Chapter 25

“Congratulations on your wedding. Lady Karnian, Lord Faroi.”  

Esadien offered his congratulations as he entered the hall, addressing Sister Juela and Gideon. For a moment, it seemed like he looked my way and our eyes met.  

Or so I thought—he promptly turned and handed a scroll toward my sister.

“This is a wedding gift from His Majesty the Emperor.”  

True to their bold words, the Emperor and Crown Princess had sent extravagant gifts.  

The Emperor gifted a ruby mine, while the Crown Princess offered an ink bottle carved from a diamond so large it was difficult to hold in one hand.  

“My goodness, how generous!”  

“Well, considering the bond between the imperial family and the Grand Ducal house, this much is to be expected.”  

The guests clapped in admiration, but my face only grew more rigid.  

‘This isn’t right.’  

It was supposed to be a joyful day. I knew that—rationally, I did. But I couldn’t help myself.  

Lapheche was smiling like a flower in full bloom, and Esadien’s demeanor toward her was terribly polite.  

‘Toward me… after he kicked away my confession like that…’

“How can you… be so sure?”  

The moment Esadien had said those words, it felt like everything I had worked so hard to build crumbled with a crash.  

Loving someone—confessing it—didn’t spare you from pain.  

If anything, it hurt worse.  

“Minuelle, fix your face.”  

“…”  

“Minuelle.”  

“Huh? Oh, right.”  

Thanks to Ramande, who spoke softly from behind me, I finally took a deep breath and looked around.  

Other than Sister Juela, who was busy greeting Esadien, every single person—from my family to the Faroi relatives—was watching me cautiously.  

‘Did I really let it show that much in such a short time?’  

Embarrassed, my cheeks flushed.

‘It’s okay. It’s okay.’  

I made eye contact one by one, smiling gently at each of them until the atmosphere finally softened again.

“You did well. After it’s all over, I’ll listen to everything you have to say. Just hang in there a bit longer, okay?”  

Ramande whispered, patting my shoulder.  

I knew I wasn’t even close to okay, but I understood that he meant to give me strength.  

“…Okay.”  

From his hand, a wave of cool, holy energy flowed into me.  

Only then did I realize how much my insides had been boiling with heat.  

“Thanks, Ramande.”  

With calm restored, I could smile again.  

The fact that I had a friend who could look straight into my heart helped me straighten my back and stand tall.

“Well done, our Minuelle.”  

His violet eyes curved beautifully.  

“You’re even prettier today. The most beautiful in the world.”  

Huh? That was unexpected—he’d always said that every child of Plendena was beautiful by nature.  

“Hey, but you’re not allowed to say I’m prettier than my sister, okay?”  

I jabbed lightly, and Ramande chuckled, responding with ease.  

“The bride is in a category of her own.”  

“In that case, I accept.”

As we laughed together, Ramande said with a relieved tone,  

“There we go. That’s more like it. I’ll head over there now—the Prince is coming.”  

With that, he left—and right on cue, Esadien approached, offering his arm.  

Lapheche had gone over to the Celeste family’s seating area, cheerfully greeting those around her.  

It was an overwhelmingly friendly scene, with the occasional probing glance thrown in this direction.

“Minuelle.”  

Esadien called my name softly.  

He seemed puzzled when I didn’t place my hand on his arm.  

And that was all.  

His expression, when I looked up at him, was as calm as ever.  

“We’re not leaving yet. It’s fine.”  

I forced a bright smile.

The moment our eyes met, I nearly blurted out the question: Why did you come with Lapheche?

But thankfully, I managed to swallow it down.  

“I see.”  

His beautiful sea-colored eyes lingered gently on my tightly closed lips.  

On any other day, just facing Esadien like this would’ve made me happy.  

But today—it felt strange.

‘Ugh… I’m getting mad again.’  

The urge to grab him by the collar and demand answers surged inside me.  

I knew it would just make me look like someone clinging to him.  

But at this moment, I didn’t care about that at all.  

‘Just hold on a little longer, okay?’

But then Ramande’s voice—gentle and grounding—echoed in my mind, I barely managed to steer the conversation away.

“…Have you been well?”  

“That doesn’t seem to be what you wanted to say.”

“It was. I really just wanted to ask how you’ve been.”  

“Is that so? Very well.”  

‘What do you mean, ‘very well’? What is?’ 

I was simmering inside but forced myself to push it down as I smiled and greeted the steadily arriving guests.

“I should get going and prepare the children who’ll scatter flowers during the procession. Your Highness can take a seat in the front row.”  

It was almost time for the ceremony to begin, and Sister Juela and Gideon would be making their entrance soon. Getting the flower children ready gave me the perfect excuse to leave.

With a lighter heart, I subtly nudged Esadien toward Sister Elga and Theodore, who were engaged in conversation, and slipped away.

“Whew.” 

“Minuelle.”  

“Eep.”  

But before I could get far, Esadien, who I’d thought was watching quietly from behind, suddenly came after me.  

