Escape from the evil lady

On the appointed day, the inhabitants of the ice castle were intensely preparing for the wedding ceremony before dawn. Given its importance, it seemed everyone was determined to make this event the wedding of the century.

In fact, it was. The previous wedding ceremony of the head of the de Lune family took place several centuries ago. Even after losing his wife, who was an ordinary mortal woman and died before him for natural reasons, Selina's father, Silver de Loon, did not marry anyone else.

Compared to the capital and the southern part of the empire, where people were more tolerant of remarriage, the north was much more conservative in this regard. The wedding vow «together for better and for worse until the end of their days» was taken literally here.

«In other words, I'll be stuck here until I die.»

Jeremy Seibel paced the room anxiously, like a trapped animal. He felt like he was being consumed by anxiety, and there was nothing he could do about it. He sank into a chair and wrapped his arms around his throbbing head. He still couldn't believe that he was actually marrying this woman.

«Is this really a waking nightmare?»

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Trying to muffle the fear raging in him a little, Jeremy took a deep breath and exhaled. He's going to have to do it anyway. Therefore, it is useless to try to escape from the inevitable.

— The wedding ceremony will take place in the afternoon!

The butler of the ice castle appeared at noon, accompanied by servants who brought robes and accessories to be put on. Jeremy looked at the silk and velvet robes with a pale expression on his face. Once upon a time, when he still lived in the estate of the Seibel family, the guy could not even dream of wearing clothes of such quality. All his life he had only to carry his brothers' things. However…

Now, these luxurious clothes rather reminded him of the shackles that he had to put on himself.

— The high priest will lead the ceremony, and the noble nobles will be witnesses. We should hurry up with the clothes to keep up with the schedule.

The butler looked at him with an indifferent expression. Jeremy took the clothes brought to him and hesitated when the servants surrounded him, intending to help him change. Feeling even more awkward, he muttered:

«I… I can do it myself.»

The butler looked a little surprised, but nevertheless said nothing and obediently led the servants out.

Jeremy took off his own and dressed in the ceremonial clothes handed to him. He felt a surge of excitement inside him when he saw himself dressed so pretentiously. Once upon a time, he had never imagined himself in such a way, and even more so under such circumstances.

The guy turned away from the mirror, suppressing the urge to cry.

There was still some time left before the ceremony began.

Looking out of the window, the baron's son saw a long procession of carriages stretching far from the palace gates. All these guests were invited to the Duchess of the North's wedding ceremony. As expected, the wedding of the heiress of the most powerful family of the empire caused quite a stir. In turn, hardly anyone in the audience cared about the identity of the groom himself.

Jeremy stood motionless by the window for a while, looking at the milling people below. And suddenly something unusual caught his attention. An extremely magnificent carriage entered the territory of the residence, which the other carriages passed without waiting in line. She, in turn, was followed by a procession of warriors in dark armor.

This sight somewhat stunned Jeremy. He couldn't figure out who could have come here with such an escort. A very important person has probably arrived at the ceremony. While the guy involuntarily stared at her, waiting for when he would one day get out of the carriage, the next moment he dropped his jaw again.

A small figure emerged from the carriage, which he nevertheless immediately recognized. Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind, and her purple dress with flared sleeves betrayed this lady's special taste. Jeremy recognized his girlfriend at first sight.

«It can't be… Camilla has arrived after all!»

When he had not received any reply letters from her in recent weeks, although he continued to send his own, Jeremy thought that something might have happened to the girl, and had already lost hope of seeing her that day. But Camille did show up. Jeremy couldn't believe his luck. Of course, he hurried downstairs to meet his only guest.

His long strides quickly brought him to the front door, and as Jeremy walked to the carriage, he heard a snippet of conversation.

— What happened? You're frowning.

— Oh, the wind is a little cold…

«You should have worn something tighter,» the princess's voice rang out above her head.

The next moment, a long cloak decorated with sable fur fell on Camilla's shoulders, leaving the princess herself in simple outerwear.

— It's all right.… It's just that the wind is blowing hard.

The baron's heir, surprised by the scene before him, froze in place.

Standing next to Camille was a woman he had never seen before. She had high cheekbones, dark eyebrows and straight dark brown hair. Extraordinary eyes the color of cold gold. This person definitely stood out from other people.

But perhaps most of all he was confused by their relationship with Camille.

— Jeremy! The duke's daughter was the first to notice him and waved her hand.

Coming out of his stupor, the guy awkwardly approached them.

— You're here after all.

— of course. How could I miss such an event?

As befits acquaintances who have not seen each other for a long time, they hugged lightly. At this time, Jeremy involuntarily raised his head and encountered the gaze of this woman. He noticed something sinister and dangerous in her eyes, which prompted him to release Camille from his arms as soon as possible.

Remaining strangely tense, Jeremy cleared his throat before asking:

— I'm sorry, but who is next to you now…?

Hearing her friend's hesitant question, Camilla smiled nervously and said:

— The crown princess of this Empire. We arrived together today.

Jeremy stumbled and looked at the woman standing in front of him with completely different eyes. She did not even deign to look at the baron's son. She looked like she didn't care about other people besides Camille. However, the coat of arms of the imperial family, which was on the carriage itself and on its clothes, confirmed what Camilla had said earlier.

Jeremy was stunned: there was no way he could have known what someone from the imperial family wanted here. Especially the Crown Princess! The second person in the country after the emperor.

The baron's son felt great excitement as he bowed before her:

— May the sun rise over the great empire. I greet Her Highness the Crown Princess!

The Crown Princess did not respond to his polite greeting. Nevertheless, the look she gave the red-haired youth did not bode well for him. Jeremy's throat was dry, but he tried to look calm anyway.

Thank God, at that moment Camille defused the situation. She turned warily to her companion:

— If possible… I'd like to have a little private talk with Jeremy.

The corner of the princess's mouth twitched at Camilla's request, but nevertheless she obediently stepped aside.

«I'll wait for you in the hall, — she said reluctantly.

— good.

Left alone, the menacing atmosphere that had just been here evaporated in an instant. As if there was suddenly more oxygen in the air, Jeremy took a deep breath.

«Are you going to tell me what's going on here?» «What is it?» he asked nervously.

His girlfriend's face was as pale as a corpse's. She looked like she was traveling on a ship in the middle of a raging storm, rather than in a comfortable carriage. The face had all the signs of a man who had suffered from seasickness. Camilla answered him just as listlessly:

— It just so happens that I am currently being held hostage by the Crown Princess.

— What?!

Jeremy thought he'd misheard.

The next moment, the duke's daughter took out a leather pouch from her pocket, from which she extracted an object. The guy was surprised when she put it right in his palm.

— Oh, yes… It was a wedding present.

Jeremy stared at the cold and shiny object in his palm in disbelief. It looked like a gemstone of an unknown breed.

But before he could ask what it was, Camilla had already gone to the hall where the Crown Princess was waiting for her.