IGCHPM 15

                                                                       CHAPTER 15

From Arpad’s point of view, everything made perfect sense.

After all, he was the only knight who had stepped forward in front of the Crown Prince, who had gone on a rampage during the wedding procession.

‘It makes more sense that he’s blinded by love to the point of disregarding treason, rather than being just a loyal knight.’

Moreover, Hylia’s unusually protective attitude toward him was irritating.

“Yes. So the knight’s crime is, of course, my responsibility as his master. Please punish me instead.”

“No! I drew my sword of my own will. Lady Hylia has done nothing wrong!”

The sight of them shielding each other was almost enough to bring tears.

And the calculating Hylia, who was clearly not one to accrue debt lightly, was even willing to owe a favor to save that man’s life.

In truth, Arpad should have been pleased.

This woman—unreadable and immeasurable in ability—had just revealed a weakness of her own accord.

‘I should be delighted and figuring out how to exploit this…’

But instead—

Arpad voiced the question that had risen in his mind.

“Why does it bother me so much?”

But she wasn’t in a state to answer.

She was fast asleep at his side, as if she had fainted.

She must have been utterly exhausted.

He had deliberately pushed the pace, completely ignoring her physical limits as a delicate woman.

Yet, through it all, Hylia hadn’t once complained.

‘Or… no, at the end near the castle, she did say she felt like throwing up.’

She’d dismounted with a pale face and nearly collapsed.

Her expression then had been quite amusing… even endearing—an uncharacteristic thought for Arpad.

But the faint smile that appeared on his lips quickly vanished.

‘One thing’s for sure—she doesn’t have the mindset of a pampered noble daughter.’

There wasn’t a single thing about this bride that wasn’t suspicious.

And that point in particular stood out.

‘There’s nothing special about her background, though.’

The time had been short, but Arpad had done some investigation into Hylia Delphine.

The result: nothing remarkable.

Her upbringing didn’t suggest she’d developed extraordinary mental fortitude, nor had she ever shown any unbelievable talents.

It was as if she’d become a different person overnight.

Especially when Arpad had received the insane request for a bride abduction—he’d even pointed a blade at her neck. Yet Hylia hadn’t even flinched.

‘Even a trained knight would find that difficult.’

Truly, there was something incredibly suspicious about her. She needed to be watched.

So, if that knight really was her weakness, Arpad should have been pleased and satisfied.

That’s what his reason told him.

But his emotions said otherwise.

“I’m still annoyed. That discomfort hasn’t gone away.”

Arpad reached that conclusion as he watched the morning sun rise.

He looked down at his deeply sleeping wife and muttered under his breath.

“Still, worrying about another man on your wedding night—right in front of your groom? Isn’t that a bit much, my lady?”

Of course, Hylia, sound asleep and oblivious to the world, didn’t answer.

After watching her for a moment, Arpad lay down beside her.

To observe this inexplicable, fascinating woman a little more closely.

“Well, whatever. She’s in my hands now. I’ll just keep watching.”

He was a patient man. Especially with what belonged to him.

Ludwig couldn’t hold it in any longer and cursed out loud.

“Damn it!”

It had already been four days. Since the day he’d watched his bride get stolen right before his eyes.

‘I’ve become a laughingstock—not just of the country, but the entire continent!’

And yet the Emperor said nothing.

The missing Crown Prince and the bride hadn’t left a single trace.

The longer their absence continued, the deeper Ludwig’s obsessions grew.

What was Arpad doing with the bride?

Why had he kidnapped her?

Where had they gone?

What were they doing right now?

His thoughts and suspicions spiraled endlessly.

By the fourth day, they had become unbearable.

Ludwig felt like his chest was burning from the inside.

He had always considered her his, naturally. But having lost her, another thought tormented him.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would’ve spent the wedding night with her!’

He couldn’t stop thinking about Hylia’s soft pink hair and her radiant cheeks.

And the gentle expression she always wore when she gave in to his stubbornness.

Why did every one of those memories now feel so achingly precious and full of regret?

She had been so naïve and foolish that he used to mock her for it.

He drank some water, but the fire in his chest didn’t go out.

He couldn’t take it anymore and shouted:

“Still no news of Hylia?!”

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. We’re searching in every direction, but…!”

