Epilogue 5
The marketplace of the Empire, now welcoming the warm spring, buzzed with exciting news.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what? That Her Majesty the Empress gave birth to the heir?”
“Everyone in the Empire knows that already.”
“Then what is it?”
“You know the Clovis Dukedom?”
“Ah, the one with the famously handsome Duke? What about it?”
“Haven’t you heard? He’s getting married… uh!”
Suddenly feeling a sharp gaze, the man stopped talking and looked around.
“Why did you stop?”
“Ah, you’ll find out anyway, since it’s such big news.”
“Hey!”
The other man, who had been listening, tilted his head at the abruptly ended conversation and then left.
Wilhelm, observing this, instructed his subordinates,
“Make sure no more rumors spread. If I hear anything unpleasant on the wedding day, you’ll all pay the price.”
“Yes, sir!”
Wilhelm patted his shoulders, tired from carrying out Cesar’s orders.
At least Cesar’s attitude had softened. He wasn’t giving him unreasonable tasks or speaking so harshly anymore. Thanks to that, his urge to hand in his resignation letter had subsided.
“It’s still surprising. The Duke getting married… I always wondered who would be able to tame him.”
I sighed, looking at the beautifully blooming flowers.
“I wanted to attend the Spring Festival. But I’m too busy with wedding preparations.”
“It’s okay, Milady. There’s always next year.”
“That’s true.”
Come to think of it, it wasn’t like this was the only Spring Festival.
“Yes. Now please come here. We still have a lot to do.”
I looked at the maids, their smiles unsettling, and asked cautiously,
“Can we… take it easy?”
They immediately protested.
“What are you saying?! We’re already minimizing the preparations so it won’t harm the baby! We can’t reduce it any further!”
“That’s right! We even made the dress loose-fitting to accommodate your growing belly!”
“Now come here! We’re not trying to overwork you, Milady! Do you think we would do that?”
But I hated getting dressed up! It reminded me of the time I was endlessly preened and primped as a bird.
But I couldn’t look gloomy on my wedding day, so I reluctantly let them do as they pleased.
‘It’s surprising how quickly they prepared everything, in such a short time. And everything is to my liking, since they incorporated my opinions.’
If my belly grew any bigger, it would be difficult to even move, and after the birth, I would need time to recover.
We had to hold the wedding early, in case it was postponed indefinitely, but I had been worried he would rush things. My worries were unfounded.
‘I was so worried, when I have a man who would take care of everything perfectly.’
There was one thing different about our wedding.
Noble weddings were a union of families, so the parents and elders of both families were supposed to be present.
But Cesar’s parents were deceased, and he wasn’t on good terms with his distant relatives. It was also awkward for me to ask the family I had been formally adopted into, whom I had never even met, to attend as my parents.
So Cesar simply… eliminated that part of the ceremony.
Since even the Emperor had agreed, saying it was an outdated tradition, no one dared to object to the powerful Clovis Dukedom.
‘Money and power can solve anything.’
As I pondered this universal truth, I found myself standing in front of a mirror.
“You look so beautiful.”
“It’s a pleasure to dress you up!”
“You look the most beautiful today, Milady.”
I had thought their compliments were just empty flattery, but the person reflected in the mirror was truly breathtaking.
“Did you use magic?”
“Of course not! But Milady, you’ve gotten used to speaking informally!”
“I had to, with you all being so insistent.”
I had received sharp glares whenever I spoke formally after being called Milady. I had corrected myself, but I was still awkward with the title.
“His Grace will fall in love with you all over again.”
“That’s right! He loves you so much! As soon as he heard you were experiencing morning sickness, he brought rare fruits from the Eastern Kingdom that are supposed to help, even with severe nausea.”
Seeing them giggle like schoolgirls talking about love, I realized they saw Cesar as a devoted husband.
He was incredibly annoying when he teased me, but to them, it probably seemed like a cute lover’s quarrel.
“Yes, he’s very sweet. And so overprotective that he sticks to my side even when I’m just taking a walk in the garden.”
