Though it should have been a blessed wedding day, neither side had parents or siblings filling the seats. Not to mention Adeline’s side, but even Belliche’s side only sent representatives. 

So considering the royal family’s dignity, the king personally stepped forward to fill the wedding’s VIP seats.

Excluding guards, there were fewer than fifty guests including the king, collateral relatives, and palace officials, so no one expected such an incident to occur.

Especially since they’d completed strict inspections for firearms or weapons before entry.

The king had already left for the palace, and the protocol officer who appeared before the VIPs moved to the safe rear corridor announced the ceremony’s suspension and recommended they return home.

In the grand cathedral ceremony waiting room, left only with those handling the aftermath and investigation.

Even when the guard commander brought news that the captured assassin had committed s*icide with poison hidden in his mouth, Adeline still hadn’t regained her senses in Kailen’s arms.

Even after swallowing the sedative the doctor gave her, Adeline only panted without breathing properly. She returned to reality the moment she recognized the red bloodstains splattered on his shirt. His jaw and the area around his lips were red.

…Blood.

She didn’t know where such strength came from.

“…Wh-where.”

Her trembling hands wearing the ring grabbed his face, touching it here and there, and tore open the vest buttons wrapping his solid body. Tears kept falling even while she did this, afraid blood might pour out from somewhere.

“You’re not, right? You didn’t get sh-shot, right?”

You’re okay, right?

Since she sat on his lap, common sense said Kailen clearly hadn’t been harmed at all. But her thoughts didn’t reach that far.

“I’m o-okay…”

She was just scared. Her green eyes swept over his face like searching. She wanted to confirm his safety for certain.

Adeline, whose watery vision held only Kailen, repeated the same words. Then he let out a small sigh and, looking at her face, grasped the small hands clutching his arms like nothing happened.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry. Not a hair on my head was harmed.”

“Uh, sob…”

Relief flooded in at his calm tone. Childlike crying burst out wildly and her drained body went limp. Her forehead touched his chest. Kailen’s breath settled very low once.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Kailen.”

She just mumbled without meaning or order. Somehow she felt like she’d dragged him into danger, and her throat tightened.

“You have nothing to apologize for, so why apologize? Don’t worry about such things.”

“Hah.”

Adeline’s breath caught again. When she tried to inhale it got stuck, and when she tried to exhale her chest squeezed tight. On her round forehead stained with blood, blue veins stood out prominently.

“Can’t… breathe…”

His hand came under her chin and lifted her head.

“Look here. Look at me. It’s okay, so slowly.”

Adeline inhaled while caught by that gaze. Shortly. Only then did her chest rise and fall a little. But soon trembling rushed over her again. The line of Kailen’s lips hardened firmly.

“Sob, gasp…”

Eventually Adeline lost consciousness in his arms. Unable to endure any longer, Kailen wrinkled his brow and sharply barked toward the back.

“Are you still not ready to leave?”

“We apologize. Since the surroundings are chaotic, if you wait just a moment, we’ll escort you soon.”

The guard at the door asked him to wait just a moment, but Kailen didn’t listen. Silently picking up Adeline, he flung open the waiting room door and left.

“Wait, just a mo-moment…!”

The flustered guards followed after Kailen’s coldly settled demeanor and pleaded again to wait thirty minutes for safety. But they couldn’t stop his steps at all.

Kailen put her in his privately owned car and headed to the hospital. Even while crossing the hospital lobby cradled in his arms, Adeline couldn’t open her eyes.

She hazily regained consciousness about three or four hours after the sedative was administered. When she barely lifted her heavy eyelids, bright light stabbed her eyes.

This is… the hospital…

Adeline frowned and turned her head toward where voices came from.

She saw Kailen still in his blood-stained ceremonial clothes and several of his secretaries. They stood beside the sofa placed in one side of the spacious hospital room, having a conversation.

She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but just seeing Kailen’s complexion as he held his forehead like it ached told her the content wasn’t ordinary.

A dried-up voice came from Adeline’s lips.

“…Kailen.”

Only Kailen seemed to hear Adeline’s faint voice, as he was the only one in the group who raised his head. Then he immediately approached the bed.

“You’re awake.”

He asked in a calm voice and gripped the bed rail.

“Yeah… Is there some problem with my body?”

“No, there’s no problem at all, so don’t worry about that. You just fainted from shock. However, it would be good to stay hospitalized for a few days for stability.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

Adeline nodded obediently. Then suddenly, her eyes met Collen Vark’s over Kailen’s shoulder. 

He who’d been a close friend during their school days now worked at Kailen’s side. Adeline read Collen’s expression troubled by Kailen’s absence.

Right, I’m not some seriously ill patient… I just need to lie down and rest.

“You look busy.”

“Yes, somewhat…”

She couldn’t keep him here indefinitely using hospitalization as an excuse. She forced out a smile with difficulty.

“You said it’s nothing serious. I’m fine, so go ahead. Everyone’s waiting.”

Kailen, who’d been quietly looking down with a complicated expression, nodded his chin like he’d reached a conclusion.

“Alright. I’ve assigned people to you, so don’t think about anything and rest well for a few days.”

“Okay.”

The sedative’s effect was stronger than expected. Just from exchanging a few words, both her head and tongue felt heavy.

“Sleep more.”

Kailen’s large hand settled over her forehead and eyes. She slowly closed her eyes, seemingly wanting her to sleep.

“Okay.”

He soon left the hospital room with his secretaries. The door closed, and the sound of footsteps fading away lingered in her ears for a long time.

* * *

That day, the suspended ceremony was ultimately settled in that state. Though the ritual didn’t continue to the end, vows had already been exchanged and the marriage was established. 

Though the blood-stained chapel was emptied like it was sealed, the wedding was recorded as successfully completed.

And Adeline could finally be discharged only after resting in the hospital for about four days.

The car carrying her exited the hospital’s main gate. It was a vehicle Kailen sent, saying he was too busy to pick her up.

She was the one who’d pushed him to go ahead if he had busy work. But she didn’t know she wouldn’t see his face even today on discharge day. Adeline just stared out the car window in an unnecessarily gloomy mood.

In truth, she had more than one or two reasons to feel depressed.

The short honeymoon originally scheduled was postponed indefinitely due to the aftermath of the shooting incident. She wasn’t in any state to go somewhere with a happy heart anyway.

When she closed her eyes, the sounds and colors of that day still came back to life.

Gunshots.

Blood.

The high priest collapsing helplessly.

And even the sight of the chapel turned into complete chaos.

Everything about the ceremony that would only happen once in a lifetime remained as trauma, but she tried to push those things down and return to daily life.

About an hour and a half after leaving the narrow old town. After passing the mansions lining the entrance to Varsen’s upscale residential district, the spacious grounds that unfolded held Kailen’s—his estate.

She’d visited his estate as a guest before. But today was a day with different meaning, so she felt a little nervous.

Adeline, who entered through the black iron gate engraved with Belliche’s crest, unconsciously steadied her breathing.

This bright-walled stone mansion without the excessive decorations typical of grand estates always impressed with its symmetrical structure and large windows. 

When she first visited, she’d been amazed that the aesthetic emphasizing practicality actually looked more refined, but surprisingly something else caught her eye.

Electric lighting, not gas lamps. To think a privately owned mansion, not a large-scale building like a palace, government office, hotel, or department store, had its own generator. The maintenance wouldn’t be easy, and honestly her jaw dropped.

Adeline steadied her mind as she got out of the car.

She was no longer a guest. As the mistress of this estate, she had to show conduct befitting that role.