A joke.

‘A joke, he says.’

If Tenetta treated others like this, half the capital’s society would have turned against him by now.

Even as frustration burned inside her, Isabelle managed to ask in a trembling voice,

“…Then what is it?”

“Are you curious?”

His tone shifted suddenly—soft, almost gentle.

Isabelle blinked.

It felt like she had had a similar conversation with him before…but she couldn’t remember when.

Slowly, she nodded.

After studying her expression, Tenetta frowned slightly.

“Then say you’ll marry me first. I’m getting tired of going back and forth with you.”

Of course she didn’t want to agree to that.

But could she refuse?

There were only two choices before Isabelle.

One—refuse the marriage and be dragged down into the underground cells.
Two—accept, and at least escape this immediate danger.

The answer was already decided.

Swallowing dryly, Isabelle forced the words out.

“…I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”

“Good choice.”

As if ignoring the unease in her voice, the man replied lightly, then leaned closer and whispered,

“There’s only one real reason I want to marry you, Isabelle.”

“……”

“I fell for you at first sight.”

…What?

Bracing herself for something far worse, Isabelle’s expression slowly twisted into disbelief.

A flicker of undisguised contempt passed through her deep green eyes.

As she tried to wrench her arm free, Tenetta suddenly pulled her in.

Stumbling, Isabelle collapsed against his chest. Her slender hands pressed helplessly against the firm muscle beneath him.

Holding her waist, he pulled her onto his lap.

Then, gripping her chin, he forced her face upward and in the next instant, his lips crashed against hers.

A hot, invasive force pushed past her parted lips, his tongue forcing its way inside without restraint.

It felt less like a kiss, and more like an act of conquest, something tinged with a strange, simmering resentment.

The heat of him, the pressure, the intrusion—when his tongue pressed against hers, Isabelle instinctively tried to bite down.

If not for the strength in his grip, holding her jaw open, she would have left a deep mark.

Her breath faltered.

Frustration and panic welled up, and tears gathered in her eyes.

Only when he noticed the sheen in her gaze did he finally pull away.

A faint sound escaped him as he brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth, wiping away the moisture that had gathered there.

Then he leaned back slightly, his arm still firmly wrapped around her waist, leaving her no room to escape.

“Ha… ngh…”

Isabelle sobbed as she rubbed at her flushed cheeks, burning with humiliation and heat. Her jaw ached from being held so tightly in his grip.

Tenetta watched her quietly as she trembled like a child, then reached out.

The rough tips of his fingers, marked by years of hardship, brushed gently over her reddened eyes. Isabelle lifted her head and glared at him as he wiped away her tears. Her deep green eyes shimmered, filled with wounded indignation.

After studying that gaze for a moment, Tenetta spoke.

“When you looked at me like that—”

“……”

“I felt something stir… in a life that had been frozen, like a winter stream.”

Unlike the sea or a deep lake, a stream in winter lies completely frozen from its bed to its surface.

Before Isabelle could fully grasp his meaning, his hand closed around her waist.

His large hand tightened briefly, then released—and the next moment, she was standing on her own feet again.

He rose from his chair as well, and suddenly all Isabelle could see was his chest before her.

Still wiping at her tears, she felt his hand gently take hers.

His lips brushed lightly against her damp fingertips.

“A mark of our engagement.”

“……”

“Sleep well tonight.”

With those final words, he left her room.

Alone, in the warmth of the crackling fireplace, Isabelle’s shoulders shook as she broke into tears.

‘Go to h*ll, Tenetta Achilleton.’

Even knowing that a holy knight blessed by the gods would never so easily fall into h*ll, she cursed him over and over—until, exhausted, she collapsed onto the bed.

She did not dream.

Perhaps she was simply too tired, falling into sleep like a doll with its strings cut.

***

She felt as though she could have slept until the following afternoon, but Isabelle woke to the gentle touch of someone tending to her eyes.

A maid, carefully wiping the swelling from her lids, greeted her with relief as she opened them.

“Miss, you’re awake?”

“Dina—you’re safe!”

“Of course.”

