Chapter 24

“I thought of seeing a beautiful bride. But to see you with such a sad face. You are not crying like that because of me, are you?”

Behind Lohan, who was smiling brightly, a person with the face covered with a robe followed.

“Lohan…….”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Lohan sat down in front of Liv. His gentle smiling face comforted Liv.

“I couldn’t possibly leave Hale after separating with you like that. Come to think of it, I think I only thought about myself. Meeting and parting must have been sudden for you.”

Liv couldn’t take her eyes off Lohan. He felt relaxed and calm. Despite being in a similar situation to herself, he grew up remarkably. She felt ashamed of herself for not having changed anything.

“Liv?”

Lohan called Liv again, who was strangely looking at him without speaking.

‘Will I also be able to change if I follow you?’

Her father, who wanted to lock her up in the house, was no longer in the world. Liv was now free. She wanted to stop hiding and hating herself.

‘If I leave Hale and see a new world, I might be able to become like Lohan.’

The main characters in Liv’s favorite novels always stand at a crossroads of choice. Depending on what they choose, they can live a normal life or a dangerous one. And the main characters always make the hardest and most dangerous choices.

Finally, her mouth opened up after she had been hesitant to say it because she thought it was a ridiculous idea.

“Take me with you.”

“Huh? Take you? Where to?”

A thought flashed across Lohan’s face.

“Liv, don’t tell me.”

“I want to follow you. Take me with you.”

The person wearing a robe, who was wary and was looking out the window, turned to Liv.

Lohan, who was taken aback, calmly humored Liv.

“Are you worried about me? Don’t worry. At that time, I was also very emotional, so I spoke a little exaggeratedly. It’s not as dangerous as what you are worried about.”

“No, it’s not like that. I also…… I also want to be a rebel. Anything is fine. I want to get out of here.”

“Is it because you don’t like the person you are marrying? I also roughly recognized who he was, but not this one. Do you know what it means to be a rebel?”

“I know. However, I…… I want to get out of here. I want to abandon Hale, abandon Ragnell and just live as one person. Didn’t you join the rebels to do that? Therefore, me too.”

Lohan stood up with a stiff face. His expression, which had been soft, suddenly froze cold.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. How can you, who have been a noble all your life, become a rebel? You’re saying things that make no sense.”

“It’s going to be difficult at first, but I can do it! I beg you! Take me with you! I want to get away from this place! I want to be free! Lohan…… Please…… You said you loved me… So please take me……. Hng? Don’t abandon me.”

There was a knock on the door.

“Is there something wrong?”

It was the voice of the maid. Liv hurriedly replied that it was nothing and looked at Lohan as if pleading. Lohan shook his head and turned back with a determined face and approached the person who was wearing a robe.

“This is good enough. Let’s go.”

However, the person wearing the robe looked at Liv without moving.

“Are you not going?”

“Why don’t you take her?”

“……what did you just say?”

Liv looked at the person wearing the robe.

“She appears really eager to come with us, so why not let her join us?”

“Liv has been raised as a noble until now! What could she do? She will definitely be a burden.”

“She cannot do anything because she lived as a noble…… It’s funny that you’re saying that to me.”

Lohan frowned.

“I’m sorry. But Liv is different from you. She cannot be a rebel.”

“That’s what you think, but your sister seems to think differently.”

The person wearing a robe approached Lohan and tapped his shoulder with a finger.

“And in case you forgot, I am your boss. Even if we have a close relationship, shouldn’t you not cross the line?”

Lohan nervously stepped back.

“Seeing your messed up face makes me want to take her to the rebels all the more.”

“Wait a minute, this is not a matter for us to decide on our own. You should at least consult Mr. Gregory!”

“If I go to consult Mr. Gregory, wouldn’t this fragile bride be eaten by Dane? This is the only time we can take her.”

“No!”

The one wearing the robe lightly ignored Lohan’s fierce stare, and walked over to Liv who was sitting down and took off the robe.

Long brown hair that was tied and a large scar running across the face stood out.

As soon as Liv saw that face, she recognized who she was. If one were a citizen of the Empire, one would have heard of her at least once.

“Deborah…… Lofen.”

“Isn’t this such an honor? To think that you know my name.”

Deborah looked at Liv with interest.

