Naturally, I had imagined Yuri carrying me across the ballroom like a princess, my legs frozen with tension.

The thought alone was thrilling, but I quickly shook my head to dispel it. I replied to him in a deliberately stern tone.

“Remember, this is someone else’s wedding. If you draw too much attention, it will definitely trouble Rosie.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

His attempt to respond obediently was clearly meant to tease me. Instead of pointing this out, I offered him my champagne glass. When Yuri lightly clinked his glass against mine, it made a chiming sound.

‘This tastes good.’

Perhaps because it had been a while since I last drank, the sweetness was strikingly vivid.

As I pondered whether this was really champagne, I looked back into my glass. Yuri murmured in a lowered voice.

“…But everyone really loves to talk about others.”

Only then did I realize this was Yuri’s genuine feeling. It wasn’t that he was upset about my lack of nervousness; it was the ongoing chatter about me that bothered him.

Now that I noticed, Yuri’s champagne glass hadn’t decreased by even a sip. Watching him on edge like a vigilant meerkat made me chuckle.

I hooked my arm through Yuri’s. It was rare for me to cling to him first. Yuri widened his eyes and looked at me.

“Thanks for caring. I’m happy.”

Yuri, who had been accustomed to attention since childhood, wasn’t suddenly uncomfortable with it.

His reaction now was entirely because the focus was on ‘me.’

At my words, Yuri’s blue eyes curved into crescent moons. He quickly softened and whispered in my ear.

“Titi, can I kiss your cheek?”

That was a no-go. I quickly raised my hand to block Yuri’s lips. The champagne glass made a popping sound.

Looking at his eyes, which seemed aggrieved, I added in a stern tone.

“I told you, drawing more attention would be a burden to Rosie. No displays of affection.”

“But Titi linked arms first.”

“Can you really compare linking arms to kissing?”

Yuri gazed at me with pleading, sparkling eyes, but I firmly shook my head. Eventually, Yuri brushed his hair back and grumbled.

“Titi really likes Miss Morphe.”

“Rosie is a good friend.”

Liking a good friend is only natural.

At my response, Yuri grinned and swapped our champagne glasses. He deliberately pressed his lips to the spot where mine had been, making it an indirect kiss.

Heat rushed up to my neck in an instant. I called out his name in a fluster.

“Yu, Yuri!”

Startled by my own loud voice, I covered my lips with my palm. Yuri tapped my hand with his finger and laughed.

“It’s great that Titi has a good friend, but please pay attention to me too.”

“Greedy.”

“Did you just realize that?”

Yuri chuckled softly and whispered in my ear.

“So you need to show me lots of affection. Enough to fill me up.”

Our conversation was cut short as a loud bell rang throughout the venue.

“It looks like the wedding is starting.”

Yuri was right. A wide carpet was laid out in the center of the ballroom, and people stood parted on either side. As those dressed beautifully in gowns moved, it looked as if flowers were twirling.

Mesmerized by the sight, Yuri whispered softly.

“I’d like to stay by your side, but I think I need to step away for a bit.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Yuri mentioned he had a duty to attend to. I nodded cheerfully.

Yet, Yuri hesitated by my side longer than I expected.

“Don’t follow anyone you don’t know, and don’t accept anything from strangers…”

“Oh my, you’re worrying about so many things. I got it.”

I reassured him and gently pushed Yuri’s back to send him off. Afterward, I sipped the champagne Yuri had handed me and looked toward the highest platform in the ballroom.

The archbishop, His Majesty the Emperor, and the royal family members all walked out and took their seats. Seeing them made my heart, which had been calm until now, start to race.

‘It’s not even my wedding, but I’m nervous.’

While I was tensely awaiting Rosemary’s entrance, a familiar voice reached my ear.

“You seem to be doing well.”

“Yujin!”

Yujin, with his pink hair perfectly combed back, approached me from behind.

“It’s only been a few days, but it feels like it’s been ages.”

