Chapter 106

‘I have to be there. Of course, it’s my place.’

As Yuria watched the wedding, she thought that something was definitely wrong.

Today, she was wearing a bright dress as if it was made by cutting the sky up and adding petals.

It was gorgeous enough to be called a ‘wedding dress’, and the design fitted the formality of a ‘bride at the wedding.’

When she stood next to Berylia, it was difficult for her to know who the bride was.

‘Now I’m the one the Crown Prince loves, right?’

No, there was no reason for her to call him the crown prince anymore.

‘Rixus wants me.’

Because they love each other now.

She was determined to watch this wedding calmly for now, but seeing the two of them getting married in front of her eyes was hard to bear.

“It’s really wonderful… those two.”

“How can they look so good together? His Highness the Crown Prince is like a god from heaven. And Her Majesty the Queen…… How can she look that pure?”

“Ah, the two of them are so beautiful!”

At the voices of the nobles praising today’s couple from behind, Yuria turned around fiercely and said,

“Isn’t it rude to openly talk about their looks?”

The nobles seemed to be a little surprised.

Yuria was always gentle and kind, but this expression and tone of voice just didn’t seem like her.

“Ah… I think we’ve been rude.”

It was then that one of the young men mentioned it softly.

“Hey, you’re as pretty as the Queen.”

“!”

Yuria turned around as if startled at the sound of a sweet voice that no one noticed at all.

The man had ‘wolf fur’ adorning his shoulders, and bright red eyes.

“Ah.”

When he made eye contact with Yuria, he raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“Lady Mavis, if my voice disturbed you by any chance, I apologize.”

“…Where are you from?”

“I am the Duke of Moratorium, a distant branch of the Duke of Clarisse.”

Shadow smiled slyly and lightly kissed the back of Yuria’s hand.

Yuria pulled her hand away swiftly and made a sober face.

“Please be quiet. I want to focus.”

“Yes, I will. But Lady Mavis is much more beautiful than the Queen.”

“….…”

Yuria pretended to have not heard it and kept her gaze to the front, but she couldn’t hide the pride from her expression.

Looking at Yuria from behind…… Shadow swung his index finger to the side of his temple, circling it.

It’s like saying, ‘This woman is totally crazy.’

Shadow watched the wedding with his arms crossed.

He took the risk to assume another identity and attended this wedding today for one reason.

‘Where the hell are you going to use Medusa’s Tears?’

He was so curious as to how the queen had spent her own ‘welcome gift’.

Medusa’s Tears were known to be the slowest poison in the world.

It was normally in the form of a gas, but when it came into contact with pure air, it quickly became liquid.

‘The effect spreads very slowly…’

And slowly paralyzed the body through a couple of hours.

It was the slowest of all existing poisons, but at the same time the most powerful poison.

When you want to kill someone in the most cruel way, but very slowly so that one wouldn’t know who killed him; it was a meticulous and extreme poison that was used only at such times.

‘Even the queen can’t eat it without dying.’

The letter he wrote with concern was sincere and true.

Shadow looked at Berylia with stronger interest than worry.

‘I have no clue what she’s thinking.’

‘What is this marriage, and why do you need such a dangerous thing while completing it?’

He didn’t think she was the stupid type to exchange life for love…

It’s crazy ‘over there’.

Shadow’s gaze turned to Rixus, who had been walking beside the bride for a long time.

That fervent gaze that the crown prince, who was famous for his coldness and ferocity, sometimes sent to the queen.

Those eyes were very surprising.

‘I don’t think it’s just marriage to prevent war.’

Shadow laughed.

‘It’s going to be a very interesting marriage.’

It would be exhilaratingly interesting.

But in the meantime, there was hope.

‘Survive, my queen.’

‘Don’t tell me I’m wrong about betting on you.’

* * *

Under the giant six-fruit tree.

Rixus and I stood facing each other.

“Today, you two will be united as one like Gaara and the warrior of heaven.”

The priest’s words echoed throughout the outdoor Great Hall.

“Until your lives oxidize, the two of you will have to cherish and take care of each other.”

……Until life oxidized.

Suddenly, the weight of those words pressed on my chest.

I actually felt weird.

I couldn’t believe I had come all the way here to marry Rixus.

I didn’t realize that someone wanted me and wanted to be with me for the rest of his life.

Of course, I thought about it from time to time.

Long hours in a swamp, spending those pitch black nights alone… 

There was a time when I dared to hope that someone would come and love me.

Although it was the cursed life that even my parents abandoned…

…Maybe someone will love me even for a moment.

Like a miracle.

With that thought in mind, I endured such a trashy life.

‘Because I’ve been so lonely.’

I had to hope for such an absurd miracle, barely enough to breathe and live.

‘So Rixus.’

Everything he had done for me in this life.

‘It was all for the first time…… To me, it was miraculously warm.’

I did not know that such deep affection would be given by my nemesis, the one I feared the most.

Every day was very scary and joyful.

It was a happiness that never ended; I was holding on, and I was still struggling, but I felt grateful to him.

This heart was sincere.

“….…”

All of a sudden, my eyes slowly clouded over.

The energy of the poison engulfed my chest as if it would burn my heart, slowly spreading, with paralysis coming from my fingertips.

It was then that I felt a sense of fear.

I pretended not to be afraid, but the truth was that I was very frightened.

