Chapter 3: Thorny Path (Part 1)

What on earth is happening?

Once again dragged into the bride’s waiting room and being adorned, Sophia could not comprehend her situation. No, it felt like she was trapped in a nightmare.

Being forced to prepare for a second wedding against her will? Is this even a reasonable situation?

To be precise, after the first wedding fell through, she had to immediately have a wedding with a different husband.

Does this make any sense at all?!

In the 20 years of Sophia’s life, today was the worst day. Her groom had run away, and now she was to marry a man who despised her….

After experiencing so many absurd events, she was confused about whether this was a dream or reality, but the fact that her groom changed on her wedding day was a reality she had to accept.

Marrying someone from the Loden family itself was already an absurd situation….

It would have been better if it were a nightmare. At least upon waking, a different reality might unfold. But no matter how much she pinched or hit her cheeks, nothing changed, leaving her only with a sense of despair.

Sophia had no choice but to accept reality quietly because her protests at the wedding venue earlier were ignored.

‘Then I suppose it’s resolved, isn’t it, Duke Dveshi? The marriage partner has changed, but the partner is still a young master from the Loden Dukedom, so isn’t it fine?’

The King’s face brightened as Killian stepped forward.

‘Then let’s proceed with the wedding now. Everything is prepared anyway.’

As if intending to conclude everything at this opportunity, he uttered a nonsensical statement.

Get married now?

At that moment, Sophia’s face turned pale. She had been rejected by a man from the Loden family, and now she was to marry another man from that same family immediately. How could this be reasonable?

‘Get married now? No, I won’t!’

Just the thought of it was so dreadful that Sophia, who had been silent until now, confidently expressed her opinion. Though she had no right to assert herself, this was a matter concerning her life.

But no one listened to her words. Not even Duke Dveshi. Thus, Sophia’s voice vanished futilely into the air.

Where in the world is there a wedding where the bride’s opinion is completely ignored?

When her opinion was dismissed, Sophia sent a pleading look to Duke Dveshi. Since her groom had changed from Clive to Killian, they could substitute Annette for her.

Sophia knew that her sister Annette had once harbored feelings for Killian. So it would be right for her sister, not her, to marry him.

But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. If she did, it would seem like she was pushing the marriage onto Annette, making the situation even more chaotic.

In this situation, the person who could voice that suggestion was Duke Dveshi, not her.

Please!

Sophia hoped her father would understand her heart, but it seemed her signals weren’t reaching Duke Dveshi, who was too angry and had lost his composure.

Duke Dveshi’s gaze was fixed solely on the King.

‘I find it difficult to accept the proposal of easily changing the groom.’

‘Then are you really going to take the life of the young master of the Loden family?’

At that moment, the King’s voice turned cold, and his gaze toward Duke Dveshi became fierce. It contained an unspoken threat that if he didn’t relent, forceful measures would be taken.

‘I shall comply with Your Majesty’s command.’

In the end, Duke Dveshi had to withdraw his opinion. The King’s gaze softened slightly, having heard the desired answer.

‘I will also obey Your Majesty’s words.’

The Duke of Loden, who had been wearing a displeased expression, also bent one knee and submitted to the King’s order.

With both the Duke of Loden and Duke Dveshi not objecting to her marriage, Sophia could no longer insist on not marrying, leading to the current situation.

“Oh no, a problem has arisen! Our plan has completely gone awry. I’m worried about whether we can divorce easily.”

Thus, a lament escaped from Duke Dveshi’s lips, as following the King’s order had derailed their plan.

“Can’t we just find the weakness of the third son of the Loden family?”

Duchess Dveshi, puzzled by his demeanor, tilted her head.

“That rascal Killian is the Duke of Loden’s most cherished son. So if his personality is similar to the Duke’s, there’s a high chance he has few flaws.”

The issue was that Killian had almost no flaws, unlike Clive, who had many. Therefore, their plan to use Clive’s faults as an excuse for divorce had gone awry.

“Why did Clive run away from the wedding!”

In many ways, having Clive as Sophia’s husband was advantageous for them. But the troublesome fellow, who had been causing issues from the start, had ruined their plan.

