Chapter 03
Today’s wedding would soon be canceled, so there was no reason to waste everyone’s time.
After saying this, Roshanne looked around. The young Marquis of Zichellia was not there. The ceremony was supposed to start soon, but it seemed he was still resting in the waiting room.
“Then I’ll be going now…”
She had already said everything she needed to say, and the person she was looking for was not here. There was no reason for her to stay any longer.
Roshanne turned to leave to find the young marquis.
“W-wait, Miss.”
An unhappy voice stopped her.
“What kind of rudeness is this? If you’re going to go crazy, at least do it properly. Do you think this is just some ordinary wedding? Everyone gathered here came because of the Duke—”
“The Duke?”
“Ah… no, never mind that. Does Duke Leilaten know about your attitude and what you’re saying right now?”
“…Yes.”
“I knew it. I should go tell the Duke right away— wait, what? What did you say?”
“The Duke knows.”
Her calm, emotionless answer landed clearly.
Everyone was speechless at her casual reply.
“Is there a problem?”
She had already said many times before coming here that she would not get married. There was no way the Duke didn’t know.
And anyway, why did it matter so much?
“It’s my wedding. I’ll do what I want.”
If even Duke Leilaten already knew, the people around her had no reason to stop her.
Besides, judging by her attitude, it seemed Roshanne had truly gone crazy. And no one wanted to deal with a crazy person.
Maybe that was why the Duke was also leaving her alone.
“N-no, that’s not…”
The man who had boldly stopped her earlier lowered his posture.
“You may… go.”
Roshanne looked at him as if he were strange, then turned around.
Suddenly, she remembered the Duke ten years ago, when he tried desperately to avoid joining the dragon subjugation team because he was afraid of dragons.
‘It seems his authority has changed a lot since then.’
While everything else had changed, Roshanne was always the only one left standing in the same place.
Smiling bitterly, she walked down the hallway and soon sensed the presence of the young Marquis of Zichellia.
Because she had absorbed the memories of the dead Roshanne, she could recognize the presence of people the original Roshanne had met before.
First, she needed to leave this place and take some time to slowly understand her current body.
Roshanne followed the presence and turned the corner.
“Young Marquis.”
She saw his back. She didn’t want to waste time explaining things in detail.
Hearing her call, the young marquis turned halfway around.
He looked much worse than he did in Roshanne’s memories.
‘Memories tend to make people look better than they really are.’
Roshanne shook her head, deciding she shouldn’t fully trust those memories.
“Roshan—”
“Today’s wedding is canceled. I already told the guests and the Duke, so you should personally inform Marquis Zichellia.”
“W-what?”
“I can’t marry a pervert.”
Before his dirty gaze could insult her further, Roshanne spoke firmly.
“Roshanne. What did you just—”
The young marquis’s face turned red with anger. It looked like he might explode or collapse at any moment.
“It’s not Roshanne. It’s Lady Roshanne.”
“…What?”
“Instead of saying ‘what,’ you should say ‘what did you say,’ young marquis. We weren’t even passionately dating. This was just a political marriage for our families… You should at least show some respect.”
Such a childish brat.
“What nonsense is this? Do you even know how many people came here today to congratulate us?”
“I do. And I’m still saying this. I think it’s better to cancel the engagement before the ceremony than to get married because of public pressure and divorce later.”
“Ha. Roshanne.”
The young marquis looked at her with a scolding, disappointed expression, like she was a foolish child.
“You were the one who said you wanted to help your family. And now that the wedding is real, you’re scared?”
His mocking voice made Roshanne feel suffocated. Her chest tightened as if something heavy was stuck there.
“You’re hopeless, Roshanne.”
Ignoring his words, Roshanne slowly rubbed her chest with her palm.
As if she were comforting herself.
Watching her calm down, the young marquis smiled slyly.
To him, Roshanne was perfect prey.
She was the only duke’s daughter in the empire, and her beauty was said to be among the greatest on the continent.
But she was timid, and no one around her supported her. That made her easy to control.
