TVIOWHFW 74

Guests were speechless at the shocking announcement of the groom. However, Hesen seemed to have anticipated such a reaction and calmly continued speaking.

“Miryu Jutti is the daughter registered in the Jutti barony, but she is not a child of the noble Lady Jutti. She was born from a courtesan, not from the noble Lady Jutti. From the beginning, her birth was concealed, and the marriage was carried out under false pretenses. Therefore, this wedding should not proceed.”

In the empire, it was not problematic to register a bastard in the family. But forcing a marriage by deceiving others into thinking the bastard was a legitimate child was a grave crime.

“Perhaps I was aware of this fact as well. But…”

Hesen closed his eyes in despair.

“I can no longer turn away from the truth. I am sorry.”

Queen Isabella looked pale and was dizzy, clutching her head, while Princess Diana helped her, saying, “Mother!”

Baron Jutti suddenly trembled, unable to defend himself against the overwhelming situation. The guests’ gazes turned towards Miryu, standing beside the groom, as if accusing her.

‘Hesen, did you know I was a bastard?’

Miryu, pale as a ghost, denied the harsh reality.

Since when…?

Confusion and the good memories with Hesen blended together in her mind. Hesen had always been a good man, which made it even harder for Miryu to believe this situation.

Because it was Hesen, and no one else.

“H-Hesen. That story is a lie,” Miryu blurted out, grabbing Hesen’s sleeve desperately.

“I understand there’s some misunderstanding. But I’ll explain everything—I can explain everything. Just listen to me.”

“…Still.”

But what filled Hesen’s face when he looked back at Miryu was—

“Are you still trying to deceive me?”

It was contempt and resentment.

“How could you do such a thing? I was trying to understand everything, but how could you—”

Miryu’s mind went blank at the drastic change in Hesen, who had always been kind.

Hesen roughly pulled her hand away and asked sadly,

“Did you love me?”

Hesen shook his head in hopelessness.

“It’s my fault for expecting an answer from you.”

Miryu, too, seemed shocked by the situation. Without hesitation, Hesen turned around and hurriedly left the venue as if fleeing.

‘This must be a dream. It has to be a dream.’

Hesen’s figure gradually faded away. Amidst all the noise, only the sound of Hesen’s shoes was clear.

Bang! The door of the hall shut.

In the place where the groom had fled, only the elaborately dressed bride remained. Her luxurious attire made her look even more pathetic and ridiculous.

The guests whispered loudly.

“What is happening now? Suddenly, Crown Prince Hesen…”

“Did something happen between them? How can something like this happen out of nowhere?”

The Royem royal family was trying to somehow salvage the wedding, and Baron Jutti’s family was no different.

Something caught Miryu’s eye—an envelope that had slipped out of Hesen’s jacket pocket as he hurried away.

Miryu stood up as if her string had snapped and walked toward the letter. The words seemed to be carved into her eyes as if they had been pierced.

[With all my heart, Estelle Blanchet.]

At that moment, Miryu threw away her cumbersome bouquet and veil, and started running wildly after Hesen.

Someone called out to her.

“Jutti girl! Where are you going?”

“Someone, stop Jutti girl—”

Of course, Miryu ignored all those voices. Now that the rumor about her being a bastard had spread, her worth had plummeted.

If powerful figures like the Royem royal family didn’t protect her, Miryu’s fate was sealed.

‘Hesen is the only option.’

She was sure that her shocking revelation had been impulsive. But her nature was kind, and she believed she could somehow find him and persuade him once she met.

‘It’s just a misunderstanding; I can fix this, and we can get married again.’

When she stepped outside the hall, she saw the forest beyond the wedding venue.

Of course, Hesen was nowhere to be seen.

“Hesen—!!”

Miryu called out desperately and entered the woods.

“Hesen! Let’s talk! Please, Hesen!”

The more she wandered among the lush trees, the more anxious and desperate she became.

“Ah!”

Stumbling through the woods, Miryu tripped over a tree root. Her carefully worn heels broke, and her white wedding dress got muddy and ruined.

“What is this?”

As she fell, her knees ached painfully. Her hands on the ground were cut and bleeding. The sharp sting made Miryu feel miserable and tearful.

This was supposed to be her happiest wedding.

“Why…”

At that moment, someone she least wanted to see appeared.

Petals of unknown origin swirled around the woman, fluttering in the air. She was wearing a mysterious, stunning blue dress, her platinum hair tied with ribbons, looking like a snowflake—beautiful and ethereal.

“Oh my, Miryu.”

Estelle looked more dazzling than the bride herself.

“What’s with the wedding? Why are you acting like this?”

“…What?”

Her innocent tone, as if she knew nothing, ignited Miryu’s hatred.

“Stop with the disgusting lies! It’s all your doing!”

Miryu, scratching the ground with her fingers, glared as if strangling Estelle. Hatred and resentment threatened to explode from her.

“Marrying into the Royem kingdom was my only wish. That’s why I begged for just one chance to be seen. Even if I marry, it doesn’t mean you’ll be okay. But you—”

“…”

“Are you finally satisfied now that things turned out like this?”

“Calm down, Miryu. I don’t know what’s going on, but…”

Estelle approached her as if to comfort her, but Miryu watched her with suspicion.

Estelle then took something out and handed it to Miryu—a decorated dagger with sparkling jewels.

“You should think about the baby in your belly too.”

Estelle giggled softly near her ear.

“They say it’s the blessing of the Royem kingdom.”

“Shut up!”

Miryu’s face twisted with anger as she pushed Estelle away.

“You don’t know anything about me! Do you know how hard I’ve worked for this moment? No, you don’t!”