‘Why is he following me?’  

Today, Esadien felt strangely unfamiliar.

I picked up my pace, but our stride difference meant he caught up to me in no time.

“Minuelle.”  

His voice echoed down the empty hallway, accompanied by the sound of our footsteps.  

“Wh-why are you following me?”  

“So you are upset.”  

“What made you think that?”  

Fine, let’s hear it. Did he do all that knowing full well?

“You didn’t call me by my name. And se…”  

He seemed about to add something more, but faltered and shut his mouth.

“Se? And?”  

What? Se what? Seaweed? Or did I mishear ‘ceiling’?

I tilted my head, but Esadien didn’t answer and instead changed the subject.  

“Never mind. Just—why are you upset?”

‘Why can’t he ever say everything outright?’

If it were any other day, I might’ve accepted it without question, but today, even the energy to be angry seemed to have drained from me.

“I don’t know. I’m not angry, exactly. I just don’t feel very good.”  

“Why? Isn’t today supposed to be a happy one?”  

“It is. I’m very happy, actually.”

I offered a bright smile and began walking again. Esadien quickly matched my pace, not wanting to fall behind.

“Then why…”  

“Your Highness.”

I took a step away from him and spoke quietly. He moved closer, but I raised my hand to stop him.

“Your Highness rejected my feelings. Then today, you arrived from the palace with Lady Celeste—someone who had no real reason to be there.”  

I said each word slowly, deliberately.

“You personally escorted her here, even though I’m your fiancée—and not even Theodore, but you yourself did it.”  

“…”  

“How do you expect me to take that?”

“I… I had a reason.”  

Of course he did. No grave goes unexcused, as the saying goes.

“Yes. I suppose it was a reason you couldn’t tell me beforehand, right?”  

“…”

Again, silence. I sighed.

“Your Highness, you’ve always been like this. You never show me anything.”

At first, just being able to express my feelings to him made me happy. Watching him slowly change because of me gave me strength.  

But the moment someone else entered the picture, I could no longer pretend not to see.  

Because my feelings for him had grown too large to be ignored.

I thought my heart had been full from the start—like it couldn’t grow any bigger. But I was wrong.

“I’m sorry. You say you had a reason, but… I just can’t believe that your heart truly lies with me.”

“Minuelle, you…”  

Esadien finally spoke, his eyes wavering as he met my gaze. A sigh-like voice spilled from his lips.

“You move too fast. For me, it’s overwhelming.”

And with that, the words he once said echoed in my mind like a haunting refrain: “I cannot return the depth of feeling you show me.”

Like clothes soaked through by a light drizzle—quiet and gradual—I had thought our relationship had progressed.  

But it was all a misunderstanding.  

From that moment on, not a single step had been taken forward.  

No matter how many times I said I loved him, Esadien never echoed it back.  

He simply absorbed it all like a sponge—quiet, unrelenting.  

“I should have realized it from the start.”  

I barely steadied myself as my body threatened to waver, stepping back a few paces.  

Tears welled up, blurring my vision, but I mustered every ounce of strength not to let them fall. My lips curved into a smile.  

I was a Karnian. A daughter blessed by Plendena.  

I would not—could not—shed tears disgracefully.  

“I understand. So this is Your Highness’s answer to me.”  

With grace, I gathered the hem of my skirt and offered a formal bow to the Imperial Prince.  

“Please forgive me for everything until now.”  

Then I turned on my heel and walked away, my back held straight and proud.  

Esadien called out behind me, but I did not reply.  

“Wait—just a moment. Minuelle.”  

“……”  

He caught up and grabbed my shoulder, turning me around.  

“Minuelle, please. Just hear me out a little more.”  

“Is there more left to deny me with?”  

“No, that’s not it. I just… I…”  

‘What is he doing?’  

I had never seen Esadien this shaken.  

He tried to calm me, then stared at the ceiling, tugged at his collar, rubbed the back of his neck for no reason.  

Finally, he let out a long breath and spoke again.  

“I keep thinking about you… and I don’t know what to do.”  

The shock was so great that my tears dried instantly.  

I’d never experienced anything like it.  

“…What?”  

All I could do was blink blankly and ask.  

Now that my eyes were clear, I could see him properly—Esadien standing before me.  

“No matter where I go, thoughts of you just… keep coming.”  

He couldn’t meet my gaze. He stared down at the floor instead.  

“I think something’s wrong with me.”  

His neck, his forehead, even the hand covering his mouth—everything was burning red.  

Seeing that, I knew for certain I hadn’t misheard.  

The moment I understood, I reached out without thinking.  

“At first, I only meant to talk to Lady Celeste for advice, but then—”  

“Esadien.” 

I brushed his hand away from his mouth and looked directly into his startled eyes—  

Then yanked him down by the collar.  

Our lips met.  

The space between us vanished.  

The thundering sound of a heartbeat—whose, I couldn’t tell—filled my ears completely.