Chapter 3

Time passed quickly.

Just as Father had said, when the season of full bloom arrived, so did my wedding day.

“What is it, Brother?”

“I have something to say to you.”

At Kion’s glance telling the others to leave, I gestured for the maids adjusting my dress to go outside.

“You look beautiful in your wedding dress, Lirie.”

“That’s not like you, Brother. Is it because it’s my wedding day?”

Kion, who had always treated me coldly and ignored me, spoke kindly for once.

“So, what is it you wanted to say, coming to see me before the wedding?”

Kion stepped closer to me.

His large, cold hand rested on my shoulder. Wrapping my shoulder gently, he spoke.

“Live for the Scarletts, Lirie.”

Of course.

I quickly hid my crumbling expression and nodded.

“You always say that, Brother. How many times do I have to tell you? I would never betray the Scarletts.”

How long would I have to keep repeating this?

It was something I could say without even thinking anymore.

“I’m just saying it in case.”

“You don’t need to worry, Brother.”

Only then did Kion seem relieved as he left the bridal waiting room.

About an hour passed before the sound of bells announcing the start of the wedding echoed throughout the hall.

“You look beautiful, Lirie.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Just before entering the hall, my father looked at me and, as always, offered his appraisal. His face wore a satisfied expression as he spoke.

‘He must be so happy.’

Like a shy bride, I hid my face behind my bouquet, forcing a faint smile.

I felt sick to my stomach at my father’s boundless ambition.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes, Father.”

I took my father’s hand and entered the hall. Befitting a wedding held in spring, the venue was lavishly decorated with flowers.

At the very front sat His Majesty the Emperor, who had decreed this marriage, and the nobles who followed my father.

Their expressions resembled my father’s.

They all knew this wasn’t a proper wedding, yet they brazenly congratulated me as if nothing were amiss.

“All of this is thanks to you, Father.”

Just before my father handed me over to the Duke of Winderton, I whispered to him in a quiet voice.

“I entrust Lirie to your care, Duke Winderton.”

With reddened eyes, my father passed me to the Duke.

To someone who didn’t know any better, he would have seemed like a father sending off his beloved daughter.

“There’s no need to worry, Duke Scarlett.”

The Duke of Winderton accepted my hand with a cold gaze.

The feeling was strange—shifting from my father’s old, wrinkled hand to the calloused hand of the Duke, shaped by years of swordsmanship.

‘No matter what you think of this marriage, it doesn’t matter to me, Duke Winderton.’

Though I could never say it aloud, I offered a silent, heartfelt condolence to the man who had been caught in the Emperor’s schemes.

In the end, both the Duke and I were being used.

Perhaps I was the luckier one—at least this marriage meant I could finally leave the hell that was Scarlett Castle.

“In the spring, when life begins anew, the bride and groom come together in holy matrimony to form a family…”

The high priest officiating the wedding droned on with dull, tedious words.

When his monotonous speech finally ended, the bells rang again, signaling the end of the ceremony.

“Congratulations, Duke Winderton. And to you as well, Duchess.”

That was the moment it finally felt real.

“Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty.”

My name was no longer Lirie Scarlett, but Lirie Winderton.

Edward Winderton and Lirie Scarlett, we became husband and wife that way.

***

After the wedding, the reception continued late into the night, but I returned to my bedroom early.

“All you need to do is wait for His Grace, my lady.”

It had been a day full of talk, but today was my wedding day, and tonight was the first night the married couple would spend together.

Led by the maids, I wore a nightdress so thin it showed every curve of my body and sat on the bed.

“Sigh…”

After the maids left, I looked down at my white hands showing through the nightdress.

I felt a sense of liberation, like a bird freed from its cage.

I couldn’t believe I had escaped the place that tormented me for twenty years.

“But will we even consummate the marriage…?”

Edward hates me.

Because of my father’s orders, I met him a few times after our first meeting and before the wedding.

Each time, he showed no interest in me whatsoever.

On the contrary, the deep-seated hostility he sometimes revealed wounded me.

‘If we don’t consummate the marriage, I’ll be reduced to a useless mistress…’

Just thinking about it was horrifying.

Bang—

While I was lost in those thoughts, the bedroom door swung open with a loud noise.

Through the open door appeared Edward, who, as of today, was my husband.

For someone late to the wedding night, he looked remarkably confident.

That confidence and brazenness left me speechless.

“……”

Even when Edward came right up to me, I just sat on the bed and looked up at him.

Maybe he had just finished bathing; water was dripping from his golden hair.

“Have you come?”

To break the uncomfortable silence, I spoke first.

“……”

Edward didn’t answer, only stared at me.

His pitch-black eyes gave nothing away. That made him even scarier.

I almost wished he were like my father, whose thoughts were always plain to see.

“Duke Winderton…!”

Ah, I couldn’t believe it.

It happened when I averted my gaze from his eyes.

Because Edward’s stare was too overwhelming, I turned my eyes away from him.

Then, Edward grabbed my chin and kissed me before I could say anything.

‘P-please……’

Faced with a kiss I couldn’t refuse, I could only blink as I accepted Edward’s rough advances.

I looked up at him, hoping for something, but his black eyes remained cold.

My heart ached at the emotionless contact.

“S-stop…!”

Unable to bear the ache that started near my heart, I pushed his solid body away with all my strength.

Even at my weak push, Edward drew back easily, watching me with a mocking smile as I teared up.

“Haa…”

I drew in shaky breaths, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me.

Once I had calmed down a bit, I took a deep breath and looked up at him.

“……”

The way he looked at my pitifully trembling shoulders was almost beautiful.

Cruelly, I felt as if I might be enchanted by him in that moment.

“Do you not want to share a bed with me?”

“…What do you mean.”

At last, Edward’s cold voice fell over my head.

I’d noticed it before, but he was a man whose coldness was different from Kion’s.

“How strange. As the daughter of House Scarlett, I thought you’d want to bear my heir.”

“…”

From Edward’s perspective, I must have seemed like nothing more than the Duke of Scarlett’s daughter, so his reaction felt inevitable.

Even though I could understand, Edward’s words were cruel, and every single one cut me like a wound.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“……”

I couldn’t answer Edward.

I knew he wouldn’t believe me no matter what I said, and, more than anything, I just couldn’t bring myself to speak.

“Honestly, I feel like I married a mute, not the daughter of House Scarlett. At this rate, I’m losing interest…”

His merciless words kept pouring out, not even giving me time to respond, and my mind grew hazy.

Unlike me, with my disheveled dress, Edward looked even more composed and perfect than before.

“…You think a mute would be better than me anyway.”

It was the first thing I had ever said to Edward.

I regretted it as soon as it left my mouth, but there was no taking it back now.

‘And it’s the truth, anyway.’

Edward, hearing my words, looked at me with an incredulous expression.

I should have held back a little longer.

Sharper words than I intended escaped my lips, and my own expression darkened.

“Ha, yes. I suppose a mute would be better than you.”

Watching Edward speak through gritted teeth as he held back his rising anger, I couldn’t help but feel wronged.

‘So what do you want me to do, then.’

It wasn’t my choice to be born the daughter of House Scarlett, and it felt so unfair that I had to live such a difficult life just because of my bloodline.