The weather was so bright this morning—a blue summer sky, a gentle breeze, and the chirping of birds—in stark contrast to the gloomy atmosphere inside the carriage, which was occupied only by Emily and Cedric.
Arthur rode ahead to lead the group, while Philip rode behind to keep watch.
Anna couldn’t come along because she had a fever, likely from exhaustion after working at the clinic yesterday.
As for Emily, who used to be 39 years old yet still worked like a maniac from morning till night, now that she was trapped in a 20-year-old body, her energy was through the roof—it felt as though she could conquer the world right now.
‘Forgive me, Anna… Did I push you too hard?’ Emily thought, regretting her actions.
Today, Cedric and Emily set off towards the Church of Helios & Selene, located in the capital city of Malakar.
Anna explained that the people of Malakar worship the sun god Helios and the moon goddess Selene.
So, whenever an eclipse occurs, the people of Malakar hold a communal prayer service at the church during the day, and a mask festival at night.
…
Clop… clop… clop… Emily and Cedric sat together in the carriage without saying a word to each other; all that could be heard was the sound of the carriage wheels and the horses’ hooves throughout the journey.
“I’ve never felt this awkward in my life,” Emily muttered.
Cedric’s mood had seemed off since this morning, and Emily couldn’t blame anyone but herself.
It seemed Cedric was angry because their meeting last night at the library had ended with Emily running off in a panic as if she’d seen a ghost the moment Cedric appeared.
“Huh, what’s wrong with me?
If I didn’t cheat, why should I be afraid?” Emily thought, steeled her resolve.
“Your Grace, are you angry with me?” Emily asked softly.
Cedric didn’t answer; he just crossed his arms over his chest and turned his gaze to the window outside.
‘Damn… Cedric is really angry.
What should I do?
Be generous, Emily; you’re older than him.
Apologize first.’ Slowly, Emily’s hand reached for Cedric’s cheek, urging him to turn and look at her face.
“Your Grace, look at me.” Blush… Instantly, Cedric’s face flushed red in surprise at Emily’s action.
Chuk… A light kiss landed on Cedric’s cheek.
For some reason, ever since he met Emily, Cedric’s life has felt full of surprises.
“Don’t be mad anymore, okay?” Emily begged with a pleading look.
“Huh…” ‘Does this girl think a little kiss like that will melt me?’ Cedric grumbled.
But then, “Don’t do it again,” Cedric replied curtly, turning his face back toward the window to hide his blush.
Emily laughed at Cedric’s behavior, which was like a child throwing a tantrum.
…… During the trip, Emily was busy gazing at the capital city’s scenery through the window, filled with awe.
The Grand Duchy of Leander was indeed large and bustling, but the capital city was on a whole different level.
The buildings were tall with a touch of European royal aesthetics, like looking at a historic heritage site.
An hour and a half later, they finally arrived in front of a large church in the nation’s capital.
The church had tall towers and was predominantly white, with a symbol depicting the sun and moon in front of it.
Cedric got out first and offered his hand to help Emily out of the carriage.
“Don’t just space out—get out.” ‘Isn’t this guy annoying?’ Emily muttered, but she accepted his offer of help anyway.
“Take my arm.” Cedric ordered, keeping his eyes forward.
“…Huh?” “Take my arm—at least we need to act like a couple in front of people.” ‘Yeah, he’s annoying.’ Emily immediately took Cedric’s arm as he’d ordered.
They walked together into the church, followed by Philip and Arthur behind them.
“Ordinary people will pray in the three front halls in shifts due to the large numbers.
Meanwhile, the King and the nobility will pray in the main hall,” Cedric explained.
All the way there, Emily simply nodded along as she listened to Cedric’s explanation, glancing at the church’s architecture, which was adorned with statues and beautiful paintings lining the walls here and there.
Even in her wildest dreams, Emily never imagined she’d end up in a place like this.
Back when she was still a doctor, she rarely even went home, let alone visited a museum.
“You look like a thief,” Cedric teased.
“Yeah, yeah, keep making fun of me,” Emily replied irritably.
…
Just as they were about to enter the main building, a young priest with long silver hair suddenly appeared before them, wearing a white robe with symbols of the sun and moon on his right and left shoulders, respectively.
His appearance was unlike that of the priests they had passed earlier, who wore black robes with the symbols of the sun and moon on their backs.
“Good morning, High Priest.” Cedric bowed his head to greet the man.
Emily followed suit and bowed her head as well.
‘So he’s the spiritual leader here.
He’s still very young?’ Emily thought.
“It’s a pleasure to meet Grand Duke Cedric…” he replied.
Then the priest turned toward Emily with a smile.
“This is also the first time I’ve had the opportunity to meet Lady Emily.
News of your engagement has spread quickly.
It’s a pleasure to meet you, My Lady.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, High Priest,” Emily replied, bowing her head.
“If you don’t mind, there’s actually something I’d like to discuss regarding politics with Grand Duke Cedric.
Does Your Grace have a moment?” he asked, shifting his gaze to Cedric.
Cedric turned to Philip, and as if understanding what Cedric wanted, Philip nodded.
“Lady Emily, wait here with Philip.
Don’t wander too far—if you get lost, it’ll be a hassle since the event starts in half an hour,” Cedric ordered.
“Yes, yes, all right,” Emily nodded in agreement.
