The wedding held in the imperial palace was nothing short of magnificent.
Fireworks lit up the entire capital from the night before, and the food generously distributed in the emperor’s name reached even the beggars on the streets. A grand festival celebrating the bride and groom was held in the central square.
The wedding hall, decorated like the heavens, was showered with magical rain of flowers, and thousands of birds flocked, chirping as if to offer their blessings, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
Yet, neither the bride nor the groom smiled. The only one smiling with satisfaction was the emperor—the bride’s father.
Lexius never once looked the bride in the eye. Her golden hair and blue eyes reminded him too much of the emperor.
The bride, too, showed no interest in him. Her eyes, empty and hollow, gave mechanical responses to the marriage vows.
The exchange of rings felt meaningless, and the wedding kiss was barely a brush.
“I hereby declare the marriage between Lexius von Ernhardt and Elice Kynensia officially valid.”
Finally, after a long and tedious ceremony, the pope officially proclaimed their union.
Soon, the flower-adorned carriage carrying the couple departed the palace and headed toward the square. The Imperial Knights lined the road before and behind, escorting them.
Crowds of citizens gathered along the streets to watch the parade.
Some, including children, cheered, but most faces were dark and uneasy.
The seventeen-year-old beautiful bride and the twenty-five-year-old handsome groom appeared a perfect match on the surface.
But everyone who understood the significance of this marriage knew what it truly meant—it meant that even the proud and unyielding House of Duke Ernhardt had finally bowed to the emperor’s pressure.
✦
Elice sat alone on the bed for over three hours, still wearing her wedding veil.
The ornate floral crown weighed heavily on her head, and the long, trailing veil clouded her vision. The tight corset, thick petticoats, and overly extravagant wedding dress all felt suffocating.
She wanted nothing more than to tear them off, but according to imperial custom, only the groom could touch these garments on the wedding night. And he hadn’t come, not even as midnight approached.
Lexius had remained by her side only until the parade. As soon as they arrived at the duchy estate, he disappeared without a word.
“Um… has there been any word from the Duke about when he’ll return?”
Unable to wait any longer, Elice finally opened the door and asked. A female knight who had been silently stationed outside, as if guarding her, stood there.
“There hasn’t. The Duke is a very busy man.”
“Do you think he’ll come tonight?”
“That’s not something I can answer.”
The knight responded curtly. It was obvious she didn’t want to converse with her.
“I see. May I ask your name?”
“Judel. Judel Hammerson.”
“Alright, Sir Judel. Could I ask you to bring me Cecil? She’s my maid from the palace.”
Elice spoke calmly. The cold treatment from the duke’s people was harsher than she’d expected, but after what her father had done, she couldn’t afford to be hurt by such things.
“…Understood.”
Judel left to fetch Cecil. The fact that she agreed to the request suggested this place was, at least, a bit more lenient than the imperial annex where Elice had been confined.
Unable to keep her eyes open, Elice collapsed onto the bed. She was exhausted after a day of nonstop wedding preparations that had begun at dawn.
It seemed wise to give up waiting for Lexius. At this point, it was clear he wouldn’t come.
Though part of her was relieved they wouldn’t consummate the marriage, another part of her felt fear.
“You must bear the Duke’s child. That is the only way to save that slave.”
Her father’s coercive voice echoed heavily in her mind.
If she bore a child, the child would be in danger. If she didn’t, Hadin’s life would be.
There was no answer to what she should do. Her insides felt like they were burning away.
She hadn’t hoped for much. She had only wanted to live—in the homeland of her mother, whom she had so longed to know. Just to live freely, if only at the end.
That’s why she ran away with Hadin, certain they would never be caught. They had spent a full year preparing.
She had liquidated all her assets—jewelry, dresses, everything—to invest in expensive artifacts: ones for teleportation, concealment, tracking erasure, even protection from magical beasts.
Still unsatisfied, she even hired a high-ranking mage.
But not even a month had passed before she was captured by knights sent by the emperor—before she even got close to her mother’s homeland.
Only then did she realize, to her bones, that everything had been in the emperor’s grasp all along.
Now, all she felt was regret. Had she never tried to escape, Hadin wouldn’t be suffering so terribly.
Click. The door opened. It seemed Cecil had arrived.
Elice sighed and tried to collect her thoughts. Just knowing Cecil was nearby made her feel a bit lighter.
