Prologue …
The wedding of Helena Winston and Benjamin Isfearn was as splendid and elegant as befits the names of two prestigious families.
Though the reality behind the marriage was completely different from its outward appearance.
The ceremony was held on the Winston family estate, Hodlin.
Following long-standing tradition, Helena’s father, Count Adrian Winston, hosted a three-day celebration to commemorate his daughter’s wedding.
The entire town was filled with the scent of orange blossoms, and maidens in pristine white aprons, grazing in the grass, emerged into the square to dance.
The celebrations were boisterous, yet the wedding held in the Winston estate maintained a more solemn and dignified atmosphere.
A man with long, black hair neatly swept back, dressed in formal wedding attire, read aloud the marriage vows first.
“…As the head of the esteemed Isfearn family, managers of the great Barwood estate, I vow before God and these honored families that, as wise and prudent husband and wife, we shall move forward as partners whose bodies and souls are united.”
It was a sunny afternoon, and the man read the vows inside the beautifully decorated ceremony hall.
Yet, for some reason, he looked like a dark beast lurking in a forest, waiting for its prey.
With pale skin almost unnaturally cold, piercing crimson eyes, and a muscular, predatory physique that exuded raw power merely by standing, he was a dangerously beautiful young man.
This man, who would become Helena’s husband after this ceremony, was Benjamin Isfearn.
After finishing the vows, Benjamin extended the marriage document to his bride with a courtesy so formal it felt distant, even bordering on insulting.
“…”
However, Helena did not take it.
Her wavy auburn hair shimmered beneath her veil, and she wore a pure white dress symbolizing her status as bride—but she did not want to marry the man before her, not even a little.
Helena lifted her emerald-green eyes and glared at the hand that extended the marriage document.
“Crazy bastard.”
For some reason, she thought she could smell the metallic scent of blood from his hand, and she wrinkled her nose without realizing it.
Then Benjamin spoke again.
“Helena.”
His calm, emotionless voice made her chest tighten.
“Take it.”
Helena took a deep breath and turned her gaze slightly to the side.
Her family—the Winston household—watched her with expressions of worry and expectation.
Feeling the weight of their gazes, Helena breathed deeply once more.
It’s too late to turn back now.
There was no going back.
Slowly, Helena reached out her hand.
She received the marriage document from Benjamin as if she were gathering shards of broken glass in her palm.
Her lips trembled once, then began to move.
“I, Helena Winston… take you, Benjamin Isfearn… as my husband.”
As she spoke the first line of the vows, a flood of emotions passed through her.
Until now, she had never thought her own position was particularly fortunate.
But at that moment, she realized how happy she had truly been.
She glanced briefly at her father, Adrian Winston.
A man she had thought too soft to rely upon—but once freed from his shadow, she realized it was his warm love that shaped her into who she was.
Her eyes then met those of her stepmother, Mia Winston.
Just yesterday, they had quarreled, yet now the thought that she would have to go so far away that even such disputes would be impossible pained Helena.
She had fought and hated her stepmother many times, yet there was a bond in the struggle.
Even now, Mia was the only one in the Winston household shedding tears.
And what of her younger half-siblings, who clung to her despite being pushed away, calling for their sister, smearing their noses on her skirts?
Would there ever be anyone else in her life to give her such blind love again?
And her friends, now hard to see—people who had seemed trivial when absent, yet occupied such a large part of her life.
“I am happier that the life I will live with you ahead is longer than the days I did not know you.”
She had been naive and arrogant.
“I will always respect you… and be your loving wife.”
As Helena read this far, she bit the inside of her cheek at the word “love.”
She bit down hard enough that a loud crunch could be heard.
It wasn’t just the sound. Pain tore through the flesh inside her mouth, and a metallic, bloody taste filled her tongue.
Benjamin called to her then.
“Helena.”
She glared at him with burning eyes.
“You little….”
Her gaze carried hatred so intense it could kill—or so much that she wished it could. But Benjamin’s lips curved into a meaningful smile in response.
“Thank you.”
Then, slowly, he lifted his hand—not just to touch, but to gently stroke Helena’s cheek.
As if handling a treasure, Benjamin caressed her cheek and jaw with care, speaking softly:
“I too will love only you for the rest of my life.”
At his whispered words, Helena almost flung the large bouquet she was holding into his face.
In her heated vision, Benjamin’s hand appeared.
On his white gloves, smudged red blood droplets were clearly visible.
Benjamin’s eyes gleamed with something unusual as he noticed the blood, and he slightly licked his lips as if tasting it.
It was a fleeting movement, too subtle for anyone to notice—but Helena saw it.
“This insane bastard.”
And Benjamin knew she saw it.
His crimson eyes, glistening like glass, traced her down.
The cold, animalistic gaze without even a shadow of emotion sent shivers across her entire body.
“Focus, Helena.”
She turned back to the marriage document.
The wedding was irrevocable anyway.
“Benjamin Isfearn, you might think everything is under your control now. But there’s one thing you don’t know—I am Helena Winston. Let’s see what happens.”
Steeling herself, she found that she could read even a hundred pages of this meaningless vow with zeal.
Helena read the marriage vows with the intensity of one declaring war:
“…As the head of the esteemed Isfearn family, managers of the great Barwood estate, I vow before God and these honored families that, as wise and prudent husband and wife, we shall move forward as partners whose bodies and souls are united.”
When she finished reading, the priest spoke.
“By this, I declare before God that these two are now husband and wife.”
