143. The Missing Bride
“Did your talk go well?”
Not long after Mikhail left, Duke Oblonsky entered the room.
Instead of answering, a faint smile crossed Oksana’s lips as she gazed out the window.
Vikentiy Oblonsky stood beside his master.
Through the window, they could see the capital city enveloped in navy darkness at a glance.
Santeburg, the capital of Hersen, was a beautiful city.
One couldn’t find such a splendid view anywhere else in the world.
“How fortunate that the key to moving Mikhail lay with that girl.”
“Things will be easier now that His Highness has agreed to this plan.”
Both Nikolai and Katya had completely dropped their guard regarding Mikhail.
That’s how blood ties and family bonds worked.
No matter what conflicts occurred in the past, they ultimately had such a powerful effect.
It was truly a masterful move that Oksana hadn’t made Mikhail a b*stard but entered the palace and eventually claimed the position of Grand Duchess.
Vikentiy had always thought Mikhail was useless except for being a Prince, as he kept wandering outside.
He hadn’t known he would be this helpful at the crucial moment.
In any case, it was worth standing by this mother and son all this time.
“Now everything will end tomorrow.”
Oksana muttered with a face full of joy.
Enchanted by Santeburg’s night view, she failed to notice what kind of expression Duke Oblonsky wore right beside her.
Vikentiy was immersed in even greater joy than her.
It had finally come.
The time to place the world under his feet using this mother and son as puppets.
***
That night, Katya lay down under the covers to sleep.
Tomorrow was the day she had been waiting for.
At last, she would be officially recognized as family with Nikolai.
Though the fact that he was her husband remained unchanged.
While she needed sufficient sleep considering the important event tomorrow, ironically, that very thought made it seem impossible to fall asleep.
At that moment, someone knocked on the bedroom door from outside.
“Brunhilde, you said I should sleep early for my skin—”
Giggling, Katya got down from the bed and walked to open the door wearing a shawl over her nightgown.
The person standing at the door was neither Brunhilde, nor Bianca, nor Alyona.
Her expression turned strange when she recognized the man’s face.
Before Katya could part her lips, he pulled her close and covered her mouth.
Somehow, only the two of them were in the corridor.
The guards who should have been taking turns guarding the corridor were gone.
Thanks to this, the man could easily drag Katya away without interference.
Oksana’s subordinate who witnessed the Grand Duchess being dragged away with her mouth covered while struggling gave a sinister smile.
The man’s silver-white hair dragging the Grand Duchess glinted in the moonlight as they left the Summer Palace.
Everything was going according to plan.
***
The next morning, as soon as she woke up, Bianca finished preparing and visited the bride’s bedroom together with Brunhilde and Alyona.
There was no response from inside, perhaps still sleeping.
“My sister’s still the same with her oversleeping habit. How can she do this even on her wedding day?”
“Being fond of morning sleep is a Smirnov family tradition. You’re the same way, my lady.”
“I’ll wake up early on my wedding day. Look at today. I woke up well.”
“Because I woke you up.”
“I was already awake, just had my eyes closed.”
“We agreed to call that sleeping.”
Brunhilde chuckled watching Bianca and Alyona bickering in elegant tones.
Though such scenes between the two were familiar now, they still made her laugh every time.
To the point where she wondered how she would cope with missing the Smirnov family people when they returned south.
It was another peaceful day at the Summer Palace.
“Her Highness must have had trouble sleeping from nervousness. Though I’d like to let her sleep more like usual, that’s difficult today with so much to do. Your Highness, we’re coming in.”
Brunhilde said as she opened the door.
Katya didn’t stir even at the sound of the three entering.
Not even rustling sounds came from behind the closed bed curtains.
Brunhilde and Alyona were used to experiencing this situation every morning while serving Katya.
As Alyona opened the window, morning sunlight brightened the bedroom.
Meanwhile, Brunhilde flung open the bed curtains without a shred of mercy.
“Time to wake up! His Highness the Grand Duke is already changing into his ceremonial clothes in the chapel waiting room.”
Usually, Katya would scrunch her face from the brightness and whine.
“Just one more minute. Close the curtains first.”
Then they would raise her upper body as if to say not a chance, but today was different.
The bed was empty.
