Chapter 19

The Empress was walking down the virgin road escorted by the Emperor.  

‘Is this… my wedding? But is that supposed to be the dress?’  

The dress the Empress was wearing in the vision wasn’t much different from the unfinished one Edelis had seen during her fitting.  

As the Emperor and Empress entered the banquet hall, the guests greeted them with formal applause. When they reached the end of the virgin road, a priest officiated the ceremony. The Empress, filled with joy, kept sneaking glances at the Emperor with a smile. Anyone could tell from her loving gaze that she was clearly in love with him.  

Edelis wanted to grab her and shout, “Don’t look at him like that! He ends up leaving you for another woman!” 

It was obvious the Emperor noticed the Empress’s behavior, but he didn’t so much as spare her a glance. His expression was that of someone bored out of his mind, wondering when this tedious ceremony would end.  

But the Empress seemed thrilled on her own, secretly hoping their eyes might meet.  

‘Let’s look for clues instead.’  

Edelis found it difficult to keep watching the Empress, so she began glancing around the scene in hopes of finding something useful.  

“The Saintess… is over there with the other priests.”  

She spotted the lower-ranking priests who had accompanied the Saintess. They looked exactly as they did in reality—flawless. Having nothing to note there, she shifted her gaze elsewhere.  

“There he is, Sir Pasis.”  

Sir Pasis was watching Edelis and Lehan with a grim expression.  

‘Huh? Why would he look like that? What’s going on?’  

There was no reason for Sir Pasis to look so somber at her wedding. It made Edelis wonder if there was something she didn’t yet know.  

‘I need to find out what’s going on.’  

Until now, she had only exchanged greetings with Sir Pasis, so she had no way of guessing. Just then, the priest’s voice pulled her attention back.  

『Then, please seal your vows with a kiss.』  

At the priest’s words, the Empress blushed and looked at the Emperor with eyes full of anticipation. The Emperor, however, looked at her with cold indifference.  

‘…This is painful. It’s a relief I know the truth now—if I didn’t, I might have blushed just like her.’  

She might have gotten excited over a one-sided crush. That thought made it all the harder to watch the Empress.  

‘I’m really lucky I read the book.’  

The Emperor placed a dutiful kiss on the Empress, devoid of any emotion. It was a mechanical kiss—just a brief touch of the lips before pulling away. His expression was no different from when he wiped his mouth with a napkin after a meal.  

Yet the Empress looked flustered, her cheeks glowing red.  

『With this, the marriage of His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress of the Cronad Empire is hereby complete.』  

Even the priest’s voice was as monotone as the Emperor’s attitude. The Empress beamed as she looked up at the Emperor.  

“You’re really going to smile like that even after being treated like this?!”  

But Edelis’s voice could never reach the Empress. That radiant, utterly joyful expression left Edelis speechless.  

Just before the vision ended, she turned her gaze back to Sir Pasis. He had already returned to his usual calm demeanor and was standing with the other knights.  

‘What was that? Did I imagine it? …No, I’m sure I saw it.’  

Edelis kept watching Sir Pasis, but nothing changed before the vision faded away.  

***  

Edelis first checked to see if the book had added any new content. As expected, there was now an entry about the Saint.  

“Name: Elaine Ryned. Born in the Cronad Empire. Though she suffered greatly in her childhood, she endured with resilience and awakened as a Saintess. She then entered the Holy Empire, where she dedicated herself to prayer and healing.”  

Truly, there wasn’t a single flaw to be found. In stark contrast to Edelis, who was described in the book as committing countless sins before dying by the Emperor’s sword.  

“Later, she meets the Emperor, becomes Empress, and gains both love and power… How nice for her.”  

Some people lose everything—their life, their family, their house. Others gain it all and live happily ever after. Even if that’s fate, Edelis swore she would change hers.  

‘This isn’t the end. It’s not even close. This is just the beginning.’  

She hadn’t committed a single misdeed, and the protagonist had only appeared as time moved forward.  

