Lilian of Turin

“Yes?”

His mind went blank.

‘Just now, this lady…’

In front of a monster with its mouth open and drooling, did she just say she would calmly let herself be eaten?

Or is he dreaming while standing? Damian was stunned.

Lilian interpreted Damian’s reaction, who couldn’t accept the situation and was blinking, in a slightly different way.

‘Hm… Was I a bit impatient?’

She didn’t expect a reaction that would welcome her with open arms.

She figured, though, that since she had started a better relationship that she knew in her original story, she wouldn’t be bitterly rejected.

‘I never thought he would stiffen like that…’

Lilian held back a wry smile.

It seems that it was her own hasty delusion to think that it became a little better than the original.

“I’m not forcing Your Highness to have an unreasonable schedule out of personal feelings.”

Lilian drew a clear line so as not to be misunderstood.

“Before attending the Grand Reconciliation, I just thought that we should make our bond a little more unbreakable. There must be many people in the Imperial Palace who don’t like this union.”

“…our union is a very important strategy, so it must not be broken?”

“Yes, it is.”

Lily affirmed. Damian realized that this was not a dream but reality.

His swelling heart subsided.

Damian calmly kept pace with Lily.

“But it will take a lot of time and budget to prepare for a wedding. Besides, isn’t it normal for a marriage to be held in the Imperial palace with the approval of the Emperor?”

The nobles of the Empire were able to reign like kings in their respective provinces.

To them, the Emperor was not particularly welcome, and he wasn’t an object of special respect.

So, the Imperial family sold ceremonies and ostentation to the aristocrats. A typical example was Cantacun. Weddings were the second product of the Imperial family.

When nobles who wished to have a wedding received a license in the name of the Emperor, the Emperor allowed them to have the wedding in the Imperial Palace.

Among nobles who wanted to show off their power whenever they had a chance, this system was established very quickly, and now it has become an essential marriage procedure.

If they had to compare it, not having the wedding ceremony at the Imperial Palace was the same as not having the wedding ceremony and just registering the marriage.

“That’s why I think it will catch them off guard.”

Perhaps the Emperor’s faction expected that Damian and Lilian’s wedding ceremony would be the same as everyone else’s.

It was clear that at least they couldn’t imagine the situation of her getting married before her debut.

The plan to disrupt the holy marriage must have been prepared accordingly.

The moment she had a large amount of money at her disposal, Lilian momentarily stuck out her tongue, thinking, ‘I could even hold a wedding with this’.

And she realized that the idea she came up with subconsciously was a really good idea.

“As you say, it’s almost gone now, but the Electors still has the right to grant marriages.”

Lilian tried to explain as rationally as possible so that Damian would not misunderstand that she was obsessed with him and making unreasonable demands like in the original story.

With every word she said, she repeatedly emphasized that there was no personal feeling in the slightest.

To put it in perspective, she swung her sword without even realizing that she had wielded it.

“But usually, women will have their own wishes for their wedding.”

After the wedding ceremony became a massive display of power, who decorated the wedding hall, what clothes they wore, and what rings they exchanged became a good prey for luxury lovers.

To some extent, the story of the wedding of the person concerned was talked about even at their funeral hall.

A ceremony that must be performed in a splendid manner in order to not be disgraced until death. Moreover, unlike ordinary banquets, guests could be seated and decorated in the most splendid way to become the main character.

An opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime.

No matter how greedy a person was, one or two things were bound to happen, and Lilian also had hopes.

‘To be more precise, there used to be, but now it’s gone.’

Maybe it’s because she saw her life after the ceremony in advance. For Lilian, her wedding ceremony no longer evoked special excitement.

‘Perhaps if I like it too much, I won’t be misunderstood by this person and won’t be able to enjoy it properly.’

Besides, the most important fact was that Lilian didn’t have the stamina to hold such a fancy wedding right now.

After she rationalized that far, even the few remaining regrets were neatly organized.

