# 44 -
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“Tomorrow, I will see the most beautiful bride in the world.”
said Viscount Enohater, taking Seret's hand.
“Oh, Dad.”
Seret looked at her father, sitting across from her at the tea table, and smiled weakly.
The wedding day was finally tomorrow.
She tried to run away, but in the end, she would marry Yuan.
She was feeling a little gloomy, wondering if fate was so difficult to change. At that moment, her father, Viscount Enohater, entered her room.
As she chatted with her father, her gloomy feelings naturally faded away.
“You should go to bed before it gets too late, baby.”
Viscount Enohater said in a gentle voice.
Seret laughed lightly as she called her “my baby.”
“Dad, you should go to sleep soon too.”
“I will.”
Viscount Enohater nodded and rose from his seat. Then he kissed Siret on the forehead.
“Sleep tight, my daughter.”
"Yes."
Seret smiled sweetly. She hid her complicated feelings behind a smile, and waved her hand at her father as he left the room.
After Viscount Enohater left, a tear silently slipped from Seret's eyes. Her anxious heart flowed in tears.
“Huh.”
Seret took a deep sigh and wiped away her tears. She'll be able to handle it.
“It's only one year.”
Seret encouraged herself and took out her diary.
It was the night before her wedding, a very important day.
A day like this cannot pass without being written down in the diary.
[April 17
Tomorrow is finally the wedding.
The day you dreamed of has finally arrived. I'm so excited that I don't think I'll be able to sleep easily tonight.
How I waited for the day I became the bride of my beloved Yuan!
I will be the happiest bride in the world.
I have been through a lot, but I must have a happy married life.
Since I love Yuan so much, he will realize my feelings one day.]
Seret wrote in her diary with an expressionless face. After writing a diary entry that was completely at odds with her feelings, Syrett closed the diary.
“Happiest bride, nonsense.”
While she was staring at the diary with a frown, she heard a knock on the door. Thinking her father had returned, Seret hurried to the door.
“Father… His Excellency the Duke?”
But standing at the door was Yuan. He must have just finished showering, as his wet hair was covering his forehead and he was wearing a nightgown.
“Were you asleep?”
Yuan asked as he entered.
“No, I was about to fall asleep.”
Seret answered as she closed the door.
Yuan nodded slightly and examined Seret without saying a word. Seret frowned slightly.
“Do you have something to say?”
"no."
“Then why did you come?”
“To see if you ran away.”
Yuan replied in an indifferent tone.
“Run away?”
Why would he come and say such nonsense when he should be sleeping? Seret narrowed her eyes and looked at Yuan.
“How terrible is it for a woman to be forced to marry a man she doesn’t even love?”
Yuan scrutinized Seret's face and said sarcastically.
Siret was on his mind the entire time he was showering. He wondered what kind of expression a woman who had been forced to marry a man she hated for money would put on this night.
This thought eventually led Yuan to stand before Seret.
He felt real distress at the unhappy look on his future bride's face.
“Did you come here to start a fight?”
"maybe."
Yuan smiled weakly. It may be so.
“You must really have nothing to do.”
Seret walked towards the bed with an annoyed expression. Hearing Yuan following behind her, her face involuntarily wrinkled.
“Are you going to have that expression at the wedding tomorrow too?”
“What's wrong with my expression?”
Seret turned to Yuan and raised the corners of her mouth exaggeratedly. When she looked at Yuan with a fake smile, he let out a sneer.
“I've never put a collar around my fiancée's neck before, but you look like you're being pulled by a leash.”
“I'm not.”
“It is. You put the collar on yourself, my fiancée.”
Yuan crossed his arms and stared silently at Seret.
“That's right. Because I love Yuan Freaktoster so much, I put the collar around my neck myself.”
Yuan's words weren't entirely wrong. She had put the collar on herself, which was why she was so worried now. Could she cut the collar and leave this man's side?
"love." Yuan muttered to himself.
It's not love. You have become very good at lying. Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, after today, he would be the one holding the collar that Seret had put on herself.
“Are you ready to receive my intense love?”
“If you give it, I will gladly accept it.”
Yuan took Seret's hand and kissed her back.
She felt Yuan's lips on the back of her hand. Siret felt a tingling sensation in her hand, and she pulled it from Yuan's grip.
“Well, I wonder if you'll really accept it.”
He has no intention of accepting her love, Lydia must be filling his mind now.
Did he come to vent his anger on his fiancée because of a love that could not be consummated?
“I can even accept it now, if you want.”
Yuan glanced at the bed, then looked back at Seret.
His eyes met hers, her slightly trembling blue eyes.
In front of her tense features, his throat dried up.
Removing the garment covering her body would only take a moment, as would seeing her white skin turn red.
Just imagining how that innocent face would change on the bed made his heart tremble.
Seret cautiously took a step back. She realized what Yuan's look meant, as she wavered between the bed and her.
"I'm tired. I need sleep to be the most beautiful bride in the world tomorrow. Good night, Your Highness the Duke."
Seeing Seret trying to kick him out with such a lame excuse, Yuan didn't want to leave willingly.
Yuan reached out and gently grabbed Seret's chin. Then he slowly crushed Seret's lips with his thumb.
“You are… pretty enough already.”
Yuan's nerves were about to explode at the touch of Seret's lips. He wanted to press something else against them, not his finger.
He saw in Seret's trembling blue eyes what ignited desire within him like wildfire.
