It was something he expected anyway. He had decided on today because he wanted fewer guests to show up.

He had announced the wedding date just yesterday in order to reduce the number of guests as much as possible.

Marquis Westin was dead.

Although he managed to prevent the decomposition of the body using black magic and mana stones, it would be obvious when someone looked closely.

Connin's spell wasn't perfect, so he manipulated the body with black magic to disguise it as if he was alive.

The more people there were, the higher the risk of being caught would be.

Richard looked at Sophia Westin, who was asleep in the chair opposite to him.

She was wearing a white wedding dress.

He didn't understand why Sophia was making a fuss over just one dress and preparing it so many months in advance, but it turned out well.

If she hadn't prepared her wedding dress in advance, it would've been troublesome to prepare clothes in a hurry.

"Should I wake her up?" asked Karan.

Richard shook his head.

"Leave her be."

Sophia had seen Richard killing Marquis Westin.

He was surprised, but he regained his composure soon.

Marquis Westin regarded Sophia as a tool for their family, and she was well aware of this.

Their father-daughter relationship was not a good one, so he thought it could be overlooked if he coaxed her well.

"I couldn't help it. Marquis Westin accused me and said he'd take me to court. I don't care about dying, but I couldn't stand the thought of breaking up with you..."

"Killer! You killed my father! You murderer!!"

However, he was terribly wrong.

Sophia sobbed and screamed when she found out that Marquis Westin had died.

Marquis Westin has never truly loved you, Only I love you, and I was afraid to break up with you. This happened because the Marquis attacked me first and I made a mistake when I tried to stop him. Richard kept making such excuses. But no matter what he said, Sophia didn't listen.

"Save my father!"

Richard's expression hardened as he watched her cry. Why was she acting like this?

For Marquis Westin, Sophia was not a child, but a tool. The Duke of Cassil also acted no different from Marquis Westin.

But why was she so sad?

Richard was the one who comforted Sophia's heart which had been wounded by Marquis Westin.

So naturally, he expected her to put him first. So why was she so sad?

Was it because they were family?

Richard didn't understand Sophia. However, he still needed her to take over the Westin family.

He had to coax her and get married somehow.

"Sophia, calm down."

"What? How could you say that? You killed my father and now you're telling me to calm down?!"

She turned around and screamed at Richard.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to put you to trial!"

Richard quickly stopped her in surprise.

If the fact that he had murdered Marquis Westin was discovered, then he would be completely done for. Rather than becoming the Emperor, his head would be on the guillotine.

Richard knocked Sophia out.

The next day, she woke up and started screaming again, but Richard didn't comfort her anymore.

She had wanted to kill him by calling for a trial. There was no need for him to show her compassion.

Richard had Karan cast a spell on Sophia.

It was manipulation magic which dominated the body and controlled it like a puppet. It was a level lower than the brainwashing magic which dominated the mind.

It could only be used to execute a limited amount of behavior, and above all, there was a high risk of being caught because it would seem somewhat unnatural and awkward.

Karan was smarter and more cautious than Connin, but her black magic was still lacking.

Connin, however, was already in charge of Marquis Westin, so he couldn't put a spell on Sophia as well.

Richard moved the wedding forward.

As soon as Sophia put on her wedding dress and finished her makeup, he had her go back to sleep.

"It will be time for the wedding to begin soon."

When Richard told Karan not to wake Sophia up, she became worried and checked the time.

Most of the guests would go to Ron's wedding after showing up for a while.

If the wedding was delayed, they wouldn't wait any longer and just go to Ron's wedding.

The fewer guests there were, the better it was for them.

If Richard said that Sophia was sad about the Marquis and exhausted from crying as an excuse, there would be no one who'd protest it.

Richard planned to kill Sophia and disguise it as a suicide when he officially became the Marquis of Westin after the wedding.

Since she was already depressed at the time of the wedding, no one would doubt that she hadn't died because of the sadness of losing her father.

People would think that her depression got worse because there were only a few guests at her wedding and pity her.

The public would also criticize the vassals for abandoning their lord and choosing to go to Ron's wedding.

