IGCHPM 11

Chapter 11

With the bride gone, the wedding couldn’t possibly go on.

Ludwig had to endure the humiliation of canceling the ceremony at the altar, and the guests hurried to spread the shocking news throughout the capital.

* * *

During my first regression, I also remembered my past life.

The life I lived as an ordinary woman in Korea.

There was a common cliché in those morning dramas:

“The ex-lover runs off with the bride from the wedding aisle!”

I hadn’t meant to copy it exactly, but now I was living it.

Sure, I had once run away with Sir Beltane, but it hadn’t been during the ceremony—it was the night before, in a desperate escape.

In that sense, this was my truly “dramatic” experience.

If someone asked how it felt?

“…Save me!”

Or in another version:

“Please put me down!”

Sounded more like a bride actually being abducted, right?

But I didn’t have time for those silly thoughts.

Arpad laughed like he was enjoying himself far too much.

“Not yet! I can’t let you go until we reach a safe place!”

I cried out in protest.

“We left the capital a long time ago!”

I struggled, but Arpad held me tightly with terrifying strength and balance.

“We don’t know when we’ll be followed!”

He had a point—I knew that too.

But still!

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The powerful, fast horse kept running, and each hoofbeat rattled the world.

Rattle, rattle, rattle…

Worse, I wasn’t riding the horse alone—I was sitting on Arpad’s lap!

Being higher up made the shaking twice as bad.

Finally, I abandoned all pride and yelled honestly:

“…I think I’m going to throw up!”

“……!”

Apparently, even the crazy Crown Prince didn’t want that.

The horse, which had felt like it would never stop, came to a sudden halt.

“Are you alright?”

Arpad asked carefully, helping me off the horse.

The moment my feet touched the ground, I collapsed.

“Uuugh!”

It felt like the earth was shaking too!

It reminded me of a terrible hangover—one even my Korean self had rarely experienced.

While I lay there groaning, Arpad, shockingly, patted my back and asked:

“Is your vision okay?”

“No. Everything’s spinning.”

“So it’s fine.”

He lifted me gently by the shoulders.

(He was clearly afraid I’d throw up on him.)

Then he pointed toward a small white castle in the distance.

“That’s our destination.”

To me, that small and modest castle looked more luxurious and comforting than the imperial palace.

We rode for three days and nights to reach this secluded residence far from the capital.

* * *

I arrived at the castle looking like a crumpled tissue rolled through the dirt.

Without Arpad supporting me, I couldn’t have walked straight.

Finally at our destination, I felt like cheering.

“I can finally wash up. Where’s the bed?”

Then Arpad said something absurd.

“My bride is awfully eager. How embarrassing.”

I turned to glare—and was greeted with an infuriating sight.

Arpad, dressed in crisp white formalwear, looked annoyingly clean and flawless.

‘He looks perfect while I look like trash! How unfair!’

I mumbled weakly at his smugly sparkling face.

“I’m too tired… to joke… or yell… so just leave me alone.”

It was true.

Three days of horseback riding with an untrained noblewoman’s body—it was brutal.

I now understood how much Sir Beltane must’ve worried during our escape in my past life.

…Maybe that’s why we were caught so quickly?

But those thoughts didn’t matter now.

“I… just… want to rest…”

As my eyes fluttered shut, Arpad stopped me.

“……!”

But his method shocked me.

If he’d slapped me, I wouldn’t have been this stunned.

Smooch.

He kissed my cheek. A sweet scent brushed my nose.

I snapped awake.

I literally jumped—like a fish flopping on ice—jerking free from Arpad’s grasp.

“W-What are you doing?!”

Arpad smiled slyly, his eyes curving like bows.

“A light kiss to wake the sleepy princess?”

“……!”

I stood there frozen in shock.

Arpad then calmly dragged me into the castle.

Though it wasn’t a grand palace, the place had a small chapel.

Inside, an elderly priest awaited us.

“You really came, Your Highness.”

The priest looked troubled as he glanced between me and Arpad.

Only then did I fully wake up.

“It can’t end with a kidnapping. We have to sign the marriage contract and get it certified by the temple too!”

My “threat”—no, request—Arpad remembered and followed it exactly.

He knelt before the priest and made the request:

“Please officiate and witness my wedding to Lady Hillia Delphine.”

This was our wedding.

I also knelt beside him.

The priest looked even more conflicted.

He asked me:

“Lady Delphine, aren’t you the bride of Duke Ludwig? Do you truly consent to this marriage?”

I hesitated to say yes.

Surprisingly, Arpad answered for me.

“It’s already been three days since I kidnapped her. Even if I return her safely, will her reputation survive?”

“Your Highness!”

“The best way to protect her honor is for her to marry me.”

The priest couldn’t argue.

“And didn’t you promise to repay the Empress’s kindness by doing anything I asked?”

The priest relented.

He quickly but properly officiated our wedding.

We pledged vows before the gods, signed the marriage certificate (my hand shook so much I had to press down hard), and received sacred oil on our heads with a blessing:

“May the gods watch over you as husband and wife.”

I let out a deep sigh of relief.

Only temples could officiate and legitimize marriage in the empire.

Not even the Emperor—or a dragon—could overturn it.

As I relaxed, an unexpected phrase dropped from above.

“Now, seal your vows with a kiss.”

“……!”

I looked sideways—there was the smiling man who was now my husband.

Arpad naturally leaned in.

Normally, I would’ve flinched away, but not now.

‘This is just part of the ceremony!’

I closed my eyes tightly and braced myself.

With vision gone, the other senses sharpened.

My heart pounded like a war drum.

‘Should I open my eyes?’

But that would ruin the moment even more.

Finally, after what felt like forever, I received the kiss.

Surprisingly, his lips were soft and warm. The way he moved—gentle, even tender.

Totally unlike Ludwig’s kisses from past lives—his had always felt forceful and devouring.

Arpad’s kiss deepened, hungry and intense, as if he meant to steal every breath from me.

“…Mmph!”

Even the priest looked shocked.

He turned away, face bright red.

Only when I was near suffocating did Arpad let me go.

“…Haa! There’s a priest here. Show some restraint.”

I scolded him, acting like an embarrassed new bride.

But inwardly—

‘Were you trying to kill me by cutting off my air?!’

Even as I glared, Arpad stared at me like he was possessed.

It gave me chills.

‘What… has he already…?’

I couldn’t finish the thought. The ceremony still wasn’t over.

* * *

Arpad was extremely sensitive to losing control.

He’d experienced several early signs of madness in childhood, and even mild episodes.

So what happened during that kiss unsettled him.

It had started as just a formality.

But the moment their lips touched, he completely lost control.

He devoured her like a beast finding an oasis in the desert.

And as the kiss deepened, something strange happened.

The restless, violent madness inside him—the one that always writhed like a beast—suddenly quieted.

For the first time, he felt peace and joy.

‘Even in my worst episodes, I never felt this before.’

Arpad stared at his new wife with a suspicious expression.

* * *

“Your Majesty! Please, please grant me justice!”

Ludwig had been protesting outside the Emperor’s chambers for nearly three days.

Everyone knew why.

After all, it was a public kidnapping right outside the palace gates.

The shame made Ludwig grit his lips again.

His chapped lips cracked and bled—but he made no move to wipe it.

“Thinking about the pain my wife must be in… I can’t eat or sleep! Please, Your Majesty!”

Inside, the Emperor was deep in thought—not because of Ludwig shouting outside, but because of the woman seated across from him:

Empress Isabel.

“Your Majesty, how do you intend to handle this matter?”