Before that desire got out of control, he decided to withdraw.
“For a peaceful night for the most beautiful bride.”
Yuan kissed the back of Seret's hand and left the room.
After Yuan left, Seret collapsed on the bed.
Seret frowned, holding her breath.
Yuan's strange expression came to her mind as he looked between the bed and her.
A problem she hadn't thought about while she was distracted by other things suddenly appeared.
Once married, she will not be able to avoid sharing a bed.
“How am I supposed to avoid this?”
Seret bit her nails.
She had never intended to spend a night with Yuan. She couldn't bear a child, and she didn't want to be in the arms of that horrible man.
“What should I do?”
Yuan's goal was to have a child, so he wouldn't back down easily.
The problem starts tomorrow.
Maybe she could use tiredness as an excuse and go to bed early.
“Huh… I don’t know.”
Seret shook her head.
With a feeling of, “I'll manage somehow,” she lay down on the bed.
***
Seret, who was nervous and anxious in her previous life, was looking at the bouquet made of lily of the valley and sapphires. The vibrant and colorful bouquet was beautiful.
‘It is plausible that someone like her could become the Duchess of the Freaktwister family.’
'Why did His Highness the Duke choose her of all people?'
The voices of servants could be heard through the slightly open door.
Did they not realize the door was open? Or didn't they care if I heard? Seret was frightened by the voices she heard.
It seemed that the servants of the Duchy of Freaktwister did not like her.
Seret looked around the room.
Everyone had gone, and Seret was left alone in the room without a maid. She felt lonely and somewhat afraid, and wished someone would come.
At that moment, I heard the sound of steady footsteps, and Yuan entered.
“Your Highness the Duke.”
Seret was pleased by Yuan's appearance and stood up.
Excitement flooded in her blue eyes as she looked at Yuan. Her heart swelled at the thought of being with this man from now on.
“Failure is not an option. There are a lot of people here. Since this is your first time appearing in front of people under the name Freaktwister, you should do it right.”
Contrary to Seret's feelings, the words Yuan spoke were extremely cold. These were never the words a groom should say to his bride at their wedding.
For Serret, this was the marriage she had looked forward to, but for Yuan, it was merely a formal ritual of enthronement as Duchess of House Frecktwister.
“Yes, I will do my best.”
Seret was hurt by Yuan's cold words, but responded with a fake smile.
She was fine hearing such words at that time. It was a time when everything was fine just thinking about being with Yuan.
Seret sighed as she looked at the same bouquet as in her past life.
At that moment, I heard the sound of movement, followed by Hannah's voice.
“Miss, His Highness the Duke has arrived.”
Seret looked up at Hannah's words.
Yuan, wearing a formal suit, was walking towards Seret. The well-fitting black suit and well-coiffed hair made him look even more special.
Yuan was handsome in her past life and now. It was pathetic that she still found him handsome, but that was her honest feeling.
Before Yuan could say anything, Seret opened her mouth with a calm expression.
“I will do my best.”
Yuan frowned slightly.
“You mean you'll try your best not to run away?”
“Well, in many ways.”
She naturally thought that he had come to tell her not to make any mistakes. This is what happened in her past life. He certainly feared that people would notice any faux pas on this day of the inauguration of the Duchess of the House of Frecktwister.
“I came to tell you not to waste your energy, because you won't be able to escape.”
“You came to watch me.”
“I came to grab the collar.”
Yuan raised one corner of his mouth slightly crookedly and extended his hand to Seret.
It must be time to get in. Seret let out a small sigh and took Yuan's hand.
“I have never given my collar to His Highness the Duke, and I will continue to hold it myself.”
Seret said, raising her head with a slightly defiant expression.
“I respect that.”
Yuan smiled and held Seret's hand tightly.
Seret was dazzlingly beautiful. Her blue eyes, which he thought looked like jewels, sparkled even more today, and it seemed as if all the light in the world had gathered on her face.
The white silk wedding dress looked like it had been designed just for her, and the orange blossom wreath on her head and pearl-embellished wedding veil were not too much of a stretch to describe as the property of a ruler.
He always thought it was beautiful, but today he felt like he wanted to put it in a glass box and keep it just like that.
“I hope you continue to respect that.”
Seret smiled sweetly and looked at Yuan.
“I will.”
Yuan accompanied Sirit out of the bride's waiting room.
Seret walked down the aisle with Yuan.
Walking with Yuan on the road sprinkled with flower petals made her feel anxious. This was the second time, but her emotional state was completely different.
In her past life, she prayed all the way down the aisle for a happy life with Yuan. But now, she was praying that she could leave this man's side safely.
Seret quickly looked at Yuan. What was this man thinking as he walked?
Yuan was expressionless throughout the ceremony, and Seret was curious about the emotions he hid behind his expressionless face.
In her past life, she was so exhausted that she didn't notice Yuan's expression, but now his expression was crystal clear.
It was definitely not the face of a man in love. He looked as calm as he had when proposing to her, as if he was making an important business proposal.
Seret told herself it didn't matter and watched Yuan slip the wedding ring onto her finger. When the wedding ring was placed on her fourth finger, their eyes met.
“Congratulations on joining the Freaktwister family.”
Yuan said in a clear tone, not taking his eyes off Seret.
Seret Freaktwister, the woman who will forever carry his name.
For the first time, an expression appeared on Yuan's impassive face. An expression filled with satisfaction.