The first time he realized this was when Lilian took out the marriage certificate arranged by his maternal grandfather.
If only the signatures of the two people, Lilian and Damian, were put in that paper, the legal effect was perfectly valid, and the two are bound as a married couple.
It was shocking. There was a thrill.
How wonderful was this?
Damian hadn’t been obsessed with the way things were done in this world.
As was said before, this world was just a piece of paper to him.
It can be torn, burned, pierced, split, and destroyed.
Nothing in this world could redeem Damian. If he wanted, he could have entered the imperial palace and killed Claude right away.
If it wasn’t because of Idoel, who stubbornly insisted on not having a fight between brothers until he died stupidly. That nice big brother.
His eldest brother’s will remained in effect even after his death. In other words, it meant that what was holding on to Damian was only the will of the dead.
If he changed his mind, he could break it as much as he liked.
Integrity, righteousness, wisdom, morality, power, wealth, and even blood ties. Nothing in this world could be the chains that bound this monster.
Why else would his maternal grandfather openly criticize him for being a ‘hound that lost its owner’ and a ‘human butcher’?
However, if Lily intervened, the story would be different.
Damian was appalled by the messy entanglement of the complicated contractual relationship between them.
But clever Damian learned. These meaningless, complex things to him were the most effective means of entangling that upright, honest, moral Lilian Islar, who respected the customs, laws, and morals of this world.
‘Fantastic…’
A crazy idea, but it worked.
Lily pushing him away still hurts to death. But he was able to forget it all at once.
It’d be better to say that he forgot everything.
“Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Damian put on a kind face without blinking. It wasn’t difficult. He thought that he was imitating the Lilian in front of him, and when he made that expression, it somehow worked.
As expected, Lily immediately gave an apologetic look.
“Your Highness, I…”
“Shh.”
Unable to overcome the feelings of fulfillment that filled him tightly inside, he strode up to his wife and kissed her on the lips.
Lilian seemed perplexed, but perhaps feeling guilty, she calmly accepted the kiss.
It was as Damian calculated.
He took Lilian’s lips as his thirsty lips longed for. Despite the somewhat urgent and overwhelming kiss, Lilian did not refuse and quietly put her hand on Damian’s back.
Such a lovely person. He’s glad he found this nice guy first.
Damian was truly grateful to be living in this paper world for the first time. At this moment, it seemed that nothing could take this woman away from Damian.
At that time, Lilian was thinking.
Since she’ll die some day anyway, she can accept it for a while.
‘Neither this person nor what this person gives is mine.’
These things won’t be hers and will be someone else’s after her death.
So she wasn’t afraid to leave it behind. She could do that much.
Even though they were kissing, the two reached completely different conclusions. Damian thought he was tying Lilian little by little, and she thought she made some progress, but the reality was quite different.
Lilian Islar will die before long.
At this time, Damian still didn’t know.
10. Before the storm
Marianne Schmidt, the daughter of Duke Blanchett, was enjoying her last good day.
Looking back, the worst time of her life was when she was kicked out of the May Lily Sorority due to friction with Lilian Islar of Turin.
In fact, it still makes her sad when she thought of what happened back then.
She didn’t use violence. Marianne couldn’t even touch a hair on Lilian. And it wasn’t even that they argued for a long time.
Marianne was young then. She was at an age when acting emotionally had to be tolerated to some extent.
However, the sorority expelled Marianne as if it was not even worth reconsidering.
How could they?
Marianne resented and feared, how could there be no one to listen to Marianne’s story?
It was Marianne who debuted in her sorority first, and it was Marianne who had a longer relationship with the Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna.
Even if they took a side, they had to take Marianne’s side, and even if it’s to save the fiancee of Grand Duke Damian Rupenwein, they had to think of Marianne first.
But no one thought of Marianne. No one.
Fortunately, her family, father and mother to be precise, were very angry at what happened to Marianne.
Her father protected Marianne despite the fierce protests of the Elector of Turin.
“It’s just a children’s fight! As expected, maybe because you’re young, you don’t know how to distinguish the seriousness of politics and how to be ashamed! Your father, the former Marquis of Turin, has always been proud of himself but messed up his children’s education!”
