Chapter 3: Thorny Path (Part 2)

“It is an honor to give a congratulatory speech on such a joyous day.” 

With the King’s insincere words, the congratulatory speech began, and Sophia couldn’t tell how the wedding proceeded. She just moved like a doll, as instructed, with her face as pale as a corpse. 

However, her mind was complicated. 

She had conflicting feelings of wanting these troublesome affairs to end quickly and hoping the ceremony would never end. Because once the ceremony was over, she would be dragged to the Loden family. 

Meanwhile, the King finished his congratulatory speech and demanded a firm alliance between the Loden family and the Dveshi family. 

The two Dukes came forward and signed the pre-prepared contract, which the King received with a satisfied expression. 

After that, the marriage vows, ring exchange, and finally, the kiss of oath followed in quick succession. 

Fortunately, they only pretended to touch lips, not actually touching them. Unlike Clive, who had tried to kiss her forcibly, Killian seemed a bit different, but that was all. 

After all, Killian was a man from the Loden family who had deceived her. So Sophia didn’t want to judge him as a decent person over such a trivial thing.

“May peace continue between the two families from now on.” 

The ceremony concluded with the Chancellor raising a glass on behalf of the King, wishing for the kingdom’s peace. Normally, there would be applause and cheers from many people, but they only clapped formally, with no genuine blessings.

In this awkward atmosphere, Sophia exchanged formal greetings with Killian and tried to leave the ceremony hall with Emily’s help. She needed to go and change into her reception dress. 

It was when she reached out her hand to Emily. Suddenly, her body felt as heavy as lead, and she began to have difficulty breathing. 

Why is this happening? 

Then she felt dizzy, and her legs gave out. She hadn’t eaten anything since morning and hadn’t slept all night, and the fatigue from having to go through an unwanted wedding all at once overwhelmed her. 

“Sophia!” 

The last thing she heard was her father’s excited voice from afar before she lost consciousness in the Duke’s arms, wishing she could go to the Dveshi family, an impossible wish. 

As Sophia fainted in the Duke’s arms, the people from the Dveshi family all approached her, but the people from the Loden family didn’t budge from their spots. 

“How can someone so weak marry into the Loden family?” 

“Exactly.” 

Instead, they uttered harsh words toward Sophia. When Duke Dveshi turned his gaze to those who insulted his daughter, they clamped their mouths shut. 

Instead, they whispered in low voices, making it clear they had complaints about Sophia, judging by their frowning faces. However, the Duke couldn’t afford to confront those people. 

First, he needed to check if Sophia’s body was alright. 

“Go and bring a doctor! Quickly!” 

The people from the Dveshi family began to move busily, while the people from the Loden family started leaving the ceremony hall one by one, as if their job was done. 

Killian, who had become Sophia’s husband, only watched from a distance and didn’t approach her like the Loden family members. 

The only difference was that, unlike the Loden family members, a faint smile appeared on his lips, accompanied by a cold gaze.

And at that moment, his eyes gleamed with a light that could be either joy or madness. 

* * * 

“Uh, um?”

Sophia tossed and turned, then opened her eyes.

“Miss, are you awake?”

The first thing she saw was Emily’s worried face.

“Where am I?”

The unfamiliar bed she woke up in made Sophia look around to figure out where she was lying.

Instead of answering, Emily’s face darkened instantly. Seeing that, Sophia felt she knew where she was without needing an answer.

It must be the Loden family’s mansion. After the wedding, it was only natural for Sophia to go to the Loden family, but it left a bitter feeling.

“Miss, are you alright?”

When Sophia tried to get up, Emily hurriedly supported her.

“Uh, uh. I’m fine. What about my family?”

“They all returned to the Dveshi estate.”

“Without saying anything?”

“Of course not. They insisted on staying to nurse you until you woke up, but His Majesty stopped them. He said since you are now a member of the Loden family, going to the Loden family is the right thing to do. So, they only changed your clothes and brought you here.”

“I see.”

With a sigh of resignation, Sophia got out of bed with Emily’s help.

As she looked around the room, she felt strange. If she hadn’t known whose room it was, she would have thought it belonged to a man, given the black background, gold-patterned wallpaper, and dark furniture.

Not liking it very much, she sent a disapproving look when suddenly—

“Eek!”

The moment she saw the decorative piece of a deer’s head with antlers mounted on the wall opposite the bed, Sophia was so startled she almost fell.

Emily supported her as she tried to regain her composure, but she couldn’t.

The deer, looking down from the ceiling opposite the bedroom, gave her the creepy feeling of being watched, sending shivers down her spine.

She couldn’t cover its eyes….

She wanted to cover the deer’s eyes with a cloth, but the ceiling was so high that even standing on a chair, she couldn’t reach it. A ladder was needed, but she couldn’t ask for one, so Sophia had to endure it.

“What a refined taste.”

Lowering her gaze to the floor, Sophia clicked her tongue.

Whether it was the taste of the second son or the third son, it was a room Sophia did not welcome at all.

But it was also the room she would have to stay in from now on. The thought of having to see that deer’s head every day, even if she didn’t want to, made her feel suffocated.

“Miss, doesn’t it look a bit strange to you too? How could they set up such a room as a bridal chamber?”

Emily, too, seemed to feel repulsed, complaining in a disgruntled voice.

“Indeed.”

At the moment she agreed with her, suddenly, a short laugh was heard. Even though it was an unwanted wedding, they seemed to be trying to maintain basic appearances, as a banquet was in full swing outside.

“After you collapsed, Miss, the reception was canceled, so they held a small banquet with only the Loden family members and their guests who attended the wedding.”

As Emily explained the situation outside, Sophia, hearing this, walked toward where the banquet was being held. She knew she wouldn’t be welcomed, but she intended to just see what kind of atmosphere it was from afar.

It was a party solely for the Loden family members, without the Dveshi family, but the atmosphere wasn’t particularly good.

“Damn those Dveshi family bastards! How dare they target someone’s life?”

“They must have been trying to completely destroy the Loden family. Should we just stand by and watch them?”

“Since His Majesty is involved, we must restrain ourselves for now.”

Occasionally, voices cursing the Dveshi family were heard.

Hearing them curse only the Dveshi family without a word against Clive, who was at fault, made Sophia boil with indignation.

She wanted to step forward and say the Loden family’s conduct was worse, but how could she say such a thing in enemy territory?

She had to pretend she hadn’t heard anything, so Sophia stopped her steps toward the banquet hall and clenched her fists.

“Miss….”

Emily, who had followed her, looked at her with pity but couldn’t say more. She knew that no words could comfort her.

Even though it was an unwanted situation, Sophia had married into the Loden family, so she had to find her way through it on her own. To do that, she had to get out of the Loden family as soon as possible, and there was only one way.

Divorce!

Since she had entered the marriage thinking of divorce from the beginning, what she had to do was find the Loden family’s weaknesses. Especially something related to Killian would be even better.