“Well, well! Who do we have here?”

Standing at the training ground, Tullio narrowed his eyes and looked up.

Richard, who had been sparring with him, stopped his attack and turned around.

A young man and a woman were strolling together on a quiet path above the training ground.

Tullio quickly approached Maxim, as if it were too good to witness alone.

“Your Majesty, look over there. Isn’t that her?”

Maxim, who had been polishing his sword after training, looked where Tullio gestured slyly.

He saw Jansen and Rosé Etoile walking side by side along the path.

“Wow. Jansen’s sociability is truly something. When did those two get so close?”

Tullio teased, glancing at Maxim for a reaction.

“They’re probably discussing the wedding plans,” Richard answered in Jansen’s stead.

Even as he saw the two talking and walking closely, Maxim didn’t react.

He continued sharpening his sword as if uninterested.

“Whoa! Whoa! What are they doing now? Is this even allowed?”

When Tullio excitedly spat his words, Maxim looked again at the pair.

Wolves had appeared ahead of them, making Rosé freeze in place.

Jansen grabbed her arm to protect her and whistled, sending the wolves running off.

Rosé, amazed, smiled brightly at Jansen.

She even tried to imitate him, pursing her pretty lips. Seeing that, Jansen laughed heartily.

Maxim silently watched Rosé as she laughed like a child in front of Jansen.

His golden eyes wavered like a turbulent sea, though his thoughts were unclear.

It was the first time he realized she could smile like that.

It was the first time he’d seen a scene where all the background faded, leaving only one person surrounded by a flurry of flower petals.

That spring-like, lovely smile that disarmed everyone wasn’t impressive to him alone.

Even Tullio, who usually grumbled at the sight of Rosé, stood frozen, watching her with a dazed expression.

“I didn’t notice at first, but she’s quite beautiful,” Richard commented casually, breaking the silence.

The atmosphere shattered, and Maxim and Tullio snapped back to reality.

Maxim, expressionless, turned back to his sword.

Embarrassed to have been caught staring with his mouth open, Tullio started spouting nonsense.

“Come on. There are plenty of beauties in the North. If it’s just about looks, the late Queen Olivia was truly…”

When Tullio’s useless chatter began again, Richard shot him a murderous glare as if saying, “Shut up, you idiot!”

Realizing he had just broken the unspoken rule of not mentioning Maxim’s mother in front of him, Tullio smacked his mouth.

***

The walk with Jansen had been quite enjoyable, but Rosé felt troubled upon returning to her room.

She thought her only adversary was Kasiax.

But now it seemed that the challenges she had to overcome in Hellevant were stacked high.

What Jansen told her today might just be the tip of the iceberg.

“Lady Katriona… huh.”

Rosé could sense it instinctively.

It was unnatural for the chancellor’s wife to act as though she were the true lady of the house.

The fact that the chancellor, Maxim’s uncle, and his wife behaved as if they had forgotten their place meant something was seriously wrong within the castle.

‘If the hierarchy is broken, things will collapse from the bottom. If left unchecked, they’ll become obstacles for Maxim Lankert.’

That also meant they could be obstacles for her.

“My Lady, where have you been?”

Natalie burst into the room, her face flushed.

It seemed she had run all over the castle looking for Rosé.

“I went for a brief tour of the castle. You must have been worried because of me.”

Rosé spoke to Natalie with an apologetic expression.

“I was so worried! You disappeared without saying a word! This castle has such a bad feeling—don’t wander around alone. What if someone did something bad to you from behind?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I overheard something as I passed by. The white-haired butler and that hag of a head maid were talking.”

“What were they saying?”

“They were talking about someone falling from a window and saying this room is cursed or something like that.”

“What?”

“I don’t know the details, but something happened here before. I don’t know why they’d talk about such things right when you arrive. Such bad luck.”

As soon as Natalie finished speaking, Rosé recalled what Jansen had said earlier like a lightning bolt struck her mind.

“Yes. Even the former queen must have suffered greatly because of Lady Katriona’s influence”.

He had trailed off in the middle of speaking about Olivia Lankert.

‘Suffered so much that it became extreme… someone jumped from a window…!’

Rosé spun around and stared at the window.

