Clementina received a marriage proposal from Dion Aeskis, the Duke of Drasia and the Emperor’s brother, two months ago, the day after attending her debutante ball.

Count Sustain had delayed Clementina’s social debut with absurd reasons, such as not having a town house in the capital or it not being the right time yet. As a result, even Bella’s social debut, who was two years younger, was delayed, causing people to question Count Sustain’s strange obsession with his daughter.

Sensitive to public opinion, Count Sustain hurriedly headed to the capital with his two daughters. Clementina barely caught the last train, with just two months left before turning twenty and becoming an adult.

Clementina wore a faded cream-colored dress with no special decorations or embellishments. There was a noticeable difference from Bella’s dress, which was adorned with elaborate lace, frills, and dangling pearls, made from the most expensive fabric.

Though she tried her best not to attract attention, her innate beauty couldn’t be hidden. She appeared to be an unloved daughter to anyone who looked, but those present knew who the protagonist of the day was.

Eventually, the protagonist of that day caught the eye of the Duke of Drasia, a hero of the Ronakia Empire, known for his cruelty and fearsomeness as he cut down enemies with a single stroke while smiling—the master of the Gold Dragon Knight Order.

It was the fourth year that Dion Aeskis had been observing debutantes.

Count Sustain was staying at the town house of his old acquaintance, Count Shortman, in the capital for his two daughters’ debutante ball. He was flustered by the marriage proposal that arrived early in the morning.

At first, Bella shouted with joy and shed tears. She had been entranced by Dion’s face at the debutante ball and had been tracing his name in the air since the previous day.

Only Count Wellicks Sustain couldn’t hide his anxious heart. The premonition that this proposal was solely for Clementina pierced his mind, making his hands tingle.

‘Damn it.’

That was the first word uttered by the father who had received the magnificent proposal.

The proposal even included a letter of recommendation from the Emperor. It was written in respectful handwriting that they wanted to hold the engagement ceremony before they went down to the Sustain estate, with a request for an answer by the end of the day.

If it had been an ordinary family, they would have rejected such a thief-like proposal for being absurd and rude, but this was the imperial family’s business.

The Emperor’s seal. Looking at it, Count Sustain, inherently timid and faint-hearted, was furious with humiliation but couldn’t muster the courage to refuse.

Needless to say, Bella, who had been on the verge of fainting from happiness, tried to strangle Clementina as soon as she found out who the proposal was for.

Count Sustain thus had his most beloved daughter Clementina stolen from him.

Meanwhile, Clementina felt like she was chewing sand. She had to endure. She had learned enough from past experiences what would happen if she finally lost control of her temper and burst into anger.

Her parents who had increasingly raised their voices from a certain day. As her mother’s knife-like neurosis and anxiety worsened, she left for recuperation and disappeared on that journey.

Her father hated Clementina, who looked exactly like her mother. And then he began to love her.

The other sisters grew distant from their father’s love and attention, and eventually came to resent Clementina. Claire became obsessed with the position of Countess, and Bella became obsessed with appearance.

Her father’s eyes monitoring Clementina were persistent. So she erased everything that reminded her of her mother. She even hid her original lively and spirited personality and lived with bated breath.

But as she aged, her appearance, which was a carbon copy of her mother’s, began to shine. There was nowhere to hide even if she wanted to. So she suppressed everything and lived just breathing. Like a doll.

Count Sustain, watching Clementina grow up, prevented her from going outside the Sustain Castle unless absolutely necessary. He hid her in the castle and concealed her appearance from others as much as possible. So that she wouldn’t be able to run away if someone noticed her.

At the same time, the Count wanted to appear ordinary to others. A caring father, an unfortunate husband who lost his beloved wife, an excellent lord.

A coward afraid of his dark inner thoughts being revealed.

‘Don’t do anything. Just stay in the castle, Clementina. My little lark. Ah— my Caroline.’

The ownership of an unmarried young girl belonged to her father.

Due to Count Sustain’s single mistake, the situation where he would lose his beloved daughter had finally arrived today.

‘It ends today. When this wedding is over, I can leave this place. I just need to endure a little longer.’

Clementina smiled with a mask-like face, suppressing the rising bile.

“Whenever you have difficulties, consult this father. Never decide anything on your own. What on earth could you do without me?”

“I’ll do well so you won’t worry, Father. I can do well on my own too.”

Count Sustain’s pupils shook violently. He placed both hands on Clementina’s cheeks, looked into her eyes, and lowered his voice.

“Clementina Sustain. I’m disappointed. Do you know what your mistake is right now?”

Clementina quickly spat out emotionless words with a bright smile like a white rose.

“I’m sorry, what could I possibly do without you, Father? I’ll consult you about everything.”

Only then did Count Sustain relax the tension around his eyes and smile.

“You sometimes act too emotionally. Don’t think. This father will take care of everything for you.”

Clementina’s smiling lips trembled slightly. Her mask cracked.

She needed different thoughts, useless thoughts, unimportant thoughts. Like how many pearls were embedded in her braided hair.

Clap!

Count Sustain straightened his body while clapping his hands in front of Clementina’s face.

“Well! If preparations are complete, let’s head to the church now.”

Though Count Sustain’s face showed deep resentment, his actions were refreshingly brisk as he left the room.

Claire and Bella elegantly turned their bodies and followed their father. Their dresses, more expensive and eye-catchingly colorful than Clementina’s wedding dress, swayed.

“Ugh.”

As soon as the door closed irritably, Clementina bent her body halfway and vomited into the air. Pale yellow liquid poured from her mouth, wetting the floor.

‘Remember, you are the master of your life. Being a woman, being a daughter doesn’t mean you have to live that way. No matter what anyone says, your life is yours.’

Clementina straightened her body, pressed the handkerchief handed by the maid firmly against her mouth, consciously blinked her eyes, smiled, and left the room.

Though it could have been terribly distorted, the reason she had been able to walk straight until now was because she hadn’t forgotten her mother’s brief but clear teachings.

‘I belong to myself.’

⁕⁕⁕

At the eastern end of Sustain Castle stands a small church built with white bricks. This small church, where villagers offer prayers to God, was filled today with distinguished guests in splendid attire.

While some gathered to make an impression on the groom, the Duke of Drasia, their curiosity about the bride he had chosen, even rejecting a marriage with the princess of the Kingdom of Leila, also played a part.

A magnificent aria resounded through the church, announcing the start of the wedding. As the noisy church quieted down, the chapel doors opened.

The woman of rumors, Clementina, clutching abundant and luscious white roses in both hands, slowly stepped forward.

Her lemon-blonde hair was dazzling, and her slightly downcast gaze as she walked conveyed modesty and elegance.

At the end of the church’s central aisle where she walked stood Dion Aeskis, called the most beautiful man in the Ronakia Empire, with his deep golden hair tinged with brown shining, wearing a charming smile.

He was the happiest man in the world.

Throughout the wedding, Clementina kept her head bowed, appearing modest and well-behaved. Unlike the rumors, she was the perfect bride, and as rumored, a beautiful woman.

“With this, I solemnly declare that by God’s grace, these two people have become truly one.”

As the small bishop of Sustain proclaimed their marriage, the guests’ congratulations followed.

Splendid fireworks soared over the church, and at that signal, the villagers raised their glasses above their heads and shouted with joy.

The bride and groom conveyed their greetings to the guests with the happiest smiles in the world. They flaunted their status as a married couple to the people, but no one knew that they had never once spoken kind words to each other.

⁕⁕⁕