CHAPTER 1
Is this… a dream?
It has to be a dream.
I don’t care if it’s a nightmare—please, let it be a dream.
Mariel sat alone in the room, still wearing the wedding dress she had long dreamed of, staring blankly into the air.
Yes.
When she first put on this dress, she had imagined a quiet and happy married life, even if it wasn’t a fairytale painted entirely in rose-colored hues.
Holding the hand of a man who loved and respected her, becoming a happy bride—such was her dream.
In that dream, there was no pain that felt as though her chest would burst apart, and no fear so dark it swallowed her vision whole.
“Why hasn’t the groom arrived yet?”
“That’s strange. Didn’t he leave already?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Oh my, surely nothing like that could have happened.”
By the time the murmurs of the guests reached her ears, a great deal of time had already passed.
At first, it was only disbelief.
But when that disbelief turned into anxiety, and anxiety finally sank into despair, the scheduled start time of the wedding had long since passed.
Arthur Lowell was not coming.
Her fiancé—the man she loved—and the groom of today was nowhere to be seen.
To be so irresponsible even before the marriage had begun.
Her anger rose all the way to her head, yet Mariel endured it in silence.
Because that was the proper behavior of “Lady Mariel.”
At least, it was—until her mother and younger sisters appeared.
When the petite mother and daughters entered the room, their faces soaked with tears.
Only then would she come to realize that this moment marked the first chapter of what would become the worst period of Mariel’s life.
“Mariel… what are we to do?”
“Sister, I can’t believe this is happening.”
Beside her, Countess Cleve and her two younger sisters spoke over one another, pouring out their shock and sorrow.
Though their words were disordered, the conclusion was the same.
A terrible tragedy had befallen Mariel’s fiancé—and groom.
“It’s all so sudden… Last night, Arthur… tragically, there was a fire in Ramsher, and…”
“Mariel, what are we supposed to do?”
Countess Cleve spoke through sobs, making it all the more frustrating that Mariel could hardly catch the details.
“Mother.”
“What will become of us now? My poor daughter… the honor of our family…”
“Mother!”
Only after Mariel raised her voice did Countess Cleve come back to her senses and look at her daughter.
“I understand that something happened to Arthur.”
“So what exactly happened to him?”
“Was he injured?”
“Or…”
She could not bring herself to say the rest.
Mariel swallowed hard, forcing down her breath.
Though she stood upright, her face was already drained of all color.
It was a wonder she had not collapsed on the spot.
Countess Cleve lamented her cruel fate—that she had to deliver such devastating news to a daughter adorned in a wedding dress and veil.
“Arthur… went to the villa of Duke Wilhelmar in Ramsher yesterday.”
She began with difficulty.
“I don’t know why he went there on the eve of his wedding.”
“But in the early hours of the morning, a massive fire broke out at the villa.”
“A fire…?”
“Yes. A fire.”
“The servants and villagers tried to put it out, but it spread too quickly…”
“They say he was trapped inside and couldn’t escape…”
Her voice trembled violently.
Even so, as if determined not to appear weak before her daughter who had suffered the greatest tragedy, she continued without shedding tears.
“After the fire was finally extinguished, they went into the room where he had stayed…”
“It was horrific…”
“Your father and Philip went to Ramsher with Count Lowell to confirm what happened.”
Why had her soon-to-be husband gone to a duke’s villa with which he had no connection, only to meet such a fate?
Mariel could not understand any of it.
This has to be a nightmare.
“The wedding was the very next day.”
“Why would he go to a duke’s villa he wasn’t even close to?”
“And was the person found inside truly Arthur?”
“Did they confirm it?”
At her sharp questions, Countess Cleve’s face turned pale.
She had sworn not to cry in front of her daughter, but the tears she had been holding back burst forth all at once.
“Mariel! My poor daughter!”
“Sister Mariel…”
Unable to bear it, her two younger sisters stepped forward and embraced her shoulders.
Knowing that no words could truly comfort her, they held her with all their sincerity.
Thanks to their embrace, Mariel managed to regain a bit of composure.
“I’m sorry.”
“I was startled for a moment…”
“I’m truly sorry, Mother.”
She immediately apologized to her mother, who was trembling in shock.
Countess Cleve silently squeezed Mariel’s hand, tears falling one by one.
“Rosa, Besti.”
“Take your mother to the guest room and stay by her side.”
“She’s been terribly shaken.”
“What about Sister?”
