Chapter 16

***

*Warning: this chapter is one of the saddest and most triggering chapters there are.*

***

Yuri turned 19 a few days ago. On Yuri’s birthday, Aslan did not say anything, and Herian delivered congratulations and gifts through a servant. The only one who visited Yuri was Adres.

“…..I  was afraid that there would be some rumors about the lack of wealth in the duke family.”

“….”

“So I give it to you. Do not misunderstand.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“…I’m really annoyed.”

Then he swept his hair roughly. Saying so, Adres handed over a brooch crafted like a violet as if tossing it.

“…… You should be happy.”

Yuri wasn’t happy. No matter how big or how beautiful the jewels were, Yuri wasn’t interested. Her birthday passed, which meant that Yuri’s marriage was very near.

Yuri stopped embroidering. In every night’s dream, Aslan and Herian overlapped. In the dream, Duke Aslan would push Yuri into a fire pit, along with Yuri’s handkerchief.

“He couldn’t tell me in the first place.”

Aslan did not meet Yuri. Even the family dinner was held without Yuri. Since then, Yuri has not embroidered any more handkerchiefs.

“…… I’m tired.”

Her reflection in the mirror was the same as before. She was noticeably depressed. Since then, she abruptly stopped talking. It was hard to even chew through the bread, and she was always tired. The only thing that kept her alive was…

‘I can leave this place soon.’

It was hope. Yuri hoped she would win the bet.

After she got married and sworn for eternity by him, Yuri was going to make a wish to get rid of the curse forever. And after divorce and freedom, she wanted to live somewhere else.

‘Let’s leave. And live my life.’

A place where she could easily see the rising and setting of the stars, a place that was warm during the day and cool at night. She wanted to go to a place where no one knew her.

‘I’m good at cleaning, and I can cook a little. Let’s live like that.’

A small hope gripped Yuri. Like a doll hanging from a string, she was enduring day by day, relying on a glimmer of hope.

“Hold on.”

Yuri said forcefully, hugging herself. There was deep nail marks on her arms.

****

“Miss. You are so beautiful.”

“……Ah, thank you…… .”

The happiest thing to do was the wedding. Yuri’s expression improved a little.

‘Now, as long as he attends the wedding, I can make a wish.’

Yuri wanted the curse to disappear. She would make a wish to get rid of the curse and convince her father to leave. To somewhere far away.

It was the hope that had forcibly held her in this world until now. In the mirror, Yuri’s expression was quite bright. Seeing her like that, some of the maids whispered, but it was nothing to Yuri anymore.

‘It’s okay. It’ll end soon. I just have to endure this moment.’

No one was curious what the bride looked like. When Yuri heard the voice announcing the bride’s entrance, she walked out.

“…”

Yuri closed her eyes. Outside, people could be heard chatting and entering. They didn’t come to bless Yuri’s marriage.

They were the ones who came to watch the noble Erentail marry the famous ‘slave’.

‘It’s completely like a monkey in a zoo cage.’

A cold wind blew through the dress with a deep back. Now it became real, it was miserable.

‘It’s okay.’

Her body was not beautiful. It didn’t go well with a dress that showed off the body and curves.

Instead of fine skin on her back, there were cracked and torn flesh everywhere.

It was also a trace of the carriage accident she had suffered, and it was also a trace of the asceticism she experienced at the temple. As if to prove that time, the scars left by the ruptured flesh was what Yuri was most ashamed of.

‘It’s okay. Yuri.’

Yuri smiled. She was adorned with an expensive dress and jewels. She even had makeup on which she had wanted to try once. Still, she wasn’t happy. She couldn’t think of anything.

‘What’s going on?’

Shortly before the wedding, the sound of people coming in had also subsided. Yuri raised her head. Whispers were heard outside, but Yuri couldn’t even guess what was going on.

‘It can’t take this long.’

It was just that it was taking an oddly long time.

“Lady… .”

“Uh, what’s going on?”

“….They just tell you to come in.”

“What?”

It was customary for the bride to hold her father’s hand and enter, but there was no one by Yuri’s side. Alone, Yuri limped towards the podium.

Some who helped Yuri enter seemed bewildered, and some of the maids were smiling. Yuri knew that smile.

‘Ridicule.’

They were laughing at Yuri. If bad luck continued, one day it would come back as a premonition. Such a strong sense of dread wrapped around her body.

In any case, Yuri’s entry had long since begun. There was no father, no brothers, or anyone who held Yuri’s hand.

“Oh my gosh, look… .”

“Do you see those ugly scars?”

“It’s disgusting.”

Yuri walked along the red roses. Through the veil that covered her face, their blatant scornful laughter and cheap words of sympathy could be heard. Most of the seats were empty.

“His Excellency also abandoned that woman.”

“Well, it’s her who did it.”

The moment she took a step, Yuri could understand the reason for their cheap sympathy.

The embarrassed priest and the guests leave the wedding hall and head for the reception. The maid who laughed at herself.

“Oh, today the Goddess has allowed two people to marry. The marriage of two people in the name of the goddess….”

Yuri laughed.

‘Two people.’

