Chapter 4

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Veil's Kiss
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What truly set high society abuzz was the news that theirs was a marriage of love.

A sweet love match, a rarity among noble families.

“I heard the Argentas and the Allojes never got along.”

“That's right. The three ducal families have always been that way.”

“But how…”

So it was only natural that our marriage would become a scandal that shook the empire.

Like Romeo and Juliet, a marriage between two families on the brink of hostility.

The reason we announced it as a love match, knowing it would become the talk of high society, was simple.

Otherwise, we would have had to reveal the existence of the Pero to the outside world.

For the three ducal families, who held an unrivaled position by wielding powerful elemental forces, the fact that a family head couldn't fully use their abilities without a Pero was a fatal weakness.

Therefore, this marriage had to be a sweet romance that blossomed amidst the two families' hostile atmosphere.

In short, we had to appear as a very sweet, soon-to-be-married couple who couldn't live without each other.

“Are you confident you can act the part?”

In the original story, Diello Argenta failed at this act and became the subject of gossip.

The original novel described it like this.

*This pure and gentle man, incapable of telling a single lie, could only scramble to keep up with Croire Alloje's whims, flustered by her every move.*

But today, that wouldn't do.

I had no intention of becoming the subject of gossip.

Because of that, Croire Alloje got an earful from Duke Alloje for not being able to manage her own husband.

“That's…”

Diello Argenta's reaction, a faint, troubled smile, was just as I expected.

Then there was only one way.

“Then promise me one thing.”

It couldn't be helped.

Before entering the ballroom, I moved very close to Diello Argenta and whispered.

“I'll take the lead, so just follow me.”

Don't be awkward.

You can do that, right?

* * *

The Empire's method of proposal is unique.

To be precise, the procedure for announcing an engagement to others was unique.

I thought to myself as I walked carefully, making sure the white veil covering my face didn't lift.

“Introducing Lady Croire Alloje of the Ducal House of Alloje!”

Through the opening doors, I could see the nobles awaiting news of me and Diello Argenta.

I couldn't see them clearly through the white veil, but none of them seemed to find it strange that I hadn't entered with Diello.

Because that was the Empire's way of proposal.

The fact that Croire Alloje and Diello Argenta were to be married was already known among the nobles through back-channel information.

It was the job of the two families involved to 'accidentally let it slip'.

After that, when the two families hosted a banquet like this, the other nobles would attend, feigning ignorance.

And upon seeing the bride-to-be in her pure white veil, they would begin to gossip about the two families under the pretext of guessing which groom would claim her.

“To think the Ducal House of Argenta and the Ducal House of Alloje would be joined by marriage.”

“Who would have ever imagined it?”

“I wonder how the Ducal House of Cartiel must feel…”

They tried to speak quietly, but I could hear everything.

With two of the three ducal families, who had always kept each other in check, now joined by marriage, the position of the remaining family, Cartiel, had certainly become precarious.

So people's gazes were divided between me, in my bridal veil, and the members of the Ducal House of Cartiel.

'Cartiel of the Wind.'

The Ducal House of Cartiel, so-called, was currently enjoying its golden age thanks to Siete, a family head so powerful he ranked among the top five in Cartiel's history.

It was common knowledge that the stronger the head of the house, the stronger the knights who received Cartiel's power.

It was said that near the desert guarded by the Cartiels, their strong winds kept most monsters from even daring to approach.

“…”

The people from the Ducal House of Cartiel were speaking amongst themselves with serious faces.

The man among them who looked to be in his thirties must be the current Duke Cartiel, Siete.

Befitting a family that wielded the wind, he'd had a wanderlust in his youth, and thanks to that, it was said that, uncharacteristically for a duke, his reach extended not only to the Empire's upper echelons but also directly to commoner organizations.

Still, his information network was likely inferior to that of the Argentas, who had planted their people throughout the empire over several generations.

“Oh my, the bride is here.”

While I was observing the Cartiels, I also noticed some young ladies putting on an awkward act.

Meanwhile, nobles from minor families who had come without any prior information were genuinely surprised to see a bride.

“I wonder which gentleman will lift the bride's veil…”

The only one who can lift this pure white veil is the man who wishes to be my husband.

And since it was an unspoken rule that the engaged couple could not enter together, the bride had to wander the ballroom alone until her husband arrived.

Tormenting the eligible young noblemen of marriageable age.

Who, indeed, would win the hand of the 'cherished daughter' of Duke Alloje, one of the Empire's three ducal families?

“Introducing Lord Diello of the Ducal House of Argenta!”

Just then, a servant's booming voice rang out.

*'Well then, I'm counting on you for later.'*

I recalled the conversation I'd had with Diello before we parted.

*'I'll take the lead, so just follow me.'*

*'That's okay, right?'*

The handsome, dark-haired young man who had blushed at my words was now entering the ballroom.

“My goodness.”

“Lord Argenta has grown up so much, I almost didn't recognize him.”