Estelle, not resisting, looked at Miryu gently as she collapsed weakly onto the ground.

Miryu sneered, her lips twisted with rage, and burst into a wicked laugh.

“You’ve misjudged me. If I just reveal that I’m a bastard, do you think I’ll be finished?”

She drew the dagger from its sheath.

“Don’t joke.”

Estelle’s shoulders trembled with fear as her eyes widened.

“What, what are you trying to do?”

Watching the terrified Estelle, a strange sense of superiority filled Miryu.

‘She must think she’s won.’

From the very first time they met, it had been like that. Miryu, whose parents were courtesans, had been sold for money and kept the secret of her bastard status, only comforting herself with her own misfortune.

But Estelle, who appeared like the heroine—so beautiful and seemingly more troubled than her—made all of Miryu’s misfortunes seem insignificant. That’s why Miryu couldn’t accept her.

‘She’s doing this on purpose. If I had been adopted, I wouldn’t have been abused in Libertan.’

The words of the saint floated in her mind.

‘Just pretend Miryu has fake scars, like she did before.’

She thought Estelle’s ability to manipulate the Royem royal family was impressive. But it was just a coincidence. Most people still believed Miryu was a kind, unfortunate victim.

“No matter what you do, it’s useless. You’re the villain of Libertan, and I’m the poor victim!”

They had seen Miryu’s kindness with their own eyes for a long time.

“Same as always. Who would believe you?”

“…Miryu. Be careful, or you’ll get hurt.”

“Now you’re worried about me? Yeah. If I get hurt again, I’ll be a woman who lost her miracle baby. Then everything will return to how it was before!”

Madness flickered in Miryu’s eyes.

“You’re finished now!”

Clenching the handle tightly, Miryu drove the dagger harshly into her chest.

“…!”

She expected agonizing pain—yet it never came. At first, she thought her sense was mistaken.

‘Is this a toy?’

The dagger was a toy that had a part that automatically retracted into the handle like a blade when pressed—nothing sharp, just a fake. It looked like a real dagger, but it wasn’t enough to hurt her.

‘Then what…?’

Tears welled up in Estelle’s eyes as she sat on the ground, trembling. Miryu, with a distorted face, threw the dagger aside and grimaced.

“Hah! Do you think I have no other way? If you think I’m pregnant—”

“Then what other way do you have?”

Suddenly, an incredulous voice rang from behind.

Startled, Miryu turned her stiff neck.

Diana approached her with a sinister expression, sneering.

“Are you trying to pretend you had a miscarriage by banging your head against that tree?”

“Diana, it’s—this is…”

“Why, you were talking so well just now. Why not say it all? You’re so skilled, it’s not your first time, huh?”

Behind her wasn’t just Diana. The entire wedding party, led by Queen Isabella, had gathered.

“Mother…”

Miryu trembled as she faced Queen Isabella’s cold, piercing gaze.

‘When did she get here?’

Shaking her head wildly, Miryu shot a fierce glare at Estelle.

“Y-You…!”

But it was already too late. Everyone had witnessed Miryu’s shameless display.

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

Everyone present at the Silver Swan Wedding Hall looked at Miryu’s disgrace with contempt.

“Not only did she lie about her pregnancy, but all the scars supposedly proof of her suffering as a duchess were fake too?”

“How could she do such a thing…? I just saw her threaten to hurt herself right now!”

Miryu desperately brandished the dagger she had hastily thrown, trying to salvage the situation.

“No! This is all a trap set by Estelle!”

The dagger seemed like her only hope.

“Look at this dagger!”

“What does that toy matter?”

A guest asked, and Miryu confidently answered without hesitation.

“No one would bring something like this to a wedding—especially not to the wedding of a close friend! It looks suspicious, and it seems like a ploy—there’s definitely something fishy about it.”

Some guests nodded in agreement.

Miryu believed Estelle brought this dagger to pressure her.

‘Is this why I feel like I might die alone?’

In this situation, she thought she might as well reveal Estelle’s true intentions to everyone.

‘From the beginning, giving me this dagger was a trap! She deliberately provoked me to create this scene in front of everyone! Even if I lied, Estelle—’

“Stop with the nonsense.”

Diana coldly cut her off, and Miryu begged,

“I’m telling the truth! Everyone’s being fooled by that woman! She’s trying to get revenge on me—”

“That dagger was a baby gift that Estelle and I chose together for the pretend baby!”

Miryu blinked slowly, feeling as if struck by a blunt object.

“…What?”

“It was just a toy meant for a baby that doesn’t even exist!”

The situation she hadn’t expected turned her face pale. Despair settled in her eyes as she looked down at the dagger.

‘When did this become a trap…?’

Caught completely off guard, Miryu collapsed backward. Among those rushing to comfort her, Estelle tearfully spoke,

“I—I didn’t know. I didn’t know the wedding would turn out like this, or that you weren’t pregnant. If I had known, I wouldn’t have prepared such a gift.”

“How is that the duchess’s fault? It’s your fault for lying from the start and trying to find fault for no reason.”

Miryu felt as if the ground beneath her was crumbling, like falling off a cliff. She couldn’t think of any way to escape this situation.

‘What should I do now?’

She had never considered that her lie might be exposed like this.

Diana, with a face full of anger, grabbed Miryu’s collar and shook her.

“How can a person do such a thing? How can all of this be a lie? And you call yourself a person?”

“Diana, stop it.”

At that moment, Queen Isabella approached Miryu with an expression so cold it was frightening.

“Miryu Jutti.”

“Y-Yes, Mother.”

“Don’t call me that.”

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉

Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.

See you then!!