CHAPTER 65………….
The wedding day had dawned. Adele, who had tossed and turned all night, rubbed her eyes, only for Jacqueline to cry out in horror and stop her.
“No! If you do that, your makeup will be ruined.”
“…Why are there so many things I’m not allowed to do?”
Sigh.
Adele instinctively reached to brush her hair back but froze at Jacqueline’s appalled expression.
Anyone watching would think she was going to prison, not a wedding.
Since the engagement ceremony, she hadn’t been able to do anything as she pleased.
“Adele, where do you think you’re going?”
“To the trading company, of course. And since when has Father ever cared this much about my outings?”
“You, maybe not, but my precious first—… Anyway, restrain yourself.”
Because her father believed some great change was about to occur in her body, and Killian chose to stand by and do nothing, she hadn’t even been able to go outside properly.
Whenever she tried to leave through the front gate, her father’s private soldiers blocked her right at the mansion’s entrance.
Really. Who said I had a good life?
She even felt self-loathing, but she wasn’t in a position to complain.
So much so that she couldn’t even escape from work on her one and only wedding day.
“Um, Adele, then about this matter…”
“Extend the payment deadline. They’ve been trading with us for over twenty years. We should make allowances.”
“Ah… Then what about the management of the newly acquired hotel?”
“Cut off all the connections from Mertel’s wife’s side. Bring back the previous people and rebuild the accounting team.”
While attendants crowded around Adele, dressing her up, Zerox stood anxiously beside her, shuffling through documents.
Though she had told him to come in, he kept glancing nervously at the door.
At any moment, someone might kick it open—her father, her brother, or her groom.
What they had in common was that he didn’t want to run into any of them.
“If—if Caden comes in, he’ll kill me.”
“Don’t worry. I told Father to chain him up if necessary.”
“Where is the Count, anyway?”
“Father’s busy. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him today either.”
“Ah… then what about the Commander?”
“…”
Adele, who had been answering briskly, suddenly grew demure.
Her cheeks flushed as though she were thinking of someone.
“…How should I know.”
Sadly, she hadn’t had the chance to talk with him lately—things were too hectic.
Even after warning Caden, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy, so she stuck close to him.
Fortunately, Caden didn’t seem to mind much. The real problem was Killian.
“My lady, the Commander hasn’t said a single word these past few days. People are whispering that a curse might befall the South…”
He looked so gloomy that servants would cross themselves upon seeing him.
She wanted to check on him herself, but with the mountain of work and the sudden wedding, she had no time between the dress, the gifts, and endless preparations.
Is he all right, I wonder…
She still remembered vividly the way he had tucked her hair behind her ear on the night of their engagement.
Getting her makeup done, having her hair curled—she was docile like a proper bride-to-be.
Seeing her like that, Zerox blushed awkwardly.
“Still… you really seem like a different person, Adele.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Now it finally feels real.”
Not knowing what else to say, Zerox fidgeted with the documents.
After all, they had been friends for years, and once, he had even confessed to her. No wonder he felt restless.
“By the way, about that thing you asked for…”
“…Ah, that!”
Adele quickly sent everyone else out of the room.
Jacqueline pouted, insisting it wasn’t the right time, but was eventually dragged out with the stylists. Before leaving, she scolded:
“There’s still so much to do! If we don’t curl the inner layers of your hair properly, it won’t hold during the ceremony!”
“No, something more important came up.”
“What could be more important to a bride than getting ready for her wedding?!”
Muttering she’d get back at her, Jacqueline stomped out.
Normally, Adele would have sternly rebuked her, but for once, she held her tongue.
Only when the door closed, leaving just the two of them, did she glance at Zerox in the mirror.
“Show me. Did you get it right?”
“Yeah, here.”
Zerox reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
There was a time when she had hoped a ring meant for her would come out of that pocket. But now she waited for something else—with a pounding heart, no less.
“Here you go.”
“Ah…”
“It was hard matching the color. Even searching through all the red diamonds in the trading company, none were like your eyes. Rare as they are, the moment I found this gem, I knew it was the one.”
“Do you like it?”
“Mhm. I love it.”
Adele smiled softly at the crimson diamond.
Her hair and makeup might not be flawless yet, but with that smile alone she was beautiful enough to enchant anyone.
“This is it. Exactly what I wanted.”
“…But, aren’t you planning to give that to the Commander?”
“Hm? Mm-hm.”
She curved her lips, gazing at her reflection in the gem.
Zerox scratched his head, not understanding.
“If it’s for him, you could have made it bigger, flashier. Men usually expect something more extravagant for a wedding gift.”
“No. I like it this way.”
She closed the ring case. If she kept staring, she might lose track of time.
…This much shouldn’t be a burden, right?
