Vulgar Marriage - Chapter 2

Chapter 1.2

The priest quickly stamped the certificate with the temple’s seal.

“All done—”

“Hand it over.”

Dominic snatched the certificate from the priest and inspected it.

A few hastily scribbled names and one clear thumbprint. The certificate was flawless.

With this, their marriage was officially sealed. Not even the emperor could nullify it now.

Dominic stared down at the document with an unreadable expression. As he heard the priest stumbling down from the platform, he folded the certificate carefully and tucked it inside his coat.

“Your Grace, we must leave now. If it’s discovered that you’re gone, the territory could be at risk.”

“Right. Let’s move… Hold on.”

Dominic agreed calmly but then frowned. Jeff, confused, followed Dominic’s line of sight and quickly understood.

“Her posture has changed.”

Just seconds ago, the woman’s arms had been limp at her sides, but now her hand clutched the pendant around her neck.

Dominic crouched and lifted Livi’s chin.

Her eyes were clenched so tight they trembled. A clear sign she was waking up.

“They said she would be unconscious for three days, Jeff.”

“That’s usually the case, Your Grace. But after everything she’s been through, how could she rest peacefully?”

“Tsk. We’re heading back to Celsion immediately.”

Dominic scooped Livi into his arms and swiftly exited the temple. He hurriedly mounted his horse with her in his arms, leading the charge. Jeff and dozens of knights followed close behind, picking up their pace.

This was the moment Livadonia Joseph, the princess of the East, fell from grace and became a hindrance to the North.

* * *

Livi frowned as she felt her body violently shaking.

Haier, she thought. Her younger brother must be jumping on her bed again. Even though their mother had harshly scolded him just days ago, he hadn’t learned his lesson.

“Haier, if you get down right now, I won’t tell Mother…”

“Awake?” A stranger’s voice jolted her.

Livi’s eyes shot open, only for a fierce gust of wind and sand to strike her face. Confused, she squinted. What is this? Sand? Wind? A horse?

Nothing made sense. Everything Livi could see and sense around her was just wrong.

None of these things should be visible from her bed inside the mansion. Livi rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, but the scenery before her didn’t change.

A wasteland, a horse racing at full speed, and a ginormous man riding it.

“W-who… where… am I…?”

“You’ll fall off if you don’t stay still.”

Panicking, Livi flailed her arms, grabbing the horse’s mane for stability.

She glanced down, and through her blurry vision, she noticed something familiar bouncing against her chest as the horse galloped. It was a pendant.

‘Mother’s pendant?’

She knew it was her mother’s the moment she saw it. The pendant wasn’t common, with Its unique round gold frame and jewel-encrusted picture.

The necklace was her mother’s most prized possession. She had brought it with her when she left the imperial family as the late emperor’s sister and cherished it so much that even Livi, her daughter, wasn’t allowed to touch it. Therefore, she could never forget the sight of it.

‘So why is it around my neck?’

Her thoughts were sluggish, clouded by dull pain and dizziness that made it hard to focus.

Livi squinted hard at the necklace, noticing something red smeared on its surface. When she rubbed it with her finger, the substance crumbled away.

Dried blood.

“Are you hurt? Jeff, you said she fainted from shock, so why is she in this condition?”

That man’s voice again, but Livi ignored it.

A vague memory was clawing its way back to the surface of her mind. Red. Blood. A burning mansion. Fleeing servants…

“…Mother.”

“What?”

“Mother.”

Livi clutched her head as memories came flooding back, overwhelming her.

She saw her family mansion consumed by fire. The tall grand gate, the neatly trimmed garden, the pathway she used to cross by carriage, the front porch, and the ivy-covered walls—all of it engulfed in raging flames.

‘I was… I was on my way back from an outing.’

She’d attended a tea party and then stopped by the armory to pick up a bow for Haier. The maid had suggested summoning the armorer to the mansion, but Livi had insisted on choosing the best one herself. It made her return home much later than usual.

Had she known what would happen, she would never have taken so long.

When she saw the smoke rising in the distance through the dusk, she hadn’t imagined it coming from the Joseph mansion.

The House of Marquis Joseph was no ordinary family.

Even if a spark had accidentally started a fire, the many servants inside should’ve been able to put it out. The marquis was well-guarded by knights, not to be harmed in the slightest.

Her family should’ve escaped safely, but as she drew closer, she saw no sign of them. Only chaos. The servants were fleeing in terror instead of extinguishing the fire.