51. An Exciting Wedding?

 Daphne looked down at her throbbing arm. The pain felt like it would leave a bruise soon.

‘I’m already a weirdo who reincarnated in a novel, so who’s to say he isn’t the same?’

When she thought about it that way, her head ached strangely. The fact that the man who had been following her around turned out to be in a similar situation.

Daphne looked straight at Celestian. It felt like knowing something she didn’t want to know.

She couldn’t understand why the man who had only been following Psyche until now was desperately clinging to Daphne’s side.

‘How much does he know? Why is he telling me this? Does he feel something different about my relationship with Psyche from what he’s heard?’

Celestian still couldn’t answer Daphne’s question. Being practically pinned against a narrow corridor with a large man whose temperature was hot made her feel warm quickly.

‘Does he think if he keeps me alive and I speak well of him, Psyche will come to him? Still?’

A few words he had muttered under the influence of alcohol last night flashed through Daphne’s mind. Things like how he shouldn’t have let her live if she remembered, and such.

Daphne decided to think positively. That it was ‘gratitude for sparing her life.’ She patted his shoulder. Then she added softly, as if to reassure him.

“Cele, I won’t die. At least not as crocodile food.”

When Daphne spoke casually, Celestian’s face turned pale.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been trying not to.”

“Daphne, what I mean is…”

Daphne raised her hand, refusing to listen to his next words. From the moment she realized she was different, until now, she had believed everything would be perfect once Psyche’s wedding was over.

She still wanted to leave forever, away from the tiresome things where she had to be written as ‘the villainess only for the female lead’ in the right place at the right time.

“Cele, do you perhaps have prophetic dreams?”

“What?”

“Or can you see the future? Something like that?”

Or maybe he died once and returned to a certain moment, knowing all of this situation.

“Whatever you know is all from a novel, a novel. Written somewhere. Or maybe dreams.”

“Novel? Dreams?”

Daphne thought that what she just thought and said might sound very absurd and crazy.

“Haha, a novel? Everything I know……”

Celestian laughed once in disbelief, then raised his hand toward Daphne’s neck. His mint-green eyes were chilling. Daphne grabbed his hand that felt hot to the touch.

He also held Daphne’s hand tightly. As if it were a lifeline.

“If this is a novel and a dream like you say, why doesn’t it end? Why do I still have to be treated like a madman by you?”

‘He says still, again.’

In the novel, the only connection between ‘Celestian’ and ‘Daphne’ was bizarre situations with ‘Psyche’ between them.

Situations where ‘Daphne’ grabbed ‘Psyche’s’ hair, or slapped her face, or used her power to humiliate her in front of people.

Therefore, ‘Celestian’ had done nothing wrong to ‘Daphne.’

‘Even in all the time I’ve lived outside the novel, he hasn’t done anything wrong to me.’

His apologizing, staying by her side like this as if protecting her, acting desperately in love — it was all nonsense.

Daphne continued to feel tingles where his hands had touched.

‘The ending hasn’t come because Romeo and Psyche haven’t married yet.’

Daphne tried to maintain a calm face.

“When did I treat you like a madman? Rich people, they see that kind of thing a lot at the Geneva fortune-teller’s. They say you’ll die young if you live like that, you’ll be comfortable if you live like this.”

Daphne had completely avoided such places for fear of hearing nonsense like ‘you don’t belong in this world.’

“So.”

“I don’t believe in that stuff. But I’m going to live long. They say you live long if you get cursed a lot.”

Once again, the long light flickered.

Celestian Teriosa, whom she thought she knew everything about, had turned into a puzzle without an exit point. Daphne frowned and tried once again to remember the ‘novel she had read.’

However, if she remembered every detail of the novel she read in her previous life, Daphne would have already entered the Empire’s prestigious academy and made a name for herself instead of doing business here.

Celestian wore a strange expression.

Whether he wanted to be angry or cry……

‘He seems sad.’

At any rate, it wasn’t a happy expression.

“And what does my death have to do with you, Cele? If I die, you’ll be free.”

