* * *

Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, it was the day before the wedding.

Ines was still spending a leisurely day, of course. Since Marisa was directing all the preparations, there was nothing for Ines to do until the day of the ceremony itself.

“……It’s already tomorrow.”

“Ugh, it’s not even my wedding and I’m already nervous. Are you nervous too, Your Highness?”

Cecile asked when Ines murmured while looking out the window.

“I am, a little.”

Ines nodded readily.

“Tomorrow, Your Highness will be the most beautiful bride in the world!”

“……You think far too highly of me.”

“Because it’s true! I bet Grand Duke Killian will be absolutely stunned when he sees you!”

The nervousness was genuine.

Sadly, going through the same wedding a second time did not make the heart any calmer.

If anything, she was more nervous, because the feelings she brought to this wedding were different. The first time, it had been nothing but tension. This time, she was marrying someone she loved.

It felt rather shameless to be this excited alone about a wedding that Killian would not want, but it was a feeling she would keep to herself and never show. Since returning to life, she had never once entertained the undeserving thought of confessing her feelings. So at least letting her heart flutter quietly on its own should be allowed.

But there was one more reason the thought of the “wedding” left Ines’s heart unsettled.

After sending Cecile away with the excuse of feeling a little sleepy, Ines pressed her hand against her chest, where her heart was pounding with instinctive dread.

‘……There’s no other way. I’ll have to drink it all myself.’

The weddings of the Cassian Empire held a tradition where the bride and groom each took a sip of holy water.

How important that tradition was could be measured by the fact that even those who could not afford a ceremony would never omit the step of sharing holy water and reciting the wedding vows.

The value of the holy water varied depending on the rank of the priest who had blessed it. Holy power had declined alongside magic, but deeply rooted beliefs did not change easily.

For that reason, the holy water to be used at Ines and Killian’s wedding had been blessed by a high priest. The problem was that the holy water contained a poison that would slowly consume a mage’s body. The one who had presented the holy water was the Emperor.

‘Killian!’

‘……Ines. Stay where you are. It is not a pleasant sight.’

Nearly five years into their marriage, one day Ines witnessed Killian, who had been giving a small cough, suddenly cough up blood.

Horrified, Ines immediately called for a physician, but the answer that came back was that there was nothing physically wrong with Killian.

Even so, Killian occasionally looked pale after that, and for exactly one day, Ines saw what appeared to be faint black scales rising on the back of his neck. Even to Ines, who knew nothing, it was clearly not a good sign.

Faced with that desperate situation, Ines could not bring herself to mention the pregnancy she had discovered that very morning. It would not be welcome news to Killian either.

Just a little longer. Once she found out why Killian was in such pain, she would tell him then.

The physicians who had long served Rupert devoted themselves to finding a cure, but none could identify exactly what was wrong with Killian. The existence of an unknown, powerful poison became the subject of urgent discussion.

But that poison was never identified.

The Emperor declared the annihilation of Rupert, as though he had somehow learned of Killian’s condition, which had been kept in the strictest secrecy.

‘Ines. Do not move a single step from my side.’

‘Ki, Killian. The scales on your neck……’

‘Ah…… I’m sorry. It must be unpleasant to look at.’

‘What are you saying? I’m worried about you……!’

‘……Ha ha. I’m all right, thanks to your concern.’

She knew perfectly well he was not all right. A mage whose scales became visible without their own intent had either been agitated to the point of losing reason, or was in a physical state so poor they could no longer contain their own power. Killian was the latter.

He, that foolishly gentle man, smiled to put Ines at ease even with a body like that, and swung his sword countless times with her hidden behind him.

But there was no escaping the Emperor’s grip, when he had spent decades preparing everything needed to bring Rupert down.

If it had been Killian alone, slipping away with just his own body would not have been difficult. Ines had said as much, begging him to leave her behind, but Killian had shielded her until his very last breath.

Ines had learned the full truth when she was dragged away by the Emperor and imprisoned in the imperial palace.

