from the main family, all of whom were my father’s eyes and ears.
As I walked as calmly as possible down the carpet that divided them, I felt a burning gaze from somewhere.
Sezna, seated among the groom’s guests, was glaring at me.
I hesitated under the weight of that hostile gaze, and when I met Merwen’s eyes beside her, he immediately brightened and smiled widely.
At the end of the carpet stood Sioden, with his back turned. Opposite him was one of the elderly elders of Raslet, who was to officiate. Originally, it was a role meant for the previous Duke of Raslet, but he was absent, so this elder stood in.
As we stood in line according to the ceremony’s order, reciting the marriage vows in the language of the magical era, Sioden kept his gaze fixed ahead.
Reciting promises of eternal love and trust in a language that had now become dead, I thought this moment was contradictory.
After all, there could be no love or trust in this marriage.
Perhaps that was why we were swearing in a dead language. Just as that thought crossed my mind, the officiant spoke.
“With the vows complete, we shall now share the kiss of the oath.”