Dina, Isabelle’s personal maid, had already finished tidying the room before she woke. The fire in the hearth was still burning, and the clothes Isabelle would wear for the day had been laid out nearby to warm.

It was far better than yesterday—when the terrified maid had barely managed to help her wash.

After rinsing her face with lukewarm water, Isabelle asked,

“Have you heard anything about my parents?”

“I just spoke with one of the servants attending to the master and madam. Thankfully, they’re both safe.”

Relief washed over her.

After the way Tenetta had frightened her yesterday, Isabelle had imagined her parents suffering through something far worse.

Perhaps it was his way of showing consideration—but she had no desire to be grateful.

Her lips still stung from where they had been forced together.

Lifting a hand mirror, Isabelel examined the slight swelling.

“Your lips are chapped. I’ll apply some ointment.”

Dina brought over a small vial and sat beside the bed, gently dabbing a scented oil onto Isabelle’s lips.

“It must be a false accusation, all this talk of heresy. I’m sure things will return to normal soon, Miss.”

It was meant as comfort, Dina had clearly noticed she had been crying.

But Isabelle knew she wouldn’t dare say such things openly in front of others.

That was how absolute the Church’s authority was in the Empire.

Still… she would avoid execution.

That much was certain.

With a lingering headache from crying too much the night before, Isabelle found her thoughts drifting back—

“A mark of our engagement.”

Judging by the way he had said those words, Tenetta truly intended to marry her.

And yet, Isabelle still couldn’t understand—why her, of all people.

“I fell for you at first sight.”

He had said that, but…

Lifting the mirror she had just set down, Isabelle looked at her reflection again.

A girl stared back at her—lips flushed and swollen, eyes slightly red, her cheeks pale.

She knew she wasn’t unattractive. She might not be the kind of classic beauty—tall, voluptuous, with a naturally rosy glow—but no one had ever called her plain.

But was she the kind of woman who could captivate someone at first sight?

…No.

Could it really be that she simply happened to be exactly his type?

And yet—that same man had tried, without hesitation, to snap the neck of the very woman he claimed to desire.

The more she thought about it, the clearer it became—Tenetta was insane.

Just as she was about to despair over the fact that she would have to marry a man like him again, Aaron’s voice came from outside the door.

“Miss. If you’re ready, you’ve been asked to come out.”

His tone was more polite than yesterday—perhaps he had been given instructions by Tenetta.

After changing into the clothes Dina had prepared, Isabelle stepped out of the room.

Tenetta was already waiting.

“Your eyes are quite swollen… did you cry yourself to sleep?”

Despite Dina’s efforts that morning, the traces could not be concealed.

Isabelle neither confirmed nor denied anything.

She had no intention of indulging a man whose desires she neither understood nor wanted to understand.

Without pressing her further, Tenetta took her hand and led her outside.

They arrived at an open space within Attley Castle that was often used as a training ground for knights.

Her parents were waiting there.

The moment Isabelle recognized them in the distance, her expression brightened.

Hexter and Viole were also visibly relieved to see their daughter.

However, with the knights of the Dusk Order standing guard beside them, they could not move freely.

Isabelle lifted her gaze to the man escorting her.

“I’d like to go see my parents.”

“I’ll give you time to speak with them later. For now… there’s something I want you to see.”

Tenetta shifted her gaze elsewhere.

Isabelle followed her gaze and turned her head.

Someone was being dragged into the clearing.

It took her a moment to recognize them — their bodies were mangled as though they had been tortured. It was Chester and his family.

The same faces she had seen at her wedding in her previous life.

The color drained from Isabelle’s face.

Seeing this, Tenetta lowered his arm, letting her hand slip free. He took it again, however, enclosing it firmly within his own.

“It’s a heretic execution. Originally, the Attley family was meant to be dealt with alongside them.”

“……”

“But thanks to a certain young lady… who offered herself to save her family.”

Unlike the Attleys, the Line family had no one willing to sacrifice themselves for them.

Tenetta murmured this, showing no sympathy.

Then he lifted his hand and pointed to a man standing in front of the Holy Knights escorting the Line family.

“That man is the commander of the Dawn Order.”