Chapter 6.3

While Carnier sighed, Katrina’s face turned red with rage. She frantically scanned the room and picked up a sword one of the mercenaries had dropped.  

But having never held anything heavier than a teapot, she couldn’t even lift it properly. Straining and grunting, she froze when Carnier began to approach her, one step at a time. In the end, Katrina dropped the sword and screamed.  

“You barbarian! A woman wielding a sword and spilling blood like a man—how can you… how can you…”  

“You were just about to swing that sword yourself, weren’t you? And now that you can’t, I’m the barbarian? What a convenient way to think.”  

“Shut up! It’s all because of you… everything is because of you…”  

Katrina screamed until her back hit the wall. She fell silent only when Carnier’s sword slammed into the wall beside her face.  

Carnier’s cold eyes gleamed as she spoke.  

“It’s because of you.”  

“…!”  

“Everything wrong with your life—it’s because of you.”  

Carnier stepped back after finally saying the words she’d wanted to say for so long. The moment the blade grazed her cheek, Katrina’s legs gave out, and she sank to the floor.  

Though Carnier’s hands were now empty, Katrina couldn’t move as if her legs were glued to the ground. The situation had completely reversed from the start.  

Carnier sighed quietly and turned away. Just as she reached for the door to leave, a faint voice stopped her.  

“…If only.”  

“….”  

“If only your brother and your family hadn’t exposed him…”  

I could have been a Princess.  

To Katrina, all the tragedy had begun with the downfall of her former fiancé, now the deposed Third Prince.  

“…We were the same age, had similar names, and similar circumstances…”  

“….”  

“Why me…? Why only me…?”

Carnier frowned and turned back. She corrected Katrina’s misunderstanding.  

“It wasn’t my brother who exposed him. He was discovered during an investigation. It was entirely the fault of the deposed Third Prince for distributing banned narcotics.”  

“Don’t be ridiculous… He was His Majesty the Emperor’s most beloved son. If only you and your family had just looked the other way…”  

“It was His Majesty who ordered a thorough investigation into everyone connected to the deposed Third Prince and demanded severe punishment. And before that, it was my brother who petitioned the Third  Prince to annul the engagement with your family. Because of that…”  

Carnier’s voice dropped decisively.  

“Your family survived.”  

“…What?”  

“Your brother, I mean. How do you think someone with no prior acquaintance would recognize the Third Prince in disguise?”  

Five years ago, during the widespread investigation into narcotics distribution, Bartolio Eseth’s name had come up among those connected to the deposed Third Prince.  

“He may not have been involved with the drugs, but he was apparently gambling at the scene of a narcotics transaction. That man.”  

“…!”  

“My brother once said this:  

• That girl, the deposed Third Prince’s fiancée, seems genuinely unaware of anything. But if we conduct a strict investigation, her brother won’t escape punishment, and a respectable family will be utterly destroyed.  

“‘She’s the same age as you, has a similar name, and was only tied to the Imperial Family because of her late father’s promise. It would be too cruel for her to endure. So we decided to bury the matter quietly.’”  

“….”  

“And that’s why I kept my mouth shut too. About the real reason you had to be annulled.”  

Carnier had never once looked down on Katrina. Even if she pitied her, she never showed it.  

It wasn’t Carnier’s fault that Katrina had chosen to harbor resentment, misinterpreting her silence.  

As the noblewoman destined to become the Crown Princess, Carnier had to maintain her dignity above all else.  

“But as of today, you’re truly finished.”  

The girl who had once received the mercy of others was now an adult, old enough to take responsibility for her actions.  

Hearing the distant sound of horses neighing, Carnier turned her head. She approached the window. Through the dusty glass, she saw knights galloping in formation.  

And at the forefront, she saw a familiar face.  

“…It seems I’m not the only one who’s finished.”  

Katrina, who had been staring blankly into space, let out a faint laugh.  

“With the bride missing from the royal wedding, do you think the Crown Prince, who’s been waiting for you to slip up, will let this chance pass?”  

You’ll be annulled too, just wait.  