The Emperor, waiting only for the child in Ines’s womb to grow, had let his tongue run loose in his own elation.

‘Ah, yes. That poison was a masterpiece. Research began under the Emperor two generations before me, and it bore fruit in my reign. Ha ha ha, to be so helpless despite having the power of a dragon! Come to think of it, I killed him too quickly. It would have been better to keep him alive and use him as a test subject.’

‘……How did you get the poison into Killian?’

‘Mind your tongue, Ines.’

‘Just answer me! When did you poison him!’

‘Hmm…… very well. Everything is finished now, so I’ll tell you.’

‘……’

‘Infuriatingly, Rupert has thorough security, and even its lowly servants are remarkably loyal. Because of that, every attempt to plant a spy over the past several hundred years ended in failure. But in this generation, a channel I could use opened wide for me, did it not?’

‘……Don’t tell me.’

Ines had prayed desperately that she was wrong, but the gods had always been indifferent to her.

‘Do you remember the holy water you drank on your wedding day? Something that could not be refused and would arouse the least suspicion. I put the poison in that. From the very first day of the marriage, that Killian was already dying!’

‘……You are not human. How can something like you be called a person?’

‘My, my, Ines, my daughter. Living with that thing that is neither human nor beast, you seem to have forgotten all imperial dignity. Is that any way to speak to your father? Hmm?’

‘Don’t speak about him like that……!’

‘How amusing. Then what is that thing that is neither human nor dragon? Did you not see it yourself? That revolting face with scales. Tsk. Why did the black dragon pass its power to some other house instead of the imperial family?’

‘……You’re the amusing one. You despise Killian while coveting his power. And even my child……!’

What had devastated Ines more than anything else was the fact that the day Killian had been poisoned was none other than their wedding day.

From beginning to end, she had been nothing but a source of harm to Killian.

She had even thought, selfishly, that she wished she had never asked, never heard. Because it felt as though her very existence had pushed Killian toward death.

But now was different.

“……Thank goodness.”

She was deeply grateful for that agonizing moment.

From the method used to poison Killian, to the countless schemes devised to erase Rupert from the map.

The words the Emperor had babbled in the joy of his triumph would this time become Ines’s blade to drive into him.

To make that possible, no matter what happened at tomorrow’s wedding, she had to prevent the poison from passing Killian’s lips.

Because if she missed tomorrow’s opportunity, the Emperor would be blocked by Rupert’s tight security and would have no further chance to use poison on Killian.

* * *

Ines left her room to go to the library.

“Your Highness, how do you remember the way so well after only going once? That’s remarkable!”

Cecile spoke up with a mildly surprised expression when Ines walked ahead of her without thinking. Only then did Ines realize she had been leading the way, and she paused briefly before answering naturally.

“I have a good memory.”

Knowing the way was thanks to five years of living here as her own home, but the claim of a good memory was true.

“Wow, I’m so envious!”

“You seem to have a good memory too, Cecile.”

“Hmm, do I? I don’t think it’s bad…… but my brother’s is a bit poor.”

“Your brother is a squire in the Ikalante Knights, you said?”

“Yes! I used to worry because he’s not very bright, but apparently he’s quite good with his body. He’s growing taller too. If nothing goes wrong, he should be able to join the order!”

It might have sounded like she was talking badly about her brother, but the voice was full of affection she could not hide.

“I’m sure he’ll do well if he takes after you, Cecile.”

“Hehe. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Cecile smiled shyly, and the entrance to the library came into view just beyond her.

“Your Highness!”

A clear voice rang out from behind.

Before she even turned around, a cold expression flickered across Ines’s face the moment she recognized the speaker. But by the time she turned her head, her expression had returned to normal.

“Lena.”

The name left her lips just as the person was nearly upon her.

Lena Orso was neatly dressed, but there was an air of wretchedness about her that could not be concealed. It likely came from a face smeared with anxiety, unease, and resentment.