Chapter 1.
The Groom Has Changed
Pitch-black darkness blanketed the mansion of Marquis Wuzkal of the Harun Empire.
Creak.
Breaking the silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop, a door at the far west end of the second floor cautiously opened.
“Lady Lea, there’s no one outside.”
Millie, my maid, peeked carefully outside the door, then stepped out with a bag in hand.
I followed behind, also carrying a bag and pulling my black hood over my head, treading softly.
As the door shut quietly behind us, Millie and I moved swiftly down the second-floor hallway, descending the western staircase to the first floor.
In our haste, my hood slipped off, revealing silky platinum hair in the darkness. But I was too tense to notice.
Millie glanced back at me—and nearly screamed.
“Gasp!!”
“Shhh, Millie, quiet!!”
I quickly covered her mouth with my palm.
“S-Sorry, my lady. Please put your hood back on. Your hair’s like a lit candle in the dark—it stands out too much.”
Realizing what happened, I hurriedly pulled the hood back over my head. Just like that, we melted back into the shadows.
“Wait! What’s that sound?”
Suddenly, voices murmured near the front entrance. Millie and I quickly ducked under the stairs.
Moments later, the front door opened, and the butler, Juan—his clothes in disarray—rushed up the central staircase toward the marquis and marchioness’s bedroom.
“Lady Lea, what’s going on?”
“No idea. But we need to get out of here, fast…”
Just then, the second-floor hallway lit up, and a commotion broke out.
“Juan, are you saying he really came at this hour?”
“Yes, Marquis. I was just as shocked.”
My father, Marquis Derek Wuzkal’s urgent voice reached my ears—and my face drained of color.
If we were caught now, it was all over!
Hearing the Marquis and Juan descending the stairs, my nerves kicked into overdrive. I pulled Millie toward the nearest hall door and slipped inside.
“Lady Lea, who could’ve arrived at this hour?”
“I don’t know, but they’re definitely not in their right mind.”
I frowned. It was already a mess for our plan to go off the rails this early…
“If we’re too late, Young Master Robbie will get worried.”
“Not much we can do. Whoever it is, it’s late—they’ll be off to bed soon. Let’s wait until things quiet down. Robbie can wait a little.”
While Millie pressed her ear to the door to listen for movement, I looked around the room we’d slipped into.
Under the soft moonlight filtering through the window, the curtains, lighting, and paintings adorning the walls were more elegant than any other room in the mansion.
“Millie, what is this place? It’s so spacious and lavish.”
As the Marquis’s illegitimate daughter, I’d lived in this mansion for 12 years since the age of eight.
But because of pressure from the Marchioness and my half-sister Hayley, my movements had always been restricted to the far western room on the second floor.
I wasn’t allowed to eat meals with the family except on rare occasions, and I’d only been to the main drawing room twice. So this luxurious room felt both unfamiliar and impressive.
“Oh, this is the VIP guest room. This morning the Marchioness had all the servants cleaning it like crazy.”
Millie replied, still glued to the door.
“Really?”
“Yes. She was going on and on about the King of Pritan arriving in five days—oh!!”
Millie suddenly bit her lip and glanced at me nervously. My expression had frozen the moment she mentioned the King of Pritan.
Just then, the door burst open, and the lights flicked on.
“Eep!!”
Millie, standing close to the door, stumbled back and almost fell—but swiftly ducked behind the door.
“The Wuzkal estate is usually better organized than this, but Your Majesty’s unexpected arrival left us unprepared. Please, right this way.”
Forcing a sweet smile and suppressing his inner frustration, the Marquis stepped into the room, guiding his guest.
Alongside him came two large men, followed by servants and maids.
I froze like a deer in headlights, unable to hide in time.
The rugged man beside the Marquis was quite large, but the man next to him was even taller—radiating such overpowering presence that I instinctively averted my gaze.
Could that be… the King of Pritan?
With sharp features, pale skin that had likely never seen sunlight, and cold, detached eyes, he looked utterly ruthless. And yet…
He’s… incredibly handsome!!
Even in this tense moment, his unreal good looks left a deep impression.
Is he the “face-god” I’ve been searching for? Do I need to rethink my entire escape plan?
As a whirlwind of thoughts rushed through my mind, his cold gaze suddenly locked on me, and a shiver ran down my spine.