Katrina spat her curse like a final act of defiance.  

Carnier, however, flung the window open and responded nonchalantly.  

“Oh, I forgot to mention. That ‘secret lover’ your brother claimed to have seen with the Crown Prince? That was me.”  

“…What?”  

“Even with the royal wedding approaching, he still went out of his way to meet me. That’s how much he cares about me.”  

Carnier shot Katrina a sly smile as she turned her head to look at her.  

“We were secretly dating all along.”  

Without waiting for a response, Carnier climbed onto the window ledge.  

“Servante! Brother!”  

“Carnier!”  

“Get down! It’s dangerous!”  

The two men who had just arrived in the estate’s courtyard turned pale.  

Carnier, her hair disheveled and her dress in tatters, stood precariously on the window ledge.  

Unlike the two horrified men, Carnier calmly kicked off her shoes. Then she spread her arms wide.  

“I’m coming down now!”  

“No! Not like that!”  

“The stairs! Carnier, use the stairs!”  

Ignoring their frantic shouts, Carnier leapt.  

The men, panic-stricken, rushed forward on their horses. But instead of landing on the ground, Carnier gracefully jumped onto a sturdy tree branch nearby. From there, she hopped down branch by branch until she landed directly into one of the men’s arms.  

“Carnier, that was reckless!”  

“You’re late, Brother!”  

The knights who had followed the siblings into the courtyard caught their breath and stared in stunned silence. Serante, standing frozen with his arms outstretched, was no different.  

Carnier, now cradled like a princess in her brother’s arms, quickly glanced at her fiancé’s face and offered an explanation.  

“Servante, you’re wearing formal attire. What if it got dirty because of me?”  

“That’s not the issue right now…”  

“Not the issue?! Do you know how worried we were when you suddenly disappeared?!”  

“What about the wedding?”  

Before the scolding could continue, Carnier cut them off with her question.  

“It’s not canceled, is it? The guests haven’t left yet, have they? I wasn’t annulled, was I? Please tell me I wasn’t!”  

“…It wasn’t canceled. Just slightly delayed.”  

“The priest officiating the ceremony suggested starting in the afternoon as the most auspicious time. The guests are enjoying a musical performance in the meantime.”  

“Oh, priests can tell fortunes now?”  

“I said it was an excuse! Do you think I’d just sit back and let the wedding be annulled after you disappeared…?”  

Carnier, now seated on her brother’s horse, grabbed Servante’s cravat and pulled him close. She gave him a quick peck on the lips.  

“Of course you wouldn’t let that happen, my love. Thank you.”  

“…What are you doing in front of your brother?”  

“What? After all the times I pretended not to notice your romantic escapades?”  

“How is that the same as this?!”  

“…Ahem. Let’s head back. Carnier’s condition comes first.”  

“Your Highness, are you seriously letting this slide?!”  

Carnier sighed dramatically and snatched the reins from her brother.  

“Enough! There’s no time! Let’s head back to the venue!”  

“What? The venue?”  

“What are you talking about?! We need to see a doctor first—”  

Ignoring him, Carnier kicked the horse’s side. Her brother quickly grabbed her shoulder and took back the reins.  

“Carnier!”  

“Brother, send someone to the estate to fetch Beth. Have her bring the second-choice dress as well!”  

“Carnier, listen to me!”  

“No, you listen to me!”  

Carnier pinched the back of her brother’s hand.  

“Today is my wedding day! Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this?!”  

“I-I know, but still…”  

“If anyone tries to ruin my wedding—even my husband—I won’t forgive them! I’ll cut ties for life!”  

“….”  

The Duke, her only sibling, fell silent. Her fiancé, who had been about to say something, also shut his mouth.  

The two horses leading the group trotted quietly side by side. The knights following behind also remained silent, though their twitching lips betrayed their struggle to hold back laughter.  

The group charged toward the wedding venue, where fireworks burst in the distance. The once-quiet road became clouded with dust, leaving the villagers bewildered.  

No one could have guessed that this was the bride’s grand entrance to her own wedding.