Chapter 150

Chapter 150

“It’s my fault.”

Deatrice thought she should apologize a little more clearly and much more sincerely. But the next day that came was the date of the wedding ceremony, so everything became hectic, and reaching out to him turned into a more complicated task.

As the daughter of the duke and groom-to-be, Deatrice was tied to the bride’s chambers while Lucius went around in circles greeting people left and right.

At first glance, she could see Lucius’s face appearing and then disappearing. Troy’s ex-wife seemed to understand why Deatrice kept looking elsewhere while lost in her thoughts, so she didn’t do anything special.

The venues were decorated in white and rose colors.

When the first melody of the song enveloped the hall and the bride walked slowly down the aisle, Deatrice went near the altar and held a rose petal to find Lucius. The area smelled strongly of lilies and orange blossoms.

Lucius, who should’ve been sitting in the third row, was nowhere to be seen. She looked around a bit more and noticed a group of young male nobles standing near the entrance.

Their eyes met for a moment, but Lucius shifted his gaze to look at the bride who was about to enter.

Deatrice lowered her eyes halfway down.

There was no need to worry about their diverging stare, Lucius thought. Yet, even though he convinced himself to think this way, somehow his heart felt heavy.

It wasn’t until a while later that she felt something different.

It was unusually quiet after the bride entered. So, when she looked up, she could see her father, the motionless former marchioness, and the guests had all gotten up from their seats in shock.

When Deatrice’s eyes zeroed in on the entrance hall, the silent commotion became understandable.

The emperor and empress had arrived.

They beckoned everyone who had risen to greet them to sit back down in order to keep the ceremony from becoming noisy.

Lucius was standing right next to the emperor. He must have heard beforehand that they would come.

Without sitting down, the ruler whispered something to Lucius where the latter listened diligently and answered in the same manner. People spoke lowly to each other and surmised that the duke and the emperor must have finally reconciled.

However, it seems like the emperor had just come to see Lucius. He didn’t seem interested in the wedding.

In fact, after the ceremony, the emperor only left behind a few words of greeting to congratulate the duke and immediately went elsewhere with Lucius. The other nobles bowed their heads as they passed.

Deatrice went with the bride to greet the empress and stood blankly amidst their unusual presence.

At that time, she met the other lady’s eyes that seemed to convey the meaning ‘Please come here’.

But as she passed through a narrow passage, she bumped into a man. The man simply continued walking without saying much, but he put something in her hand. It didn’t take her long to realize it was a letter.

She wondered if it was a letter left by Lucius, so Deatrice avoided her seat and opened it somewhere else. But as soon as she read the first line, she could immediately tell.

This wasn’t from her husband.

[Dear Deatrice,

Forgive me if my letter came late. Although I said to myself I’d write to you as soon as I find some pen and paper, it still took quite a while since unexpected things happen every day, so I couldn’t write even if I wanted to. Saying I’ve been through death ten times… would be a severe understatement.

But if I’m truly being honest with myself, I delayed my writing a letter to you because of my stubbornness. I didn’t want to contact you without achieving at least something during all this time I was away.

After putting it off for weeks, I finally got the courage to pick up a pen.

Yes, Deatrice. I am alive.

I’m glad I can finally tell you this. To finally be able to contact you that I am alive and well. I’ve heard the news about you, that your father sold you to an old lover. Newspapers would often talk about your love for each other, but I don’t believe it. I still vividly remember that fateful night when you rode off at full gallop with my injured body behind you. It was an impressively heroic sight, your ebony hair flowing against the wind and the metallic scent of blood pouring down your slender back.

That night made me realize something I should’ve known a long time ago…

I can’t write for long, but I’m here to tell you that I don’t want to live the rest of my life like a failure. So, Deatrice, I’m going to finish what I couldn’t finish before.

And when all is said and done, I’m getting you back.