Chapter 31: Chapter 17.1

“Ugh, I’m so scared.”

A hand groped endlessly at her blanket while the other held a cup on her bedside table.

She always left a water bottle there so that Yernia could easily drink water whenever she needed it.

“Oh, I feel like I’m going to die.”

No, she wasn’t lying.

It felt like she was about to die due to a hangover.

She should just stop drinking alcohol altogether.

If she drinks again, Cassian can do whatever he wants with her.

“My Lady, you’re awake. Please drink this honey-infused water.”

Uh.

Wait a minute.

Where is Cassian?

Maya just came in to replace the cup in her hand with the honey water she had made.

Yernia drank the honeyed water and frowned.

Cassian.

What happened to Cassian?

It was annoying that she couldn’t remember what had happened.

“Why did you drink so much yesterday, My Lady?”

“Never mind that. How did I get in the Mansion last night?”

“The Marquess carried you to your room. Don’t you remember?”

Cassian carried her?

Yernia couldn’t remember.

Yerni drank often, but she had never blacked out before.

She had a  strong sense of self-control.

“Ah.  I don’t have time to act like this.”

Maya clutched Yernia’s arm to stop her from drinking the entire honeyed water.

Despite Maya’r urgency, Yernia drank the liquid as if she had all the time in the world.

“My Lady. You don’t have to drink this anymore.”

“My honeyed water!”

Maya took the glass of honeyed water away from her despite her protests.

Yernia smacked her lips in frustration.

She still had half of the honeyed water left in that cup.

Maya should at least let her finish her precious honey water!

“Listen carefully. Downstairs….”

The door burst open, interrupting Maya.

A strange middle-aged woman with black hair tied up in a high bun stood at the threshold.

She looked a little strict.

“Lady Cilliard.”

“What?”

Maya sprang back as if she’d been shot.

Yernia’s gaze shifted from the woman to Maya.

When the woman called her name again, Yernia had no choice but to meet her eyes.

Maybe, responding to the word ‘What?’ wasn’t a good idea.

This middle-aged lady had entered her room without permission.

Yernia was the owner of the room.’

Therefore, she had to assert her dominance.

It was her God-given right to be angry.

Since Maya, Yernia’s maid, wasn’t surprised at the stranger’s presence.

He might be a respected guest that she did not know of.

Yena thought that anger was the right course to take.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Charles. I’m in charge of designing the young lady’s wedding gown.”

“What? Designing my wedding gown?”

“I’ll create the most beautiful, special, and one-of-a-kind wedding dress. The one and only.”

Charles grinned wickedly.

Yernia noticed that Charles’ hands were full of leather bags.

She didn’t like to imagine what was inside each of them.

Wedding.

Wedding gown designer.

Did she understand everything right?

Head still aching from the hangover,  Yernia stood there in a daze as Charles measured her body with a tape.

After taking measurements, Charles began giving lengthy descriptions of the wedding dress he would make.

Yernia just stared at the wall blankly as she listened from one ear to another.

Her current reality didn’t make any sense at all.

A little later, the door to her bedroom opened again.

Two women entered, carrying bags so large they looked like deadly weapons.

“Oh, it appeared as we came here at the right time. I didn’t know what the young lady would choose, so I brought all the beautiful fabrics.”

“……?”

“Alright. Let’s add that as well.”

Charles and the two women led Yernia to stand in front of the mirror while the fabric was padded in front of her upper body.

“Are you going to make my wedding dress?”

“Of course.”

“Who told you to do that?”

Realization sets in, and Yernia’s face crumpled.

She never agreed to this marriage in the first place.

Even if she had stopped scheming about erasing Cassian’s fate, she didn’t have the time to prepare her heart.

And she finally remembered that moment.

“Kiss me, and you’ll find out.”

Ugh.

This.

What?

As soon as she heard his voice in her mind, a particular scene flashed before her eyes.

Cassian glanced down at Yernia.

“Yeah. I like it, Cassian.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

“You aren’t allowed to take your words back.”

When his handsome face drew nearer, Yernia closed her eyes.

“Young Lady Cilliard?”

“My Lady?”

Charles and Maya looked at Yena, who collapsed on the floor suddenly.

Wide-eyed, Yernia pursed her lips.

Unfortunately, that memory ended right there.

The last thing she did was accept Cassian’s kiss when she should have refused.

Did she kiss Cassian?

*RUMBLE*

She heard a distant crack of thunder in her mind.

Dark clouds enshroud Yernia’s world for making the mistake of kissing her childhood friend.

***