Ironically, Ludwig was currently standing in the Delphine duchy estate.

And the butler bowing before him was the Delphine family’s own.

The Delphine mansion was far grander and more luxurious than the Grand Duchy of Kierne’s residence. Ludwig had been living here for almost three years.

In that time, he had completely taken control of the household.

“What about the Imperial Palace?”

“…Still no word from them either.”

“Damn it!!”

With another curse, Ludwig hurled his glass to the floor.

Crash!

The crystal shattered, and the maids—well accustomed to the scene—came in to clean up.

Still seething, Ludwig headed down to the prison in the mansion’s basement.

He needed to vent his fury on the knight imprisoned there.

The door to the underground cell opened, and Ludwig unleashed his rage on the man lying in a heap inside.

“You! It’s because you failed to protect the bride that I’ve suffered this disgrace!!”

Ludwig stomped on Sir Beltane’s back without mercy.

The knight stirred from unconsciousness and asked in a faint voice:

“The lady… is she…?”

“How should I know?! You served her up to Arpad on a silver platter…!!”

Ludwig kicked Beltane’s limbs.

After Hylia was taken, it was Beltane alone who had immediately stepped forward and declared himself guilty, standing before Ludwig in his fury.

The other knights had rushed to make excuses.

Ludwig’s own guards and even those of House Delphine.

“There was nothing we could do!”

“Everyone knows His Highness the Crown Prince is mad!”

“We couldn’t draw swords in front of Prince Arpad!”

Not that it spared them from punishment.

They were still on the receiving end of Ludwig’s wrath.

But his harshest fury fell on Sir Beltane, who had confessed his guilt.

“A knight who fails to protect his master has no right to speak.”

Wounded, he had been locked in the dungeon that very day and became Ludwig’s target for daily rage.

The result was the mess he was in now.

Ludwig raged like a monkey who knew only one phrase.

“Die! Die! Die!! I never liked you from the start! Acting like a proper knight, how dare you!”

Unable to restrain himself, he had just burst outside, seized a sword from a guard, and returned.

That’s when a sharp female voice rang out in the dungeon.

“Ludwig!!”

Normally, at the sound of that voice, Ludwig would have turned around with a smile.

But not now.

“Leave.”

No matter how dear she had once been, he had no energy for her now.

Especially with the lingering bitterness from their fight over the wedding dress the day before the ceremony.

‘And… even though I told her not to come to the wedding, she showed up anyway…’

Wearing a bright cream-colored dress.

Maybe it really had been one of Evangeline’s hired saboteurs who ruined the wedding gown.

They had argued that day, but Ludwig had let it go, thinking it was just jealousy.

After all, Evangeline also wanted to secure House Delphine for herself.

But what if that wasn’t all?

From the ruined wedding gown onward… everything had felt strange and ominous.

What if the one behind ruining his wedding and turning him into a laughingstock was…

“Ludwig.”

Evangeline called him again, as if to snap him out of his thoughts.

Still, he didn’t turn around.

“I said go! I don’t have the mental space for you right now!”

But then—behind his back—came words he could not ignore.

“There’s news. Arpad is coming to the capital with that woman.”

“What?!”

Ludwig whipped around.

His eyes blazed with danger. Seeing it, Evangeline sighed and muttered silently to herself.

‘And this man is supposed to be the male lead in the original story…’

She almost clicked her tongue in disgust.

But she didn’t show her true feelings.

Pretending to be the sweet, wise lover, she whispered to him.

“My mother’s spies brought the information. What route they’re taking, and how far along they are.”

“Yes! Give it to me!”

Ludwig snatched the slip of paper almost violently.

Evangeline was annoyed by his aggression, but masked it well.

And she urged him on.

“Mother has lent some of her knights. You should go and bring Hylia back—shouldn’t you?”

For her sake, too.

As Ludwig, full of fury, stormed off, Evangeline watched with a cold expression, lost in thought.

‘But none of this was in the original. Is this a butterfly effect from how much I’ve changed the plot?’

Even if it was—it didn’t matter.

She was going to have it all, regardless.

It was like answering questions on a test for her.

There was no way she would fail.

On a high ridge, I sat on horseback beside Arpad, gazing out into the distance.

“The capital is already in sight.”

The battlefield, where the real fight would begin, was waiting for us.