“She shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“Besti can stay with Mother—I’ll stay with Sister.”
“Rosa.”
Mariel called her sister softly as Rosa bit her lip, clearly unwilling to leave.
“Yes?”
“I want to be alone right now.”
“Please take care of Mother.”
“Sister…”
Only after Besti intervened did Rosa finally accept Mariel’s request.
The sisters left the room with Countess Cleve, wiping away their tears.
Silence descended upon the room.
Mariel was left completely alone in the chamber prepared for the bride’s waiting room.
A room lavishly decorated with countless flowers and satin ribbons, all for this single day.
She stared silently at her reflection in the large mirror.
The bride who had dreamed of a happy future only hours ago was no longer there.
All that remained was a tragic woman, black tears streaking down from eyes darkened by smeared makeup.
***
How much time had passed?
It was already deep night, so dark that nothing could be seen without a lamp, when her brother Philip finally returned.
The expression on his face as he rushed in was not sorrowful—but closer to anger.
“Philip! Why did you come back alone?”
“No—more importantly, what about Arthur?”
“What happened to Arthur?”
Upon hearing the servant’s report of her son’s arrival, Countess Cleve hurried out to meet him.
“Mother, please never speak of Arthur Lowell again.”
“We are finished with that man—no, with that entire family.”
His grinding declaration shocked her into silence.
“What do you mean…?”
“Rosa, where is Mariel right now?”
“She’s still alone in her room.”
“She hasn’t come out at all.”
Rosa pointed toward the second floor where Mariel’s room was located.
Besti, more perceptive than Rosa, sensed something was wrong from Philip’s attitude and followed after him.
“Brother, was there something else besides the fire?”
“Where are Father and Count Lowell?”
“Later.”
“Brother!”
He raised both hands to stop his younger sister and immediately went upstairs.
Standing before Mariel’s door, Philip took a deep breath.
He tugged at his tie once, as if suffocating, then knocked.
Knock, knock.
After a moment, a thin voice came from inside.
“I said I wanted to be alone.”
“Mariel. It’s me.”
“……”
Silence followed.
Then the door slowly opened, revealing Mariel.
In just half a day, his sister had grown painfully gaunt.
Seeing her like this made Philip’s heart ache.
And thinking of the grim news he still had to deliver only made it worse.
“Let’s talk inside.”
“There’s something important you need to hear.”
At his grave expression, Mariel’s face darkened further.
Everyone on the first floor was holding their breath, watching the situation unfold.
Now and then, the sound of maids stifling their sobs could be heard.
In the silent mansion, the sound of a door suddenly being thrown open echoed loudly.
“Mariel!”
“Mariel!”
“Father has gone to the Imperial Palace with Count Lowell to settle this matter.”
“This is not something you should involve yourself in.”
His attempt at calming her only fueled her rage.
Mariel spun around and glared at Philip.
“My marriage is what’s been destroyed!”
“Why shouldn’t I be involved?”
“Whether they settle it or not, I need to confirm it myself.”
“Confirm what, exactly?”
“Arthur!”
Mariel shouted.
“Arthur!”
“Arthur Lowell!”
“My fiancé—my almost-husband!”
“That damned Arthur!”
“I need to see for myself!”
So unlike her usual gentle and elegant self, Mariel screamed in fury.
Philip could only stare at her with helpless, sorrowful eyes.
Unaware that such a gaze only made her angrier.
By now, everyone in the central hall had gathered.
Among them was Countess Cleve, still confused by the sudden turn of events.
Not knowing the full story, she feared the servants witnessing Mariel’s loss of composure and quickly signaled the butler.
The perceptive butler ushered the servants away.
Once only the family remained, Countess Cleve spoke.
“Philip, what in the world is going on?”
She tried her best to understand the situation, but she simply could not follow its course.
“What happened in Ramsher?”
“Why did your father go to the Imperial Palace with Count Lowell?”
“And why are you treating Mariel like this?”
“Don’t you know how hard this is for her?”
“Tell me what’s going on—now.”
Philip clenched his teeth.
He realized he could no longer hide the disturbing truth he had uncovered in Ramsher.
“In Ramsher…”
He began to speak with great difficulty.
“It’s true that Arthur died in the fire.”
“But…”
“But?”
An ominous feeling crept up on Countess Cleve as she urged him on.
“The person who died…”
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, cutting Philip off mid-sentence.
He turned toward the entrance.
The Cleve household’s butler, who had been standing at a distance, immediately headed for the door.
