CH 45

At the strange air current, Elysia flinched and trembled.

An unfamiliar sensation flowed through her as if sparks were bouncing all over her body. The air in the room also became more subtle. It was an atmosphere she thought would never happen with Damon Raphael.

“Your, Your Grace… have to prepare yourself as well.”

“…Yes, I should.”

Stepping back in fear, she moved away from him. This situation was not pleasant at all. It was beyond her expectations. Unbelievably, Damon looked regretful, though he soon returned to his expressionless face again.

‘Am I mistaken…?’

It must have been her misunderstanding, he would have no regrets. Damon hated contact with others. He didn’t even want to touch the Emperor. In fact, Elysia was most worried at first about walking with him hand in hand in the ceremony.

Even if she was forced to marry, she thought that the first thing she had to do was meet him and hold his hand on the wedding day. However, contrary to her expectations, he held her first. There was no doubt that he was forcing himself to endure.

“See you later.”

Elysia nodded her head at his voice that seemed to drip with regrets. It was clear that something was wrong today since he couldn’t have had any regrets about her.

“Haa…”

As Damon left her waiting room, Elysia fell to the floor.

She didn’t know what to do with the strange air current. In her marriage to him, she never doubted that something like this would never happen. She thought it would be a dreadful marriage that threatened her life every day.

In the first place, he chose her because he knew their marriage wouldn’t happen like any other couple. Damon would have seen her as a roadside sweeper. Nevertheless, she didn’t know how to explain what had happened just now.

Damon Raphael saw someone as the opposite sex…? He was a person who didn’t feel emotions in the first place.

“It will never happen. I was mistaken.”

She knew better than anyone else. It was she who made Damon feel no emotion.

* * *

“….”

Her surroundings were busy decorating her, but Elysia was quiet.

She probably needed to correct her attitude now. After all, he and she were different from normal couples. Being swept away by Damon’s acting, when the time comes, she wouldn’t be able to notice the blade slowly approaching her neck.

“I’m sorry. This was the best thing I could do with the veil.”

“No, it’s not Estelle’s fault.”

Elysia gave a small smile to Estelle, who came with a veil that she thought could not be saved. Luckily, she was able to save as much as she could in this short time. She probably didn’t get Catherine to help, so it wasn’t bad for a job for Estelle as she did it alone.

It was only shortened in length, so other people wouldn’t notice it.

The veil was a length that barely covered the end of her chin and barely covered her face. Unlike the way the groom had to take it off because the bride couldn’t take it off on her own, Elysia was able to take it off herself.

“You are so beautiful.”

“It’s probably the greatest masterpiece of my designer life.”

Despite Estelle and Catherine’s praises, she only smiled quietly. As Catherine uttered that it would be a masterpiece, the wedding dress was very beautiful. She had never seen such an elegant and dignified wedding dress in her previous life.

The pleated bottom that fluttered with every step she took was like a wave. A dress with all kinds of expensive jewels splendidly made a simple design colorful. Meanwhile, each lace was a high-quality lace made by hand, adding to its beauty.

“You will shine the brightest today. Everyone will praise it as the birth of the best bride in the Empire.”

As they said that she would shine the most than anyone else, she looked like a princess from a certain kingdom in the mirror. Elysia was Cinderella from the fairy tale book she read as a child… It was not just that, she looked even better with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

“It’s not much different.”

The others saw her and called her Cinderella because she got a place as the Grand Duchess, whom everyone wanted to be. Well, it wasn’t really wrong. In other people’s eyes, she would be Cinderella.

“The wedding process goes, as I said, with the pope’s blessing and signing the vows.”

“I’m holding my father’s hand and entering…?”

“Yes, and there’s one thing I didn’t tell you… After signing the marriage vows, you’ll kiss as an oath.”

With the mention of kissing as an oath, Elysia turned her head in surprise. She hadn’t heard of that. She knew, of course, that it was no different from a modern wedding, although she didn’t know that the kissing part would be the same here.

“It is a tradition to kiss the bride after taking off her veil.”

Tradition, tradition… The veil over her head was also due to that tradition — a blue veil was wrapped around her tightly braided hair.