Her father, who was yelling because his daughter was ignored just for doing something like that, felt very reassuring. Her mother tearfully promised her that she would find a better sorority for Marianne.
However, choosing a sorority was easier said than done. Besides, there was no place to accept Marianne, who had been kicked out of a venerable sorority, which had produced several Empresses, like the May Lily Sorority.
Poor Marianne was terrified and she wept night after night. Her failure to belong to a proper sorority is a big problem, but her being once kicked out has become a bigger problem.
Being expelled from sorority is a story about engaging in problematic behavior. Marianne could easily imagine the whispering voices and cold stares.
If this continues, Marianne will not be able to find a suitable spouse nor have a social debut. Even if she did her best and raised her dowry, she could end up marrying a baron or a knight who, if unlucky, wanted to be incorporated into a great aristocratic family.
Lilian Islar, that nasty little girl would be a Grand Duchess, but she would only be a baroness!
At any rate, that situation had to be prevented. Marianne cried every day.
It took her a while, but fortunately, her mother kept her promise. It’s very certain too.
She now belonged to the sorority of MadamRachel, the most powerful member in the current social world.
Duke Blanchett almost betrayed Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna, whom he had been indebted to for a long time, and pledged alliance to the Emperor, but Marianne didn’t know that much.
Besides, she didn’t know that Madam Rachel’s <Peonia Sorority> had great prestige in society, but had no dignity or honor in it.
Marianne rather thought like this.
‘May Lily Sorority has a long history. That can’t be denied, but so what? Now, Madam Rachel’s power is much stronger.’
As a social supporter, Madam Rachel, who was nothing short of the Empress, was much better than the Marchioness Lannister or the Grand Marchioness.
Marianne had no doubt and believed the words of her seniors in the <Peonia Sorority>.
What’s more, something even more savage happened recently.
Not long ago, Lilian Islar got married.
When she heard the news that she had become the Grand Duchess, even if she was slapped on the cheek, Marianne was so indignant that she smashed ten precious porcelain dolls her father had given her.
Of course, an hour later, she cried, saying, “All my dolls are broken because of Lily from Turin.”
However, from the next day, strange rumors began to circulate in the social world.
“You know what? It seems she wanted to become a Grand Duchess as soon as possible and wear the Rupenwein surname.”
“I’ll be glad if it stopped there. Did you know something more disgraceful happened?”
“Oh my, what could be more disgraceful…?”
“I’m really curious. Will Her Highness give birth to a baby boy or a baby girl?”
These malicious rumors gradually spread around Madam Rachel’s sorority, Peonia Sorority, and engulfed the capital’s social circles.
“Anything from the May Lily Sorority? This should be enough to be kicked out of the sorority right away.”
“What are you talking about? If a member of sorority had such a big accident, their honor would plummet together, but they would probably desperately pretend not to know.”
“Oh my God. Even though rumors already spread like this?”
She didn’t know how much she felt relieved at the sound of the madams laughing.
Lilian Islar, how could that girl pretend to be so lofty! How dare she ruin her honor by doing such a bold thing for an unmarried girl?
For a while, when Marianne only heard Lily’s name, she dared to interrupt and lead the gossip.
In fact, many people were refraining from talking about it, knowing full well that talking about such dirty rumors would reduce their face.
The people who talked about it were just enjoying other people’s stories with gossip in moderation and without much malice.
So, most people found Marianne uncomfortable and eccentric in her zeal for gossip.
But Marianne was too excited to notice.
Then one day, Madam Rachel personally sent an invitation to Marianne. Duchess Blanchett was delighted and made a fuss.
“Oh my, Marianne, that’s great! To think that someone like the Empress would send an invitation. She must have heard that you’re making a name for yourself in Peonia Sorority.”
“Is that really so?”
“Then! I hear that Madam Rachel is very interested in the Peonia Sorority.”
Marianne was so happy that she seemed to be floating through the air.
She couldn’t believe that a few years ago, she had been crying profusely after being kicked out of something like the <May Lily Sorority>.
Marianne confidently took her invitation and headed to Madam Rachel’s mansion.
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