Chapter Three: I’m Getting Married

TW // mentions of suicide

if you need to, when the mention of a girl with golden hair shows up, skip to “it’s a relief she left, right?” take care of yourselves, and have a great rest of your day^^

“Here’s the wedding invitation.”

As I put forth the invitation, the three faces in front of me filled with horror and shock.

“A wedding invitation? What are you saying all of a sudden…”

“Older sister! You’re getting married to Sir Siph?”

“W-wait a second, Sasha. We should discuss marriage together first. Are you proposing to me all of a sudden?”

My stepmother and my younger sister Reina, as well as the person I’d loved, Siph, were looking at the wedding invitation with different expressions. But, as if they were rehearsing lines from a play, they were all in sync.

It seemed that all three of them thought it was obvious that I would get married to Siph.

Well, it had been like that in the past. I had never tried to leave Siph and couldn’t have imagined being with a man who was not Siph.

“We’re not going to hold a formal wedding; we’ll just go to the temple and read our vows.”

“Sasha, I want to have a fancy wedding with you.”

Who said I was going to get married to you?

Siph, as ambitious as ever, grumbled as he opened the wedding invitation that I’d placed on the table. His face paled as soon as he read the contents.

“Older sister, when did you prepare a wedding with Sir Siph? You should’ve told us!”

“But if it’s Sir Siph, I think I can entrust him to you. You made a good choice.”

Pretending to be kind, the two of them smiled and turned to look at the wedding invitation in Siph’s hands. Then, Reina suddenly stood up.

“W-what is this…”

It seems they’ve all read the contents now.

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and laughed. I was the happiest I had ever been.

“Yes, I decided to get married to Grand Duke Lapileon.”

In the end, I decided to get married to Theodore, since it wasn’t easy to find a man who fulfilled all the conditions like he did.

I turned to look at Siph, who was frozen in place as if he’d seen a ghost.

This bastard. This is all because of you.

So now…

“Siph, let’s break up.”

You’re out of my life.

“Older sister! What are you…! The person you love is Sir Siph! Did you forget?”

“I didn’t forget.”

When I died, my inheritance went to my husband Siph, and you said that the three of you would live happily with the money. How could I forget?

With my money, Siph probably gifted you bags and shoes while smiling, right? If I could act in parallel with the way I feel, I would go and rip the dress you’re wearing to shreds, Reina.

“…Sasha, did I do something wrong? Why are you acting like this?”

“Siph.”

“Yeah, Sasha. It’s me. It’s me, Siph, the man you love.”

“Can you get out of my house?”

And if possible, get out of my life as well.

I got up, smiling mockingly at the three frozen people.

“Sasha!”

Siph grabbed desperately at my arm as I turned. A shiver went down my spine as if a bug had touched me. When I pushed him away, he fell onto the ground.

“Siph! … Sir Siph, I mean!” Reina called instinctively before helping him up.

“Older sister! How can you push someone like that? Are you a thug?”

It was so absurd that I couldn’t even laugh.

“Pershati, why are you acting like this? I think you’re feeling sick. Did you fight with Sir Siph? If not, how about the two of you go on a trip together?”

As I saw my stepmother, pretending to be caring, Siph, pretending to be hurt, and Reina, comforting him, I felt a burst of anger.

‘I can’t believe that I considered these people to be my family.’

Although I wanted to slap their faces right now, I swallowed down the desire and clenched my fists. Then, I lifted my shaking cheekbones into a forced smile.

“Listen carefully, everyone.”

I scanned the three people.

“From now on, I will not allow the entry of outsiders into my residence. This includes Sir Siph.”

***

Time passed quickly, and soon, the day of our wedding came.

Since none of us had anything to gain from putting it off, we chose the earliest day possible.

Siph, who had been a regular soldier, lost the right to take the test to become a royal guard, which only nobles could take, since his wedding with me had been ruined.

‘This is just the beginning. I’ll make you lose much more in the future.’

After reading the wedding vows, Theodore asked me in a low voice, “Is it really okay to just read the vows?”

“Do we need anything else?”

“This is a contract relationship, but if my lady wants, I’ll hold the fanciest wedding in the empire.”

It seemed that he wasn’t satisfied with the few sentences that the officiant had recited earlier.

A marriage with no one watching or congratulating.

I thought for a moment and then shrugged while grinning.

“Just convert the cost to money and give it to me after the year is up.”

I don’t need a formal wedding anyways. It would be better to receive it after the divorce!

Money is king. Money will never betray me.

“Are you already thinking about your alimony a year ahead? How meticulous.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“And your luggage? Is it arriving today?”

“I finished packing this morning, so it should have arrived at the estate by now.”