“So, what do I do now?”  

With the protagonist’s arrival, she had less than a year left. She had a lot of work to do in that short time if she wanted to change the future.  

‘The most important thing is to make sure the divorce with Lehan goes smoothly. But that’s not progressing at all, so for now… let’s go see Sir Pasis.’  

She’d been trying to build a connection with him for a while now, but nothing had come of it.  

‘And I have to find out why Sir Pasis looked like that during the wedding.’  

It wasn’t as if she could just walk up and say, “Why were you making that face?!” But if she got closer to him and had more conversations, she might be able to figure it out.  

“Sir Ferrin, may I visit the Imperial Knights today?”  

Sir Ferrin was on escort duty for her today. If she visited the knights, she would be able to see Sir Pasis, who belonged to the unit.  

“Of course. You’re welcome to visit at any time.”  

“Is it alright if I go without contacting them in advance?”  

“Yes, I’m already here with you, it’s not an issue…”  

‘Wow. Sir Ferrin’s got a sharp edge to him.’  

He clearly didn’t care if the knights were startled by her sudden appearance. That was someone else’s problem.  

‘I’ll definitely go next time when he isn’t my escort.’  

Oblivious to her thoughts, Sir Ferrin led Edelis to the Imperial Knights’ training grounds.

***

“Hup!”  

The sound of the knights training rang from afar—a sharp cry followed by the whoosh of a sword cutting through the air. Edelis quietly entered the training grounds, hiding behind Sir Ferrin, and took a seat. The knights were so focused they didn’t even notice their arrival.  

“There’s Lord Pasis!”  

Overjoyed at spotting her target, Edelis called out to him, drawing everyone’s attention.  

“Y-Your Majesty?!”  

“I’m sorry—please, continue your training.”  

The knights didn’t resume training, nor did they know whether they should approach the Empress and greet her. Seeing their confusion, the Vice-Captain of the Imperial Knights stepped in.  

“Your Majesty, may we greet you and then resume our training?” 

“Go ahead.”  

“Form up!”  

In an instant, the knights lined up in neat rows before Edelis. She smiled and waved at Lord Pasis, who bowed politely.  

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”  

“Hello, everyone. I know you’re all working hard. I’m just here to observe, so please don’t feel pressured.”  

“Yes, Your Majesty!”  

The knights returned to their positions and resumed their training.  

“My apologies, but the Captain is off duty today and not present.”  

“That’s alright. I truly just came to look around.”  

Her real purpose was Lord Pasis, so the absence of the Captain meant little. As the training wrapped up, the knights gathered again before Edelis and the Vice-Captain.  

“Your Majesty, since you’ve come all this way, would you like to watch a sparring match?”  

“I thought training was over?”  

“Sparring is also part of our training.”  

“I haven’t seen knights spar since I was a child—I’m looking forward to it.”  

“Any volunteers?”  

Apparently thinking this was their shot at a promotion, many knights eagerly raised their hands. Edelis’s escorts had no choice but to participate.  

“Alright, first match—Sir Ferrin versus Katsnel!”  

The sparring began. Sir Ferrin seemed casual at first, but in a blink, he struck a critical point and ended the match.  

‘So Sir Ferrin can be serious…’  

“Second match—Lord Pasis versus Kanak!”  

“Wow, Lord Pasis!”  

When Sir Ferrin fought, Edelis had simply cheered him on. But at the mention of Lord Pasis, her enthusiasm shot up dramatically. When Lord Pasis secured an easy win, she clapped vigorously and cheered with all her heart. He bowed slightly in thanks to her.  

“Everyone’s amazing!”  

The sparring got more exciting as it went on. Watching such skilled fighters made Edelis truly engaged. The only duels she had seen before were among the knights of Marquis Brill’s house, which had also been entertaining. But this—this was something else.  

Then there was that one time she had seen Lehan not in a sparring match, but in a full-on arena fight.  

