***
When I came to my senses, the morning of the wedding had arrived.
I moved mechanically from the early morning, finishing my preparations.
In the end, I hadn’t been able to sleep a wink the night before.
Even when I closed my eyes, countless thoughts and emotions surged through my mind.
As I looked at myself in the mirror wearing the wedding dress, the words Serdin had said last night became even clearer.
I shook my head vigorously.
I had already refused and put an end to it. There was no need to dwell on it.
Once I was completely ready, the waiting maid approached to guide me.
“Your Highness, if you’re finished preparing, we must move to the waiting room.”
“Yes, I understand.”
I followed her guidance and took a step forward.
“Ugh.”
“Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell…?”
“No, it’s just that I’ve been feeling dizzy and nauseous lately. It must be because I’m nervous.”
I briefly leaned against the wall and rubbed my temple before lowering my hand.
Then, noticing the maid looking at me with concern, I gave her a light smile.
Finally, the wedding day had come.
The imperial palace garden had been completely transformed into a grand wedding venue.
It was a place prepared especially for this ceremony.
When I arrived at the bridal waiting room, Serdin soon came to see me.
“Did you sleep well?”
As soon as our eyes met, an awkward atmosphere settled between us.
“Yes, I slept deeply. What about you, Serdin?”
“I did too.”
That was a lie.
The dark circles under his eyes and his pale complexion made it obvious he hadn’t slept well.
But there was nothing I could do about it.
Pretending not to notice, I simply smiled in silence.
“Well then, I’ll see you in a bit.”
It seemed Serdin had only stopped by to check on me because he quickly left again.
Blueny also left to take her seat.
Left alone in the waiting room, I sat quietly and waited.
‘Why hasn’t anyone come yet?’
It felt like the wedding should have started by now, yet no one had come to fetch me.
I was supposed to enter together with Serdin at the end of the aisle.
‘Is there a reason for the delay…?’
Could something have happened?
I couldn’t just sit here.
I decided to take matters into my own hands and opened the door to step out of the waiting room.
Standing before the aisle, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
Even after coming all the way here, Serdin was nowhere in sight.
Moreover, the guests who were already seated were murmuring anxiously among themselves.
‘Did they discover the plan to smuggle Luciel out?’
A cold sense of unease crept up my spine.
I hurriedly glanced toward the section where the guests from Ilnord were seated.
The Ilnord Emperor was nowhere to be seen.
The moment I confirmed his absence, a chill ran down my back.
“…….…!”
At that very moment, I sensed an unusual flow of mana not far away.
Something was happening over there.
It was clear that a problem had arisen.
‘Where is everyone right now…?’
I threw aside the bouquet in my hand.
Gripping the hem of my dress with both hands, I ran forward.
I didn’t have to go far before I found Serdin.
Not far from the underground prison, he lay collapsed on the path, looking as though he had suffered a fatal wound.
As I rushed closer to check on him, I realized—he wasn’t breathing.
Could he be dead?
The sight of his pale lips made my heart plummet.
“You can’t seriously be making me a widow on my wedding day. If that’s not the case, then open your eyes!”
Even if this marriage was a sham.
Even if it was never meant to go through to the end.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen!
“Serdin, snap out of it!”
I pounded on his chest, calling his name.
“Gah—!”
He suddenly coughed up blood and gasped for air.
“…O-Ollia?”
“Why are you only waking up now?!”
I really thought he had died. I clutched my chest, barely able to steady my breathing as I stared at him.
“What happened?”
Serdin looked just as confused as I was.
Then, I felt something on his chest.
Curious, I checked inside his inner pocket and—
“A scale?”
A dragon’s scale had been hidden there.
‘Could this belong to Luciel?’
How did Serdin come to have this?
A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
A long time ago, when Serdin had found the Undilarod to give to Delight, I had asked Luciel to give him a gift.
He must have carried it with him ever since.
“Is this what saved your life?”
Which meant, conversely—
‘If he hadn’t had the dragon’s scale, he would’ve died. The person who tried to kill him is…’
As my thoughts reached that conclusion, the storm of worry and fear inside me turned into a chilling calm.
“Serdin, what exactly happened?”
I questioned him, even as he struggled to regain full consciousness.
His eyes slowly moved to meet mine, and he forced himself to speak.
“D-danger… We were deceived from the start.”
“What?”
“The Emperor… He never meant it. He was just using me…”
Serdin couldn’t finish his sentence before he coughed up blood again. Blood was still seeping from the wounds on his arms and legs.
If this bleeding continued, he wouldn’t last much longer…
At that moment—
“Delight is in danger right now.”
A familiar voice came from behind, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps.
