Chapter 2

The sky on that bright spring day was a clear blue, and the clouds were white as snow.

From the flowering trees, pale pink petals fluttered down like feathers.

The hall, adorned with all kinds of flowers and decorations, was filled with people.

Sunlight streaming from the glass ceiling fell upon a woman.

At that moment, light returned to her unfocused gaze, and her body swayed.

“Heila!”

A familiar voice rang out, and someone firmly caught her as she began to collapse.

She instinctively frowned at the dazzling sunlight.

At the same time, an intense headache struck her.

Feeling a familiar scent, Heila slowly opened her eyes.

A man was looking down at her with concern.

Jet-black hair, skin so pale it almost seemed white, mysterious green-gray eyes, and thin lips.

As she faced his young and beautiful face, shock gradually filled her eyes.

“Kersian?”

“You suddenly looked like you were going to collapse. Are you unwell anywhere?”

Her mind was in chaos, and with a ringing in her ears, she couldn’t think straight.

Amid it all, the familiar voice she heard felt slightly different from what she remembered.

His face still carried a youthful freshness, and instead of the emperor’s robes, he was wearing a pure white formal suit.

It was a wedding attire.

Heila pushed his arm away and collapsed onto the floor.

Then she retched.

A short scream and gasps of shock echoed around her.

But she had no energy to pay attention, overwhelmed by dizziness and pain in her chest.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she barely lifted her head and saw the crowd filling her vision.

Among them, a woman seated in the front row caught her eye.

She was wearing a snow-white dress that seemed to match Kersian’s.

It was Uriel.

Seeing the two people she hated most at once, it seemed she had indeed come to hell.

Blinded by love, she had caused many people to die.

Her father, those who had followed her, and even the child in her womb.

So she deserved to be punished, but seeing the two of them perfectly fine while she was once again in ruins made her feel wronged.

Curled up in pain, groaning, Heila soon lost consciousness.

Her clothes were completely stained red with the blood she had vomited.

Furrowing his brows, Kersian gave an order.

“The important ceremony is already over anyway. Move Heila to her room and clear this place.”

***

Inside a spacious and luxurious room.

A young girl lay on the bed.

Beside her sat a middle-aged woman, carefully wiping her face with a damp cloth.

As if she were trapped in a nightmare, the sleeping girl groaned, drenched in cold sweat.

Her face was as pale as paper, and her tightly furrowed brows showed her pain.

“His Grace is truly heartless. Whose fault is it that Her Highness collapsed, yet he hasn’t even shown his face. How can someone change so much… Our poor princess…”

Looking down at the girl, the woman’s eyes grew red.

At that moment, the door opened without warning, and someone entered.

Sensing the presence, the woman quickly wiped her tears and stood up.

“Your Grace, you’ve come.”

The woman greeted the man with a stiff expression.

As she lifted her head, a tall, handsome young man came into view.

Though his face still carried a youthful softness, his cold expression gave off an unapproachable air.

“How is Heila’s condition?”

Kersian did not sit down, but remained standing as he looked down at Heila.

Her youthful and adorable face had become half its former self in just a few days.

The woman watching her was filled with pity.

Her eyes reddened again as she barely managed to speak.

“She suffered from a high fever last night, and it still hasn’t fully gone down.”

“I heard from the physician that she’s not in critical condition. Then why hasn’t she regained consciousness for so long?”

He asked, narrowing his brows.

“I’m not sure either. This is the first time Her Highness has been this seriously ill… I believe she must have been greatly shocked.”

There was a subtle reproach in the woman’s voice.

At that, a flicker of displeasure passed through the man’s gaze.

“From now on, you should call her Her Grace, not Princess.”

He said in a stiff voice.

The woman bit her lip once before replying.

“Yes, Your Grace. But what exactly happened that day? That young lady…”

“Do I need to answer that?”

The face already filled with annoyance and displeasure changed instantly at those words.

Under his sharp gaze, the woman tightened her grip on her skirt, her face tense.

This was not the imperial palace, and the difference in their status was clear—there were lines that had to be observed.