Daphne gently added as she raised her cold hand near the man’s reddened eyes.

“Free? Me? That’s impossible.”

Celestian pulled his head back. His narrowed eyebrows suggested he was openly irritated.

“It’s okay, Celestian. I don’t know why you’re acting like this or what’s going on. But you don’t have to come looking for me barefoot like this.”

Daphne had hundreds of thousands of things she wanted to ask Celestian. What exactly, and why he was doing this. What effect she had on him that made him react to her every action.

However, some instinct of Daphne’s preferred avoidance over confrontation.

—Because Psyche will be sad if you die.

‘Ah, right. I almost had the wrong idea.’

Daphne glanced at him sideways and hung her head low. One side of her chest ached unbearably. Nothing would have been for her sake.

Just like everyone else who had been connected to Daphne.

“Daphne!”

At the familiar voice, both Daphne and Celestian’s gazes turned simultaneously. It was Iel in a light blue dress. She seemed to have come looking for Daphne herself, who hadn’t returned for over thirty minutes.

She kept looking around as she walked this way, apparently intrigued by the guest room corridor that had a distinctly different atmosphere from other floors.

“It’s been a while, Your Grace. I’m not sure if you’ll remember, but I’m Iel Algeste.”

Celestian gave a perfunctory bow and turned his head. Iel didn’t seem to mind particularly as she stood maintaining a certain distance. Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously and looked back and forth between Daphne and Celestian.

“Why are you looking at me like that. No, why did you come?”

“It’s been over an hour, Daphne.”

“Already?”

“Exactly thirty minutes, but… I was worried something had happened, but here you are having a date in such a gloomy place. Did I interrupt?”

Before explaining that it was a misunderstanding, Daphne objectively reviewed the situation again. While the corridor itself was narrow, their bodies were pressed together without any proper distance between them.

Celestian’s already red eyes were very red, and Daphne’s face was burning hot. It was bound to cause misunderstandings from anyone’s perspective. It was fortunate that Iel was the witness.

“But why are you barefoot?”

Iel added curiously. Daphne and Celestian’s gazes moved downward at the same speed. Daphne laughed awkwardly and covered his feet with the hem of her long dress.

“I hid his shoes so he couldn’t run away.”

“Oh my, you’re really something.” 

 * * *

 An awkward atmosphere continued to flow between the two as they headed to the wedding hall. Daphne kept glancing sideways at the tall man standing beside her.

He kept staring straight ahead without looking at Daphne once.

While Daphne generally enjoyed gossip, she was reluctant to hear secrets others had kept hidden. The reason was simple.

‘Because it’s burdensome.’

Iel had decorated Celestian beautifully as promised. Beautiful enough to be burdensome. It was a bit disappointing that the suit was in a completely different style, not matching hers like a couple.

Celestian kept fidgeting with his white silk gloves, apparently not fitting well.

The invited guests waited for the wedding to begin with excited expressions. Daphne also tried to enter the venue decorated with white diamonds along with Celestian.

“Miss Beaucater.”

“Ah, again?”

Daphne frowned at the two people blocking her path. It was the soldier she had seen in the engine room and Romeo’s familiar aide.

Celestian’s arm quickly touched her side. Daphne linked arms with that arm and pretended to be affectionate, leaning her head toward his shoulder.

“What, are you telling me not to go in again?”

“Please go in. However, the person next to you cannot.”

“He’s Grand Duke Teriosa.”

The aide ignored Daphne’s opinion and spoke plainly.

“A traitor cannot participate in the ceremony. I believe this is common sense.”

It was something Daphne had to agree with. Though they had only exchanged a few words, she could feel gazes quickly gathering in their direction.

Daphne grabbed Celestian’s arm. And after letting out a very small sigh, she said.

“Then I’ll just leave too.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince wishes for Miss Beaucater to attend.”

The soldier said. Daphne looked back and forth between the two with an expression that said ‘what do you want me to do?’ The aide handed her a small note.

It was torn from the corner of the paper used during the Crown Prince’s written duties.

<Beyond my authority.

You should see the end of the contract in person.>