I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 23

“Acel, the moment you accept me as your partner, the war for the throne will begin in earnest.”

Until now, the conflict between the crown prince and the prince had only been a subtle power struggle.

In fact, under normal circumstances, the position of Dawes, the crown prince, should have been more secure than anyone else’s.

However, unfortunately, the crown prince’s maternal lineage was weak, while Acel’s maternal lineage was strong.

Thus, backed by the queen and her family, the Cadis Marquisate—during the unification process, the royal families of the small kingdoms were granted titles by the Ecaron king and fell to the status of mere nobles. The Cadis royal family also became the Cadis Marquisate for the same reason—Acel was an undeniable competitor to the crown prince. Even the king did not intervene in this matter.

‘At least the emerging intellectual force of our family helped maintain that balance.’

But that foolish Dawes had just kicked away his own fortune.

“My mother will actually welcome that. She has coveted you more than anyone else.”

This was not only due to the family background but also because of the decisive demeanor Lenette had shown until now.

Lenette’s political skills were elegant yet thorough. Although she might lack compassion, she was not cruel. Her political attacks and defenses made even her opponents sigh in despair.

So, it was no surprise that the queen, who had been in opposition until recently, and Acel would covet Lenette like this.

“It might feel a bit premature, but… okay. I’ll accept your proposal.”

As soon as Lenette’s permission was given, a smile blossomed on Acel’s face.

“Did you know?”

“What?”

“From now on, anyone who says that first loves never come true will be caught and locked up. They could be wrong, right?”

“How absurd.”

“It’s true.”

Whatever the case, it was fine. Lenette shrugged her shoulders and picked up her teacup.

The rich aroma of tea spread across her palate.

It was the Eastern tea that Ophelia had despised so much. Since she had left, Lenette had only been drinking this tea.

As if recalling her revenge, Lenette murmured inwardly while holding back the tea without taking a sip.

‘Both of them will regret it.’

Being abandoned, betrayed, humiliated, and finding happiness among themselves—Lenette had no intention of forgiving any of it.

At that moment, Acel suddenly stood up. He strode over, trying to approach Lenette.

Lenette reached out her hand to stop him.

“Go away. We’re still strangers.”

“Really?”

At his playful question, Lenette frowned.

“Are you planning to make me into a woman who acts just like those who betrayed me, without any thought?”

Referring to premarital pregnancy.

At those words, Acel paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Oh, this is why I like you—”

“……What?”

“This is why I like you! ”

A flustered Lenette stood up.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“Myaaaa!”

Suddenly, an unpleasant smell wafted in, and a damp sensation spread across her face.

“Ugh…”

Her voice, which had echoed like speaking in a cave, suddenly became clear.

“What the…”

Only then did Lenette realize that this ‘clear voice’ was reality.

“…Damn it.”

She opened her eyes, leaving the damp, rough feeling on her face as it was.

An unfamiliar yet momentarily familiar ceiling. It was the abandoned palace.

The situation she had just experienced was all a ‘dream.’ A cruel dream that vividly showed moments from the past when she still held onto hope.

“Seriously ridiculous.”

Even though the black panther’s face was right in front of her, it was strangely not scary.

Rather, the dream that persistently took her back to those past moments was more frightening.

“Phew.”

Lenette stood up, using her head. As she did, the black panther lightly mewed and rubbed its face against her.

“…Did you know I was having a nightmare and woke you up?”

Mya.

“Thank you.”

Her weak hand gently stroked the black panther’s black forehead. Whether it felt good or not, the panther purred.

The sound was like an instrument vibrating, and at times it resembled the rumble of the earth. Listening to that sound, Lenette leaned back against the pillow.

She had woken up from a deep sleep, yet instead of feeling refreshed, she felt even more sluggish.

Her tired eyelids slowly began to close.

“Why do I keep recalling that time?”

She usually didn’t dream much. Even if she happened to have a dream, it was filled with absurd stories, never in a form that recalled the past so accurately.

“But why do I keep… sigh.”

No matter how much she sharpened her blade of revenge, reliving that brutal past twice was exhausting.

As if trying to replenish her energy with a dream, she relaxed her body and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Then suddenly.