“Oh…”

His pure white uniform was adorned with deep blue decorations.

As if to symbolize the endless sea that the Argentas guarded.

The decorations matched his pale blue eyes well.

Diello, his jet-black hair so dark it seemed to swallow any dazzling light neatly styled, was walking straight toward me.

The time had come.

I smiled from beneath my veil.

I'd heard that grooms who were skilled actors or naturally playful would pretend not to find the bride, looking around elsewhere before finally approaching her.

To make the bride anxious.

But Diello Argenta was not that kind of person.

*Tap, tap.*

He walked straight to me and stopped right in front of me.

“…”

The nobles who had made way for him had now formed a circle around us, holding their breath.

“Croire.”

Diello's slightly trembling voice echoed through the ballroom.

It was likely because of his awkward acting, but it seemed to have the opposite effect, fanning the flames in the hearts of the surrounding nobles.

He looked just like a genuinely shy groom.

“Yes, Lord Argenta.”

As I looked up at him, his fingertips lightly touched my white veil.

Unlike the novel's assessment of him as having a weak disposition, it was the hand of a strong man, with firm, prominent veins.

*Flutter.*

After he touched the veil as if knocking, I gave him a nod, and only then did his fingertips lift it.

He lowered his head and stepped inside the pure white veil that had covered me down to my neck.

“…”

“…”

Beneath the veil, all other light was blocked out, and I could see my reflection captured in his pale blue eyes.

My heart pounded, even though I knew this was all staged.

Because at this banquet, we were the only two who knew the secret of this marriage.

From this moment on, we were accomplices.

“Please be my bride, Croire Alloje.”

His low voice resonated through the quiet hall.

He moved a little closer and left a light kiss on the tip of my nose.

*Peck.*

A sweet sound echoed through the hall.

“Diello.”

I whispered softly.

At that, Diello drew a bit closer and pressed his lips to mine.

It was a faint kiss, just a slight taste of my upper lip before he pulled away.

This was the very kiss that had made him the subject of gossip in the original story.

Because in this moment, when the groom was supposed to display his possessiveness for the bride, he had kissed her as if he were being forced to, then immediately retreated from under the veil.

Of course, he had his reasons.

*...It wouldn't be right to steal the first kiss of Lady Croire, who doesn't even truly have feelings for me.*

He had said so clearly in the original novel.

But that wouldn't do right now.

I placed a hand lightly on the shoulder of the man who was about to pull away.

“...!”

I whispered to him as his eyes widened.

“I don't mind.”

It was a tiny whisper, a voice that would echo only within the veil that enclosed us before scattering.

Just as he slightly parted his lips.

“You said you'd follow my lead.”

Speaking very softly, I stood on my toes and brought my face close to his.

“So, deeper.”

I wrapped one arm around his waist.

This time, it was I who took his upper lip lightly between my own, then stole his breath.

He seemed startled by the surprise kiss, his eyes flying open.

It was a deep kiss, enough to make the space beneath the veil grow warm.

“Good heavens!”

Cheers erupted.

To the people around us, who couldn't see inside the veil, we must have looked like the sweetest engaged couple imaginable.

But this alone wasn't enough.

From a distance where our lips were almost touching, I whispered.

“Be bold.”

Diello's hands hadn't even wrapped around my back yet.

With the hand on his waist, I stroked his back.

“!”

Naturally, that brought us even closer.

Only then did Diello's arms, which had been hovering in the air, wrap around me.

“Love me.”

We're a newly-engaged couple brought together by a passionate love, after all.

We have to look the part, right?

Hurry.

As I whispered that, the last thing I saw was his pale blue eyes, glittering with a strange light.

What could he be thinking?

Just as I wondered, he suddenly pulled me in.

“!”

As if he'd made up his mind, his arms were now tightly binding my waist and back.

Before I could even take a full breath, he invaded, stealing my breath away completely.

It was a kiss so dense and passionate my legs threatened to give out.

“...!”

My mind felt hazy.

After a long kiss that could have been minutes, he gave me a brief moment to breathe and whispered.

“Like this?”

That, too, was a whisper meant only for us, echoing beneath the veil.

The blue eyes meeting mine were trembling slightly, as if in apology.

Looking into those eyes, I barely managed to catch my breath.

“Don't think of it as stealing my first kiss. This is what I want.”

He seemed a little surprised by my words.

Of course he would be; it was as if I'd read his mind.

I pulled him into another embrace.

Deeper.

Today, we have many people to deceive.

Before my words could even continue.

Diello's strong hand cupped the back of my head.

“Ah...!”

He delved into me so deeply that, for a moment, I forgot this was a contract marriage.

Close, intense, so much so that I could feel the searing heat even through the several layers of fabric.

“Woooah!”

And over us, the cheers and applause of the nobles rained down.

*Diello Argenta and Croire Alloje, overcoming the deep rift between their families to fall into a passionate love.*

This was the beginning of the scandal that would shake the empire from this day forward.