The beautiful arched window, which had been bathed in sunlight earlier, was now shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

A breeze slipped through the slightly open window, causing the deep purple curtains to flutter eerily.

After sending Natalie out, Rosé remained alone in the room.

Now that she knew the truth, she felt strange.

The air seemed cold, like someone else was in the room with her.

Whoooosh!

A stronger gust of wind shook the curtains violently.

Rosé walked straight to the window and threw it open with both arms.

She craned her neck and looked down to see dark stone stairs and a black forest below.

The moment overlapped with the memory of her being pushed off the tower by Kasiax in her past life.

‘Why did Olivia Lankert jump from here?’

Even knowing that a tragic event had occurred here, Rosé didn’t feel afraid or cursed.

Instead, her heart felt heavy, tight with sadness.

What had caused Olivia so much suffering? Had she been falsely accused, just as Rosé had?

That thought crossed her mind.

With a calm face, Rosé firmly shut the window and stepped back.

“Whatever happened to you in the past, I won’t end up like you. Watch me, Olivia.”

Rosé said, looking at her reflection in the window as if making a vow.

****

The wedding day had finally arrived.

The maids fixed the veil on Rosé’s head with golden floral decorations.

The long golden veil cascaded down her slender back, flowing elegantly until it covered a significant portion of the floor.

Once the maids stepped back after finishing their work, Rosé turned to Natalie with a smile.

The dark green dress, embroidered with intricate gold thread patterns, fit her slim figure perfectly.

Her red hair, loosely braided and draped naturally over one shoulder alongside gold lace, stood out vividly against the dress.

“My Lady… you’re just… sniff.”

Natalie couldn’t finish her sentence and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

When had her little Rosé, who was as lovely as a young girl, grown into such a beautiful woman?

Seeing such a dazzling bride all by herself felt unfair and heartbreaking.

‘If we were in Solstern… our Rosé would have been the most noble bride, blessed by all.’

Her heart ached knowing that, in this once-in-a-lifetime moment, Rosé had no family by her side—only her nanny, Natalie.

“…How do I look?”

Rosé asked Natalie, her eyes sparkling.

“You look like a goddess who just descended from the heavens. I’ve never seen such a radiant bride before.”

Rosé gave a bittersweet smile at Natalie’s words.

“I see.”

Natalie didn’t know, but Rosé had heard those exact words once before—before her regression.

At that time, Natalie had been excited and overjoyed. But now, she seemed deeply upset.

“The count and the young masters aren’t here. The countess should also see you like this. How can our young lady be married off so lonely?”

Natalie kept repeating the same thing as if she were wronged.

***

The sky was dazzlingly blue and boundless.

Every time a cool, sweet breeze blew, Rosé’s veil fluttered like angel wings as she walked toward the chapel.

“Oh my!”

“…”

“My goodness!”

The servants and maids, busy with wedding preparations, all stopped to stare at the passing bride.

Maxim and the knights were waiting for the bride before the chapel.

The knights, dressed impeccably in their uniforms, looked exceptionally handsome today.

Even the usually wild Tullio now exuded the charisma of a vice commander, while Richard and Jansen needed no further mention.

The maids and noble ladies blushed as they secretly stole glances at the gallant men.

“It’s finally happening!”

Richard chirped.

“Our Hellevant can now stop worrying about an heir.”

“Tsk tsk. But poor Aila looks too pitiful,” Tullio commented.

They glanced at Aila, Lady Katriona’s niece.

Aila, as beautiful as a white lily, had swollen eyes, likely from crying all night.

Her expression of unjust sorrow, as if something had been stolen from her, quickly stirred sympathy in those who saw her.

Knowing how much she liked Maxim, the knights clicked their tongues with pity.

Maxim, the groom awaiting his bride, looked so calm that it was as if this were just another ordinary day, not his wedding.

He seemed like a groom attending the ceremony out of obligation. No excitement or joy—the kind one would expect from a man meeting his beloved bride—could be sensed from him.

Jansen watched him with a sour expression.

“Ah! Here comes the bride!”

The knights held their breath as they gazed at Rosé.

Maxim extended his arm as Rosé approached, but she hesitated, looking down at it.

“Already regretting it? Too late for that now.”

He took her hand and placed it on his arm.

“I’m not regretting it.”