“We’ll have the bedroom prepared shortly, so if you would please wait here… Hmm? Who’s that?”
The Marquis’s courteous tone turned sharp when his eyes landed on me, standing in the middle of the room like a statue.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
“It’s me, Marquis.”
Resigned, I slowly lowered my hood.
As my soft platinum hair and pale face came into view, the Marquis’s expression twisted in confusion.
“Lea? What on earth are you doing—”
At that moment, the guest room entrance stirred again. The Marchioness and my sister Hayley, now dressed in nightgowns, came hurrying in.
“Marquis, you’re making our honored guests stand—wait, why is she here dressed like that?”
Only now did the Marquis really examine me.
A long black cloak covered me down to the knees, and underneath was an outfit clearly meant for going out. Beside me sat a travel bag.
Now everyone in the room was staring at me.
“Well, the thing is…”
I struggled to remain calm, but my eyes twitched uncontrollably. How was I supposed to explain this mess?
*****
This entire disaster started a month ago, the day the Marquis and Marchioness summoned me to the family’s private drawing room.
In my twelve years at the mansion, that had never happened before.
I had always eaten separately in my small room with Millie and was treated like a shadow. I wasn’t even allowed to call the Marquis “Father.”
Then, out of nowhere, they told me I was to marry the Emperor.
“Imagine! His Majesty has chosen you as his twelfth consort. What an honor!”
The Marchioness clapped with joy.
Except… the Emperor was sixty-three years old. Damn it!
Though the Wuzkal estate appeared prosperous, recent investment failures had left us drowning in debt.
The Marquis and Marchioness pinned all their hopes on my marriage, gambling that my looks would rescue them.
But I had no intention of helping them. I couldn’t—because the Emperor didn’t match Mom’s final wish for my future husband.
I lived with my mother in the slums until I was eight. Beautiful and mysterious, she raised me by herself, rejecting all offers of help from men and enduring all manner of hardships.
Two days before the Marquis came to claim me as his daughter, my mother succumbed to the illness that had plagued her for years.
Her final words were choked with blood—but clear enough.
“Your husband must… cough… be… re-really… good-looking… You must be happy, Lea…”
Unable to close her eyes, she died with tears in her eyes and my small hand in hers.
“Mom! Please don’t die!”
I was only eight, and I didn’t understand why Mom’s dying wish was that my husband be “face-god-level handsome.” But I never forgot it.
Even if her voice was hoarse, those four words burned into my memory.
So there was no way I could marry that old, wrinkled Emperor.
I pretended to agree in front of the Marquis but immediately began planning my escape. I spent the next month quietly gathering funds.
Then—this morning—they summoned me again.
Something felt off. And I was right.
“Marquis… are you saying my groom has changed? Just like that?”
I stared at him in disbelief. He couldn’t meet my eyes.
The Marchioness fanned herself nonchalantly.
“Well, the Emperor has decided to bestow you upon someone else. What can we do? You must obey.”
Her words said one thing, but her cheerful expression said something else entirely.
“You’ve heard of the Pritan Kingdom, haven’t you? The only land that’s ever tamed the ferocious Dark Dragon. You’ll be Queen of such a mighty realm. Isn’t that glorious?”
Worried I might protest, the Marquis began praising Pritan to the skies.
Yes, they were powerful. They had recently conquered several neighboring nations. But!
It was a land of eternal winter, frozen nine months of the year—and the King of Pritan was widely known as…
While I sat stunned, my sister Hayley smirked and added gleefully:
“Well, they don’t call him the ‘Bloodthirsty Madman of War’ for nothing. All thanks to their unmatched courage.”
She twirled her perfect brown curls, clearly waiting for me to burst into tears. But I wasn’t about to take her bait.
Sure, my groom changed from a wrinkled Emperor to a warmonger. But that didn’t matter.
If the wedding was postponed, that gave me more time to escape.
Determined to stay positive, I smiled innocently and said:
“A queen, huh? Wow~ Just imagining the dresses and jewelry makes my heart race! When’s the wedding?”
Relieved by my reaction, the Marquis’s tense shoulders eased.
“It’ll be held in Pritan. Regretfully, we won’t be able to attend.”
I pouted.
“Oh no~ You’ll miss my wedding? How tragic!”
“The carriage from Pritan will arrive in five days. You’ll leave then.”
“Wait—five days?!”
I gaped in shock.