I quickly turned around.
As expected, it was Luciel. He was limping toward me, his expression grave.
“Why are you alone?”
If Luciel was here, it meant Delight had successfully freed him.
But Delight wasn’t by his side.
“The Ilnord Emperor had set a trap. Right now, Delight is—”
Luciel was about to explain the situation when—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted nearby.
And with it, I felt an unmistakable surge of Delight’s energy.
‘What is that?’
It was definitely Delight’s mana.
That explosion must have been caused by his attack on something.
But his mana felt unstable, erratic—
As if it had lost control and was running wild.
‘Is he… going berserk?’
I turned to Luciel in alarm.
His face twisted in pain as he muttered,
“We were fooled. The Ilnord Emperor had set us up from the beginning.”
“…A trap?”
A terrible realization formed in my mind.
Delight was in danger.
I could sense the overwhelming energy of his rampage from afar.
I had to get there immediately.
I turned in that direction and was about to run when—
Thud!
“…Ugh.”
A dull sound followed by a groan made me turn around.
Serdin, who had been trying to force himself up, had collapsed again.
His legs had no strength left, yet he was still struggling to stand.
“Argh… I’m coming too. His Majesty overexerted himself trying to protect us with magic. And because of that counterfeit magic stone… Urgh!”
By ‘His Majesty,’ Serdin meant Delight.
He had wanted to save Delight from the Ilnord Emperor.
Of course, Luciel had the same goal.
But both of them were already in terrible shape.
There were things that sheer determination alone couldn’t accomplish.
I paused for a moment, placing my hand over Serdin’s bleeding chest.
I cast a hemostatic spell to stop the bleeding from worsening.
He would still need proper treatment later, but for now, this would keep him from reaching a critical state.
“I stopped the bleeding, but be careful not to injure yourself further.”
With that warning, I turned back toward my destination.
“…Ollia. Just now…?”
Serdin stared at me in shock as the bleeding suddenly ceased.
“You… Since when could you use magic?”
His expression was one of disbelief.
But I had no time to explain.
“You can ask later. For now, just stay somewhere safe.”
“…What about you?”
Serdin asked with concern, but I ignored it.
Instead, I turned to Luciel.
“Luciel, take care of Zaire and Blueny.”
“Don’t worry about that. But are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”
“What are you talking about? Have you really forgotten after all this time?”
I smirked at his unnecessary concern.
“We’re all going to return to Promian together, just as planned. That hasn’t changed.”
With those firm words, I turned and sprinted toward the place where I could feel Delight’s energy.
His last rampage had been a long time ago.
I had stayed by his side and helped him control it, so he shouldn’t have gone berserk so easily.
If it was happening now, then—
‘That means the situation is truly dire.’
I had to protect Delight before it was too late.
But the hem of my wedding dress kept catching under my feet, its weight making it difficult to run properly.
This wouldn’t do.
Rip!
I tore off the lower part of my dress without hesitation.
Now that it was shortened above my knees, I could run freely.
“Delight, I’m coming.”
***
“…Dad!”
By the time I arrived—
“Kuh… Ugh…!”
Delight had already collapsed on the ground, writhing in agony from his mana going berserk.
Armed knights stood at a distance, watching him warily.
At their forefront stood the Ilnord Emperor.
“O-Ollia… Why are you here…? Kugh….”
Even in his suffering, Delight’s face twisted in worry as he saw me.
I immediately ran to him, embracing him as I assessed his condition.
When his mana had gone berserk before, it had resulted in indiscriminate attacks, making it dangerous for those around him.
But this time, it was different.
His rampaging mana wasn’t lashing out externally—
Instead, it was turning inward, attacking him from the inside.
His eyes were already clouded with unbearable pain.
And now, on top of that, he was worried about me—his expression was almost too painful to look at.
“…Right now… I can’t protect you… Kgh….”
“I’m fine. So don’t worry about me.”
I quickly scanned my surroundings to assess the situation.
Scattered across the area were numerous magic stones.
‘Are all of those counterfeit magic stones?’
They had been arranged into a massive magic circle.
That was why Delight’s mana had gone berserk.
“So, even the Archmage and Emperor of Promian will meet their end here.”
The Ilnord Emperor looked down at us with amusement in his eyes.
His arrogance was infuriating.
“The Archmage Sherina also died by my hand.”
“………”
Hearing my name from his lips was unexpected.
A faint, metallic taste spread in my mouth.
Vitian.
The Emperor of Ilnord.
The one who killed Archmage Sherina.
So… my death had given you confidence.
That’s why you dare to harm my disciple as well.
Uncontrollable rage surged within me.
