Before the towering Imperial Palace, magnificent enough to embody the distant grandeur of the Empire—
‘…They’re taking their time.’
Axid narrowed his eyes as he stared at the palace gates.
Even though the sun had already climbed high into the sky, there was still no sign that the gates would open.
Normally, when an envoy from another country visited, an honor guard made up of Imperial Guards would line up before the gates, or an Imperial standard-bearer would come out to welcome them.
Leaving them waiting outside the gates was something that would only be done to an envoy from an enemy nation.
“Your Highness, why don’t we just break down the gates and go in?”
Kaiden said as he gripped the hilt of his sword, but Axid answered briefly.
“We wait until the gates open.”
“But…!”
When Kaiden was about to voice his frustration, Axid spoke firmly, as though driving the final nail into the coffin.
“Of course, we’ll have to make sure they open them on their own.”
Originally, Winterheim and the Wiezer Empire had been allied nations, bound together by the friendship of their founding ancestors.
Even if the friendship between the two countries had faded over the long years, the least they could do was show the proper courtesy.
Moreover, Winterheim was an independent nation, not a vassal state of the Empire.
They were clearly trying to stall for time and intimidate them, but after waiting this long, Axid had done more than enough to fulfill his duty as an ally.
“Just give the order, Your Highness.”
Kaiden lowered his head with an eager glint in his eyes. Axid, who had been silently staring at the gates, finally gave his order in a voice that had turned cold.
“Tell them that if they refuse to open the gates, I will personally take the Princess with me.”
He had accepted this marriage proposal not because he feared the Empire.
The strength of the Grand Duchy, which had stood as humanity’s bulwark for generations, was in no way inferior to that of the Empire.
He had agreed simply because he considered the Princess a suitable partner for this marriage arrangement.
He had no intention of tolerating any more disrespect.
Receiving his order, Kaiden approached the guards.
“I think we’ve shown more than enough courtesy by now. Do you still have no intention of opening the gates?”
“We have yet to receive orders from our superiors.”
The guard responded arrogantly.
Apparently, as a gatekeeper of the Imperial Palace, he thought he held considerable authority.
But who did he think he was acting so arrogantly in front of?
Kaiden toyed with the hilt of his sword and gave a crooked smile.
“That’s troublesome. Our Grand Duke says that if you don’t open the gates right now, he’ll be heading straight to the Princess’s Palace.”
The guard swallowed nervously.
Despite Kaiden’s playful smile, a chilling killing intent seeped from the hand gripping his sword.
“Are you saying His Highness intends to enter the Imperial Palace without His Majesty the Emperor’s permission?”
“Is there a problem?”
Now that the Grand Duke had made his decision, they had only two choices.
Either they obediently clear the way—
Or the gates would be broken through.
“C-can you handle what comes afterward?”
“If you’re curious, why don’t you find out?”
What did it mean that they had brought only a dozen or so knights despite the fact that, though they were called allies, their relationship was practically worse than that of strangers?
It meant that the Empire posed no threat to them whatsoever.
Clank.
As Kaiden slowly drew his sword, the knights who had been standing casually straightened in unison, as though they had been waiting for this very moment.
“……”
Their eyes were sharp and fierce, like predators sizing up their prey.
The atmosphere was so menacing that it felt as though they might tear out the guard’s throat at any moment.
The guard backed away with a pale face before instinctively turning his head toward Axid.
Flinch.
Those black eyes were cold and emotionless.
His calm gaze, as though he were looking at nothing more than an inanimate object, seemed to press heavily against the guard’s throat.
A realization flashed through the guard’s mind.
The Grand Duke had not remained still because he had been intimidated by the Empire’s authority.
He had simply been watching.
The guard unconsciously stepped backward and, with trembling hands, sent a signal to the guards atop the walls.
How long did that suffocating standoff continue?
Creeeak.
The massive gates, which had remained firmly shut, finally began to open with a long, agonized groan.
“Tsk.”
Kaiden clicked his tongue regretfully, disappointed that he had lost his chance to make a scene.
“…Please enter the palace.”
The guard withdrew his spear with a pale face, and only then did the way open.
