* * *
“Delcia, over here!”
I called out softly and waved my hand.
Delcia, spotting me, broke into a radiant smile and ran over.
“Dowoon!”
In an instant, she reached me.
She slightly pulled back the black robe covering her dazzling blonde hair and grinned.
“Ah, no—should I call you ‘Your Majesty the Empress’ now?”
The moonlight of dawn was beginning to fade.
Delcia, who had arrived quietly at this early hour, naturally stood beside me.
“I’m still not used to that title… But why sneak out? And so early in the morning at that? Hail would’ve been glad to see you too.”
“…That man?”
For a moment, Delcia’s cheerful face turned icy. Ah, I shouldn’t have said that.
“Well… you see…”
“To see me?”
“…Maybe not.”
I awkwardly tried to salvage my words and turned away with an embarrassed laugh.
Ever since I learned that Baek Yigang had burned every letter Delcia sent me, I had completely given up on reconciling the two.
“Anyway, I have a reason for coming at this hour. Have you heard of the interesting wedding customs in the Northern Continent?”
Her question stirred a vague memory.
I think Anna once mentioned some unique marriage traditions from there.
“You mean the one where the bride disappears for a day before the ceremony?”
“Exactly! Isn’t it perfect? A bride vanishing on the eve of her wedding—especially before a royal wedding!”
Delcia burst into laughter at the thought, her delight infectious.
Watching her happy face, I couldn’t bring myself to voice my unease.
“…Hail won’t let this slide.”
“That’s exactly what I want to see. Don’t worry—I’ve already planned everything! Just trust me!”
Despite my growing anxiety, I found myself swept up by Delcia’s enthusiasm.
I nervously swallowed and took the hand she offered.
“…Cheong Dowoon?”
It had been a long time since this happened.
Waking up to find Dowoon missing from his side.
Baek Yigang’s voice was unusually subdued as he stared blankly at the empty space next to him.
Dowoon was usually either snoring peacefully with his mouth open or staring at him with mischievous, suspicious eyes.
But being entirely absent like today?
That was a first.
His brow furrowed sharply as he considered the lack of any trace of Dowoon.
Responding to his summons, Anna and Asel hesitantly entered from their post outside the room and bowed.
“Your Highness, our apologies, but we have not seen Sir Dowoon.”
Anna spoke first, and Asel nodded vigorously in agreement. Igang then called for Nefron.
A figure cloaked in a deep black robe appeared silently, kneeling before him.
“Where is Cheong Dowoon? If anyone saw him, it would be you.”
“…I did not see him.”
Nefron also answered in the negative, bowing even deeper.
For some reason, the pause before his response felt unusually long.
“…I see. You didn’t see him.”
Standing silently to the side like prisoners, Anna, Asel, and Nefron suppressed nervous sighs and shut their eyes tightly.
This all happened just an hour ago.
“Don’t tell Baek Yigang you saw me. If you do, I’ll hate you forever.”
Dowoon had slipped out of the bedroom carefully, warning not just Anna and Asel but even pointing threateningly into the void where Nefron might be lurking.
Displaying impressive cunning, Dowoon escaped the Imperial Palace unnoticed.
Anna, Asel, and Nefron had no choice but to feign ignorance of his departure.
After all, “I’ll hate you forever” was far scarier than their master’s wrath.
They knew all too well that when Dowoon pouted, even Baek Yigang couldn’t handle it.
What could they do if their lord himself struggled?
“Forgive us, Your Highness… but we had no choice.”
If they were caught later, they’d claim they’d been threatened.
United in their thoughts, the three maintained their feigned ignorance.
“Delcia, how did you know about this place? Even I didn’t know there was an abandoned training ground here.”
I prided myself on exploring and memorizing every corner of the Imperial Palace.
But to discover a place I’d never seen? Delcia was truly something else.
“Oh my, didn’t I tell you? When I was young, I’d escape here whenever I visited Pendium. I wanted to avoid running into that insufferable crown prince.”
…Baek Yigang, just what did you do to make a little girl hide in a place like this?
“Come on, get inside. It’s cozier than it looks.”
Delcia beckoned me in with a natural ease, as if she owned the palace.
I followed her into the training ground and exhaled slowly, feeling the gentle breeze against my skin.
“So, how have you been? I wanted to write to you, but my brother’s coronation kept me too busy. I’ve been looking forward to today so much.”
Now that she mentioned it, the Arthe Empire had undergone significant changes.
The ailing emperor had finally passed away, and Delcia’s brother, Catan Rietri, had ascended the throne.
Delcia herself had gotten engaged to Hesys, the palace Wizard.
However, since both still wanted to focus on their studies, the wedding was set for next year.
“…Hail proposed to me.”
“Of course he did, that’s why you’re getting married! But how? I’m dying to know what that stiff man said when he proposed!”
