* * *

There was some truth in her parents’ words. Three days was too short, far too short, to undo a wedding that had already been advertised everywhere. The determination of those pushing for the wedding was as solid as a sturdy wall, and Satin, with no one on her side, lacked the strength to resist.

The wedding day approached in the blink of an eye.

Satin woke up early in the morning with a gloomy feeling. Putting on the carefully chosen dress and doing her makeup brought her no joy. She had no idea for whom she was dressing up and beautifying herself.

“Miss, please smile.”

Sitting with a stiff face devoid of any smile, the maid holding the brush looked troubled.

Satin forced a smile. The maid quickly dabbed powder on her cheeks. Her cheeks turned a pinkish hue.

Larie’s exaggerated praise that today was the most beautiful she had ever seen her lady didn’t even register. Such compliments should come from the groom. And that groom had stayed distant throughout the wedding preparations, only to bring in a mistress at the last minute.

“Oh, my head.”

Her head throbbed again.

“Miss, are you feeling unwell?”

“…No.”

Satin stood up weakly. The wedding hadn’t even started, yet the day already felt unbearably long.

* * *

Today, the church was more popular than the opera house. Carriages carrying guests gathered one after another in front of the church. The seats Satin had meticulously arranged for the guests were filling up.

The indistinct murmurs occasionally swelled like waves and then subsided. Satin tried to calm her pounding heart in the waiting room set up near the entrance of the wedding aisle.

Even without hearing the exact words, she knew what rumors were circulating. She could bet everything she had that all the guests sitting in those seats had heard about Gjorn and Delilah.

Who would have imagined that the youngest son of the Sel Wio family, who had been devoted to his studies, would fall for an actress and take her as his mistress? Despite that, the fact that the wedding wasn’t called off showed that the bond between the two families was surprisingly strong, or perhaps the bride had been swayed by sweet talk. They were probably having such conversations.

Rublier was seated at the very front of the guest seats. It was the best spot to see the bride and groom when the ceremony started. Considering the influence of his family, it was a logical seating arrangement, but Satin wanted to slap the hand that had assigned that seat.

“I didn’t realize it at the time…”

‘How are the wedding preparations going?’

She still vividly remembered herself nodding proudly and turning away when Rublier had asked her that.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine how ridiculous this situation must look to him now.

From the waiting room, she could only see the backs of the guests. But Satin immediately recognized Rublier. There was no mistaking the back of the man in the splendid uniform of the Holy Knights, with a physique far superior to others.

“Miss, the ceremony is about to start.”

Larie announced the start of the wedding. Along with her, the attendants who would assist the bride during the ceremony also entered.

Satin clutched her bouquet. No matter what confrontation she had with Gjorn after the wedding, she had to walk down the wedding aisle with a composed face.

Every bride dreams of being the star of the day.

Satin was the protagonist of today. She wore the most beautiful dress in the world and held the most beautiful bouquet. She was adorned in the most beautiful way. If she solemnly made her wedding vows before the cardinal on the stage, it would be exactly the wedding scene she had envisioned.

But was it just her imagination that the red carpet she had to walk on felt like a path of fire instead of a blessed flower path?

Soon, the solemn hymn announcing her entrance was heard. The clear voices singing God’s blessings filled the church. Satin slowly walked in time with the song.

Gjorn was waiting for her in the middle of the carpet.

He did not make eye contact with Satin. He seemed to be subtly avoiding it. It was the first time Satin faced Gjorn again since she had burst out saying they should break off the engagement and ran away.

And of all places, it had to be at their wedding.

It was an awkward and uncomfortable situation for both.

Satin also walked forward, only looking ahead. Avoiding the groom, the faces of the guests came more into view. There were eyes full of interest, watching the bride and groom from all directions. Faces suppressing laughter, distorted with amusement at the scandal, were watching her.

I want to run away.

I really want to drop everything and run away.

Even guests who didn’t know her were finding this so entertaining. How amusing must this situation be to Rublier? How foolish must Gjorn and I look, proceeding with the wedding despite the scandal, just to check the power of the Ka Dillon family?

The closer she got to the cardinal, the closer she got to Rublier, who was sitting in the front row of the guest seats. As she passed close by him, Satin bit her lip. She tried not to look at him on purpose, but his profile stung, and she turned her head involuntarily, meeting Rublier’s eyes.

“Uh…?”

Rublier, whom she had expected to be smirking at this foolish wedding, was instead slightly frowning. He looked displeased. A subtle irritation was evident in his furrowed brow.

