CH 37

“No way! Lucky for you, my lord. If today wasn’t her wedding day, you wouldn’t be able to see her portrait.”

Ricardo’s shoulders became stiff, as if a bucket of ice-water was dumped on him.

“Wedding?”

The young man had a confused expression on his face.

“Did you not know? This song is about the wedding of Count Juan, which will be held today.”

“…!”

“From today onwards, Lady Mariette will be Countess Juan!”

Ricardo felt the blood all over his body freeze.

Grit.

He gritted his teeth.

‘I just found out Blanche’s real name, and now he’s saying that she is the Count’s bride-to-be. I can’t believe it.’

Ricardo clenched his fist so hard that his nails left a mark on the palm of his hands. It was a belated regret. However, no matter how much he regretted it, nothing will change if he stayed in this place.

Ricardo immediately put his thoughts into action. He quickly turned his horse around and headed for the castle of Count Juan.

It was astonishing. He did not hesitate to return to the hellish castle of the Count at all.

Even if Giacomo, who did a terrible thing to Ricardo, was in that very same castle.

‘But I can’t leave Blanche, no, Mariette like this!’

He sped up again.

‘Mariette is too good for Count Juan!’

So Ricardo rode for four hours to reach the outskirts of the Count’s Castle.

However, he could not enter the castle on horseback. If he did that, he would be caught immediately.

Because of this, he left his horse at the Count’s hunting grounds and disguised as a servant as he entered the castle.

He had [Edith’s Lamp] dangling from his waist to calm his trembling legs from tension and fear. However, as he was disguised as a servant, he could not enter the Great Hall where the wedding was taking place.

‘I need to change my clothes. If I dress like a noble young master, I will be able to attend the wedding.’

As Ricardo was born in Digitalis, he was able to quickly find new clothes. He got good quality clothes by knocking out a guy his age and leaving him in a storage room.

To complete the look, Ricardo placed a bottle in the hand of the young lord who ‘fainted’.

So, in the blink of an eye, he became a plausible noble young master. A unique nobleman with an old lamp hanging from his waist.

It was stupid. He knew that he would stand out, yet he couldn’t throw away [Edith’s Lamp].

Ricardo did not regret his actions. Unlike [Edith’s Lamp], Blanche was not a simple item for him.

Finally, Ricardo entered the Great Hall where the ceremony was in full swing. The scent of roses drifted everywhere.

The Count was not a believer, so a court official was sent by the royal family to conduct the wedding.

Ricardo carefully walked the Great Hall, sticking to the wall, then settled somewhere he could see the bride and groom’s faces.

He could only see Blanche’s face at the edge of the isolated pillar. Ricardo immediately ran out of breath.

Blanche had always been pretty, but today she was especially beautiful, enough to be compared to a mythical goddess.

If possible, Ricardo wanted to push Count Juan away, taking his place who was kneeling beside Blanche on a thick velvet cushion.

Ricardo’s blue eyes fluttered with jealousy and thirst. He furrowed his eyebrows and bit his lower lip. He bit so hard that he could taste blood.

* * *

On the other hand, Mariette felt very good even though she was alienated from her own wedding. To the point where she hummed loudly in her bedroom, all alone.

But the peace didn’t last long. It was due to an intruder who entered her room without knocking.

It was Giacomo, who had been steadily stalking Blanche for the past two days.

After all, Mariette discovered Blanche’s identity thanks to Giacomo, but who cares about that? Mariette shot fiercely.

“What is this? Can the Count’s vassal enter the Countess’ bedroom recklessly? I will report this to the Countess later.”

Heh, Giacomo snorted.

“Is that what you think? Countess’ b*tch? I’ve already failed twice but in this Giacomo’s dictionary there is no room for a third one!”

[T/N: Trying to take Blanche for the past few days.]

“What? B*tch? How dare you swear at me like that?! Ack! Where are you touching?!”

Mariette let out a loud scream. Out of nowhere Giacomo grabbed her left hand.

In a fit of rage, Mariette screamed.

“Let go of my hand! How dare you!”

She raised her free right hand and swung it towards Giacomo’s cheek. But even that hand was caught by Giacomo.

Giacomo, who grabbed Mariette’s hands and rubbed them, became sure.

“Now, I see that your hands are not like a maid’s, Irene.”

At that moment, Mariette wanted to faint.

“What are you talking about, Giacomo? So what if I’m not a maid?”

“Of course, you must be a spy!”

“What nonsense!”

“It’s not up to you to decide whether it makes sense or not, I’ll be the judge of that! Let’s see if a wench like you can be as shameless when you’re stuck in a dungeon!”

Mariette’s heart raced. She struggled with all her might.

“If you don’t let me go, I’ll scream right away! I’m going to ruin her wedding!”