“At first, I thought you were just a crybaby.”

The woman’s attention was on Liv’s scarred face and her watery eyes.

“Do you know what it means to be a rebel? You will become an existence whose life will be threatened by the emperor. You would never dream of beautiful clothes, delicious food, and a comfortable life like now, and if you were caught, you would be tortured in agony, decapitated, and then your head would be hung in the middle of the square. Nonetheless, are you really going to follow us?”

Liv never once thought that this would happen to her. Just imagining it made her fingertips tremble.

Nevertheless, she desperately wanted a new life.

Liv nodded. Although her tears welled up, they didn’t fall.

The woman looked at Liv and laughed.

As the wedding ceremony began, the blue sky appeared perfectly.

Standing in front of the altar, a number of nobles could be seen behind Liv and Dane. The high priest read the Bible in a calm voice. But Liv couldn’t hear anything.

‘Can I really leave him? Just having him standing next to me calms my anxious heart, but can I really be happy if I leave him?’

The anxiety she felt in the room now felt like a mirage. She felt like she had made a reckless decision after being frightened by an empty illusion.

“Dane, do you swear to take Liv Ragnell as your wife and be with her for the rest of your life?”

“I do.”

“Liv Ragnell, do you swear to take Dane as your husband and be with him for the rest of your life?”

“…… I do.”

The long Bible reading came to an end, and the high priest finally announced that they had become a married couple.

They faced each other. There was regret in Liv’s eyes as she looked at Dane. As soon as she saw his face, her wavering heart easily collapsed.

Dane grabbed Liv’s face and gently kissed her lips.

‘In a moment, this place will be a mess.’

Liv closed her eyes to stop the words that were about to burst out.

‘It’s already spilled water. There’s no turning back now.’

However…… Nevertheless…….

Her confused heart mercilessly cut itself.

As soon as her lips fell and she opened her eyes, all she saw was Dane’s face with a bright smile. He had a very happy face, if only not because of Liv’s delusion.

What does my face look like right now? She was about to forcibly raise the corners of her mouth just like him, but he saw the Duke and his daughter over Dane’s shoulder. They were looking at them with expressionless faces.

After that, she saw a completely unexpected figure. It was Carl Rayleigh. As soon as he made eye contact with Liv, he stood up and turned around.

Facing them, I remembered each emotion that had driven me to the edge of the cliff before the wedding ceremony. It wasn’t an illusion. Even my nauseated heart that wished he was at the bottom of his life was all real.

Her confusion calmed down and the thought that she shouldn’t marry him came to her mind.

He would not be happy if he was with me.

“F, fire!”

As if to convince her of her thoughts, the building where Liv had stayed caught fire. The sudden fire engulfed the building like magic, and it emitted pitch-black smoke.

Panicked nobles screamed and exited the temple, and the high priest hurried down from the altar in a hurry with assistance. A man ran to Dane’s side.

“S, someone set a fire!”

Dane frowned at the stupid answer.

“I’m sure I told you to keep an eye until the wedding ceremony is over to make sure nothing happens, right?”

“I, I am sorry.”

Dane was conscious of Liv next to him, so he didn’t say much. He didn’t want to show her this side of him.

“I will bring Lady Ragnell…… my wife to the carriage.”

His expression as he corrected ‘wife’ to ‘Lady’, although it was only for a brief moment, showed all sorts of emotions.

Dane wrapped his arms around Liv and made his way to the back of the temple. The place was already in chaos with countless carriages.

A carriage was in front of Dane as if it had been waiting. It was his carriage. Dane led Liv into the carriage.

“Go to Lesbourne mansion first. I’ll finish this soon and return.”

Liv frantically grabbed his hand, which might be her last.

“Liv?”

Dane grabbed her hand and thought that Liv was frightened when he saw her not saying anything, and he hugged Liv in his arms and stroked her back.

“It’s okay. I will finish my work safely and return to the Lesbourne mansion. So don’t worry.”

“I love you.”

She couldn’t take it any longer. Liv finally revealed the feelings she had been hiding.

Even if he doesn’t love me, I still love him. If I didn’t convey what I felt, I would regret it for the rest of my life. If not now, I would have to part with him without ever being able to speak my mind.

“I love you, Dane.”

Dane’s body stiffened at Liv’s words.