Delcia’s green eyes sparkled with excitement as she leaned in, urging me to spill the details.
“Well, um…”
How could I possibly tell her?
How could I explain that he proposed to me in bed?
That he pounced on me like a starving beast, did everything he wanted, and then begged me all night to marry him while I lay there exhausted?
I couldn’t.
“…He just did it normally.”
It was anything but normal, but for Delcia’s mental well-being, I decided to lie.
“Ugh, that’s boring. I expected more from Hail.”
“I expected more from you two.”
The voice from behind froze us in place.
Delcia and I exchanged panicked glances before slowly turning around.
Standing there was Baek Yigang, glaring down at us with cold eyes.
“Hail?!”
“What are you doing here? How did you find this place?”
As Delcia and I stammered in surprise, he frowned and extended a hand toward me.
“I didn’t expect you to be having a tryst in a place like this.”
As he grabbed my hand to pull me up, Delcia, looking outraged, seized my other wrist.
Caught between them, I felt like a shrimp stuck between two battling whales.
“What’s your deal? Were you following us? How did you even get here? This place is supposed to be unknown!”
“You think hiding in my palace will help? Enough of this. Hand him over—my bride.”
“Oh my, anyone listening might think I stole someone else’s bride.”
Neither of them was outright furious, but the atmosphere was undeniably tense.
From the sharp looks they exchanged, it was clear this was already a battlefield.
“You came to steal him early on, so it’s not exactly untrue. Thief.”
“Thief? Thieeef? Did you just dare to call me a thief? Fine, I’ll show you what a real thief looks like! Dowoon, grab my hand!”
“Huh? Wha—wait…!”
Caught off guard by his sudden burst of confidence, I instinctively grabbed Delcia’s hand.
At that moment, a blinding white light enveloped my vision.
“What’s happening?! What is this?!”
“Hahaha! Just as I thought, I invested a fortune in a teleportation scroll! The bride thief is on the move! Good luck finding us!”
As the dazzling light subsided, Baek Yigang frowned and released my arm.
A sense of unease crept over me, and I hurriedly turned to Delcia, desperate to know where we were headed.
“Wait a second, Delcia! Where does this take us?”
“I don’t know. It’s random.”
“What?!”
“Specifying the destination doubles the price, you see. Haha!”
…But as luck would have it, we ended up right in Baek Yigang’s office.
Of all places, why here?
And so, we were quickly caught.
Thus, the short-lived and rather dramatic “Bride Thief Incident” ended in anticlimactic failure.
“I’ve been scammed! No wonder it was cheaper than expected! A teleportation range of just 500 meters? They said it was 5 kilometers!”
While lamenting his misfortune, Delcia endured a scolding from Baek Yigang before being unceremoniously sent off to the guest quarters.
He was also given strict orders not to approach me until the wedding began.
And so, after a chaotic, eventful day, the wedding day finally arrived.
I had to fend off some audacious attempts to put me in a dress, but in the end, Baek Yigang and I stood side by side, both dressed neatly in formal attire.
He wore a black suit adorned with an amethyst brooch that matched the color of his eyes, while I donned a white suit with a pink ribbon.
It took some effort to stop Rata from over-decorating me, but I was satisfied with the result.
“The groom and bride, please enter!”
Cedric presided over the ceremony.
For some reason, he insisted in a meeting that, as the eldest, it was his duty to officiate.
While I wasn’t sure about his logic, it was still better than having Reggie or Blue do it, so we let him have the role.
Anyway… it was time to step into the venue.
“Baek Yigang, what are you doing? We need to go in.”
Standing motionless in front of the doors, he pulled something out of his pocket.
“I wanted to give this to you when it was just the two of us, but now’s the perfect time.”
He slipped a ring with a massive gem onto my finger.
What the…? How is this jewel so big? I love it… wait, did I just show how much I like it?
“What’s this?”
“You picked the engagement ring, so I chose the wedding ring. You like flashy things, don’t you?”
“Haha… You don’t think I’m a magpie or something, do you?”
This is why I was so determined to avoid a marriage ending.
I was afraid I’d get so attached that I’d never want to leave, so I tried not to grow too fond of him.
“Baek Yigang, I think you’ve got something wrong. The only thing I like is you.”
“Of course. That goes without saying.”
He smiled, clearly pleased.
At that moment, the doors opened.
Beyond them, the bright blue sky stretched over an outdoor venue filled with vibrant balloons and flower petals that floated through the air.
“Congratulations on your marriage!”
A countless number of people gathered to celebrate us, their cheers filling the space.
Hand in hand, Baek Yigang and I slowly walked forward.
At first, I thought it was just a strange dream.
But as I came to my senses, I realized this place was no longer a dream.
[The End.]
* * *
Ah, cute.