After we parted at the villa, I had secretly wondered how he was doing, so it was truly nice to see him again.

“You must have been busy. It feels that way when there’s a lot on your plate.”

His curt reply was typical of Yujin. The Yujin I had seen at the villa, who seemed somewhat precarious, felt like a distant memory.

I shrugged and gave a wry smile.

“Yes, I’ve been busy. The royal wedding is just around the corner, and there have been changes in my personal life too.”

“What changes?”

“Well…”

Yujin’s gentle inquiry was met with eyes as calm and deep as the ocean, impossible to read.

The news of Yuri and me being in love had made the front page of the newspaper, and everyone around me knew about it.

Could it be that Yujin, who probably hears everything, hadn’t heard this news?

‘The Esrenche family must be very interested in Yuri.’

Even so, there seemed to be a reason why Yujin didn’t acknowledge it first, so I simply lowered my gaze.

“…It’s nothing.”

An awkward silence passed between us.

As I fidgeted with my fingers, unsure of what to do, the ballroom suddenly fell unusually quiet. Then, the doors opened, and the Crown Prince walked in. I tugged on Yujin’s sleeve.

“Oh, it looks like it’s starting. The Crown Prince is coming in.”

The Crown Prince stopped in the middle of the carpet. Then, through the door he had entered, Rosemary Morphe, holding the Duke of Morphe’s hand, walked in.

The moment I saw Rosemary, I couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Wow! Rosie, you’re so beautiful.”

Rosemary, with a long veil cascading from a tiara studded with large diamonds, was dazzlingly beautiful. Her dress was an off-the-shoulder design adorned with delicate lace, highlighting her long neck and slender shoulders.

In my excitement, I forgot the earlier awkwardness and kept asking Yujin.

“Isn’t she so pretty? Don’t you think so?”

“Yes,” Yujin replied, looking at me with calm eyes. “She is beautiful.”

I watched Rosemary walk gracefully as if in a trance.

The Duke of Morphe, looking as if he was dying of regret, handed his daughter’s hand to the Crown Prince. Rosemary beamed as she switched hands, and the Duke of Morphe eventually dabbed his eyes with his sleeve.

‘It sparkles.’

The entire scene was as bright and beautiful as if it had leapt straight out of a fairy tale.

Watching it filled my heart with joy, but it also made me think of my own unfortunate weddings.

‘I don’t think I was ever that pretty.’

The first time, there wasn’t even a proper wedding, and the second time, I was just surrounded by people thanking me, trying not to make any mistakes.

‘It’s because it’s Rosie. It sparkles like that because it’s Rosemary, not someone else.’

The love story of the Crown Prince and Rosemary was so perfect from their meeting to their marriage that it left no room for jealousy, only admiration.

“Marriage is…”

As I watched the two walk up to the platform, entranced, Yujin asked me in a heavy voice.

“Do you have any thoughts about getting married?”

I chuckled at his question.

“Are you curious about that too, Yujin?”

“Perhaps.”

He must have heard about Yuri and me. It was a story worth being curious about, both as Yuri’s brother and as my friend.

‘It’s a shame I can’t give a cheerful answer.’

I shrugged. It wasn’t the kind of thing to discuss at such a joyful wedding, but…

“Everyone is full of hope when they get married. It feels like eternal happiness is waiting for them.”

A bitter smile came naturally.

But I knew from my past two experiences that married life wasn’t like that.

Marriage was just the beginning of another phase of life. And, as with all aspects of life, happiness and unhappiness come and go unpredictably.

‘In fact, expecting happiness can make things harder for your partner.’

The other person is also caught up in the same illusions.

I shrugged.

“I don’t have such illusions. If you think a spouse will save you, you’ll just end up falling together.”

Listening seriously to my cynical answer, Yujin responded with a counter-question.

“That’s a problem of forming a relationship with your spouse, not an issue with the institution of marriage itself, isn’t it?”