‘…He was badly hurt then. I wonder if it left a scar.’  

“What’s got you thinking so hard?”  

“I was just watching the sparring, and it made me think of Lehan… Huh?!”  

She had answered without thinking, only to realize that Lehan himself was standing beside her. He gazed at her with his usual affection and gently dismissed Sir Raiden, her escort, to sit beside her instead.  

“Lehan!”  

Wasn’t he supposed to be working?! She was too shocked to speak properly.  

“Your Majesty!”  

The knights instantly dropped their swords and knelt before Lehan. He casually gestured for them to rise but kept his gaze fixed solely on Edelis.  

“I’m glad to hear I was on your mind. Had I not been, this training might never have ended today.”  

“Y-You didn’t need to repeat what I said! Why are you even here?”  

“I heard my precious wife was surrounded by a horde of men, so I came to check on things.”  

“I was just curious about the Imperial Knights and asked Sir Ferrin for a tour.”  

Sir Ferrin flinched under Lehan’s cold stare—clearly, the Emperor wasn’t thrilled that Edelis had been brought to a place filled with men.  

“You said you didn’t like it when I was around other women.”  

“I said it was fine! Didn’t I say it was fine?!”  

‘Why is this coming up again now?!’  

‘The female lead has shown up. I can’t let this misunderstanding flare up again!’  

Edelis turned bright red and frantically waved it off. If this kind of conversation came up in front of the Saintess, it could cause a serious misunderstanding.  

But Lehan only found her flustered expression adorable, his golden eyes practically dripping honey as he stared at her.  

“Edelis, weren’t we supposed to use formal speech in front of others?”  

“…It’s fine if Your Majesty is with other women.”  

“I don’t think it’s fine. Especially not with this many men. Actually, even one man would be bad enough.”  

As Lehan said “one man,” his gaze briefly flicked to Lord Pasis before returning.  

“It’s just a simple visit!” 

Trying desperately to smooth things over, Edelis was caught off guard when Lehan reached out and gently stroked her cheek. She was used to his affectionate gestures, but the knights around them were not.  

“Did you see that?”  

“Her Majesty the Empress even called His Majesty by a pet name?”

“Back when I escorted Her Majesty, I thought I imagined His Majesty looking at her like that. I guess I didn’t.”  

“Same here.”  

Edelis overheard their whispers and felt alarmed.  

‘If he acts like this in front of the Saintess too… I really need to talk to him about that!’  

“So, how are you enjoying the visit?”  

“It’s been really interesting. Everyone’s so strong and cool.”  

Her eyes sparkled with admiration, and the knights beamed with pride. Lehan, however, was emitting pure frost. The warm, honey-eyed man from moments before had completely vanished.  

“…A sword.”  

“W-Why are you asking for a sword all of a sudden?!”  

The sudden request with such a cold face was terrifying. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and based on how Lehan had just acted, he definitely still liked her—but it was still scary.  

“You said my knights are strong and impressive. I’d like to see for myself.”  

“You could just keep watching with me. Why do you need a sword—”  

“I need to experience it personally. I want to see just how impressive they really are, since my Empress says so.”  

At the Emperor’s unexpected remark, the knights visibly paled. Clearly, this was jealousy at work. Since the Emperor never hid his affection for Edelis, everyone could guess what kind of match this would be.  

A knight hesitantly brought a wooden training sword and handed it to Lehan. He took the sword and stepped into the sparring area.  

“Any volunteers?”  

“Lehan, what if you get hurt?!”  

Edelis spoke with concern, her eyes full of worry. Lehan’s expression twisted into something more complicated.  

“You think I’m going to get hurt?”  

“Yes.”  

“…Sigh. Volunteers? No one? Then—”  

As Lehan let out a deep sigh from his very core at her honest response, the knights nervously looked at each other, reluctant to step forward.  

Then someone raised a hand.  

“I’ll do it.”  

It was Lord Berman Pasis.  

He slowly walked forward and stood before Lehan and Edelis.