Whenever he pushed her like this, she would always fail to argue and eventually follow his wishes.
So he had never planned to let Roshanne go.
“Do you understand now?”
The young marquis grabbed both of her shoulders tightly. Roshanne frowned.
Through the thin fabric, he could feel how slender her shoulders were. Desire filled his eyes.
“Roshanne. If you give up the wedding now, what do you think Duke Leilaten will think of you?”
“He’ll think I’m his daughter.”
“Yes, he’ll think you’re his— wait, no.”
The conversation kept going in strange directions, and the young marquis sighed in frustration.
He rubbed his rough face with his hand.
“Why can’t you understand today?”
Since Roshanne wasn’t obeying him, his irritation burst out.
Roshanne, who had been quiet, slowly opened her mouth.
“Young marquis, why can’t you understand? Actually, you’ve never understood me, so today isn’t any different.”
“What?”
“See? You still don’t get it. Don’t you remember how whenever I said something, you always replied with something completely different?”
“Roshanne. You shouldn’t do something you’ll regret.”
“I clearly told you earlier to call me Lady Roshanne, but you still don’t understand. Before getting married, you should probably go back and learn some manners.”
“I warned you not to do something you’ll regret.”
“No… actually, you should first learn to understand your own place. Don’t misunderstand—I’m not insulting you. It’s important for people to know what kind of person they are.”
The young marquis’s clenched fist trembled. His jaw tightened like that of a demon.
“Once you understand who you are, you’ll realize you’re not suitable for me. Our personalities don’t match.”
Roshanne.
The very Roshanne who always shrank before him.
The young marquis’s face twisted when he realized she was insulting him.
“I told you not to do something you’ll regret.”
He suddenly raised his fist high. There was no hesitation in his movement.
Roshanne looked at the tightly clenched fist.
‘Can that even be called a fist?’
His fist looked soft and round, like a fluffy cloud.
But Roshanne’s current body was like cotton candy melting in heat. Even a weak punch like that would probably hurt a lot.
‘Then I’ll just dodge.’
Just as Roshanne was about to avoid the fist flying toward her face—
Smack.
A hand suddenly appeared between them and blocked the punch faster than she could react.
“I didn’t want to interfere since this is between the two of you, but hitting a lady is a bit much.”
The man who stepped in stood in front of Roshanne protectively. His dark blue hair moved slightly.
“Are you alright, Lady?”
He moved Roshanne safely behind him and turned his head to ask. His ruby-red eyes caught her gaze.
What was that?
It lasted only a moment, but his red eyes seemed to shine like jewels.
When she blinked again, the glow was already gone.
Roshanne carefully looked at the man’s face.
His thick eyebrows and sharp nose gave him a fierce look. But with his clear, confident eyes, he was definitely handsome.
She didn’t remember seeing such a handsome man before.
“…”
Also, she couldn’t feel any presence from him.
Even though he had come so close, she hadn’t sensed him at all. Even if she didn’t know who he was, she should at least have felt someone approaching.
‘How is that possible?’
Had something gone wrong with her ability to sense people?
Or was this man strange?
“G-Grand Duke Barpheus.”
The one who broke her thoughts was the young marquis.
He quickly lowered his fist and stepped back while bowing.
Grand Duke Barpheus?
Roshanne frowned slightly as she looked at the man’s back.
It was a familiar name.
Chaiten Barpheus.
The current emperor’s nephew—the man the emperor desperately wanted dead.
She couldn’t forget him. The emperor had once even begged the hero to personally kill his own nephew.
The emperor had always been jealous of his dead older brother, and because Chaiten looked so much like him, the emperor hated him and wished for his death.
But the role of a hero was to protect, not kill. So the request had been refused.
‘Ten years ago, when he was fifteen, he was given the title of Grand Duke Barpheus and sent to join the expedition to seal the Mad Dragon.’
He had survived then.
And he was still alive now.
Roshanne felt strangely emotional.
She looked proudly at the strong man who had grown up so well.