Other nobles were conscious of public opinion so they would also keep their distance from them, and so, the vassals would be forced to show loyalty to the Westin family again.

If both Marquis Westin and Sophia died, people would oppose Richard's succession of the Westin family. They'd think Richard took over the Westin family on purpose.

But amidst public sympathy for Sophia who died and criticism for the vassals, they'd have no choice but to shut their mouth.

After all, they were also responsible for Sophia's suicide.

At first, he was going to persuade Sophia to hide the death of Marquis Westin and hold a splendid wedding.

However, Sophia was foolish enough to side with her father and lost her mind, so they were forced to hold the ceremony today. But as a result, it turned out well.

Rather, this was much simpler.

He'd have her write a suicide note that said, 'I love Richard so much. I want to give everything to him.'

Richard glanced at Sofia indifferently.

"What a fool."

He didn't feel sorry or guilty towards her.

He had given her a chance. However, Sophia chose to make a fool out of herself and called for the guards.

"But wouldn't it be better to keep her awake now? I think I'd have to get her dress and hair done again."

The decorations on her hair and clothes were in disarray as she had pressed on it while sleeping.

"Just leave her be."

In fact, it would be nice if she looked a bit disheveled.

After the wedding, the guests would demand to see Marquis Westin.

The guests were mostly Marquis Westin's people.

In particular, those who did not go to Ron's wedding and remained in place until the end were those who were very close to Marquis Westin.

And they had come here to see the Marquis of Westin, not Richard and Sophia's wedding.

No matter how good Connin was at magic, they'd notice that the Marquis was in a strange condition.

Therefore Richard planned to use hallucination to confuse their minds.

"Have you prepared for it?"

"Yes, I've set it up in the Marquis's room."

After the wedding, they'd take the guests to Marquis Westin's room.

Connin would manipulate Marquis Westin's body and make a false voice to make him look alive, while Karan would use hallucination magic.

Under the influence of the hallucinations and magic, all the people would believe that the Marquis was still alive.

Marquis Westin would die after nominating Richard as the next Marquis.

It had been a long time since the Marquis died, but Richard had hidden it with manipulation magic, so no one would notice it.

The next day would be the perfect time to release the suicide note that he had prepared in advance.

Tomorrow he would become Marquis Westin.

Not only would he become a nobleman again, all of the Westin family's vast wealth would also belong to him then.

Richard smiled when he thought about the future that would unfold from tomorrow, and suddenly a woman's voice echoed in his ears.

"Are you crazy? You're out of your mind! How could you do this? Were you really that kind of a human? No, you gave up being a human a long time ago."

The voice belonged to Laontel. She always bothered him with the auditory hallucinations, but this time she was directly criticizing him.

Following the auditory hallucination came a splitting headache.

When Karan saw Richard staggering, she rushed to him in surprise.

"Master!"

"It's okay. Don't make a fuss."

Richard clenched his fist and rose up again.

'What is this? Just what is this!'

He couldn't figure out why the auditory hallucinations suddenly started. He guessed that it had something to do with the fake Ancia.

However, he was more angry than curious about the cause.

'Why is she blaming me?! Why is she rejecting me?!!'

No matter who she was, the unbearable anger boiled up when she criticized him.

He'd go find that fake after he got married and became the Marquis. He would definitely find her and find out the source of this auditory hallucination!

Richard was gritting his teeth, when the butler came inside.

"What's going on?"

Richard had planted him here when he first started courting Sophia.

He owned the butler, as well as some of the Marquis' knights and servants.

Thanks to this, it was easy to control the mansion even after he killed the Marquis.

"Marquis Westin's brother has come."

Richard frowned. The Marquis and his brother were practically enemies.

As soon as he heard that his brother was in critical condition, he showed up. What a piece of shit.

"Get rid of him right now."

"But it's the younger brother of the Marquis..."

"Tell them that it's Marquis Westin's orders."

No one would doubt it if they heard that Marquis Westin kicked his brother out.

"Also the Crown Prince and his wife are here."

As soon as Richard heard that, his expression distorted horribly.

Ancia and Blake were here?

He thought that they had gone to attend Sir Ron's wedding.

What were they doing here?

He had an ominous feeling about it.