“You must enter now.”

Despite Estelle’s act of lowering her veil to cover her face, Elysia did not move her body.

…Kiss of oath with Damon, that was an absurd story. It was no different from asking a wild beast to kiss her. Even though it might be possible to pretend to be acting with just a simple touch, kissing was impossible.

Kissing someone who didn’t like touching other people… It wasn’t possible, and she didn’t want to risk her life either.

The only thing Elysia was reassured about in this marriage was that she was freed from physical relationships. Damon won’t ask her to consummate the relationship. Of course, so was she. Had she been other girls, she would have asked him for a night, but not Elysia.

‘I don’t have to rush the orders myself.’

If she didn’t know him, she would think she could seduce him. Seduce…? Seduction didn’t work for Damon Raphael. He was a person who hated all living things except himself. He wouldn’t even treat her like a human in the first place, he couldn’t feel rational emotions.

“Elysia, let’s enter.”

Despite the Count’s voice trying to hold her hand and enter, she did not extend her hand.

“…Elysia? You have to go in.”

If it was a wedding that would happen anyway, she seemed most likely to have no regrets if she did what she wanted.

“I want to go in by myself.”

“What do you mean? Going alone…”

At that, she began to walk alone, leaving the puzzled Julius, who asked what she was talking about. If she had worn the original veil, she would never have been able to walk alone. She couldn’t take a single step by herself because she couldn’t see beyond the cloth that reached her chest.

“Elysia?”

Although she heard a call from behind, Elysia did not stop her steps. At the same time, she could see the virgin road through the thin veil, which had reached the tip of her chin. Damon was probably at the end of this road. It was like walking into hell on her own feet.

It didn’t matter, though. It wasn’t someone’s hand that led her to it, but her own choice.

Murmur, murmur.

As the Count’s voice faded away, the murmur of people continued to be heard. Everyone seemed surprised by her walking alone and with a short veil.

Elysia didn’t mind the commotion, and she didn’t stop her steps… to the place where the steps stopped, to the place where Damon was. She knew that she had made a fairly unconventional choice because of the hot gazes that could be felt even over the opaque blue fabric.

But, if she was to walk into hell anyway, she didn’t want to be forced by others like going to the slaughterhouse. She wanted to walk proudly on her own.

“You always seem to break my expectations.”

The sound of laughter echoing over her head made her feel he was smiling. Last time, Damon gazed at her and smiled, too. He seems to have said something similar even back then.

“The, the groom lifts…”

Even the Pope, who would have watched and proceeded with the marriages of numerous nobles, showed a look of surprise. It was a veil that Damon did not need to remove. The usual veil that was tightly wrapped around the bride might not be able to be taken off by the bride herself, though it wasn’t Elysia’s veil.

“The bride’s…”

Damon seemed to already know her heart.

Even when asked to take off the veil, he did not touch her body at all. When Elysia took off this veil, she was afraid that she would have to face his face. However, it couldn’t be avoided.

“Veil…”

“That’s why you’re interesting.”

Elysia raised her hand and took off the veil directly. She squinted her eyes at the light that rushed into her all at once and met the blue eyes staring at her for a moment. Like the eyes of a beast aiming for its prey, the brightly shining eyes seemed to swallow everything.

Interest.

The emotions that appeared in his eyes were curiosity and interest. Contrary to the amused Damon, as soon as she took off the veil, the ceremony hall was filled with astonishment. There was a non-stop sound of gasps all over the place.

Among them, only Damon was rejoicing.

“The moment the marriage vows are signed, the two become a couple.”

“….”

“Blessings to the newly born couple-.”

Even the Pope was bewildered, and the wedding seemed to be in calm chaos.

Even in such a situation, Damon in a black tailcoat was beautiful. He also seemed to have done well in choosing a dress design that wasn’t too flashy. Even now, not all of the guests admired her only, but also admired him.

He was originally handsome, but no one could afford to look away from Damon Raphael, who was purposefully decorated.

Damon was staring at Elysia with an obsessive look. Suddenly, she whispered softly enough that only he could hear it.

“Let’s not kiss the oath.”