“Let’s talk privately over there,” Cedric said to the High Priest, with Arthur following behind them.
‘If he’s taking Arthur instead of Philip, their conversation must have something to do with the conflict,’ Emily thought as she watched them leave.
…
Emily then continued her tour, looking at the paintings and sculptures in a room near the church corridor.
“Emily, is that you?” She wondered what kind of luck had befallen her that day when she saw who was calling her.
Up until now, Emily had only seen trashy family soap operas on the TV shows her mother often watched.
She used to think, ‘There’s no way people like that exist in the real world.’ She never expected that she herself would be going through it right now.
A man in his fifties, and behind him were two women, one of whom was Emily’s mother, Duchess Aria.
So this man must be Emily’s father, and the other woman is Emily’s younger sister, Elise.
Emily quickly bowed her head to greet her parents.
Philip, standing behind her, also bowed to greet Emily’s parents.
“It’s nice to see Father and Mother here.” “I didn’t expect to see you here.
I thought you were too sick to leave the house,” said Emily’s father, looking her up and down.
“Thankfully, I’m quite well, Father,” replied Emily.
Duke Louis Maynard then turned to Philip.
“Can you give us a moment to talk?” asked Emily’s father.
“I apologize, but I’m afraid I must decline, as I’ve been assigned to protect Lady Emily,” Philip replied firmly.
“…Huh?” “HAHAHA, protect Emily?” Emily’s father laughed at Philip’s answer.
His eyes, which had been calm, were now filled with rage.
“What do you think I would do to my own daughter?” asked Duke Louis angrily, his clenched fists trembling as he held back his anger.
But Philip didn’t flinch.
The Duke Louis Maynard that Emily had read about in the novel was a man of strong principles, with a temper even toward his own children.
Emily couldn’t imagine what he would do to Philip if this continued.
Unlike Arthur, who was large-framed because he was a knight, Philip had been chosen as Cedric’s closest companion because he was smart.
Emily couldn’t let an innocent person get hurt because of her.
“It’s okay, Philip.
You can wait for me a little ways over there.
Everything will be fine; this is just a family conversation,” Emily pleaded to Philip with a pleading look.
“I understand.” Philip agreed after a few minutes of thinking.
He stepped back to the corner of the room, far enough away not to hear the low conversation, yet still able to see where Emily was.
…… There was a moment of silence after Philip walked away.
“Emily, have you forgotten the task I gave you when I sent you to Archibald’s residence?” asked Duke Louis, staring intently at Emily.
“I don’t understand what task you’re referring to, Father,” replied Emily, lowering her head.
Emily couldn’t believe it.
Emily’s family had heard that the poor girl had tried to take her own life out of depression, and the first thing they did when they saw her wasn’t to ask how she was doing, but instead to ask if the “real” Emily had carried out her duties.
Unbelievable.
Duke Louis immediately flew into a rage upon hearing Emily’s unexpected response.
“As I said, ever since she got engaged to Cedric, Emily seems to have changed a lot,” said Duchess Aria.
“Emily, I raised you well—is this how you repay your parents?” asked Duke Louis, still trying to control his emotions.
But Emily remained silent, lowering her head to suppress her anger.
“Emily, don’t you feel sorry for your younger siblings?
Noah and Elise’s futures depend on you too,” added the Duchess.
“Mother… does this mean Emily doesn’t want to help me become a Queen?,” whined Elise to her mother, escalating the tension.
“Calm down, Elise.
I’m sure Emily still has some sense left,” Common sense?
Emily’s heart was in turmoil.
Parents who play favorites among their children and exploit them for their own selfish interests.
How dare they talk about common sense?
‘Emily, how long have you been holding all this in?’ Emily couldn’t believe that such despicable people actually existed.
Duke Louis seemed unable to contain his anger as Emily remained silent.
“Emily, answer your father,” he said, roughly lifting her chin so she would look at him.
“Are you defying your parents?
Is this how you repay our kindness?” her father asked angrily.
Unable to remain silent any longer, because she still respected Emily’s biological parents, Emily finally exploded.
“I’ll keep quiet and accept it if Mom and Dad want me to disappear from this world, if the two of you feel it was a waste to bring me into this world.
But I won’t obey Mom and Dad’s wishes as long as the purpose is to harm and endanger others.” Emily replied firmly, staring intently into her father’s eyes.
Snap… Common sense had left Duke Louis’s mind upon hearing Emily’s words, which clearly defied his orders.
The daughter who had never said a word before—who hadn’t even dared to look him in the eye—had, in just two months of living with his enemy, become a disobedient child.
Duke Louis then raised his hand, striking out toward Emily’s face.
Emily, knowing what was coming, could only accept her fate and close her eyes.
She just hoped it would all be over soon.
She was sick and tired of this family.
‘Okay, bring it on!
One punch as an excuse to cut ties with this family—it won’t hurt,’ Emily brace herself.
GRAB!
But what Emily had anticipated never happened.
When Emily opened her eyes, she saw that her father’s blow had been blocked by someone.
And that person was…
Cedric.
“Who said you could disappear without my permission?” Cedric asked, staring into Emily’s eyes.
“Ce-Cedric?” Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
Emily’s heart was pounding.
‘Isn’t this just like a scene where the hero saves the heroine from the bad guy?
Author, isn’t this novel’s world a bit too cliché?’