~Chapter 32~
It felt like his stomach was twisting and someone was pouring liquor straight into it.
Anais should be next to me.
As Egbert muttered to himself without realizing, Sophia tugged on his arm.
“Egbert. Are you even listening to me?”
He turned to look at her.
There she was—pretty and delicate-looking, but clearly anxious.
Unlike Anais, Sophia had been too easy to get.
A woman who moved and spoke exactly the way he wanted her to.
Now, Sophia glanced around nervously and spoke:
“You know, Egbert… where should we have our wedding?
I think something small would be nice. Just a few guests…”
But being easy to get also meant she was easy to throw away.
For Egbert, she was a perfect target to vent his anger.
His eyes flared wide.
“Wedding? Who’s getting married to who?!”
“You and me, of course,”
Sophia said with a tilt of her head.
Egbert suddenly jumped up from his seat.
“What kind of insane nonsense is that?!”
The outburst turned every head in the room toward them.
Even Anais and Baldwin, who were just making their exit, glanced in their direction.
“Why the hell would I marry you?!”
“B-but you said you wouldn’t let Chris be labeled an illegitimate child…”
“Of course I said that!
I meant I’d register him under my wife’s family record.
But me? Marry you?”
Egbert let out a sharp, bitter laugh.
The rage that had been bottled up inside him exploded outward—right at Sophia.
“You filthy little whore who doesn’t even know her place.
This is all your fault!”
Sophia’s face turned ghostly pale.
She looked around helplessly, lips trembling.
But no one came to help her.
The people in this solemn church looked at her with cold, expressionless eyes.
Observers, nothing more.
Sophia turned back to Egbert, desperate.
“E-Egbert, what are you doing? It’s me—Sophia.
I’m your woman…”
“I never should’ve let someone like you into my house.”
Egbert muttered in a dark, bitter voice.
Anais was walking farther and farther away—without him.
Leaving him behind.
How could this be happening?
His delusions had finally shattered,
and through the cracks, a flood of rage and wounded pride began to pour out.
“You can’t leave me, Anna.”
How does love end like this…?
Anais’s love belonged to me—so I’ll take it back. One way or another.
Sophia’s sobs rang out, sharp and loud, like the cries of cicadas on a summer day.
The wedding reception had begun.
Even though the ceremony had been held on short notice,
all of Estus needed to know that we were married.
It was essential—this was a strategic merger, and it needed to succeed.
To make the biggest impact, the reception would last three days:
-
Day one: in the church garden where the wedding took place.
-
Day two: by Lake Terva.
-
Day three: in the outdoor garden of our newlywed home—the Constantine estate.
Among those who had received invitations,
people were already calling it the most luxurious wedding in the capital.
And the way people looked at me had completely changed.
Those who used to look down on me,
those who had once gazed at me greedily—
now, they couldn’t even meet my eyes.
That was the first clear sign that this marriage was a success.
White fabric waved gently in the breeze, decorating the church garden.
It looked like it was dancing to the music played by the orchestra.
But between the crowds, I spotted a few ashen, pale faces watching us.
Some were people who had history with Baldwin—
others, people who had history with me.
Among them, I saw Egbert,
his eyes cold and sharp, fixed entirely on me.
I tightened my grip on Baldwin’s solid arm.
Egbert glared,
but didn’t dare come near.
It was natural—he had always hated and feared Baldwin.
Baldwin turned his gaze to me.
“It’s honestly pathetic.”
I bit my lip lightly and added:
“It really is, isn’t it?
The people who used to mock me,
who treated me like I was beneath them—
now they can’t even look me in the eye.”
A soft, bitter laugh escaped my lips.
It didn’t match the bright, beautiful dress I was wearing.
The pointed tip of my shoe poking out from beneath the hem
felt like a reflection of my sharp, guarded heart.
“Those so-called ‘gentlemen’ are so cowardly.”
There were no real gentlemen in Estus.
They were nothing more than cowards,
ill-suited for the warm, late-spring weather blooming around us.
Next to Egbert, who was still glaring at me,
Sophia sat stubbornly, her eyes swollen from crying.
