Chapter 2 – The Swapped Groom (Part 5)

As her father said, there’s no need to associate with people from the Loden family!

After that, Sophia was more cautious about meeting Clive. She initially thought he might be different from the rest of the Loden family, but he turned out to be despicable in another way, making her lose any desire to maintain even a modest relationship.

Her resentment towards the Loden family only grew, making her increasingly reluctant to marry Clive.

I wish time would slow down!

Sophia wished for the days to feel longer, but unfortunately, time continued to fly by quickly.

As her wish went unfulfilled, with the wedding day approaching, Sophia spent her days in a state of restless anxiety.

Once again, she had to rely on medicine to calm herself. But just as she managed to regain some composure, another ordeal loomed over Sophia.

“This is ridiculous!”

Duke Dveshi stormed into the mansion, visibly furious, prompting the Duchess to ask with a startled expression.

“What happened?”

“A decree has been issued for Sophia to stay with the Loden family for a year.”

Even when nobles married, the royal family rarely intervened. Although they could enforce a marriage in special cases like this, further interference was excessive.

The sudden royal decree seemed to stem from rumors that Sophia was avoiding meeting Clive. Thus, the King took drastic measures.

“What does that mean? Are they suggesting we send Sophie into that hell? This only benefits the Loden family. Why didn’t you oppose it firmly? How can we know what might happen there?”

“The King’s will is too strong to oppose.”

This indicated the King’s anger was significant, leaving Duke Dveshi unable to protest.

“How can you say that? I can’t send Sophie to the Loden family!”

“I, of course, don’t want that either. But what can we do about a decree?”

“No, I’d rather defy the order. I refuse to send Sophie to the Loden family. I’ll go and protest right away.”

As the Duke and Duchess couldn’t reconcile their differences, Liam stepped in to mediate.

“Surely nothing will happen. His Majesty must have his reasons for such a decision. If something happens to Sophia, the Loden family won’t go unscathed. So, it’s best to follow His Majesty’s order for now.”

Liam likely chose a peaceful stance, but Sophia felt disappointed by his attitude.

“Brother, aren’t you worried about me? You said before that if you’d known earlier, you would have stopped it somehow.”

“There won’t be any issues. Trust me.”

“I want to trust you, but I can’t trust the Loden family.”

Sophia couldn’t understand why Liam trusted them, but she didn’t want to.

“Have I ever asked you to do something harmful?”

“No.”

“Then trust me. Nothing will happen.”

“Alright.”

Despite her objections, Liam’s resolute gaze left Sophia with no choice but to relent.

He had never asked her to do anything harmful before. On the contrary, he had always helped her solve her worries, so Sophia had absolute faith in Liam’s words.

Thus, she had no choice but to trust him this time as well.

“I’m sorry for putting you in such a painful position.”

As she reluctantly accepted, Liam’s expression turned apologetic.

Though she couldn’t understand why he apologized after telling her to trust him, she forced a smile nonetheless.

“Now that Sophie has made her decision, we need to decide who will accompany her.”

Duke Dveshi patted her gently and signaled to the butler. The butler nodded and gathered all the household staff of the Dveshi family in one place.

Stopping their tasks, the staff quickly assembled in an orderly line as directed by the butler. Once everyone was in place, Duke Dveshi finally spoke.

“Sophie will be staying with the Loden family for a year. We need two attendants and five maids to accompany her. We’ll offer double the current salary, so if anyone wishes to volunteer, raise your hand.”

Expecting no volunteers, as those working for the Dveshi family wouldn’t be welcomed by the Loden family, Duke Dveshi was surprised by the number of raised hands.

“I absolutely want to follow the Miss!”

Naturally, Emily was the first to raise her hand.

“I want to go too. I can’t let the Miss suffer alone.”

“Me too!”

Several other maids also raised their hands, unwilling to let Sophia face the Loden family alone. Driven by a sense of mission to protect her from the devil’s den, they volunteered.

“Thank you all.”

Sophia felt both sorry and grateful to those who chose the thorny path, knowing they would not be treated well by following her.

She selected the maids and attendants to accompany her, and Duke Dveshi assigned two escort knights to join them.

The knights, unable to trust the Loden family, were assigned by the Duke despite Sophia’s assurance that she’d be fine.

With the entourage decided, it became clear that the day of departure to the Loden family was fast approaching. The realization weighed heavily on her heart.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one feeling this way, as everyone in the Dveshi family, except Liam, was shrouded in an atmosphere as somber as a funeral.

“I haven’t found any fatal flaws in that Clive yet, and the wedding is almost here.”

Duke Dveshi had been searching for Clive’s weaknesses but found nothing significant enough to report to the King. With time running out, anxiety was evident on his face.

“The issue of children still remains.”

A heavy sigh escaped the Duke’s lips.

If she didn’t have a child, a divorce would be impossible. And it wasn’t feasible to deceive the King by claiming another child as Sophia’s.

‘The second son of the Loden family is not the type to be satisfied with one woman, so he will only hurt Sophia. Can you reconsider the marriage?’

‘Unless there’s an illegitimate child, there’s no evidence of ongoing ties with previous women. He might change for the better after marriage, so let’s observe for now.’

Duke Dveshi had once protested to the King, citing evidence of Clive’s philandering. However, the King seemed to have no intention of annulling the marriage unless Clive brought a child from outside.

Seeing the King’s resolute stance left Duke Dveshi with no means to persuade him, leading to deep frustration.

“Ah! It would be better to render the second son of the Loden family impotent. That way, there will never be a child.”

Duke Dveshi recalled the investigations into Clive. Despite changing women every night, there wasn’t a single woman claiming to have borne his child.

Whether there truly wasn’t one or it was well-hidden, Duke Dveshi had yet to find any illegitimate offspring.

Could he really be impotent?

The thought suddenly struck him. It made no sense that there were no children despite his nightly escapades unless he was infertile.

If they could just prove that he was impotent, the King would no longer be able to force the marriage between Sophia and Clive. 

The relationship with the Loden family could also be leveraged to their advantage.

Duke Dveshi, thinking he must not miss this opportunity, spoke to Sophia in an excited tone.

“Yes, that would be better! We need to gather more evidence that he cannot sow his seed. So remember, Sophie, your goal is divorce!”

“Yes, I understand!”

Sophia nodded with a determined expression. Pleased with her answer, Duke Dveshi gave a wicked smile.

After a leisurely week, Sophia had to spend the remaining week busily.

Though she was reluctant about the wedding, it was still the biggest event of her life, so she had to be prepared.

Although she had received treatments before, this time she had to receive special care from head to toe, unlike before.

To improve her hair, she applied an egg pack and received scalp massages. For clear skin, she applied cucumber to her face every night. She also bathed in a tub filled with rose petals, using lavish amounts of expensive oils.

“There’s no need to look pretty, so do I have to do all this?”

“Guests will be coming, so we need to let them know that you are too good for this, my lady.”

Though Sophia was full of complaints, she was persuaded by Emily and followed her advice.

That wasn’t all. Sophia also had to choose a wedding dress and matching accessories.

When the Madame from the atelier commissioned by the royal family visited the mansion with dresses, Sophia tried on each recommended dress. She couldn’t choose carelessly, considering the Madame’s dedication.

While it would have been right to choose the most suitable dress, since it was an unwanted wedding, none of the dresses appealed to Sophia.

“This dress is too glittery, and that dress is just too extravagant.”

Finding a dress that wasn’t too flashy and just modest enough took considerable time. Preparing for the wedding kept her busy, and the week passed in a flash.