Seeing Duke Dveshi still in a state of resentment, Sophia thought there might still be an opportunity to avoid the marriage.

“Then just have Annette marry him instead of me.”

She belatedly voiced the suggestion she couldn’t make earlier to the Duke.

“Annette is absolutely not an option.”

To her surprise, Duke Dveshi’s response was firm, without a moment’s hesitation.

“Why? My sister once had feelings for Sir Killian. So if they marry, they could live happily.”

“That’s precisely why she can’t. How could I ask her to live a life of one-sided love when Sir Killian has no feelings for Annette?”

“Isn’t it better than a marriage without love like mine?”

“You can divorce, but Annette wouldn’t want a divorce. That’s why it can’t happen.”

Even though Sophia tried to persuade him, Duke Dveshi seemed determined not to change his mind, as the marriage was being conducted with divorce in mind.

“My sister will be disappointed when she finds out later.”

“I know, but there’s no other choice. For Annette’s sake, it’s better not to marry her off. Even if I wanted to follow your suggestion, Annette isn’t here right now. She’s running a high fever; I can’t forcibly dress her up and bring her here for the wedding.”

“Then let’s postpone the wedding. Since they made a mistake too, can’t we easily overlook it?”

Sophia, showing her desperate heart through unreasonable insistence, was met with a shake of the head from Duke Dveshi.

“It’s a slightly different issue. If we’re not careful, both you and Annette could end up looking foolish.”

“I don’t care if I look foolish, as long as I don’t have to marry.”

“No, it’s complicated. So for now, proceed with the wedding. Afterward, we’ll find a way to divorce. Of course, we’ll think of that method gradually.”

“Father…!”

No matter how much Sophia clung to Duke Dveshi’s arm, it was of no use. He merely shook his head, lips firmly sealed as if he had said all he needed to say.

“Given the situation, find that rascal’s weakness. Even something small is fine; gather them step by step to create an opportunity for divorce.”

“Understood.”

Ultimately resigned, Sophia lowered her head. It seemed that the only solution to this absurd situation was divorce, as her father suggested.

Finding Sir Loden’s weakness as quickly as possible would be the best way to escape this hellish situation, right?

Since there is no perfect person in the world, he must have some flaws. The problem was whether those flaws would lead to divorce.

While she was resigned, a knock echoed in the waiting room.

“We’ll begin the ceremony now, so please prepare and come out.”

“Yes.”

With Emily answering on her behalf, Sophia left the waiting room with her help and boarded the carriage. She had been fine just a moment ago, but being alone again, a wave of melancholy washed over her.

What wrong did I commit in a past life to have my groom change at the altar?

Who would have known that she would have to ride the wedding carriage twice in one day, especially for a marriage she didn’t want?

Inside the swaying carriage, Sophia lamented her unfortunate fate. The thought of disappearing in the carriage crossed her mind, so overwhelming was her sorrow.

But the heavens were not on her side. The carriage arrived at the venue without incident, and Sophia was forced to step out.

She took Duke Dveshi’s hand and walked down the red carpet laid among the colorful flowers. 

The time it took to approach the podium felt incredibly short, and before she knew it, she had arrived next to Killian after just a few steps. 

On the surface, it appeared to be a grand wedding, but if you looked closely, it was a mess. 

The atmosphere was already not very good, but after the groom changed, the mood of the wedding venue was so somber it was reminiscent of a funeral. Compared to this, the atmosphere at the engagement ceremony seemed bright. 

The expressions of the people in the ceremony hall were not bright. Even the King, who officiated the ceremony, had a smile on his lips, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all. 

Sophia also couldn’t even force a smile, so she wore a gloomy expression throughout the ceremony. Fortunately, since she was wearing a veil, her face wasn’t visible. 

Killian, standing beside her, also showed no emotion on his face.

Even if he didn’t show it outwardly, his insides must be in turmoil, right? 

It was obvious that Killian, too, would find the current situation dreadful as it was a forced marriage because of Clive. Thinking that way made her feel sorry for him, who was in the same situation.