We began walking to where the carriage was waiting for us. But before we could even take a few steps, as if they had been waiting for us, someone stopped us in our paths.

“Grand Duke Lapileon.”

She surprised me.

A girl with golden hair whipping around her face looked at me with dark green eyes filled with jealousy and rage.

It was a face I had seen somewhere before.

While I was furrowing my brow and searching through my memories, Theodore let out a sigh and finally spoke.

“Your Highness…”

Sorry, what? A princess?

Shocked, I looked at the two back and forth. Now that I looked more closely, there was no doubt that I’d seen that face at the inauguration ceremony and during imperial events.

The Fourth Princess, Dahlia Ina Castor.

Back then she had appeared weak and sick, but she seemed completely fine now. It looked like the rumors that she had truly recovered were true.

“What brings you here?”

“Did you really get married to someone other than me?”

In contrast with her cute appearance, the girl who blocked our path was glaring and chewing on her lip. It looked like in her eyes I didn’t even exist.

“I’ve been waiting for the day I could meet you for so long. Why aren’t you marrying me? Do you think that someone that loves you the same way I do exists?”

Dahlia came even closer. In her green eyes, there was longing for someone that I didn’t know. Dahlia muttered sadly, as if she were about to cry.

“We had finally met. I became the most perfect lady for you and there was nothing blocking us.”

I thought that it was marriage that the emperor had pushed, but Dahlia wanted it? Anyways…

Was Dahlia always like that? In my memories she was a cute and innocent princess.

As I stood there blinking in confusion, Dahlia put her hand on Theodore’s left cheek before he could avoid her.

“I even sent you my suicide note to tell you that if you didn’t marry me I would die. Did you not see it?”

What? Did I hear wrong? Suicide note? Has she gone crazy?

Slap.

“What are you doing.”

At the sudden contact, as if it were unpleasant, Theodore quickly took Dahlia’s hand and roughly threw it off. He hit it hard enough that the back of her hand began turning red.

But Dahlia, her red lips twisting upwards, kept smiling.

“If you’re not beside me, then there’s no reason for me to live here anymore. You’re my man, and mine only.”

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

She was crazy. You could tell in one glance. Dahlia, who had been rumored to have gotten better, was not in her right mind.

How could a person change so quickly in a moment?

I had been staring at the two blankly, but belatedly came to my senses. One of the reasons Theodore agreed to have a contract marriage with me must have been that he didn’t want to be involved with a princess like this.

Then I should also do my job well.

I slowly creeped between the two people and linked arms with Theodore. As soon as I did, Dahlia, as if she was a predator who had her prey stolen, looked at me with glimmering eyes.

D-don’t look at me like you’re going to stab me.

“Your Highness, my apologies.”

Although she was a bit scary, I held it in and smiled brightly.

“My husband morbidly hates when someone other than me touches him.”

Dahlia looked at me with a glare like a dragon spitting fire.

That’s too scary! Cold sweat dripped down the back of my neck.

“O-Oh my, your hand is very swollen. Your precious body…! You should quickly go see the doctor!”

So, go home already.

Since I said that with the meaningful tone used for kicking guests out, she must have understood, but Dahlia stood still as if she were rooted to the ground.

“What are you?”

Dahlia stomped over to me with her teeth clenched. Her eyes were filled with rage and confusion.

Ack, why is she getting closer to me?

As soon as I took steps back out of surprise, Theodore moved in front of me and blocked my front. But Dahlia’s attention was still pointed at me.

“Why are you here?”

Obviously, I’m here because I married him.

…is what I wanted to say but I held it in and shut my lips tightly. If I said that, it felt like she would immediately rip my mouth apart.

It was just for a moment, but Dahlia looked like a different person.

“You can’t be here…!”

Just at the moment when Dahlia was about to yell.

“Oh my, it’s so loud that even if I didn’t want to, I could hear it all.”

An unfamiliar voice interrupted, along with the sound of a carriage stopping. When I lifted my head, an unknown lady stared down at us indifferently with her chin in her hand, which was resting on the window of the carriage.

“If a report that Your Highness was seen trying to coerce another woman’s man was spread, it would be quite unpleasant for you, ho ho.”

The lady, as if mocking, giggled quietly and covered her mouth with a fan.

“People will soon begin to gather. Will you really be okay if you keep chasing after someone’s husband here?”

Looking around, people who recognized us had started to glance in our directions. However, Dahlia seemed as if she didn’t care about other people’s gazes.

“Well, of course. You came to interrupt me again.”

Dahlia, still keeping her gaze on me, extended her hand and muttered words I couldn’t understand. The behavior was so bizarre and strange that I got goosebumps again.