“It’s not something you need to concern yourself with.”

“Yes.”

Kersian looked back at Heila.

As if proving that her fever had not yet subsided, her face was flushed red and covered in cold sweat.

As though she were trapped in a nightmare, her expression was uneasy, her appearance frail.

She had just turned sixteen this year.

With her small frame and a face that made her look even younger than her age, it was hard to see her as a woman.

However, seeing her suffer like that with such a childlike face made one feel a sense of pity.

A trace of sympathy appeared in Kersian’s gaze as he looked at Heila, only to quickly disappear.

It was because the memory of being humiliated on their wedding day came to mind.

Of all times, she had collapsed in front of everyone, making it difficult to even contain the situation.

“Take good care of her. I don’t want to hear that I’ve become a widower the moment I’ve taken her in.”

With those words, Kersian turned to leave.

But the woman stopped him.

Unable to understand, she asked,

“She’s this ill, yet you won’t stay by her side a little longer?”

“I have official matters to attend to.”

With that, Kersian left the room.

Not long after, a middle-aged knight entered.

“Sir Heinrich, you’re here?”

The woman greeted him in recognition.

“His Grace just left.”

Heinrich closed the door and approached as he spoke.

“Don’t even bring it up. Where else would you find such a cold-hearted husband? He’s completely different from how he was at the imperial palace. Back then, he acted like he’d give her everything, and our naive princess was fooled.”

Marlin spoke in a resentful voice.

Seeing her reddened eyes, Heinrich handed her a handkerchief and looked toward Heila.

With a dark expression, he asked,

“Is Her Highness still not improving?”

“Her fever has gone down a lot, at least. Last night, I was worried she might really pass away like this.”

At those words, the atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.

“What should we do now?”

“What can we do? For now, we have to endure. The wedding has already taken place—what else can be done?”

“He acted as if Her Grace was the only one in front of His Majesty, but you must have seen it at the ceremony. That mad woman is said to be His Grace’s mistress.”

At Marlin’s words, Heinrich also recalled her.

She was said to be the daughter of Count Bettia, a vassal of the ducal house.

Her wavy red hair cascaded like a waterfall, her large eyes resembled a lake, her nose was well-defined, and her full lips were red.

With doll-like, ornate features combined with a captivating aura, she was extraordinarily alluring.

Any man would find it difficult to resist such beauty.

However, unlike her beautiful appearance, her behavior went far beyond common sense.

“I can’t even begin to describe how stunned I was hearing people gossip at the ceremony. Listening to the servants, it sounded like they’ve known each other for a long time. How can something like this even happen?”

Marlin continued, trying to steady her voice as it rose with emotion.

“I think we should send a letter to His Majesty. At this rate, our princess might fall ill and die.”

“But His Majesty’s health is not good right now. Wouldn’t it only shock him? What if he were to collapse…”

The emperor, who cherished the daughter he had late in life more than anything, would surely be deeply shocked and heartbroken if he heard this news.

He had not been able to attend.

Suffering from a chronic illness and with his health recently deteriorating, he had been unable to attend his only daughter’s wedding.

“I suppose you’re right. Then what should we do? Do we just keep watching like this?”

“For now, let’s wait until she wakes up and observe the situation a little longer before deciding.”

“Alright.”

Marlin let out a deep sigh as she spoke.

“The people here are all so cold. It feels like even if Her Grace were to die, they wouldn’t grieve at all. If His Majesty knew that our princess, who was loved more than anyone, is being treated so poorly in this foreign place, how heartbroken he would be.”

“I agree. In any case, Her Grace needs to wake up as soon as possible….”

“That’s true.”

After that, Marlin and Heinrich exchanged a few more words.

Watching Heinrich leave, Marlin turned her attention back to Heila.

And so, she stayed by Heila’s side throughout the night.

At some point, as Marlin—exhausted—dozed off, Heila’s eyelids trembled.

Her long lashes quivered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Marlin, who had been holding Heila’s hand, sensed the movement and woke up.

As she rose, she saw Heila blinking with a dazed expression.

“Your Grace?”