“B–bridesmaid? M-me? In Your—no, in Your Highness’s wedding?”

Around the same time, Ariadne was halfway to panicking, repeating the same words for the second time.

A bridesmaid. But not just any wedding: the wedding that would draw the largest crowd in the Empire — that of a princess.

Ariadne blinked several times before frantically shaking her head. To stand at the very front of such an event? Absolutely impossible.

“I… I’m sorry, but I’ve never done anything like that before….”

She already found being in front of people overwhelming. And now she was being asked to be a bridesmaid?

The thought of being the center of attention in front of so many people made her feel dizzy.

Flustered, Ariadne shook her head again.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Wouldn’t it be better to ask a close friend instead?”

“I don’t have any close friends to ask. And he said”—she pointed lightly toward Heidel with a smile—“that if it were the Duchess of Ambrose, it would be more than suitable. So I was hoping you might agree.”

“Would you please consider it?”

Ariadne thought she was declining as politely as possible, but the princess simply smiled, as if gently rejecting her refusal.

Heidel nodded along beside her.

“She really doesn’t have friends she can ask, Rene. I remembered how your sisters-in-law stood as bridesmaids at your wedding.”

Traditionally, bridesmaids were chosen from the bride’s group of unmarried friends.

However, in small or quieter ceremonies, or when the bride had few friends, the role would sometimes be filled by married relatives.

Ariadne herself had experienced the same thing.

Now, for the same reason, it was Heidel’s turn.

“B-but, Brother… a wedding like that will have so many people. I haven’t stepped foot in society even once since getting married.”

People would whisper. They would stare. They would talk about her behind her back, and she wasn’t sure if she could endure it. She lacked the confidence to withstand the murmurs of ‘Why her?’ Why not Princess Lorelei? Nor could she trust herself to respond gracefully if someone asked why the princess had chosen someone like her.

“And wouldn’t it be better to ask your sister…? That’s usually what people do, right?”

Most brides asked their sisters.

Her sister wouldn’t tremble like that.

She would never dread attention the way she did.

Her sister would never turn her away.

Ariadne offered the suggestion with a strained smile, doing her best to propose a reasonable alternative.

But Silvia only maintained her gentle smile.

“My sister and I don’t get along very well. She’s already upset that I’m marrying before she does.”

“Oh….”

If that was truly the case, there was no way around it.

Ariadne bit her lip without realizing.

But how?

How was she supposed to stand there?

She could barely speak in front of strangers, let alone manage an event like that. She wasn’t as strong as Sylvia. She couldn’t ignore whispers or shrug off people’s judgements, adopting the attitude that what they said didn’t matter. ‘I know what’s true about me.’

Even if her parents and brothers were there, they would each have their own duties. She couldn’t rely on them to stay by her side.

Ariadne had never expected her husband to accompany her to a social gathering — not even once.

She didn’t expect it now, either.

However, attending a royal wedding alone would undoubtedly spark rumors, which would be the worst possible outcome.

She couldn’t bring herself to accept a request that would leave her alone to shoulder all that risk.

If the person asking had been a complete stranger, she would have found an excuse by now. But the person asking was Heidel’s fiancée — her youngest brother’s future wife. And that was the true problem.

A cold sweat slid down Ariadne’s back as she struggled to think of a way out.

It wasn’t just the thought of being a bridesmaid on her own, she would also have to stand beside the best man at Heidel’s wedding.

Heidel had many friends, so clearly he hadn’t asked his brothers. This meant that she would inevitably end up standing next to a stranger for the entire ceremony.

The thought alone made her stomach twist.

People would talk.

They would speculate.

They would compare her to other women.

However, Princess Sylvia showed no intention of withdrawing her request.

Cornered and desperate, Ariadne could only manage an awkward nod in response.

“I’ll… think about it for now.”

“All right. I’ll look forward to a positive answer.”

Silvia replied warmly.

Just as Ariadné managed to end the conversation, Heidel raised a hand toward someone approaching.

“You’re here?”

Ariadne turned her head.

“Rene?”

A familiar face—wide-eyed with surprise—came into view.

***

Ultimately, Kieron did not return home.

In fact, he chose not to.

While he could overlook her meeting with her brother and his fiancée, Jade Derayan being there was another matter entirely.

Jade Derayan being there?

That changed everything.

“Something to add?”

Even Derrick, who had reprimanded him just moments before for suspecting adultery, fell silent at the sight. Of course, no one had confirmed an affair.

From the brief glimpse they had caught of him, Lord Derayan himself had even seemed startled to see Ariadne there. But that wasn’t the issue.

The issue was that they were all together.

The moment Kieron spotted Jade, he turned on his heel and marched back into the restaurant.