“…?”

But that was all she did. From the atmosphere, I thought she would pull out a sword and stab and kill me right there, but no matter how much I waited, she didn’t do anything else.

Theodore, the lady in the carriage, the people watching, and I all tilted our heads in bafflement.

“…Damn it.”

Even Princess Dahlia. As if something that she wanted wasn’t going as planned, she scrunched up her face and lowered her hand. Looking at her own hand with confusion, Dahlia muttered.

“Remember this well.”

She spoke with resentment in her voice.

“Without you I have no desire to live. I do not wish to lend you to someone else twice. You’ll come to know that you need me too, and if we’re not together then we will both suffer.”

I felt danger, as if I was looking at a person who had lived thousands of years in miserable demise. This was not an expression that a princess in the flower of her youth should have.

After leaving behind words that were impossible to understand, Dahlia swept past us and disappeared into the crowd. I let out a shallow sigh and turned to my savior in the carriage.

Who is she?

As soon as we made eye contact, she smiled brightly.

“It’s a relief she left, right?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes…”

As soon as I nodded awkwardly, Theodore, from beside me, introduced her with furrowed brows.

“She’s my older sister.”

…huh? What did he just say? Who? Older sister?

“Why are you here?”

“You told me you were reading your vows today. No matter how simple you said your wedding would be, I thought it would be sad if there was no one to congratulate you.”

Gosh, s-sister?

Now that I saw it, she had an almost eerily similar face to Theodore.

“You can’t already be giving your wife a difficult time with that thing attached, Theo.”

To call the Princess “that thing.” I had already seen her calmly snub the crazy princess, but her personality really was fiery.

When the carriage door opened, a tall lady with bright red hair that flowed to her waist wearing a wide hat with fancy detailing on the brim came down.

“Nice to meet you, Pershati. I’m Sercia Jane Lapileon. Call me Seci.”

She had an unapproachable aura.

“I’m Pershati Jihar… no, Pershati Lapileon.”

Sercia smiled, handing me the bouquet of flowers she had brought from the carriage.

“Are you done with your vows, Theo?”

“Theo”, she called him. I almost burst out laughing at the cute nickname that did not suit him at all.

“We already finished a while ago.”

Theodore didn’t react to it; it seemed like he was used to being called in such a way.

“Darn… I wanted to congratulate you and even brought flowers. I don’t know if my timing was good or late.”

Sercia’s shoulders drooped, seeming disappointed that she had missed the vows.

“Thank you for helping us earlier. Truthfully, I was scared.”

“Oh my, really? If that’s so, then that’s a relief. If you’re on your way back to the estate, I’d like to take you there… Would that be alright, Pershati?”

“Ah… yes!”

As soon as I nodded, Sercia pushed Theodore out of the way and offered me her hand. After I took it and got into the carriage, the other two entered behind me.

“I don’t understand why you would marry this guy, Pershati.”

“Ha… Sercia.”

“Look at that. He has no manners calling his elder sister with only her first name. If this kid Theo acts like a bastard, just tell me. I’ll pull out his fingernails and toenails.”

What? Finger…. What? Did I hear wrong?

Looking at my dumbfounded face, Sercia said “oh my”, laughing and fanning herself. For no particular reason, I began to covertly check to see if my fingernails were still intact and laughed awkwardly.

“I heard that our family’s curse doesn’t work on you?”

“…Yes.”

“Even so, it’s best to be careful. Our family’s real curse is that we hurt others around us. Even if they’re people we care about. It’s a really cruel curse.”

Her words had weight, as if she was speaking from experience. In an effort to calm her worries, I smiled more brightly.

“You don’t have to worry. Even after I ingested the Grand Duke’s blood twice, I still…”

“What did you say?”

Crack.

The sound of the carriage’s armrest echoed. My mouth closed automatically.

Did I say something wrong?

“Did Theo give you his blood?”

Huh… is that something she didn’t hear about?

I discreetly glanced at Theodore, who had turned away with his palm over his eyes. When I didn’t answer, Sercia turned to Theodore and cursed at him.

“You bastard.”

Excuse me…dear sister?

t/n 언니

“I told you not to go around doing things like that. Do you need to be imprisoned in the dungeon for a month to regain your senses?”

“It was an accident.”

Yeah, it was most certainly not an accident.

I wanted to interject, but I felt like my finger and toenails really would be removed, so I shut my mouth tightly. Who would have thought that The Theodore, rumored to love blood and violence, would be so obedient. I could never have imagined it.

Sercia stared at Theodore disapprovingly, then looked at me with apologetically and said,

“If this brat does something that ridiculous again, contact me anytime. I’ll leave him half-dead.”