Chapter 7

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 7

Chapter Title: Wedding Morning Shadows

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That dawn.

Arpad returned to the Crown Prince Palace.

The palace servants standing watch at his arrival were utterly horrified.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“H-How already……!”

“What? Afraid I’d lose my mind and tear you all to shreds?”

“Your Highness!!”

The servants bowed deeply in fear but didn’t dare contradict him.

In truth, they were all terrified.

No one knew when the Crown Prince’s madness might strike.

Behind his back hung a vivid red moon.

The Crimson Moon, just like the one that had risen on the day the former Empress died from her own mania.

Arpad glared at the moon that mirrored his own eyes with utter loathing.

Almost no one knows that I spend nights in the catacombs on Crimson Moon nights to suppress my mania…

But that woman knew. And she’d come seeking him.

Even bringing the silver coin for the dead required to summon the Mercenary King.

And that wasn’t all. He felt the smooth texture of the pearl rolling in his palm.

That woman knew information about the Mercenary King and the Crown Prince.

Details impossible to know unless she was certain from the start that they were the same person.

Secrets that scarcely anyone besides Arpad himself knew.

Even if spies were planted throughout the imperial palace, the entire mercenary guild—no, the whole continent—it’d be impossible to uncover them.

He couldn’t fathom how she’d learned it.

Arpad dismissed all the fear-stricken servants.

Then he examined the “advance payment” the enigmatic woman had given him moments ago.

A pearl larger than his thumbnail gleamed with a mystical light.

It’s genuine. Of course, I already confirmed she could wield the divine power of a sacred relic, so that’s no surprise.

He drew a deep breath and pressed the pearl to his forehead.

The relic’s holy power reacted to the dragon blood flowing in Arpad’s veins, beginning to glow.

But.

“It won’t work.”

Just as she’d said.

The blessing lingering in the relic couldn’t neutralize or erase the mania coursing through his dragon-tainted bloodline.

In the end, her words were right.

Clinging to hope in the relic had been one of his shallow illusions.

He hadn’t pinned great expectations on it, but confirming its total ineffectiveness brought a wave of helplessness.

Arpad hurled the pearl to the floor.

And then he remembered.

That woman… what is she?

The woman who had found him just hours ago in the most astonishing way.

How did she know this would fail?

She had soft, fluffy pink hair tied in a high bun that caught the eye.

Her deep violet eyes resembled violet candies, and her smooth white skin glowed with a faint cherry-blossom pink.

A sweetly delicate beauty that seemed like it would melt at the mere touch of a tongue…

“No matter this pearl, or any blessed gem or sacred relic—it won’t work.”

Such cold words.

And she’d topped it off with bold, threatening blackmail.

One thing was certain.

No matter her identity, that woman is far too dangerous.

At the very least, she couldn’t be left meekly at Ludwig’s side.

What if she used those unknown powers for Ludwig?

The Crown Prince would change in an instant.

Seen that way, he had no real choice.

That blackmail disguised as a commission… I could never refuse it from the start.

And she’d known that.

Her violet eyes, staring at him without a trace of fear, suddenly intrigued him.

They held a calm madness.

Seeing those eyes once more might solidify his resolve.

Arpad glared at the dawning sky and laughed fiercely.

He didn’t realize it himself, but he resembled a starving predator that had already marked its prey.

In the end, he greeted the morning sun wide awake and summoned his steward to fetch his white ceremonial robes.

There’s a proverb I came to utterly despise after my first regression.

“Even if you wring a chicken’s neck, dawn still comes.”

Every time I desperately wished the next day wouldn’t arrive, that proverb mercilessly became reality.

In the end, the next day came again.

The morning of my fourth wedding.

Aside from the first time, there was no excitement or joy whatsoever.

Of course, actually spending my wedding morning quietly in my room like this was rare.

Right after my first regression, I’d fled to a temple to become a nun, but failed.

And the regression just before this one…

I fled with Sir Beltein and failed most miserably of all.

A voice called from behind me.

“Hilia.”

I slowly turned my head.

“Ludwig……”

My lips trembled as I said his name.

Of course, seeing this man’s face didn’t stir any sentiment or lingering attachment.

Grit.

Suddenly, I want to punch that bastard’s lights out!

The fingers clutching my bouquet shook with overflowing rage.

Honestly, I’d regretted something a little yesterday.

I was so frantic, thinking regressions were over and obsessing over the possessor, that I moved too hastily.

And I’d had no choice but to focus on Arpad.

But now that wedding day had arrived and I saw his face, murderous intent and resentment surged, impossible to bear.

At least once in those three regressions, I should’ve smashed a fist into that man’s face!

But not now. Not yet. The time wasn’t right.

Then Ludwig’s drivel rang out.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused me yesterday? Getting a new wedding dress and veil isn’t a simple task!”

Something snapped in my head.

He was practically yelling.

I protested in a trembling voice.

“B-But Ludwig, I didn’t ruin the dress. It was an intruder……”

“Even so, if you’d locked the door properly, nothing would’ve happened!”