Even though she wore a flashy dress and glittering jewelry,
she still looked pathetic.
And for a moment, her face overlapped with mine—from before.
That used to be my seat.
I was no different.
Sitting beside Egbert for three years,
I had always looked small, diminished.
They were years I never wanted to return to.
My eyes kept drifting to Sophia.
And then—
a firm hand suddenly covered my eyes.
The scent of Baldwin filled my senses.
A deep, woody fragrance—rich and grounding.
Startled by the shadow falling over me,
I blinked and slowly turned my head.
“…Your Grace?”
Baldwin smiled with narrowed eyes,
as if to say, look at me.
He took my hand in his.
The ring on his finger was warm—the same temperature as mine.
And that’s when I remembered—
Egbert and I had exchanged rings too.
We stood before a bishop and swore eternal love.
But after my grandfather passed away,
Egbert never wore that ring again. Not even once.
To him, nothing we shared ever mattered.
I don’t even remember when I took mine off.
“The ring…”
I whispered without thinking.
“Don’t take it off… Your Grace.”
Now that I had something in my hands again—
something I thought I’d lost forever—
I felt a greedy longing I hadn’t expected.
Even though I knew Baldwin and I weren’t really like that.
Maybe it was foolish—
just a desire to lean into his kindness.
I had sworn not to trust anyone again,
but this man in front of me…
I wanted to believe in him. One more time.
And so, the first day of the wedding banquet quietly came to a close.
Baldwin leaned back in the bathtub.
His tense muscles slowly loosened in the hot water.
He ran a hand over his face, and his throat bobbed slowly as he exhaled.
“Hoo…”
His deep voice echoed heavily through the bathroom.
He rested one arm on the edge of the tub,
propped his temple against his hand, and leaned his head back.
Through the mist rising like a haze,
he thought he could see Anais’s face on the wall.
Baldwin blinked slowly, sharp eyes softening.
“The ring… Don’t take it off, Your Grace.”
In that moment, Anais hadn’t been looking at him.
She had been looking at someone else beyond him.
The wedding had stirred up memories she had buried,
forcing them to the surface.
She hadn’t cried, but her breathing had been unsteady,
and the corners of her eyes had turned red.
The prison Egbert built still held deep roots in Anais’s life.
And yet, it was just a ring.
Just Egbert.
“How stupid…”
His rough, broken voice echoed again in the bathroom.
So naturally. So honestly.
His lips, which wouldn’t open in front of others,
opened so easily now.
Baldwin casually raised his hand, eyes fixed on the ring.
The polished stone sparkled—just a lump of carbon, really.
What even is this, anyway.
Baldwin hated troublesome things.
Everyone carries a burden inside them—
some heavy stone of unhappiness lodged deep in the heart.
Baldwin was no different.
If there was a difference between him and Anais,
it was that he never showed his pain,
whereas Anais still struggled, unable to fully deal with her wounds.
And yet, she always considered Baldwin’s wounds,
as if it were second nature to her.
That part of her… felt pitiful.
She stood out from the others.
He remembered clearly the sight of her
fiddling with her ring for a long while,
letting out a soft sigh.
That small woman with her
trembling shoulders,
reddened eyes,
and lips chewed in quiet tension—
it all lingered in his memory.
She weighed on his mind.
That worthless Marquis of Graham
had managed to shake an entire person’s life.
It didn’t sit well with Baldwin.
The fact that Anais still thought of him now and then—
that was also irritating.
“Seriously… what is that guy, even.”
Baldwin clenched his ringed hand tightly.
The water pooled in his palm trickled down.
Feelings, he thought, were as fleeting
as the droplets scattering across the bathwater.
But it didn’t matter.
Anais would never be bound by that pathetic man again.
And Baldwin—
he wasn’t the type to lose something once he had it in his hands.
Anais was waiting.
It was time to go to her.
As Baldwin stood, water streamed down his body.
With each step, droplets hit the bathroom floor.
And as he left the room, alone,
his lips were pressed firmly together—
as if he had never been apart from her at all.
