Chapter 9

Early in the morning on the day of the wedding, a carriage arrived in front of the dormitory. It wasn’t marked with the family crest. If she hadn’t been notified beforehand, she wouldn’t have known it was a carriage sent by Nine.

The intention to stay out of sight was so obvious that she couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

‘This isn’t a marriage that’s publicly blessed, is it?’

As soon as she arrived at Duke Eclipse’s townhouse in that carriage, she was prepared for the wedding by the servants of the Eclipse family.

It was clear they had put some effort into decorating her, but standing in front of the full-length mirror, she couldn’t help but let out another bitter laugh.

The size was perfect. But no matter who looked, it didn’t suit her at all.

The elegant wedding dress, the hairstyle, the accessories, even the makeup—it all looked as though a child was playing dress-up as an adult.

The wedding accessories, adorned with expensive pink diamonds, seemed thoughtful at first glance, but the design was gaudy and didn’t suit her in the least.

‘They really just went through the motions.’

It was a marriage she hadn’t experienced even in her past life, and she’d always had a certain romantic fantasy about weddings, so a sense of bitterness was unavoidable.

“Lady Chacha! You’re so beautiful!”

“It’s true. You’re absolutely sparkling today.”

Her feelings must have shown on her face. Annie and Laura, trying to console her, continuously praised her beauty.

“You look lovely, My Lady!”

Seeing them, the other servants awkwardly agreed and complimented her. They had been called in suddenly and didn’t even know who she was, so they just addressed her as “My Lady.”

Naturally, no one said, “You look good.”

“Really? Thank you.”

She didn’t want them to feel uncomfortable, so she smiled and thanked them.

At that, Annie’s face crumpled.

Annie looked just as disappointed and sad as she felt. And when Chacha couldn’t show her own sadness and simply smiled, Annie’s face momentarily looked like she was about to cry.

That sight, in a strange way, was a comfort, and a small laugh escaped her. It helped her steel her heart again.

‘I must overcome this.’

No matter what hardships came her way, she would endure.

She would divorce Nine, return to the Blueberry family with Annie, and reclaim her happy life with her family.

This was her second life plan, one she had made after being transmigrated into this world.

***

Not long after she was ready, the wedding began.

The ceremony was truly simple.

The main hall of Duke Eclipse’s townhouse was a place for various events, and it could be decorated as lavishly as one wished, but today was different.

The main hall was unadorned, a stark contrast to what a wedding ceremony should be.

Since there were no plans to invite guests, no seating for them was set up from the beginning. There was only a dais for the officiant.

To put it nicely, it was simple. To put it poorly, it was empty.

The only people gathered in this sparse hall were the officiant, the bride and groom, Annie and Laura who were there to serve her, and Norman, who was waiting to collect the documents.

She took a step to enter the hall. The entire situation was becoming blunted, and it no longer felt as sad as it did at first.

Her only complaint was that she felt a little unfair that even in this situation, Nine was so unbelievably handsome that she found herself briefly lost in his presence.

‘Just as you’d expect from the male lead of this world.’

It was as if he was expressing his role as the protagonist of this world with his entire being.

He must have chosen his attire just as hastily and with as little compromise as she had, but the result was vastly different.

His formal attire was a clean white, with elegant silver embroidery. A red gem, reminiscent of the family’s symbolic red camellia, served as a stylish accent.

Unlike her, who was momentarily captivated by him, Nine seemed to feel no emotion at all about the situation.

“Let’s go.”

He said only that one word and walked briskly into the hall by himself. Chacha, who had been standing blankly for a moment, gently held the front of her dress and followed him.

The officiant, as if he had already been clued in on the nature of the wedding, wasn’t surprised that the groom didn’t escort the bride and that they each walked to the dais on their own.

He simply seemed to be fulfilling his duty in the most minimal way possible.

“Do Duke Nine Eclipse of the Eclipse Ducal House and Lady Chacha Blueberry of the Blueberry County House vow to be bound in marriage and to be together from this day forward?”

Nine nodded his head with an impassive face. The officiant’s gaze then turned to her.

She also nodded her head instead of answering, agreeing to the officiant’s words.