“Huh?”

Lenette straightened up and looked around.

“When did I get onto the bed?”

The last memory before falling asleep is in front of that tea table over there.

Lenette asked the black panther, who was groaning with its forehead resting on her hand,

“Did you bring me here?”

But the black panther was unlikely to answer.

Although they had exchanged some words before, that was merely a coincidence.

“Or did I somehow climb onto the bed in my sleep….”

However, considering the distance from the tea space to here, that seemed unlikely… but there was no other reasonable explanation.

“I was tired for a while, so… it could happen.”

Concluding casually, Lenette stretched widely and stood up.

As the hand that had been petting it disappeared, the black panther, seeming disappointed, licked its lips and then stretched its front paws, doing a cat stretch before jumping down beside her.

“I don’t think I slept much.”

Looking at the light coming through the balcony, it was still daytime.

“I should wash up first.”

She had sweated from the fierce dream, but there was also a terrible smell from where the panther’s tongue had swept.

‘A beast wouldn’t brush its teeth.’

Unconsciously imagining the panther making a brush out of fur like humans to clean its mouth, Lenette let out a silly laugh.

“I’m thinking of all sorts of things now.”

She carefully opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

Standing in front of the stairs leading up and down, she passed by the now-familiar ‘altar.’

At that moment, Kazen came down the stairs from above. Their eyes naturally met, and Lenette exchanged a casual greeting with a nod.

He raised the corners of his mouth and asked,

“Did you rest well?”

“…Rest? What do you mean?”

Then Kazen pointed towards the ‘bride’s room’ with his chin.

After a moment of being at a loss for words, Lenette slowly parted her lips and pushed her voice out.

“…I think there’s a misunderstanding; that room is simply for ‘research.’”

Her voice was somewhat husky from just waking up. Kazen raised the corners of his mouth.

So Lenette approached the stairs where he was, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

“It’s not for resting.”

“Ah—really?”

“Yes.”

Kazen tilted his body slightly to the side and scrutinized Lenette’s profile as she lay with a calm face.

“I thought since your hair looked messy as if you just woke up, you were asleep.”

“……”

Damn.

‘I should have looked in the mirror before coming out….’

She wasn’t the kind of person to be so careless, yet strangely, whenever she stood in front of him, she became clumsy.

“Here?”

Lenette pretended to be nonchalant as she raised her hand to tidy her hair.

“It’s a bit uncomfortable to sit at the tea table for research. So while trying to find a comfortable position, I ended up leaning against the chair. Maybe that’s why my hair got tangled.”

After spilling out a long excuse, Lenette cursed herself internally.

‘Why am I rambling like this?’

She could have just asked, “Here? ” and left it at that, but she unnecessarily added more words, making the situation awkward.

‘Ha, why am I showing my embarrassment so clearly….’

As expected, he narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Is that what you’re saying?”

In the next moment, he suddenly jumped down the stairs while tilting his head to stare intently at Lenette. Then he moved forward, avoiding her.

So… towards the ‘bride’s room!’

‘I came out without making the bed!’

Lenette tried her best not to show her surprise as she grabbed him.

“Where are you going?”

“Where else? The bride’s room.”

“Why there?”

“Because you said it was uncomfortable.”

Ha, can’t he just finish a complete sentence?

Whether her feelings showed on her face or he felt her explanation was lacking, Kazen added more words.

“You said it was uncomfortable because there’s no desk. You need to see the state of the room to decide whether to change the furniture or whatever.”

Ah. Was that what he meant?

‘Should I be happy about this kindness or feel awkward about it…?’

Lenette slightly moistened her dry lips and opened her mouth again.

“Aren’t you on your way somewhere?”

“Well, I am.”

“My issue isn’t urgent, so let’s first do what you were going to do.”

She thought she spoke in a calm voice, but for some reason, he widened his eyes.

“Really?”

His sharp gaze gave off a chilling feeling.

“But my business is with you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you busy right now?”

Not particularly.

So when Lenette shook her head, he bluntly said,

“Then come with me somewhere.”

“Where are we going?”

“Outside.”

Outside?

‘Could it be… outside the abandoned palace?’