After blinking a few times, it was already the day of the wedding.

“So I really am getting married.”

From early morning, April was unable to gather her thoughts as the maids bustled around, waking her up and preparing her for the ceremony. By the time she finally regained her senses, she was already standing on the wedding aisle in the imperial palace.

“I’m really doing this… right?”

She blinked beneath the veil, but nothing changed. It felt strange.

Trying to calm her churning stomach, April swallowed dryly as she reached the end of the wedding aisle. However, there was no one holding her hand.

Such was the custom of royal weddings. The bride and groom were to walk together, hand in hand, up to the officiant who would conduct the ceremony.

But he was late.

Even though it was time for the ceremony, the Second Prince still hadn’t appeared. April stood there quietly, thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad if the Second Prince simply didn’t show up and the wedding ended like this.

“But really, what is he doing?”

What could possibly be so urgent that he wouldn’t show up even on his own wedding day?

Through the veil, April could see the royals whispering to one another in the distance, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. It seemed they were explaining something to the nobles who had come to celebrate the wedding.

April bit her lip behind the veil. What could she say to such rude people who explained the situation to the guests but said nothing to the bride herself?

“Better to die than to fret.”

There was no reason to feel sad. That was something only possible if she still had hope. The only thing that stung was the reality that she had to stand here and wait for the Second Prince.

April straightened her legs, determined not to look weak. She didn’t want to show any sign of hardship.

Not only royals were present today. Every noble in the empire had been invited. Even if the Second Prince wasn’t treated as a proper royal, April had to be different.

“I am a duke’s daughter.”

Even if she was only a half-blood, only she and the people of the duke’s household knew that. No one would ever say it aloud. If they did, it would mean deceiving the emperor.

The penalty for deceiving the emperor was death. April and the people of the Bright family all knew this well, so no one would ever speak of it.

“I just need to survive by using that fact.”

She could live even after entering the palace. What April had learned during her life at the duke’s residence was how to read the mood. So, as long as she kept her wits about her, she could survive in the imperial palace as well.

After surviving everything until now, there was no way she would die after entering the palace. She would use her status as a duke’s daughter to survive to the end and then separate from the Second Prince. That was April’s plan.

It would have been better if she could have run away before meeting him, but now that it was the wedding day, that was impossible.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Lost in thought, April was startled by the sudden voice beside her and stepped back, twisting her ankle slightly. She felt a strong arm catch her waist and ragged breathing touched her veil.

Leaning against the man, who seemed to have truly rushed over, April felt her tension melt away and her legs tremble. She had no idea how long she’d been standing there.

“Can you stand on your own?”

“Ah, yes…”

The voice sounded oddly familiar.

Just as April was spacing out, the officiant called out loudly.

“The Second Star of the Empire has arrived!”

At his proclamation, signaling the start of the wedding, all eyes turned to them. April also turned her head toward the man.

His profile looked familiar. As she turned, her veil almost slipped off, but the Second Prince, Calsion, quickly set it straight.

But April saw his face. How could she forget the man who had entered the duke’s mansion pretending to be the knight captain and stayed by her side? The man who saved her life and then disappeared without a word.

“You…!”

“Looks like you couldn’t run away today, either.”

At his playful whisper, April felt her face flush with heat.

‘I suspected as much when I received the handkerchief with the imperial crest, but as expected, this man really was the Second Prince.’

Seeing his calm face, April wanted to stomp on his foot and run away from this place, but reality was cruel.

Sensing her thoughts, Calsion grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

“Like it or not, you can’t run away today, so let’s get through this together.”

Calsion took the first step forward. April followed him slowly. The path to the officiant waiting for them felt long.

“Is that the Second Prince?”

“He looks so dignified.”

“No, that’s not just dignified, he’s really handsome… Oh!”

April could hear the noble ladies whispering. She frowned at their words, grateful her face was hidden by the veil.

‘So what if he’s handsome? His personality is awful.’

It wasn’t normal to deceive people and sneak into the duke’s mansion pretending to be the knight captain.

‘Wait, come to think of it…!’

That day she ran away from the duke’s mansion, he must have come to check what she was doing. To catch her and send her back to the mansion!

April suppressed her anger at Calsion’s demeanor, which was completely different from the rumors. Aside from his foul temper, none of the rumors were true.

“I can’t believe he’s that handsome.”

“Goodness, the rumors really were nonsense.”

“If I’d known he was like this, I would have sent my daughter…”

April silently wished someone would step forward even now, but among the noblewomen whispering, no one did. Most only expressed regret, though some said you couldn’t live with just a handsome face.

Meanwhile, the distance to the officiant grew shorter. It was hard to keep up with Calsion’s long strides, but April tried not to show it.

‘It hurts.’

She must have twisted her ankle when Calsion startled her earlier.

As April limped, Calsion slowed his pace.

“Are you hurt?”

“Whose fault do you think…!”

April started to snap, but realized they were standing right before the officiant and fell silent.

“Calsion Isper, April Bright. Do you swear before the goddess to be together forever, for the rest of your lives?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Their answers came at the same time. Wanting to get the wedding over with as quickly as possible, April answered immediately, and Calsion didn’t hesitate either. This was a marriage that needed no love.

“Please sign the marriage certificate here.”

There was nothing grand about the ceremony. Everyone present knew this wedding wasn’t the result of love. At Calsion’s insistence, the ceremony was stripped of unnecessary formality and was as simple as could be for a royal wedding.

Calsion picked up the pen first and boldly signed next to his name. The sharp strokes perfectly reflected his personality.

It was as if he would cut down anything in his path. When April saw his signature, she picked up the pen as well.

Her hand trembled slightly as she hesitated, and a drop of ink fell onto the marriage certificate.

“She dropped ink on the marriage certificate!”

“How ominous…”

“Is the goddess angry?”

Not only the officiant, but the other priests watching also began to murmur. As their fuss grew, the royals and nobles watching the ceremony started to buzz as well.

Hearing the priests talk about bad omens, the empress’s lips curled upward. The emperor glared at her quietly.

April calmly and quickly signed her name over the dropped ink. By coincidence, her signature connected with Calsion’s, forming a design that almost looked like a single emblem.

‘Looking at it like this, it’s actually rather pretty.’

As she smiled in satisfaction and set down the pen, Calsion lifted the marriage certificate. Their accidentally connected signatures resembled the crest of the Isper imperial family.

“Look at this.”

Calsion raised the marriage certificate high and turned it toward the emperor. Seeing how their signatures resembled the imperial crest, the emperor burst into laughter.

“The signatures on the certificate look just like the imperial crest!”

“It must be a blessing from the goddess!”

One of the nobles supporting Calsion shouted in a loud voice. He was one of the few surviving members of the former empress’s family.