Chapter 43
The biting cold of winter finally began to fade, and soon a gentle warmth of spring crept in.
Between the seasons, Elaina’s days passed in a blur of busyness. Before Diane left for Henet with Nathan, she made sure to meet her as often as possible. At the same time, she regularly met with Lyle, showing the world that their relationship was close and affectionate.
Since that evening date, the two of them had often gone out together at night. Sometimes they attended the opera; other times they walked through the city, letting Elaina experience, for the first time, the everyday lives of commoners she’d only ever heard about.
They even visited Colin’s tavern from time to time. For Elaina, it was fascinating to see a completely different side of Lyle that she had never glimpsed before.
From Colin, Elaina learned quite a bit about him — that with his abilities alone, he should have risen to the rank of a Captain of Ten Thousand, and that being born a descendant of a disgraced ducal house had brought him endless hardship since childhood.
“Under my command, there were ten captains like me. They’re all good men. You’ll enjoy meeting them someday.”
A Captain of Ten led ten soldiers, and a Captain of a Hundred commanded ten of those. Elaina didn’t fully understand military ranks, but she had at least grasped that much.
And now, spring had come.
That meant only one thing — the wedding between Elaina and Lyle was imminent.
“I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.”
Even after the declaration of marriage, there was no response.
No thunderous applause. No crowd of guests filling the hall.
It was a wedding so small that even calling it “modest” would have been an exaggeration. Only the immediate family from both sides were present.
When rumors first spread that Elaina Winchester’s wedding would be held in secret, no one believed it. The only daughter of House Winchester — one of the most prestigious families in the empire — holding a wedding without a single guest? Impossible, they said.
But rumors aside, that was exactly what happened. Only three guests attended: her parents and Knox.
“Why do you look so stiff?”
After the priest’s words, the two of them walked down the red carpet together. Elaina whispered softly to Lyle, whose expression was unusually rigid.
“I just thought… we could’ve at least had the wedding the way you wanted.”
Apparently, the quiet ceremony bothered him.
“If it’s because of me, there was no need to make it like this.”
Elaina’s gown wasn’t even new — it was a white dress she already owned, slightly more elegant than usual, but nothing special.
“I heard Lady Diane Redwood’s wedding was quite grand.”
“Diane? What does she have to do with anything?”
Lyle fell silent. He’d heard it from Leo, who had been complaining almost daily during their sparring sessions. Leo had been genuinely offended that Elaina had held her wedding without inviting him.
He had also said Lyle and Elaina’s ceremony should at least surpass the splendor of Diane’s wedding — a sentiment Lyle had quietly agreed with.
But Elaina only scoffed.
“And why should I do that with you? Save the lavish wedding for your next partner. Let’s set aside such fantasies for now.”
A glamorous wedding was out of the question from the start. Even inviting guests would have been impossible — and Lyle surely knew that.
He really does have a stronger sense of responsibility than I thought.
By House Winchester’s reputation alone, the central nobles should have attended. But because Lyle was from the disgraced House Grant — branded traitors — no one wanted to associate with them. That was the unspoken consensus of nearly every noble in the capital.
Lyle’s acceptance of that humiliation meant he was willing to endure it for her sake — even though she herself was completely unbothered.
Lyle Grant would rise again. Within a year, he would restore the name of the Grand Duchy of Grant to its former glory. And she intended to help him do exactly that.
So there was no need to make his past any more pitiful with a wedding issue.
“We’ll have the grand wedding in a year — with the person you’ll spend the rest of your life with.”
This marriage was already set to end in divorce. If she made their ceremony too magnificent, the woman who married Lyle next would inevitably be compared to her.
And it wasn’t just for Lyle’s sake. When their one-year marriage ended, Elaina too would have to remarry someday. For the sake of her future husband, it was better that her wedding with Lyle remained simple.
“We’ll at least invite each other next time, right?”
“If you want.”
Discussing remarriage while walking down the wedding aisle was ridiculous — but so began their one-year-long marriage.
“Are you planning to keep reading those papers forever?”
“Should I remind you that you’re still working, too?”
After the ceremony, the two left for their honeymoon — though in truth, it was a meaningless formality.
The Duchess had insisted: “People already have plenty to say about the wedding. If you don’t go on a honeymoon, they’ll start doubting whether your marriage is even real.”
So they agreed to spend a few days at a nearby villa.
Elaina stretched with a groan.
“I don’t have time to waste like this. I never imagined repairing the mansion would be such a hassle.”
She sighed heavily, muttering that the renovations might not even be finished by summer.
Their carriage was loaded not with luggage but with furniture catalogs and wallpaper samples. Lyle, for his part, had a mountain of documents stacked beside him.
For something called a honeymoon, the atmosphere was painfully unromantic.
Elaina, seeking a break, struck up conversation.
“How’s your work going?”
“More paperwork than expected, but manageable.”
Now that the wedding was done, Lyle’s next task was the subjugation of monsters in the Mavel mountain range. To that end, he was planning to reestablish the Grant ducal order of knights.
“Sorry for making you waste your time like this.”
“Waste?”
“The honeymoon. It would’ve been nicer to save it for your real wife someday.”
At that, Lyle closed his papers and looked straight at her.
“You said something similar during the ceremony.”
“Huh? What part?”
“This marriage — it’s a real one.”
A real marriage. The words caught her completely off guard. Elaina blinked, unsure how to respond.
“Didn’t you agree to be my proper wife for a year? I remember saying something like that when I proposed.”
“I—I just…!”
She raised her voice in flustered protest.
“Just what?”
“Just thought it’d be troublesome otherwise!”
“Troublesome, huh.”
Elaina quickly turned to the window, pretending to fix her hair. A real marriage? Then what — was there such a thing as a fake one?
The archbishop himself had officiated their ceremony. By all means, she was now the Grand Duchess of Grant.
Yet hearing Lyle call it a real marriage made her strangely uneasy.
“We’re supposed to split up after a year. If we keep sticking together like this, what if you actually fall for me?”
Before she even finished, a quiet laugh escaped him.
“Ah, sorry.”
Lyle’s lips curved into a faint, crooked smile.
“Didn’t think that’s what you were worried about. Don’t worry, Lady Winchester — I’m a man who keeps his promises.”
Meaning: There’s no chance I’ll ever fall for you.
It was an obvious statement, yet somehow it still pricked her pride.
“Well, that’s a relief. Guess I worried for nothing.”
“Exactly. Nothing to worry about.”
He sealed it with that final line.
“Same goes for me! No matter what, I’ll definitely divorce you in a year, so you can relax too.”
Elaina huffed, quick to shoot back.
“Sure.”
Lyle chuckled quietly, as if he’d just heard the funniest thing in the world. His calm amusement only irritated her further.
Trying to ignore him, Elaina snatched up the furniture catalog again, pretending to study it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lyle focus back on his paperwork — his expression cool and composed, as if their entire exchange had never happened.