Ah……

‘What am I going to do today?’

Fate had pushed me to the brink.

‘If I don’t struggle like this, I’ll never be able to survive.’

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“The both of you will make an oath of love.”

Rixus said, his warm hand squeezing mine.

“Until death do us part.”

I followed with,

“…Even after that, forever.”

Blue-purple eyes looked straight at me, and he whispered,

“I will never forget you.”

The vows we whispered as we looked at each other were engraved in our hearts like fire.

‘……I think I can only keep this oath, Rixus.’

Even if I die right here, how could I forget this life?

Even if he tore my heart apart dozens or hundreds of times in the future…

I will never forget the warmth of this life.

“Berylia.”

Rixus’ worried eyes suddenly turned towards me.

He wiped my eyes with his index finger and whispered.

“Why are you crying like this?”

“….…”

I had been thinking that the corners of my eyes were hot, but to think I was crying.

I raised my lips slightly.

“I like it.”

“….…”

“……I love you so much, Rixus.”

I couldn’t wipe away my tears for fear that my hardened fingertips would be exposed, thus I slowly turned forward.

My chest, which was filled with the aura of death, continued to throb and ache.

I knew instinctively.

No matter how immune I was to poison, it was difficult beyond this.

Then the priest said,

“Your Majesty, please go up on the platform.”

Finally, the time has come.

It was the last step of the wedding.

At a place high enough to reach the heavens, each of the families of Aktoum’s inner circle would offer alcohol to the crown princess, and drink.

This was a procedure that was performed only by the crown princess, an event to announce that she had finally became one of the owners of Aktoum.

This event had the meaning of ‘mixing blood’.

During preparations, I spent a long time choosing drinks that fit the characteristics of each family.

And each family would have chosen a drink for me.

Among them, the Duke of Mavis… 

Yuria, who came as the representative of the duke, must have chosen the wine with utmost care.

No, to be exact, the ‘cup’.

The cup was usually prepared by the nobles.

On a round plain tray made of wood from the six-fruit tree;

Three glasses were placed.

The top vertex of the triangle was the cup dedicated to the crown princess.

And one of the two cups placed on the nobles side was a cup for the crown princess to drink.

The other was a cup that had been poured in advance, containing the same wine offered to the crown princess.

The representative of the family must first drink the wine bestowed upon him by the crown princess, and then he must follow up and drink from the other cup.

So, only the cup that received alcohol from the crown princess had a different pattern.

Just that glass would contain another drink.

She would probably put the Poison of Mandra Gora on that glass.

While the antidote, the Breath of Johannes, would be in the cup that was poured beforehand.

‘She’ll drink my wine and when the poison begins to spread through her body…’

Right after—

‘She’ll drink the cup of antidote she’s prepared.’

Mandra Gora’s Poison could be dangerous if not detoxified immediately.

Even if she drank the antidote, the Poison of Mandra Gora was so toxic that she would vomit blood and collapse.

Hence, it was perfect to frame me.

“…….”

There was a bitter laugh.

Eventually, it was Yuria’s turn.

It took a few minutes for her to reach the high podium, supporting the tray and climbing up.

However, while I was examining the cup on her tray, expecting there to be ‘poison’, I found something odd.

The cup to hold the wine given by the crown princess did not have the silvery color characteristic of a poisoned cup.

‘…Wasn’t the Poison of Mandra Gora placed in the glass?’

I guessed she prepared more carefully than that.

If that was the case, it was obvious.

‘It looks like they switched the bottle.’

It must have been exchanged at the wedding hall as security was perfect until then. How dare they touch the things of the imperial family. I didn’t expect they would do it like this.

They even took the risk of being caught changing it at the wedding hall in case it was discovered while the remaining alcohol was investigated.

A smirk formed inside. Their side was really working hard too.

“May Gaara’s blessings dwell.”

I spoke calmly, taking the bottle that Yuria had replaced, and pouring the contents into her cup.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Yuria smiled brightly.

Today’s protagonist was herself. Those confident eyes…

The hostility to end me was openly felt in Yuria.

On a high podium close to the sky, we were staring at each other, exchanging raw gazes with no one around us.

After a while, Yuria raised her lips and whispered.

“May Gaara’s blessings dwell.”

“…….”

“Now, I will offer you a cup, Your Majesty.”

She slowly poured the bloody-colored wine into the cup she had prepared for me, which was sitting at the top vertex of the triangle.

I looked at her face calmly.

‘Thanks to you who risked your life for your desires…’

‘…I risked my life too.’

Swhiiik—

I spun the round tray once. My vertex turned towards her.

“!”

Then, instead of the cup of wine that she poured, I drank the one with the Breath of Johannes at once.

Thump, thump.

Instantly, the pulse in my ear grew louder. It felt like my heart was on fire.

Soon, the fire ran through the blood vessels of my body and raced through my whole body.

“…Keuk!”

Blood gushed out of my mouth as I coughed, unable to overcome the sensation.

My wedding dress was instantly covered in dark red blood.

“No, no, no…!”

Yuria’s face, who was muttering in shock, trembled in front of my nose, with the clear blue sky gliding over her back.

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In an instant, my body was completely out of balance, collapsing.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

At the same time as Yuria’s tearful screams.

“…Berylia!”

From afar, the thunderous cry of Rixus could be heard.