Behind the maids stood Baroness Taleon, the head maid, with an angry expression on her face. 

“Get up immediately.”

The Baroness ordered, gesturing dismissively as if the task were a chore. 

Elliope, still caught in the lingering haze of her dream, remained seated. The maids approached and pulled her unceremoniously to her feet. 

“I said get up at once.” 

“Your days of lounging around the Imperial Palace are long gone.” 

In truth, Elliope had never been lazy – not in the palace, nor on her journey to this place. Yet the maids whispered as if she had always been incorrigible. 

“Your Highness!” 

Startled by the rough treatment, Emma hurried over to intervene. Baroness Taleon gave her a sharp look. 

“Leave Her Highness with the other maids and fetch the wedding dress. I’ve had it laid out in the next room.” 

“But… even so…” 

“Now!” 

It was not until Emma had left the room, having been scolded, that Elliope’s mind completely cleared. The reason for the sudden intrusion of the head maid and the other maids dawned on her. A wedding dress? 

‘Is it because of the wedding?’ 

Yes. There had been talk of holding the wedding the morning after the reception. 

‘I thought it was just an empty threat to put pressure on me.’ 

She had assumed it was just a tactic to unsettle her, a way of keeping her on edge and breaking her spirit. Elliope hadn’t seriously believed that the wedding would actually take place the next day – and with good reason. 

Even in their previous lives, Elliope and Theodor’s wedding had been delayed and postponed many times. The reasons had been trivial, boiling down to a power struggle between the ducal family and the Imperial Palace. 

“Are you really going to marry a fake princess?” 

“Of course not.” 

“Your master is the Grand Duke of Ilmos. Must he suffer the indignity of being insulted by a fledgling Imperial family that has barely unified the Empire?” 

“We must demand that Princess Leanne be sent instead!” 

Thus began the month-long power struggle between the Imperial Family and Theodor. 

The groom, who was supposed to cement the alliance through marriage, changed his mind repeatedly and without warning, often leaving Elliope stranded on the day of the wedding. Each time it was announced that the wedding would actually take place that day, Elliope would dutifully prepare herself, fully dressed and groomed, only to spend the entire day standing in the empty ceremonial hall waiting for Theodor to make his entrance. 

When he inevitably failed to appear, she would return to her room late at night and fall into a fitful sleep, exhausted both physically and emotionally. 

Even after this had happened several times, the thought of protesting never crossed her mind. She had no choice – if they threw her out, she had nowhere else to go. 

Even after her marriage, despite the neglect, she had continued to visit her husband’s chambers for the same reason she was now standing for hours in the cold hall, dressed in an immaculate white wedding gown. She tried to think positively at the time, telling herself that the delays would give her more time to fit the dress. 

When the wedding finally came, it felt unreal. 

That day, as always, she stood in the banqueting hall, dressed in her finest, waiting for hours. She wondered if it would all be for nothing again. 

It wasn’t until the retainers began to murmur and the seats began to fill that she began to believe that this time it might actually happen. A nameless tension swelled in her chest, making her heart race. 

“At last.” 

There she stood, filled with hope and excitement, eagerly awaiting the man she loved. 

“Just get it over with.” 

And then Theodor entered, dressed in hunting clothes, impatiently urging the priest to hurry up and finish the ceremony. 

Without warning, he entered, made a half-hearted vow and promptly left. His knights, carrying supplies for the hunt, followed him out in a hurry. The retainers, seeing the Grand Duke leave, quickly vacated their seats as well. 

Once again, she was left alone in the Hall of Ceremonies. 

Only a few maids remained, casting furtive glances in her direction, lamenting their own misfortune as much as the fallen state of the princess they served. 

That was the entirety of her wedding in her previous life. Not long after, she heard that the Imperial Family had sent additional funds to the Duchy on top of the original dowry. The power struggle had ended there, with a calculated compromise. 

So she had assumed the same would happen in this life. 

“Are you saying the wedding will actually take place today?”

Elliope asked, her voice devoid of emotion. 

Baroness Taleon’s face twisted into an irritated scowl. 

“Then are you saying you have no intention of going through with it?” 

‘I suppose I do.’

The thought crossed her mind as she looked down at her ring finger, where she had been bitten the day before. There was no sign of it. 

‘I… I with Kallian…’ 

Before she could finish her thought, someone entered the room. It was the man she had just thought of. 

“Sir Kallian.”

Kallian entered as he had the day before, standing silently in a corner of the room, his eyes fixed on the wall. 

Only Emma seemed to pay him any attention. By now, the bath water had been brought into the room. 

“My lord, are you…” 

Before Emma could finish her question – wondering if Kallian had been ordered to guard Elliope while she prepared – the head maid spoke up. 

“Sir, look properly.” 

“…” 

“You must carry out the Grand Duke’s orders faithfully.” 

At these words, Kallian slowly turned his body. 

“Hurry, Your Highness.”