“Her Highness……”
Today’s bride had disappeared.
***
Though the shocked palace people thoroughly searched the palace interior, they couldn’t find the Grand Duchess anywhere.
News that the bride had vanished into thin air soon reached the ears of the guests and groom who had arrived early at the palace chapel.
A pale-faced Nikolai grabbed Guard Captain Pavel’s collar in front of the nobles.
“What’s going on? How could the Grand Duchess disappear from the palace with such guarding?”
“I am deeply sorry. We are investigating what happened.”
“Find her immediately! If anything happens to her, you’ll pay with your life.”
Nikolai roughly released Pavel’s collar he had been gripping.
All of Hersen Palace’s security forces, including the guards and Grand Ducal Knights, set out to search for the Grand Duchess following the Grand Duke’s orders.
Which meant only unarmed palace people and servants remained guarding the chapel.
Oksana barely held back her laughter at the situation unfolding according to plan.
Soon, the knights of Duke Oblonsky’s family, her maiden house of Borodin, and their allied forces would storm in.
At last, they would seize the title of Grand Duke from Nikolai.
“Strange.”
Klavdia muttered softly as she looked around the chapel.
Norbert leaned toward her sitting beside him and asked quietly.
“What is?”
“Mikhail isn’t here.”
“He’s a child who usually avoids showing his face at such events.”
“That’s not it……”
“Don’t worry too much. We brought knights from the Empire too, so they’ll find the bride quickly.”
“I think Nikolai made a mistake. He shouldn’t have sent all the knights. This won’t do.”
As Klavdia stood to bring Pavel back, Norbert pulled her back down to her seat.
He whispered quietly to his fiancée who looked at him questioningly.
“Trust me. Nothing will happen.”
Just then, the chapel doors burst open from outside.
The guests turned around expecting news of finding the bride, but the men who entered were neither guards nor Grand Ducal Knights.
Oksana and Duke Oblonsky’s expressions brightened at their appearance.
Nikolai immediately recognized the uniforms worn by the armed forces.
Familiar family crests were engraved on their chests.
“I never authorized entry of outside knights into the palace. What is the meaning of this? Is this your doing?”
Vikentiy rose with a smile.
It was a rebel army combining the military forces of houses following them, led by Duke Oblonsky’s knights.
“Indeed. Isn’t it time Hersen welcomed a new ruler?”
“Father!”
Consumed by ambition, he couldn’t even hear his son Luka’s cry.
The nobles ducked in terror seeing the soldiers quickly surround the chapel and draw their swords.
“A new ruler…… You mean Mikhail? Then Mother must know about this too.”
Nikolai turned to his stepmother with a hardened face.
Oksana finally burst out laughing, removing the hand covering her mouth.
This was the moment she had longed for.
“How foolish. Your judgment became clouded because of a mere woman. You are not fit to be ruler.”
“……”
“To win in war, you must never show weakness to the enemy no matter what. But you let everyone notice your weakness. That was your downfall.”
Boris burst out in anger in place of Nikolai.
“Your Highness, h-how could you do this! Since when did you plan to overthrow His Highness the Grand Duke?”
“Since when? It’s only natural for the Grand Duchess’s son to become the next Grand Duke. It was wrong from the start that a child of the former Duchess ascended as Grand Duke!”
“It sounds like you harbored treasonous thoughts since entering Hersen Palace.”
Nikolai said with a meaningful smile.
“Treasonous? I’m merely reclaiming what was taken from me. Quickly bind this man. He is a tyrant who endangered this country.”
At Oksana’s command, the rebels approached the front of the chapel with drawn swords and surrounded Nikolai.
At that moment, the sword tips that had been aimed at the Grand Duke suddenly turned toward Oksana and Duke Oblonsky.
“Wh-what is this!”
“You should blame your eyes for not recognizing knights from your own house.”
Nikolai mocked them.
The rebels were guards wearing Duke Oblonsky’s knight uniforms.
That’s when it happened.
The missing Grand Duchess walked in through the open chapel doors together with soldiers led by Pavel.
“Your Highness truly doesn’t understand love.”
Katya said that as she met Oksana’s shaking gaze filled with shock.
“His Highness isn’t the type to sit quietly here waiting when I’ve disappeared.”
