The cornerstone of the Dekan Empire, Taylor of the Golden Wheat Fields.
In the vast Taylor Duchy, so expansive that the end could not be seen, grew the wheat that fed the empire’s people.
‘Let no one starve to death on Taylor land.’
According to the principle established by the first Duke, the successive Dukes of Taylor always devoted themselves to the lives of their people, immersing themselves in developing farming techniques to harvest wheat with stability.
As a result, the Taylor Duchy was transformed into a vast granary responsible for the food of the entire Dekan Empire. It was only natural that a wheat ear was engraved upon the coat of arms of House Taylor. The Third Emperor of the Empire, holding Taylor’s merits in high esteem, personally bestowed upon them a chapel and a beautiful arcade.
Wearing a wedding dress and veil, Grace slowly walked down the arcade imbued with Taylor’s glory.
The nobles whispered among themselves as they looked at Grace.
“She is the spitting image of the previous Duchess.”
“No one knows the ways of the world. To think the Lady of Taylor would marry a mere Viscount of Sachsen.”
“Hush! That is Her Majesty the Empress’s maiden family; speaking so is disrespectful.”
Count Sachsen looked Grace up and down as if appraising her, then muttered in the exact manner of his son:
“Worth the money.”
Meanwhile, Rosette clenched her fist tightly, furious for no apparent reason. She could not endure even a moment of people’s attention being directed solely at Grace. Rosette’s wish to somehow scatter the attention fixed on the bride was fulfilled when the other protagonist of the wedding appeared.
“Oh my…..”
Someone’s sigh spread like a plague.
“Good heavens.”
The groom appeared following behind Grace. With bruised eyelids and an expression of utmost ferocity.
Without realizing it, people turned their eyes to the beautiful bride standing at the chapel entrance.
“What a pity.”
Neither more nor less. That single phrase alone seemed sufficient.
Truly, a pity.
Adjutant Joseph, standing beside Walter, felt no different. He clicked his tongue softly and asked.
“A good-for-nothing and a Taylor. Are you sure she was the one who sent the invitation?”
Walter glanced at him and warned in a low voice.
“Mouth.”
Joseph quickly shut his mouth and swept his gaze around the surroundings.
The two were practically hidden in a secluded corner of the garden in front of the chapel, but the problem was Walter Richmond’s appearance. Muscles carved like sculptures from fighting demonic beasts on the battlefield, combined with his towering physique, gave off the aura of a war god even while wearing a suit. Unlike the nobles with their neatly slicked-back hair, even his unkempt short hair exuded wildness, causing several noblewomen to blush for no reason.
“Who could he be?”
The nobles stole glances at Walter, each cocking their head. Despite being a beauty one could never forget after a single glance, he was clearly someone they were seeing for the first time today. Even in his fine suit, one could find no family crest to distinguish his house.
“Surely he isn’t a commoner?”
“Would a non-noble receive an invitation?”
Just as someone muttered, the bell announcing the ceremony rang. The nobles who had been stealing glances at Walter suppressed their curiosity for a moment and headed toward the chapel.
Amid the wave-like crowd, an old man with a full head of white hair muttered.
“He resembles His Majesty in his sickbed.”
Then his son, who was attending him, jumped in surprise and whispered.
“Please don’t say such things. I’m afraid someone might hear.”
But the old man merely shrugged with an indifferent face.
“If he resembles him, I say he resembles him; what else am I to say? It has already been more than ten years since His Majesty fell into a coma… Everyone has forgotten his face. I thought I had too……. If His Highness the Crown Prince were alive, wouldn’t he look exactly like that?”
“No one thinks that!”
“Too many things changed in an instant. In an instant…….”
The old man listened to his son absently, gazing intently at Grace’s back as she walked toward the archbishop.
She had grown truly beautifully. So beautifully that it made even an unrelated old man’s heart ache. If the soul of the previous Duke were watching that figure, he would surely beat the ground and wail.
The archbishop, watching the bride and groom approach from the front, had similar thoughts to the old man.
The groom’s appearance, with his bruised blue eyelids, was—at best—that of a thug, nothing more, nothing less. To think he was ogling the bride openly even as the solemn ceremony began. While the archbishop sighed at that pathetic sight, the two who arrived before him knelt gracefully with the assistance of the priests.
Colorful sunlight filtering through the stained glass painted the archbishop’s splendid vestments. The archbishop personally rang the bell, then anointed the foreheads of the bride and groom with holy water.
Even then, Jack Sachsen’s gaze remained nailed to the bride. He looked at Grace’s elegant side profile, lovely as a porcelain doll, and fell deep into thought.