The maids began to undress Elliope without proper shields, as if they were deliberately trying to humiliate her. 

As the rustling fabric was pulled up and away, her slender body was revealed. Despite her slender frame, her soft, full br*asts shifted upwards before settling with a slight bounce. 

The soft, pale skin of her underbust, along with the pink hue of her *reolas, caught the sunlight filtering through the windows, giving them a faint glow. Her flat stomach with its gentle curve, small hips and slender thighs and legs were exposed one by one. 

The chill in the air sent shivers down her bare skin. 

“Hmph.”

Rayla, who had undressed Elliope, sneered as she finished removing the rest of her clothes. Elliope flinched for a moment, afraid the maids would notice the marks Kallian had left on her body. 

But just like the bite mark on her ring finger, the one Kallian had left on her upper chest had almost completely faded. 

“…” 

Kallian stood there, looking at her with his usual indifferent expression, his gaze unwavering. 

“Hehe.”

The maids chuckled softly, amused by Kallian’s steady gaze. 

Only Emma, who looked like she might faint, tried desperately to shield Elliope’s body with her own. 

Elliope almost told her not to waste her energy. To others this scene might have seemed deeply humiliating, but to Elliope it didn’t feel that way at all. 

After all, they were soon to be husband and wife. 

Besides, Kallian had done far more intimate things to her than this before. 

Under other circumstances she might have felt differently, but knowing that this act was intended to humiliate made it impossible for Elliope to feel embarrassed. To blush and shrink from such a deliberate insult would have been foolish. 

“Raise your arms properly.”

One of the maids, assisted by Baroness Taleon, ordered. 

Apparently expecting her to be overcome with shame, they held her in place to prevent her from covering herself as they washed her. 

Coarse, barely lathering soap and ill-prepared brushes were rubbed haphazardly against her skin, leaving her feeling raw. 

Through it all, Kallian watched with his usual calm gaze, his eyes betraying no emotion. His focus lingered here and there on her pale skin before finally returning to her face. 

“…” 

As Elliope met Kallian’s gaze, she suddenly remembered the moment in the hut when he had asked if he could bathe her himself. 

The thought of him replacing the maids and gently washing her body made her feel warm. Strangely, she found herself imagining that he would treat her far more tenderly and delicately than the maids who were now scrubbing her roughly. 

“How inappropriate.”

Baroness Taleon muttered, apparently mistaking the blush in her ears for a sign of shame. The Baroness made a point of speaking louder, as if to ensure that Elliope heard every word. 

She repeatedly insulted Elliope’s body, calling it unimpressive and ungraceful. 

“Exposing your body to someone who isn’t even your husband, without covering yourself properly – how shameless.” 

The unfounded slander continued, and the bathing process dragged on unnecessarily, as if the maids wanted to prolong her discomfort as much as possible. 

But every time Kallian’s gaze swept over her body, Elliope’s mind wandered and her eyes grew unfocused and dreamy. 

“Oh dear, it looks like we’re going to be late.”

Apparently satisfied that Elliope had suffered enough humiliation, Baroness Taleon finally urged the maids to finish. As soon as the bath was over, her body was roughly dried and a randomly chosen scented oil was sprinkled on her skin. 

Soon the wedding dress was brought out and placed on her. 

It was a poorly made dress with a design that might have been fashionable 20 or 30 years ago. The hem, neglected and improperly cared for, was riddled with moth-eaten holes. 

“This is…” 

“This is the wedding dress worn by the late Grand Duchess.”

Baroness Taleon explained.

“Surely you’re not thinking of refusing to wear it.” 

Emma’s face turned pale again, but Elliope felt no particular emotion. 

It was clear that Theodor had carelessly abandoned his mother’s dress and left it to rot. That was the sort of man he was. 

It was only when the dress was put on that she realised she had lost her last chance to call off the wedding before the ceremony. 

‘There must be some time left.’

Come to think of it, Theodor would probably never show his face again. The welcoming ceremony the day before had been an exception. 

Besides, he had stormed off in a bad mood, obviously upset. It was obvious that he had called her to the ceremony just to humiliate her in public. 

Still, the thought of being dragged there to stand around all day did not sit well with her. Spending more time with him felt like a complete waste. 

‘I should have acted earlier and married Kallian before the wedding.’ 

Kallian had already agreed, so all they had to do was set a date, exchange vows and return with the marriage complete. Then no one would be able to annul their union. 

She regretted not pushing the matter sooner, but on the other hand, she had only secured Kallian’s consent the night before. They had practically no time left. Elliope stifled a sigh. 

‘Just this once.’

She decided to go to the ceremony one last time. If Theodor didn’t show up, she would leave immediately and return to her room. There was no point in waiting for him any longer. 

As she made up her mind and raised her head, Baroness Taleon snapped sharply.

“Hurry up. The Grand Duke is waiting for you in the Hall of Ceremonies.”