He had been so clingy that I had to tell him off once. Everyone needed some alone time.
But what was his response back then?
‘Am I a child? Why are you clinging to me?’
‘Then don’t be so precious to me.’
He was so annoying.
Sometimes, I wondered if he was being affectionate or just teasing me.
But still—
“He loves me deeply. That’s why he must have been looking forward to this day.”
What bride and groom wouldn’t be excited about their wedding day? The day they swore eternal love before the gods.
The only regret was that Sylvia couldn’t attend, but it couldn’t be helped. It would be too much for her, being in the late stages of pregnancy, with so many people present.
I heard she had a fight with the Emperor about it, and I wondered if he had apologized.
They were a couple known for their love throughout the Empire, so they were probably making up and whispering sweet nothings.
“Shall we go now, Milady?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
As we were about to leave the bride’s waiting room for the ceremony hall, a piece of paper fluttered down. I saw a spirit clinging to it.
The note, written in neat handwriting, had a single line.
「Congratulations on your wedding, Valerie. I hope to see you again someday.」
I smiled, reading it, and gave it back to the spirit. And I slowly walked towards where the person I loved was waiting.
‘I’m a little worried about what people might say. It’s practically a shotgun wedding.’
But that meticulous man would never let such rumors reach my ears. I dismissed my worries and walked towards him, one step at a time.
My heart pounded, its sound unfamiliar.
‘Wow, I thought I would be fine, but my heart is racing.’
As I stood beside Cesar, waiting for me, I was worried he might hear my heartbeat. But strangely, I heard an even louder thumping sound beside me.
‘Cesar is nervous, too.’
The realization calmed my nerves.
I glanced at the Pope officiating the wedding, just like at the coronation ceremony, and then turned to Cesar, curious about his expression.
But his gaze was already on me. I momentarily forgot how to breathe, seeing him looking so handsome, even more captivating than usual.
‘How can you be more beautiful than me, the bride?!’
As I inwardly complained, his soft whisper, barely audible in the solemn hall, reached my ears,
“You’re beautiful, Lily. More beautiful than anyone.”
He was truly a bad person. Whispering such things when he was the most beautiful one here.
That’s why I couldn’t help but fall for him.
I was lost in his words, oblivious to the wedding ceremony.
My cheeks flushed, and my heart pounded like never before.
So, the Pope’s words finally registered.
“—Do you swear?”
“Yes…?”
I was flustered, having answered automatically without even hearing the question, and Cesar spoke first,
“I swear to love her until my dying breath.”
“It seems we’ve skipped a step. But it’s not a problem. Then, I shall ask the bride.”
“Yes.”
“Do you, Valerie Witten, swear to love Cesar Clovis for all eternity?”
I hadn’t even heard the first question, my mind a jumble of nerves, a pounding heart, and flushed cheeks from his words and the wedding itself, but my answer to this question had been decided from the beginning.
“I do. I swear to love him, by his side, for all eternity.”
As if waiting, Cesar pulled me close. Looking at his gently smiling eyes, I whispered,
“How is it? The moment I became yours.”
“It’s also the moment I became yours.”
Our lips met perfectly, and our breaths mingled.
At the moment we officially became one, an unexpected word came from his lips.
“I’m happy, Lily.”
His ending, once marked by tragedy, now bloomed with happiness.
Tears blurred my vision. My throat tightened, but I replied with the words I had been wanting to say,
“I’m happy too, Cesar.”
As tears streamed down my face, he wiped them away with his hand and kissed me again.
Our unpredictable fate, once a discordant melody, had blossomed into a beautiful symphony. His ending, which no one expected to change, shone brightly.
That autumn, a new life was born into the Clovis Dukedom.
As the loud cries of a baby echoed through the mansion, the midwife and servants bustled around, and the Duchess of Clovis, seeing the baby’s silver hair and beautiful purple eyes, smiled brightly.
And the Duke of Clovis beamed as his beloved daughter, the apple of his eye, transformed into a bird.
It was an ordinary day, filled with happiness.
I Became the Villainous Sub-Male Lead’s Pet Bird – <The End>