Not long after, Giacomo grabbed both Mariette’s hands with one hand and forcefully rubbed her face with his empty hand.

Rip. The burn makeup came off horribly. Giacomo’s mouth widened in amazement at Mariette’s exposed face.

“No way!”

Mariette did not miss this opportunity.

Surprisingly, despite his size, Giacomo was pushed away as Mariette shoved him.

Giacomo, who was stunned, asked.

“Why is the lady here?”

“I, I…”

In that brief moment, dozens of excuses flashed through Mariette’s head. But Mariette couldn’t get any words out of her mouth.

It seemed like she wouldn’t be able to get out of this situation no matter what she said.

Suddenly, a third voice appeared from behind Giacomo.

“What is going on here?”

It was Marquis Marquette. Due to the confrontation between the two, the Marquis understood the situation easily.

The Marquis asked.

“What are you doing to my daughter right now!”

Giacomo was confused. He alternately looked at the Marquis and Mariette.

“My lord! Why are you and the lady, who should be at the boss’ wedding, here?”

The Marquis flinched. He reluctantly explained.

“Hmm. This child is not Mariette.”

Finally, Giacomo recalled the existence of Blanche.

“I thought your second daughter was dead.”

The Marquis approached Mariette and hid her behind his back.

The Marquis raised his chin.

“She’s just pretending to be dead. I don’t know who the hell it was, or why, but someone tried to poison this child. We had no choice.”

Giacomo, one of the perpetrators who tried to poison Blanche, quietly bit his lip. The Marquis asked.

“Since you are my son-in-law’s vassal, you must keep this a secret.”

“If the girl who is getting married to my brother is the real Mariette, I will keep it a secret.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Even with the Marquis’ affirmation, Giacomo’s eyes showed that he was still suspicious of them. Without realizing it, Mariette shrugged her shoulders.

Because of this, the Marquis had no choice but to understand even if he did not want to.

Giacomo was suspicious of his daughter.

Frustrated, the Marquis swallowed dry saliva. The Marquis and Giacomo continued to engage in a war of nerves.

Giacomo’s sharp demeanor only eased after he called a servant to make sure the wedding was going smoothly.

However, this did not stop his doubts. But above all else, Blanche appearing here became an addition to the cards the Count can use to take control of his wife’s family.

‘The Marquis falsely announced that his second daughter was dead. If the boss finds out about this, he would like it.’

Giacomo smiled nicely.

“I guess I misunderstood. I’m sorry. My lord. And please forgive me, Miss Blanche.”

Mariette nodded her head.

“I accept the apology. Giacomo.”

Giacomo’s eyes widened at her dignified attitude.

‘It’s strange, too. The Marquis’ second daughter, she was said to be timid enough to never make eye contact with people, but that wasn’t true at all.’

Giacomo decided that he should inform Count Juan of this suspicion as soon as possible.

“You don’t know how lucky I am that the lady has forgiven me. Then, my lord, my lady. May I leave first? As a vassal of the Count, even two bodies are not enough on a day like today.”

“It’s fine, you may leave.”

“Yes. I hope you will return to the dining hall as soon as possible.”

So Giacomo left. Mariette was then able to relax. But not the Marquis.

Belatedly, she confirmed the Marquis’ dark expression.

Mariette made an excuse.

“Dad. I didn’t bring Giacomo into the bedroom. That arrogant man attacked me on his own!”

The Marquis’ face became even more pale. It was a natural reaction.

Because of Mariette’s unique tone and behavior, the Marquis realized the secret his daughters wanted to hide!

The Marquis asked.

“Mariette. What is this? Why is Blanche marrying the Count instead of you? Why are you here?!”

Meanwhile, Giacomo returned to the Great Hall where the wedding was being held. He found Ricardo hiding in the corner of the wedding hall.

* * *

After hearing the truth from Mariette, the Marquis came to Blanche as soon as the reception was over.

Because of this, the maids who were attending to Blanche could not contain their embarrassment. The husband and wife’s first night will be happening soon, and the new bride’s father almost broke into the couple’s bedroom.

The maid stood in front of Blanche and blocked him. She read the unusual atmosphere around the Marquis.

The maid strongly insisted.

“Marquis! As of today, Lady Mariette has become the Countess. From now on, my lord, please be careful about your actions!”

“Who doesn’t know that! I said I was going to see my daughter, but why are you getting in the way?”

Judging from his nervousness, it seemed that the Marquis went through something quite troublesome before coming there.

Blanche let out a sigh so deep that her shoulder moved up and down.

“Everyone leave for a while.”

The chief maid frowned at her as if she did not agree with Blanche. But she could not disobey Blanche’s orders as she had become the Countess as of today.