‘Huff. It’s okay.’

Yelena braced herself.

Marriage was something she eventually had to face anyway, even if it weren’t with Duke Mayhard.

All the noble ladies she knew had found a suitable groom candidate and gotten married once they came of age.

Those ladies would say that it was their sacrifice.

A sacrifice for their families.

The strongest sacrifice that Yelena could remember was by a girl of her age who got married to a man in his 50s to save her declining family.

When people heard of that news, they couldn’t stop talking about her noble self-sacrifice.

Yelena was also the same.

She felt admiration for the girl whose face she had never even seen.

Compared to that, this marriage was nothing.

‘Yeah. Something like this isn’t a sacrifice or anything.’

Moreover, she was saving the world.

If she could save the world just by doing this, then it was a cheap price to pay.

Yelena tried to comfort herself with that and took a deep breath.

“Young Lady, this way.”

While she did that, the time to start the ceremony had come.

Yelena headed to the hall within the temple, where the ceremony was taking place.

As she got closer to the door, the heart she had tried her best to comfort started wavering again.

‘Calm down.’

Standing in front of the door, Yelena took a deep breath once more.

Merry opened the door.

The next moment, Yelena saw the ocean.

‘Ocean?’

Yelena then realized what she was looking at that reminded her of the ocean.

‘His eyes…’

A man was standing still in the middle of the hall, waiting for her.

Even though there was quite a distance between them, Yelena unbelievably saw his pupils first.

‘So they’re blue.’

Yelena liked blue eyes.

It was for a personal reason.

Right then, someone grabbed her hand.

It was her father.

Yelena came to her senses.

Holding Count Sorte’s hand, Yelena started to move slowly towards the man waiting for her.

When she finally stood in front of him…

“…”

Yelena was absorbed in looking at him for a moment.

There were a few reasons, but the definite factor was eventually his eyes.

Blue eyes.

Yelena couldn’t take her eyes off of the vivid color popping between the mask he was wearing.

At that moment, Mielle, who was holding Yelena’s dress, poked her from behind since she wasn’t moving.

“Yelena. No matter how amusing it is, it’s rude to stare like that.”

What?

Yelena was surprised.

She didn’t realize that she was staring at her partner, but it was definitely not because of such a rude reason.

When Yelena opened her mouth to deny that, the man extended his hand to Yelena.

Yelena tightly shut her mouth.

She let go of her father’s hand and grabbed the man’s hand.

‘Did he hear?’

Yelena kept on glancing at her partner as they walked towards the officiant hand in hand.

Mielle’s volume was really small, but the man was standing really close to her.

‘What should I do if he did hear?’

Yelena tried hard to remember the rumors about Duke Mayhard.

But she couldn’t recall anything about his sense of hearing.

The officiant then started to recite the tedious introductory rites.

The voice of the elderly priest came one ear and out the other as Yelena’s attention was focused on something else.

‘His hands are big.’

The man’s hand that was holding onto hers was big.

‘He’s tall too.’

It was one of the reasons why Yelena was absorbed in looking at him when she saw him close by.

The man was tall like a gigantic tree.

Even compared to Yelena who was already taller than average, he was a head taller.

And he was not just tall.

He had broad shoulders, and judging by the strained buttons on his tight suit, she could roughly estimate the muscles under the suit.

To sum up, the man was just big.

Big height, big hands, and big body.

Everything…

Yelena quickly suspended her imagination before it turned into something she couldn’t undo.

By then, the ceremony had progressed swiftly and it was already time for Yelena to say her marriage vows.

“Miss Yelena Sorte, do you swear in God’s name to forever cherish and love Duke Kaywhin Mayhard?”

“…I do.”

Yelena’s answer was half a beat later.

It was actually because she just snapped out of her intense imagination, but Yelena realized late that it might be interpreted differently.

The officiant didn’t give her a chance to explain as he turned to ask her partner.

“Duke Kaywhin Mayhard, do you swear in God’s name to forever cherish and love Miss Yelena Sorte?”

Yelena unknowingly perked her ears.

“I do.”

Duke Mayhard’s answer was resolute and fast.

Though of course it was just an answer of formality.

Yelena lowered her gaze. Her heart was beating fast.

It was a strange day.