Someone had used that exact logic yesterday.

“Even if my new sister-in-law was careless enough not to lock the door……”

This bastard must’ve fought with Evangeline yesterday and reached the same conclusion.

He’d brought that same logic here.

And maybe they’d dramatically reconciled by both blaming me.

I knew it well—I’d seen that scene more than once or twice in my past life.

“Right, Eva. How could it be your fault? It’s Hilia’s fault for stealing the position that should’ve been yours.”

“No, you must have it hardest, having to hide your true feelings.”

My blood pressure spiked wildly.

Endure it. I have to endure. I must endure now, Hilia Delphin!

The clock seemed to crawl unbearably slow.

But I couldn’t hold back the anger and hatred much longer, so I bowed my head deeply instead.

“Crying over a little scolding? How can you fulfill your duties as Grand Duchess with such a weak heart?”

His nonsense continued endlessly.

“Even if you were upset about ruining the dress because of me, covering yourself up to your neck like that? Where’s your sense?”

He meant the cuts from Arpad’s blade and the bruises from being strangled last night.

Anyone seeing my injuries would assume I’d failed at some foolish suicide attempt.

I’d caused another uproar this morning hiding them with a choker and lace trimmings.

Annie had sobbed upon seeing me, and Sir Beltein had been deeply worried.

But my fiancé, who should’ve been most concerned and saddened, was too busy using it as an excuse to berate me.

“To be honest, I’m deeply disappointed, Hilia. Enough to reconsider our marriage.”

I knew Ludwig’s tactics well.

He was waiting leisurely now.

For me to apologize and beg.

Just as I always had.

Then he’d become the magnanimous husband graciously forgiving my mistake.

You think I’ll play the role you want?

I carefully bided my time.

Bit the inside of my cheek to force out fake tears, then pleaded with him in a choked voice.

“Actually, Ludwig… there was another intruder at dawn. What should I do?”

“...What?”

Before his flustered reply could drag on, I spilled it all.

“I woke up to a strange feeling while sleeping, and someone was strangling me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! We tightened security after yesterday! And you’re saying there was an intruder?! You must’ve had a nightmare!”

“Then what about these injuries?”

“You must’ve hurt yourself in your sleep, you idiot!”

I shook my head and burst into tears.

“Do I look like I could inflict these on myself? If not an outsider, then it had to be someone inside!”

“……!”

Ludwig couldn’t refute this time.

Even as I nearly collapsed sobbing, he didn’t support me.

He just stood there, lost in complicated thought.

I began fanning the seeds of doubt I’d sown yesterday.

“There’s definitely someone who wants to sabotage our marriage, Ludwig! What should we do?”

Ludwig looked anxious.

“Nonsense. No one like that exists.”

Unlike his earlier bluster, his voice lacked confidence.

I sniffled in response.

“Maybe someone secretly in love with you. Closer than you think.”

“...What?”

I could see Ludwig visibly startle.

I pressed him harder.

“Maybe a woman who loves you wants to kill me to stop our marriage!”

“...No way. That’s speculation.”

“If not, then who ruined my dress and tried to kill the bride?”

“If that’s true, why didn’t you call for help during the dawn intruder?!”

I lifted my head. And met Ludwig’s gaze head-on.

I saw him flinch noticeably.

“I did call.”

“What? But no one heard……”

I sobbed like the world’s most pitiable woman.

“I called for you endlessly!”

“What? What nonsense is this?!”

Of course, it was nonsense.

I couldn’t let anyone know I’d met Arpad at dawn, so I’d stayed deathly silent.

But did I need to tell the truth?

I lied with astonishing calm, even surprising myself. It was so easy in front of Ludwig.

My voice came out heartbreakingly pathetic, enough to draw tears even from me.

“Strangled, I called your name over and over. But… you didn’t come.”

“No, what are you saying?! Right now?!”

He seemed driven mad, furious.

I poured oil on the fire.

“Were you with another woman and didn’t hear my screams?”

“Hilia!!!”

Unlike before, he recoiled as if guilty.

He does have a woman, after all.

He dismissed my ravings as pre-wedding hysteria.

And started raging.

“Stop crying and get up, Hilia?!”

Ludwig grabbed my wrist and yanked roughly.

“Ow!”

Hidden by my sleeve, but it was where Arpad had gripped me yesterday, leaving a bruise.

My scream tore through the air, louder and sharper than expected.

Ludwig panicked.

“Wh-What?”

At that moment.

A dignified, furious voice seeped through the half-open door.

“What in the world are you doing right now, Ludwig?”

Still gripping my wrist, Ludwig whipped around in shock.

There stood a middle-aged man draped in resplendent golden vestments.

His platinum hair, now streaked with white, resembled someone I’d seen yesterday quite closely.

His thick beard couldn’t fully hide the scar running from his left cheek to his jaw.

But no scar, however large, could diminish the man’s dignity and nobility.

We both knew exactly who he was.

“Emperor!”