“By this, I declare the two of you to be husband and wife from this moment on.”

And just like that, the wedding was over.

The officiant signed the marriage documents on the dais as a witness and stepped back. Then, she and Nine signed in turn.

After all the signature fields were filled, Nine organized the documents and handed them to Norman. Norman and the officiant left the hall together.

As she stood there blankly, a flat voice spoke.

“We will be leaving for the Eclipse territory tomorrow. Prepare yourself accordingly.”

When she turned to look at Nine, he had already turned his back and was walking out of the hall.

***

Although the wedding itself was kept secret, the Imperial Palace had to issue and deliver the official documents to each family, which was an unavoidable procedure.

Fortunately, the rumor didn’t spread overnight, and the only people who rushed to the Duke’s townhouse were Count and Countess Blueberry.

“Chacha!”

“What on earth is going on! A marriage?”

“Mother? Father?”

She met her parents in front of the carriages prepared for their departure to the Eclipse territory.

Since she was already ready to leave, there wasn’t much time to talk with her parents.

“Chacha, what happened so suddenly? You didn’t say anything to us?”

“Oh, well…”

“You have arrived.”

As if he had heard that her parents had arrived, Nine approached them.

Just like her, her parents couldn’t expect a warm welcome from him.

Even without considering his status as a Duke, Nine was a man who exuded an intimidating presence just by standing there. Above all, he held no positive feelings toward them.

Despite the obvious discomfort, her parents raised their heads and met his gaze directly.

“Duke. We heard you held a wedding ceremony with our daughter.”

“That is correct.”

“To hold a ceremony without discussing it with us, Chacha’s parents. I imagine it wasn’t a proper ceremony given how rushed it was. How could you make such an outrageous decision?”

“Exactly. And you’re leaving the capital right away? We haven’t even had a proper chance to say goodbye to our daughter!”

Her parents poured out their frustration toward the Duke, sounding wronged. They tried to maintain their manners, but their emotions were clearly not fully suppressed.

However, Nine didn’t use his intimidating presence to overpower her parents as he had done with her.

He just listened quietly, then raised his hand to stop them from speaking further.

“There will be no reversal. The return to the territory cannot be delayed, so conclude your farewells here.”

Nine simply listened to their protests but didn’t respond properly, ignoring their points and stating only what he wanted to say.

It pained her to see her parents’ faces darken, but at the same time, she felt a sense of relief.

She was grateful that he hadn’t revealed she’d told him she gave him a love potion and was pregnant. Even though it wasn’t true.

“Everyone, proceed as planned.”

Nine, who had shouted this to the surrounding knights, left after a minimal, perfunctory greeting.

By then, her mother had taken out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears, and her father was clenching his fists.

“I never thought the Duke would be so brazen!”

“Oh, Chacha. Are you alright? Are you really okay leaving like this?”

She walked up and hugged her parents tightly.

“I’m fine. Father, Mother. This is a marriage because I love Duke Eclipse. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, he treats me well.”

“…”

“I’m happy right now. And I will continue to be happy.”

At her words, her parents hugged her back. The embrace, which she hadn’t felt in a long time, was warm and comforting.

Thinking that this shouldn’t be their last farewell, the two of them composed their expressions, forced a smile, and patted her hand.

“Chacha. We will always be on your side. So, if you’re ever having a hard time, you can always come back.”

“…Yes. I know.”

Her parents’ words and their warm embrace were the best wedding gift she could have ever received.

***

In the afternoon on the day Chacha left with Nine for the Eclipse Ducal territory, the news of their marriage belatedly hit the capital.

For Helena, who had stayed in the capital to enjoy a tea party, it was a bolt from the blue.

‘How dare she.’

She was furious that her pet dog, who had been out of sight for a while, had slyly bitten its owner.

“What could this mean?”

“Duke Eclipse, surely…”

The gazes of the young ladies gathered at the tea party turned toward Helena, looking at her as if she were a loser.

Helena, unable to hide her emotions with her usual smile under their stares, ground her teeth.

‘I won’t let her get away with this…!’

In Helena’s hand, as she left the tea party, was a broken fan.