* * *

After the ceremony ended, just before they would board the carriage heading to the fief of the Duke, Yelena spent some time with her family.

“Yelena!”

Her family included her relatives.

Mielle bawled as she hugged Yelena tightly.

“I, hic… didn’t, hic… know you loved me this much.”

Yelena could guess what she was misunderstanding, but she chose to just let it be.

“Thank you, Yelena.”

But she immediately raised her head at her uncle’s words.

“It’s nothing.”

Mielle was one thing, but her uncle definitely shouldn’t be left misunderstanding.

This was a marriage that happened because she wanted it.

‘I have to tell him that. That’s the only way my husband will perceive it that way…’

Yelena didn’t realize that she had already called Duke Mayhard her husband in her mind so naturally.

“You’re in trouble, huh. What’s gonna happen to you now?”

“Oppa.”

“You can’t even buy clothes from your favorite boutique in the capital anymore. And you can’t eat desserts in the shop.”

Yelena’s older brother and Sorte county’s second child, Edward Sorte, crossed his arms and said.

It might sound like he was being sarcastic, but Yelena knew that he actually said that because he was worried. Yelena then calmly replied.

“I can just buy clothes from a boutique in the fief. And I can eat desserts in the most famous shop in the fief.”

“Will you be satisfied?”

“What will I not be satisfied with?”

“Dunno, ultimately you…”

“Buzz off.”

Yelena’s older sister and Sorte county’s oldest daughter, Liliana Sorte, said so to get rid of her younger brother who kept on spewing nonsense.

“Yelena. I’ll always be on your side.”

“Unnie.”

“If you encounter anything difficult, no matter when, don’t hesitate to come back.”

“…Yeah. I’ll do that.”

After their mother passed away, the older sister who had quite a big age difference with Yelena started to treat her like a mother would.

Yelena didn’t dislike that.

As the two of them exuded a heartwarming vibe, the alienated Edward Sorte grumbled.

“Tch. Anyone can say such lip service.”

“Then you do it too. Stop saying bullshits that won’t even help her as if you’re picking a fight with her.”

“Can you please talk prettily?!”

“Who’s even listening other than you?”

“I’m telling you to be considerate of me!”

As her older siblings started bickering like usual, Count Sorte came closer.

“Father.”

“You can call me Dad on a day like this.”

“It’s cringey so I don’t want to.”

Count Sorte froze in his place, then Yelena burst into laughter.

“It’s a joke.”

“…Ahem.”

“What the? Did Yelena just tease Father just now?”

“Looking at the situation, it seems so.”

“Figures. Father was always weak for Yelena, after all.”

“Edward, place a hand on your chest and ask yourself. If it were you, would you be weak for a son like you or would you be weak for a daughter like Yelena?”

“That’s…”

Edward froze at Liliana’s sharp words, but then he retaliated.

“Then what about you, Noonim*? What will you do? Between a daughter like you and a daughter exactly like Yelena…”

*T/N: a formal version of Noona, which is an honorific used by younger men for older women close to their age

“I won’t get weak in front of my child.”

“…!”

After observing the two’s arguments that always flowed similarly every time, Yelena turned her gaze to her father.

Then she suddenly said.

“Thank you for raising me, Dad.”

“…”

“You have to stay well.”

Count Sorte, who got caught by surprise, moved his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But then he could only say one thing with a stuffed voice.

“…Sure.”

* * *

The carriage took off.

Yelena looked outside the carriage’s window with a worried look.

‘To think those three will all die in the future…’

She remembered the future that she went to.

The world was going into ruin in about 20 years, but her family members all died before that were to happen.

According to her discovery from the future, her father would die from illness in around 10 years and her older siblings would die in a carriage accident in 15 years.

Yelena thought with a grim face.

‘It would’ve been nice if I could at least find out what illness Father would succumb to or what date it would happen.’

Yelena’s father wasn’t suffering from any chronic illness.

That meant that she really had no clue on this.

‘The same goes for Unnie and Oppa. How did they get swept up in a carriage accident?’

Both of them lost their lives from carriage accidents around the same time.

That meant that they might’ve gotten on the accident together.

‘If I knew it would be like this, I would’ve properly asked the maid about various things when I went to the future…’