Looking at the clear blue eyes without a single cloud, Damian laughed with the sound of air escaping.

‘I lost.’

Damian had completely given up on trying to elicit some reaction from Lilian, even the slightest anticipation of her wedding to him.

And he admitted.

“I understand. To the young lady, this marriage is really just a plan.”

She should have answered ‘yes’ without hesitation, but strangely, Lilian’s mouth didn’t open.

It was probably her illusion but Damian’s eyes seemed to have sunk for some reason.

His dark gray eyelashes seemed to convey sullen and sad feelings from his purple eyes.

‘Is it because he’s such a beautiful person that my heart is agitated without realizing it?’

She even thought he was pitiful. Lilian involuntarily opened her mouth and spoke as if to soothe him.

“Not just for the cause. As you know, my life is like this…”

Lilian placed her own hand gently on top of Damian’s large hand.

“…”

It was a light touch that he didn’t even feel the weight.

“It’s in Your Highness’ hands. If Your Highness rejects me, I will wither and die soon.”

Calmly acknowledging her weakness, Lilian smiled bashfully.

“I want to live as long as possible. To do that, I must marry His Highness.”

She will not reach the pinnacle of happiness every day. She will probably never experience heart throbbing love either. It was fine though.

She could feel the fullness that comes from not wasting the given time and she could be satisfied with the reward she got from preventing the scheduled misfortune.

She knew she shouldn’t be greedy for more than that.

“I will ask you again. Your Highness, Grand Duke of Rupenwein, will you marry me?”

Instead of answering Lilian’s cautious question, Damian slowly wrapped her hand in contact with the thin leather of his glove.

Lilian was on the tall side, and her fingers were long, but she wasn’t very strong.

Her fingers, like a delicate work of art, were completely hidden within Damian’s glove-clad black grip.

“It would be a bit difficult to make the Elector of Turin willing to issue a license for our marriage…”

“Well, that’s shamefully true.”

That’s why, while saying that, she glanced at Rita. Rita held out papers with a terribly reluctant expression on her face.

“This…”

It was a marriage license.

It was a beautiful certificate coated with pearl powder on white paper and engraved with delicate patterns.

What was written on it was in familiar calligraphy.

[On this day of the Year 73, I sign and seal that I will be a witness with all my honor and faithfulness to the marriage of Damian Valmiera Ernst Rupenwein and Liliane Mariestad Islar.

Elector of Hemenlinna, Host of the Council of Electors, Guardian of the Seven Oaths, Duke of Hemenlinna, Grand Captain of the Alt Sea, Count of Palmiens, and Commander of the Iron Lion Knights, Gregory Amberrick Philonin.]

It was the signature of the Great Feudal Lord.

“The Great Feudal Lord arranged it. He told me it’s to prepare for the time my older brother won’t let me go.”

At the same time, he hinted that if she wasn’t happy with the groom-to-be, she should burn it and hide behind her older brother. It was a radical advice.

[I don’t know if it’s okay to say such a thing to the closest person assisting the Crown Prince.]

[My dear, this is the privilege of an old man who is about to die. Why should I care about this world after I die?]

The Great Feudal Lord said with a chuckle. His golden eyes looking at Lilian were friendly.

[…it was a pleasure meeting you in my later years. Maybe that’s why I keep wanting you to be happy.]

While staring at Lilian, who was stroking the paper with a nostalgic face, Damian blurted out.

“In a situation like this, I would have to give you something meaningful.”

Usually, when nobles of the Empire propose marriage, they exchange items that can be used as tokens.

Of course, it was just an empty action that didn’t apply to two people who were half-married before they even met.

“Proof?”

Knowing this, Lilian just tilted her head.

Even in such a small gesture, it was perfectly clear that she didn’t expect anything romantic from Damian.

But Damian laughed the most beautifully. What about those who don’t have that kind of thing?

Eventually, this woman will marry him and she will become his wife…

She would just live her life like that, not knowing that she had been quietly placed in the arms of an unprecedented monster.