“Cecil… help me take this off. It’s so heavy, I feel like I’m dying.”
Too tired to open her eyes, she barely moved her lips. Her body felt like soaked cotton, and her eyelids wouldn’t lift.
No response came. Instead, the floral crown was removed, followed by the heavy veil.
With the weight on her head gone, she could finally breathe a little.
“I don’t think the marriage will be consummated anyway. The Duke couldn’t care less. So how am I supposed to have a child?”
She muttered bitterly. Cecil was the only one she could say such things to.
Suddenly, the hands undoing her dress buttons stopped. The air in the room felt cold—was it just her imagination?
“A child, huh. So that’s what this is about.”
A rough, heavy male voice answered.
Elice’s eyes flew open in shock. It wasn’t Cecil.
In front of her stood Lexius—with pitch-black hair and blazing red eyes.
“D-Duke…”
She had seen him from a distance a few times, but this was the first time up close. Even during the ceremony, he had been obscured by her veil.
The tall man had a cold, overwhelming presence. Broad shoulders, towering height, sharp jawline and piercing gaze—he exuded a dangerous aura.
He was undoubtedly the most handsome man in the Empire, but just meeting his eyes made her entire body shrink back.
Elice forced herself upright and sat away from him.
Though she had done nothing wrong, the way he stared made her feel small.
“…Are you going to consummate the marriage?”
She asked with great difficulty. She feared not just the experience itself, but this man—she felt he might snap her neck if she did anything to offend him.
“Isn’t it a little laughable to talk about a wedding night? I hear you were rolling around with a slave not too long ago.”
Lexius scoffed, his laugh bitter and cruel.
“T-That’s just a rumor. Yes, I ran away with Hadin, but we weren’t like that…”
Elice tried to explain, but Lexius clearly didn’t intend to listen. His cold glare made her voice tremble.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the stomach to roll in bed with a woman a slave has tasted. And I’m not stupid enough to raise another man’s child as my own.”
Elice couldn’t immediately grasp what he meant. She knew there were rumors of her running off with Hadin, but she hadn’t expected such a serious misunderstanding.
“Another man’s child? That’s absurd. Nothing like that happened—”
She tried to protest, but the sheer menace in his face silenced her.
“Didn’t you just say you wanted to have a child? Were you planning to sleep with me once and pretend it was mine?”
Lexius’s voice was sharp and full of accusation. He clearly believed she was already pregnant.
“Hadin and I were never like that. I’m not pregnant. You can have a physician check—”
“Oh, I’m sure your pregnancy can be hidden with the emperor’s dark magic.”
“Why won’t you believe me? I’m not some wicked woman! Whatever you’ve heard, I’ve done nothing shameful!”
Elice shouted in frustration. She had endured countless rumors and slander, telling herself it didn’t matter as long as she knew the truth.
The palace was full of gossipers, and the foreign-born princess was an easy target.
But at least her husband should believe her—especially since she needed to bear his child.
Lexius laughed coldly, his eyes now filled not with hatred, but pity.
“I know too much to believe you. Word is, you visited the slave in the dungeons and shared a passionate kiss. Do I need to bring a witness to make it real for you?”
Elice stiffened. So that knight who led her to Hadin had spread the story.
“T-There were circumstances…”
Unable to deny the truth, she hung her head in silence.
The kiss had served another purpose—one that could never be revealed. If Lexius knew the truth, he would try to exploit her, maybe even worse than the emperor.
“Don’t bother hiding it, princess. I expected as much when they forced this marriage on me.”
Lexius scoffed. In his eyes, she was already a deceitful, untrustworthy woman.
Elice squeezed her eyes shut, resigned.
She should have known there was no place for her in this empire. Why had she ever expected anything from him?
“Why did you accept this marriage at all, if you can’t even trust me?”
She snapped bitterly. Lexius responded coldly:
“We only had a ceremony. Don’t act like you’re actually my wife. Get rid of that child and live like a dead woman. If I ever hear that it’s mine, I might strangle you myself.”
His tone was calm, but the words were chilling.
Elice said nothing more. She closed her mouth tightly. A deep despair pulled her down like quicksand.
Just before leaving, Lexius turned back with a face as cold as ice.
“If your goal was to utterly humiliate me, then congratulations. You couldn’t have done a better job.”
His voice stabbed into her like a knife. The door slammed shut.
That was the last conversation she had with her husband.
And three years passed.