Her father had already prepared countless gifts.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that even if she wore a different ring every day, there’d still be more left over than days in her life.
But those were from her father. She herself had given Killian nothing.
“Phew…”
Even this simple ring—there was no guarantee she’d actually get to give it to him.
She worried it might only embarrass him, who had given her nothing.
“…Adele, is there really nothing you wish for?”
He had asked her that, days ago. His cautious voice still lingered in her mind.
Was he troubled?
Even if he had lived like a hermit, surely he knew that in noble tradition, the groom gave gifts to the bride.
She didn’t know why he asked her that, but she didn’t want to hurt his pride.
“Not really.”
“But surely there must be something you’d like…”
“What if I said I wanted the sun plucked down for me?”
She shrugged lightly, as though it were nothing. Killian only smiled.
That smile was so captivating she couldn’t even call it a joke.
I really am fine, but still…
Her cheeks flushed red.
If Killian lacked anything, it was… that.
She remembered how he had stopped on their first day together, and the Archbishop’s words still echoed in her mind.
It was their wedding night, after all—what was he planning? Why was she, the bride, the one worrying about this?
She knew it was greedy to expect anything more from someone who already had everything.
Still, if he was to be her partner for life… shouldn’t they at least…?
“Adele, do you need anything else?”
“Hm? Oh, um, no.”
She had forgotten Zerox was there.
Her red lips parted slightly as she looked at her old friend.
Maybe she should prepare something, just in case. But who could she even ask about such a matter?
A tycoon’s daughter, and yet there are things I can’t get.
No—there were things she couldn’t get because she was a tycoon’s daughter.
Surely all eyes in the South would be on today’s wedding. If she tried to obtain such a thing herself, the scandal would be fatal.
That left three family members.
But she could hardly ask her father. If she asked her sister Noella, she’d probably run straight to the press saying, “Oh, my heart aches to think of my sister suffering so!”
And if she asked Caden, he’d sooner cut off what wasn’t needed.
“No! That’s not an option!”
“What’s not an option? Adele, are you… nervous?”
Zerox chuckled. So even you get nervous, huh?
Adele, who could stare down disasters at the trading company without flinching, looked utterly pale now—like her heart had been torn out.
“N-nervous? No. Forget it.”
“I thought you needed something more.”
“No… Well, not exactly, but… later.”
She waved him off.
After all, she had chosen Killian as her husband for his noble spirit, not for anything worldly.
Even if her father was the ultimate hedonist, she was different.
“Hmph.”
She cleared her throat and smoothed her skirt. She had to be dignified—she was the Commander’s bride.
“Anyway, thank you for the ring, Zerox. You know it’s a secret, right?”
“Of course. But… are you sure you’re okay? Even someone like you must feel nervous at a wedding.”
“Not at all. Even if cannon fire went off outside, I wouldn’t blink.”
“…My lady, may I come in?”
At her firm reply, the door opened and Jacqueline returned.
By then Adele had regained her usual poise and once again allowed the stylists to work on her hair and nails.
Today, I have to be perfect.
Bride or not, contract marriage or not—the only ones who knew were Killian and herself.
To everyone else, she wanted to be remembered as flawless.
“But why do you look like that? Did something happen outside?”
“…I don’t know if I should even say this.”
“What is it?”
Adele, too weary to be surprised anymore, leisurely watched the stylists fix jewels into her wavy hair.
“Did Father cause some trouble again? What, did he put up a statue at the entrance like last time?”
“N-no, nothing like that.”
“Then it’s fine. I thought—”
“He… he built a temple.”
“…”
I can handle this. I’m a perfect bride, after all.
Adele unclenched her fists, aware of the attendants and Zerox around her.
The stylists, who had frozen, sighed in relief and hurried to finish their work.
“It’s nothing new. We all know what Father’s like.”
“I-I don’t know what you mean by ‘nothing,’ but this doesn’t seem so simple…”
“It can’t be bigger than Saint Fidelio’s chapel!”
“…Well.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”
Adele pressed her forehead. At least her nails were done. Forcing herself to stay calm, she endured as they pinned up her hair.
“My lady… but then there’s also…”
“What now?”
Adele glared at Jacqueline through her fingers.
Please, just let me be the elegant bride for once.
But Jacqueline hesitated, unable to speak.
“…Y-young master Caden…”
“Stop. Right there.”
Adele cut her off with a raised hand. Just hearing the names involved was enough to fill her with dread.
“Let me guess. He broke the restraints?”
No… please, no.
She shook her head, but the silence dragged on mercilessly.
So it came to this, after all.
With resignation, she pulled open a drawer in her vanity. Taking out the white ring she had prepared, she deftly slid on a black gauntlet.
“…Where is that bastard now?”