She was a truly breathtaking beauty. It was clearly their first meeting today, so why did she feel like someone he had seen somewhere before? Moreover, did his eyelids hurt more when he stood beside this woman?
The viscount frowned at the throbbing pain, and the archbishop’s brow also furrowed as he continued the ceremony.
What kind of man is this! The sight of him openly glaring at only the bride throughout the ceremony was thoroughly displeasing.
Small murmurs flowed even among the distinguished guests.
“What, is this sudden true love?”
Joseph, watching the ceremony from afar, muttered, and Walter let out a hollow laugh. His gaze, too, remained fixed on Grace just like the viscount’s. The ceremony was now drawing to a close, yet he still could not grasp what that impudent lady had hinted at him.
Meanwhile, the ceremony proceeded quickly, and now only the oath rite remained. It was the ritual where one asked and promised before God to undertake marriage with a chaste body and mind, loving and devoting oneself only to one’s spouse for life.
The archbishop glanced at Jack Sachsen with a cold gaze, then decided to skip the question regarding chastity. Was it not laughable to ask about the chastity of body and mind of a man who already had six illegitimate children?
“Jack Sachsen, do you swear before God to take Grace Taylor as your wife and cherish and love her for the rest of your life?”
The viscount, who had not looked at the archbishop since entering the chapel, turned to him for the first time and swore with a deliberately solemn expression.
“Yes, I swear.”
The archbishop’s gaze turned to Grace. To her, who had listened to his words from beginning to end with an unwavering, noble posture, the archbishop posed his question.
“Grace Taylor, do you swear to undertake this holy marriage with a chaste body and mind?”
This was an ancient question. A question that had become merely ceremonial—like the anointing of holy water upon the forehead—to which everyone always answered ‘Yes.’
Grace slowly raised her eyes. In the archbishop’s pupils looking down at her, she saw herself reflected in her wedding dress. When she moved her gaze slightly further back, the statue of God behind the archbishop came into view.
Past times flashed through her mind.
‘My Lady. The most important thing in hunting is waiting for the right moment.’
As the bride fell silent, murmurs spread once more among the guests. The archbishop cleared his throat to draw her attention.
“Ahem.”
The God who had always looked down upon her with a cold face was, today as well, merely looking down at her. Grace looked up at God and declared.
My God, the time has come.
“Grace Taylor, do you swear to undertake this holy marriage with a chaste body and mind?!”
The archbishop’s voice, now slightly louder, echoed through the round chapel. All gazes poured onto Grace.
Grace felt as if she were standing alone in the middle of enemy lines. Her spine grew chillingly cold, while at the same time, her chest burned hotly as if the fireball she had kept suppressed all this time was surging up.
She steeled her core and took a breath. And finally opened her mouth.
No, she drew the blade she had hidden until now.
“No. There is another whom I love.”
At the bride’s shocking declaration, a silence spread through the hall as if someone had poured ice inside. Count and Countess Sachsen swallowed their breath and glared with wide eyes; Duke and Duchess Taylor also covered their mouths with both hands, speechless.
They were not the only ones bewildered. Jack Sachsen, despite having six illegitimate children himself, glared at Grace with white-rimmed eyes, and the archbishop flusteredly cleared his throat several times.
Unprecedented!! No matter how furiously he racked his brain, this was unquestionably the first time in the history of the temple.
As the murmuring grew louder, the flustered archbishop eventually pretended not to hear and hurriedly moved to the next question.
“Grace Taylor, do you swear before God to take Jack Sachsen as your spouse and cherish and love him for the rest of your life?”
The archbishop looked at Grace earnestly.
Please, just say yes!
But contrary to his wish, Grace Taylor slowly turned her head and quietly stared at the viscount. From her calm and elegant demeanor, her true feelings were vividly felt.
The murmuring guests’ gazes followed the bride to the groom. Without realizing it, they nodded.
“…Goodness, what did he do the night before the wedding to have such bruised eyes……”
“…If it were me, I think love and respect would be difficult too.”
The viscount’s increasingly rough breathing further added to the weight of the resolve Grace carried.
“Archbishop! What are you doing! Not proceeding with the ceremony!!”
Unable to endure any longer, Count Sachsen sprang to his feet and shouted. The archbishop, too, tried to quickly move on, desperate to somehow finish the ceremony.
But Grace was faster than him.
“Therefore, I do not believe I can love this man.”
Her clear voice struck everyone’s ears. The archbishop closed his eyes and sought God.
O, God. Why do You inflict such pain upon me?
“I cannot love even a single hair of Jack Sachsen.”
The moment Grace drove in the final nail, the notorious scoundrel’s violent temper erupted without warning.
“You made eyes at another man before the wedding, yet you dare speak of whether you can love me or not?!!”