They chose a table positioned behind the group, close enough to overhear their conversation, but far enough away to avoid being noticed themselves.

If they judged the distance just right, they would be able to overhear snippets of their conversation.

“I didn’t expect to find you here.”

“I didn’t expect everyone to come together either. Did you plan to meet here?”

From what Kieron could tell, it seemed that Ariadne hadn’t arranged this gathering.

Perhaps the others had.

“Yes. Her Highness wanted to try somewhere she hadn’t been before, and since she wanted to talk about the bridesmaid arrangements, we decided to meet.”

“Bridesmaid? You’re Heidel’s groomsman?”

“Yes. And I heard he wanted to ask you to be the bride’s side bridesmaid.”

Kieron’s brow furrowed.

‘A bridesmaid?’

He had heard rumors the imperial wedding would be held soon, but asking a married woman to serve as a bridesmaid?

“I… I did hear about it just now. I told them I’d think about it. It’s just that I….”

Ariadne spoke hesitantly.

Of course she would feel uncomfortable. She had never participated in social gatherings before, not once since her marriage.

For her first reappearance in society to be at the wedding of an imperial princess would make anyone feel burdened.

Kieron lifted his water glass, assuming she would decline.

“It would be nice if you could do it. I’d prefer you over a stranger.”

“Well, that’s true.”

But just as he lifted his glass, he froze.

Traditionally, bridesmaids and groomsmen were chosen from among the unmarried members of the wedding party.

This was intended to symbolize the bride and groom introducing their closest friends to each other.

However, on the groom’s side, the best man would be unmarried, while on the bride’s side, the bridesmaid would be married.

When Kieron and Ariadne got married, Kieron asked his aide Herald to be his best man and Ariadne chose her eldest brother’s wife to be her bridesmaid.

This only worked because Herald had been engaged at the time, so nothing seemed inappropriate. But Jade Derayan had no fiancé.

No rumored lover.

No one.

Kieron’s fingers tightened around the glass, his knuckles turning white.

“For now, I just said I’d think about it. I haven’t been out in society for so long… and making my first appearance at a wedding feels a bit much.”

“That’s true. Still, try to think positively, Rene.”

Kieron was already irritated by the overly polite and soft tone, but when he heard Jade casually use the duchess’s nickname, he clenched his hand so tightly that the cup seemed on the verge of shattering.

“Your Grace, your hand—you’ll injure yourself.”

Had Derrick not quickly eased the cup out of his grasp, it really might have broken.

The sound would have exposed them instantly.

Kieron pressed a hand to his forehead and exhaled.

“Shall we head back now? It doesn’t seem like anything unusual is going on.”

“…Let’s listen a little longer.”

Every instinct told him to go over there right away.

But Ariadne was a married woman: The duchess. His wife.

And yet she — and everyone at that table — seemed far too quick to forget that fact.

He wanted to step in, remind them of their manners and take her away if he had to.

But—

“If it feels too overwhelming, you can refuse, Rene. I can always ask my sisters-in-law instead.”

“Yes, Duchess. Please don’t feel pressured. We would be grateful if you accepted, but it’s not as though refusing would be wrong.”

Seated at the table were the heir of House Peyton, one of the Empire’s most perceptive families, and an intelligent imperial princess.

Kieron could handle Jade Derayan if necessary, but what about the princess?

Sylvia was different.

He could defeat Lorelei in private without facing any consequences.

But Sylvia — as quiet as she seemed — had far more hidden support.

Most of the Empire’s true elites supported her, not Lorelei.

Proof of this was right before his eyes: the Peyton heir, one of the Empire’s most influential figures, sat loyally at her side.

Kieron released a slow, controlled breath.

“It seems the marquisate has fully shifted its stance.”

As if reading his thoughts, Derrick murmured softly beside him.

The Peyton Marquis had originally remained neutral. He knew the weight of his own influence and that taking sides too hastily could plunge the entire political landscape into chaos. That was why he had remained neutral for so long. But this time, the fact that he had chosen a side so decisively was most likely…

“He’s the kind of man who would do anything for his daughter. The moment he heard Lorelei’s story, he must’ve changed his mind.”

Kieron spoke as if stating something obvious.

“No one would continue supporting the person who harmed his daughter.”

Derrick couldn’t hide his astonishment.

No matter how loving they seemed, nobles always acted in their own interest and to the advantage of their house.

Even if they loved their daughter, it seemed absurd to allow her to have such emotional sway.

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s more than possible. It’s his daughter we’re talking about.”

The Peytons’ affection for their only daughter, Ariadne, was almost obsessive.

Derrick could only stare in stunned silence as Kieron recalled the first time he had encountered that overwhelming, almost obsessive devotion.