Chapter 11
If she remembered correctly, every secret passage inside the chapel led underground.
After that, she would need to find a way out of the building.
But where should she go?
I can’t return to the marquis’s estate.
Not only James—her father was surely involved as well.
Every servant in the mansion had been a watcher.
Then I should head toward the Lancaster estate!
She had definitely sent the “danger” signal.
So someone from the Grand Duke’s side would come to help her.
“Ha… ngh.”
The damp, dark passage reeked horribly.
She could almost feel rats crawling over her feet.
But I can’t stop.
She had closed the mirror again, but it was only a matter of time before someone noticed.
How long had she wandered aimlessly in the dark?
As Dolores felt along the wall, she finally realized she was nearing the underground level.
Good!
She hurried forward into the dim path.
But then, a thin sliver of light seeped in from the right.
“Ah…!”
Startled by the sudden brightness, Dolores covered her face and shrank back.
Creeeak…
The door opened, and the yellow light grew stronger.
At the same time, a tinkling laugh echoed.
“Oh my, well… look who we have here.”
A woman wearing the extravagant diamond necklace meant for the Empress.
Madam Loire sneered at the frozen Dolores.
“Hehe, I never expected the young lady of the Marquis to enjoy playing such an adorable little rat.”
“Madam Loire…! Ahh!”
Good heavens. Did this woman never age?
The grip digging into her arm was painfully strong.
But even more terrifying was the look in Madam Loire’s eyes.
I’ve caught you.
She had seized a mistake from the future Crown Princess. The greedy gleam in her eyes made it clear she intended to squeeze every benefit from it.
“Oh ho, I thought you might pass around here.”
“Let go of me…!”
“My intuition is rarely wrong.”
“Ahh!”
Madam Loire had opened the secret passage in a corridor close to the chapel.
Because of that, while trying to escape the waiting room, Dolores was dragged right back near the chapel instead.
Madam Loire handed her over to the guards.
Dolores struggled desperately, but of course, they did not budge.
“Let me go! I already received His Majesty’s permission—I’m going to marry the Grand Duke!”
“Just sign before God, and that’s enough.”
Madam Loire mocked her from behind her fan.
Seeing a young, beautiful girl being ruined so miserably sent a chilling thrill through her.
“As for the Grand Duke, he should be grateful if we give him another woman.”
“You…!”
At that moment, the chapel doors swung wide open.
There were only a few people inside.
Marquis Rochester. James. A few attendants. The bishop who would witness the wedding vows.
And Adrian.
“Ugh…!”
For once, Dolores could not smile.
Her breathing grew uneven.
She felt like she might vomit.
If this continued, she would return to being the “Empress who can’t even bear a child yet throws hysterics” every single day.
“Ha—ngh…!”
She struggled desperately, but her arms were pinned behind her back.
The sacred altar with the marriage vows lay right before her eyes.
As she resisted, James roughly grabbed her hand.
“Dolores! Stop resisting!”
“James, let—let go…!”
“You’ll thank us later!”
“Thank you?!”
Just as she was about to scream that he was insane, the tip of the pen forced out a clumsy “Dolores.”
Then her middle name, “Siena.”
And just as she was being made to write the “R” of “Rochester”—
Bang.
The chapel doors burst open violently.
A smell completely unfit for this sacred place swept inside.
Gunpowder. Blood. Damp dawn air.
“…Ha. So the whole family’s here?”
The voice that followed was chilling.
Like the sound of a beast grinding its fangs.
Madam Loire and the maids screamed in shock.
“Grand Duke…!”
“Ahhh!”
“M-My goodness!”
The holy chapel corridor was stained with blood.
Blood dripped steadily from Resrexion’s black uniform.
There were splatters on his face as well.
“Grand Duke…?!”
Even Dolores stammered in shock.
She thought she had known this man for quite some time.
But in all that time, she had never seen him so disheveled.
“Hah. I wondered why I was sent on such a ridiculous errand.”
He let out a rough laugh.
Then he casually flicked his hand, as if rolling a ball.