Axid, who had remained silent in the back all this time, slowly crossed through the gates.
A dozen or so knights followed behind him like shadows, carrying a menacing aura with them.
On this very day in her previous life—
Lumiere had been forced to sink down as though trapped in a bottomless quagmire from which she could never escape.
Not only had her first love ended in utter ruin, but she had also been facing a marriage that was destined to end in death.
“……”
Standing before the grand hall’s intricately carved doors, Lumiere recalled the memories of that day.
The day she had been thrown miserably onto the floor like an animal being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
But what had cut deepest into her bones was the fact that, until the very end, the man she had loved had seen her only in an ugly and pathetic state.
The misery she had felt back then had gradually faded with the passage of time.
But—
Creeeak…
As the doors slowly opened, it almost seemed as though she could see a faint reflection of that day through the widening gap.
Her former self, crawling weakly across the floor of the grand hall like a worm, only to faint upon seeing the Grand Duke appear like a grim reaper.
With a short sigh, she erased that lingering image from her mind and stepped inside with eyes that were far clearer than before.
“His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire, summoned me, and I have come as ordered. May I ask why Your Majesty wished to see me?”
She offered a graceful greeting with a relaxed smile.
The entire hall instantly fell silent, as though cold water had been poured over everyone.
Until only a month ago, she had been little more than a walking corpse.
Perhaps it was because she had regained some weight.
Even though the signs of illness had not completely disappeared, there was a strange vitality about her appearance that made it impossible for anyone to take their eyes off her.
Even Logan, who had once shuddered at the sight of her as though she were something horrifying.
‘Is it really that surprising?’
After all, she had always been ridiculed while wearing dresses that looked like burlap sacks.
And now she had appeared before them looking like an entirely different person.
How long did that strange silence last?
The Emperor clicked his tongue as he looked at the Trobitan Duke, who stood frozen as though spellbound, before finally speaking.
“An Imperial Princess attempting to take her own life? If dying was truly your wish, why didn’t you wait just a little longer? If you have even the slightest sense of shame, you should at least have spared the Imperial Palace the trouble of disposing of your corpse.”
A faint trace of mockery passed through his lowered purple eyes.
Who was he to speak of shame?
He had been fortunate enough to be born with Imperial blood, yet he was slowly eating away at the country through his incompetent political maneuvering and tyranny.
“I apologize for causing you concern through my foolish actions, Your Majesty. I allowed myself to be swayed by a moment of weakness and brought shame upon the Imperial Family, but that will never happen again, so you need not worry.”
“Good. If you have realized your mistake, then leave without disgracing the Imperial Family any further. As it happens, your husband has already arrived.”
At the Emperor’s words, Lumiere slowly turned around.
Axid von Winterheim.
Black hair naturally falling over his forehead, sharply angled eyes, a straight and prominent nose, and lips pressed together stubbornly.
Unlike the pale-skinned Imperials, the large man with sun-kissed skin was walking in alongside his knights.
“……”
Lumiere’s purple eyes rippled like the surface of still water.
Perhaps it was because she had watched him from afar for such a long time, despite never having exchanged a single word with him in her previous life.
Although he looked as fierce as though he had come to apprehend a criminal, she felt an inexplicable sense of joy and warmth, as if she were meeting an old acquaintance.
“…I am Axid von Winterheim, ruler of the Winterheim Grand Duchy in the North, and the man who will become your husband.”
At last, the man standing before her extended his rough hand.
Unlike his usual preference for practical uniforms that allowed freedom of movement, he was dressed formally today.
‘…So this is how he looked.’
He had taken care with their first meeting.
A faint, aching warmth spread through a corner of her heart at the memory of a past she had never remembered before, and the corners of her eyes softened.
“I’m Lumiere von Wiezer. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
It was a beautiful, radiant smile that made it obvious to anyone who saw it—
how long she had been waiting for this meeting,
and how happy she was that it had finally come.
For the briefest moment, Axid’s eyes flickered at the sight.
“You truly are as ignorant as a barbarian. No matter how happy you are to meet your bride, don’t you even know that the first person you should show respect to is His Majesty the Emperor?”
At the sudden interruption, the atmosphere in the hall instantly froze.