She had no father to hold her hand, no mother to cry for her, no brother or friend to bless her.

‘I didn’t think my husband would be absent.’

A wedding without a groom. A wedding in which only the bride stood alone in front of the podium and nodded silently.

All plans went awry. Yuri bit her lips. Even with the priest’s words, only silence filled this hall.

‘Wedding ceremony… you didn’t come.’

All the key figures were gone. There were only a few wandering nobles who couldn’t make up their minds left in the guest seat, or a few elderly nobles who had sympathy for her.

Neither was pleasant. Yuri looked at the empty family seat.

‘His Excellency…He never really recognized me as a family member.’

No tears came out now. Those tears have long since dried up.

‘All of that, it was all lies.’

Now Yuri couldn’t even win the bet. The Erentail Count, who had come all the way here to murder Yuri, couldn’t keep Yuri alive.

‘The curse of misfortune is a good name.’

It was terrible. Yuri’s actions did not change her fate. No matter how she struggled, fate cruelly dragged her into the abyss.

“Bride.. Will you love your husband forever?”

“Yes….”

The situation was funny. It was terribly funny to stand alone and give an answer, which made Yuri laugh. It didn’t matter if they called her crazy.

Only the immature priest noticed her laughing.

***

This could not be. Yuri headed to the banquet hall. It was common for the couple to appear together last, but already the wedding was not important.

“Ha, let me in.”

“The Lord said not to let anyone in.”

“Hey, this is… my wedding.”

“We are only following the Lord’s orders.”

Yuri’s wedding. A once in a lifetime wedding. Ironically, she couldn’t even get into her own wedding banquet. Tears were about to fall, but she clenched her teeth and held it back.

“Please. I want to tell my family one thing before I leave.”

“…”

“Oh. I’m begging you. I, please…”

She didn’t want to die. Yuri was forced to endure the words that reached the end of her neck. Yuri already knew that nothing could be solved by just holding the door keeper’s arm and crying.

“… …Ha, let me see him just once, just once.”

Her teeth were trembling. What Yuri knew, they could not have known.

“…… Miss.”

“Mr. Kasen….”

It was Aslan’s butler Kasen who grabbed Yuri’s arm. There was really no way.

“Oh, butler…”

“Ah, Miss! Get up now!”

“Ha, I beg you. Ha, just once……”

“…”

“Ha, just once… Please let me see my father.”

Yuri knelt before him. If it could save her life, it was a cheap price of a knee. The white dress was stained dirty. The guards looked startled, and the maids started talking with their mouths covered, but that didn’t matter.

“Please…..”

“…… Miss.”

“I, I… … Ha, this is the last one.”

Kasen reached out to Yuri in dismay. Yuri eagerly held his sleeve and prayed desperately.

“Ha, this is the last time….please.”

“…… Miss.”

“Hey, just once…my father.”

“…… Yes, alright.”

Kasen looked at Yuri with a troubled face, and immediately entered the door. A door that could not be opened to Yuri, opened too easily for Kasen, the only butler.

‘I can meet my father!’

Messy hair fell to the floor. Her long hair reached the floor, but a smile crept onto Yuri’s face.

After some time passed, Kasen and Aslan came out the door.

“Ah, father…”

“What did you call me for?”

“I, I….”

Aslan’s purple eyes looked coldly at Yuri. There was indifference in his eyes. Yuri’s hopes were slowly starting to fade.

“I don’t want to get married.”

“….”

“You, you told me…”

The memory of that day was vivid. It was clear that Aslan had covered Yuri with a long coat and looked at her affectionately.

“Can Yuri promise me one thing?”

“No, I will do anything.”

“It’s too early to get married, so how about living together here first? You can stay here as long as you want. I’ll find a good person for you.”

Yuri grabbed Aslan’s hem. Suddenly, tears began to fall. It was accompanied by a forced smile.

“I don’t want to get married.”

“…”

“Lord, I don’t want to die.”

“….”

“Ha, I want to live. Father, please…… .”

The wind blew coldly. It looked like it was going to snow soon. Her fingertips were shrinking from the cold.

“Yuri.”

“Yes …! Yes, ah, father!”

It was his cold eyes that met Yuri.

“It’s useless,” said the cruel man.

Aslan coldly slapped Yuri’s hand that was holding the hem of his pants. At that moment, the tears stopped.

“Do your best.”

‘What are you talking about?’

Yuri didn’t understand. She thought she was so stupid that she had heard it wrong. She thought it was because her body wasn’t healthy, so she had an auditory hallucination. She reached out again.

“Kasen.”

Yuri’s gaze and Aslan’s gaze did not meet. Her desperate pleas fell to the floor. Aslan called Kasen, not Yuri.

“Get this out of my sight.”

“…… Yes.”

As Kasen blinked, the knights grabbed Yuri’s arm and raised her up. While being dragged by them, Yuri could not say anything.

‘Why did you deceive me?’

Rather, she would have obeyed his order if he had told her to get married because he brought her here for a wedding. If that was the case, she wouldn’t have believed those kind words.

The world has gone dark. Now, Yuri just wanted to be comfortable. Her whole body was exhausted, and she just wanted to disappear somewhere.