What is it? Is it because the bride and groom are acting so composed despite the scandal? Of course, he wouldn’t like this wedding itself. He knew better than anyone that this was a politically driven marriage meant to check his family’s power.

Satin stood beside Gjorn, facing the cardinal. The wedding hymn was reaching its climax.

As she waited in silence for the song to end, Satin tilted her head. The voice singing the hymn lingered in her ears. It was pure and clear like a child’s, but the pronunciation and resonance were strangely familiar.

Satin stared at the choir hidden behind the white curtain. From the voice alone, it could be believed to be a youth, but the long, swaying shadow behind the curtain was clearly that of an adult.

“Sorry to interrupt the ceremony.”

A servant was standing close to Satin to attend to any minor discomforts. Satin struggled to control her voice from trembling.

“Could you draw back the curtain so I can see the person singing the hymn?”

It was a curious request, but not impossible to fulfill. Satin’s servant walked to the choir and drew back the curtain.

The perfect pitch of the song wavered for a moment.

It was a noticeable mistake to everyone. Yet, the singer continued the hymn skillfully. It was a professional’s touch. The ability to handle unexpected mistakes on stage without panic. It was possible because she was the prima donna of the Grand Opera Theater.

Delilah. The person singing the hymn was Delilah.

Fortunately, her back was to the guests. Satin couldn’t be sure if she was managing her expression properly at that moment.

Delilah and Gjorn exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with numerous meanings. Like tragic lovers, the fleeting signals between them were unbearably pitiful. Regret, pity, awkwardness. Watching this so blatantly from the side made Satin feel like her insides were burning.

If these two were tragic lovers, what did that make me? The third wheel?

“How did this happen? Why is she singing the wedding hymn?”

Her voice was low enough not to be heard by others, but the anger within was clear.

“…I invited her before. On the day she hurt her leg… I didn’t know things would turn out like this.”

Gjorn’s excuses came quietly under the hymn.

“You wanted every part of the wedding to be perfect, so I thought you’d be surprised and happy if the best soprano of our time made a surprise appearance to sing the hymn…”

Surprised and happy?

Oh, sure. I was so surprised my heart almost stopped.

It would have been better if he hadn’t contributed anything to the wedding. This was undoubtedly the worst thing Gjorn had done among everything.

Most of the guests knew Delilah’s face. At a wedding where the groom was marrying his long-time fiancée, his mistress was singing the wedding hymn. How was Satin supposed to process this absurd situation?

Delilah, having finished the hymn calmly, sat down in the choir seat.

The cardinal began his sermon. Given that this wedding was favored by the Pope, it was probably a very excellent sermon, but none of it reached her ears. Satin glared at Gjorn. She also glared at Delilah. The feeling of being a joke between these two didn’t leave her. She felt mocked in front of all these guests.

The sermon, which she hadn’t heard a word of, passed by.

There was a storm in her mind. Satin kept replaying the earlier scene in her head.

The hymn blessing her wedding and Delilah revealed when the curtain was drawn.

If she hadn’t had the curtain drawn, Satin would have finished the wedding without knowing who had sung the hymn. Knowing her identity gave her chills, but even thinking about not knowing gave her chills.

In the midst of this, Gjorn’s answer suddenly reached her ears. Satin belatedly came to her senses.

“Yes.”

What was the question?

She hadn’t heard what it was about. There was nothing she could do about the question she missed. Satin waited for the cardinal to speak again.

“Gjorn Sel Wio. Do you vow to respect and love your only wife until the end of your days?”

It was already almost time for the marriage declaration. Satin was startled.

How did it get this far? I must have been out of it for too long.

Gjorn’s answer was slightly delayed. He glanced briefly at Delilah across the way. Satin recalled the cardinal’s question.

‘Respect and love your only wife…’

Respect and love your only wife. Then you shouldn’t answer yes.

From the start to the end of this marriage, Satin had not been respected.

“Yes.”

Gjorn answered. Satin couldn’t help but laugh. Now, the cardinal turned to Satin.

“Satin Del Mare. Are you standing here of your own will?”

“…Yes.”

“Satin Del Mare. Do you vow to respect and love your only husband until the end of your days?”

Satin glanced at Gjorn.

The groom, who should be looking at his bride with fervor, was gazing at his mistress with longing.

This marriage means nothing to you.

Realizing this, Satin quickly reached a conclusion.

…I can’t do this. This marriage. Just as I was betrayed, there’s no rule saying I can’t betray in return.

Satin closed her eyes tightly.

“…No.”