Something wrapped tightly in cloth rolled across the floor.
“Gasp…!”
James, who had been holding Dolores, stumbled back in horror.
Adrian clenched his teeth, his face pale. Blood seeped through the cloth.
Resrexion walked forward, rubbing his stiff neck.
“As ordered, I took care of the Anglesey side, brother.”
“H-How could you be so fast…?”
“Haha. I pushed myself a bit.”
His golden eyes gleamed coldly.
“I was in a hurry to see Lady Rochester, so I found some extra strength.”
“You…!”
“So what exactly is going on here?”
Resrexion glared at James, who was awkwardly clutching Dolores.
“A wedding where the groom isn’t even invited? That’s a first.”
“Hic…!”
James trembled like a cornered animal.
As if burned, he flung Dolores’s hand away. She grabbed her wrist with a small groan.
“Ugh.”
“Lady Rochester. Are you alright?”
Resrexion took her hand.
Only then did Adrian snap out of it and step forward—but he could not approach easily, wary of the blood.
“Step back, Resrexion!”
“Hey, Bishop.”
The bishop, who had participated in this sham, flinched.
He knew the Crown Prince would hold power in the future—but facing this monster in person made his knees shake.
“Y-Your Grace.”
“Since it’s come to this, just proceed.”
“B-But…! Th-The wedding date—”
“Will scribbling a signature early roast you in hellfire?”
Resrexion nodded toward Dolores.
He was asking her opinion.
“I agree, Bishop.”
“L-Lady…”
“The real groom is here anyway. Let’s do this properly.”
Shouts erupted around them.
But Dolores simply looked up at Resrexion and let out a breath.
“Grand Duke. To come like this, truly—”
“Why does the bride look such a mess?”
“….”
She stared at the blood-soaked man.
The sight of a blood-stained beast grinning was absurd.
Unable to hold back, she muttered,
“You’re not much better.”
The contract between the doll and the beast was destined to begin turbulently from the very start.
The kidnapping wedding scheme ended in the Crown Prince’s failure.
And naturally, Adrian’s failure became Dolores’s success.
Unintentionally, she had completed her marriage vows with the Grand Duke in the blink of an eye.
Fortunately, the Emperor was on their side.
“Tsk. You dared to plot against the marriage I personally permitted.”
The Emperor had already been awake because of the Anglesey incident.
Then his second son barged in, covered in blood, saying he had come to greet him with his bride.
Soon after, the rest of the imperial family and the marquis’s household came rushing in.
After hearing the full story, the Emperor showed rare displeasure toward Madam Loire.
“Agnes. I favor you, but to involve yourself in Adrian’s mischief.”
“Your Majesty!”
“You may have raised Adrian like your own son, but this is excessive.”
“…M-My apologies, Your Majesty.”
“And Adrian. I know you’ve long had feelings for Dolores—”
“Father! It was more than feelings!”
Adrian shouted, realizing his scheme had failed.
“She was practically promised to be my wife! How could she go to him—?!”
He glared at Resrexion, who still wore bloodstained clothes.
Resrexion smiled as if to say, And what will you do about it?
Adrian’s insides burned.
Why does Father favor him?
It wasn’t as though he granted him power equal to the Crown Prince.
But whenever Resrexion insisted on something, the Emperor usually yielded.
As if calming a useful but dangerous animal.
Then the Emperor turned to the other main figure, who had remained silent.
“Lady Rochester. No—Grand Duchess now, I suppose.”
“I am embarrassed, Your Majesty.”
“It is regrettable that your wedding broke so many formalities.”
“I can only apologize for causing concern, Your Majesty.”
“You bear no responsibility.”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes with an awkward smile.
His words sounded like those of a kind father-in-law.
As if he truly regretted that his daughter-in-law’s first step had been so messy.
But his seasoned eyes could not hide their greed.
“I will be satisfied if I hear a baby crying from the Lancaster estate.”
“…I will do my best to bring you joy.”
Dolores only smiled smoothly at that.
To pressure her about pregnancy immediately after marriage.
What a futile fantasy.
