Aden didn't leave the mansion after that day, because he couldn't ignore the woman he had met with the beautiful warm violet eyes.
However, he couldn't get close to her either, which was strange.
Ilyin knew him as the leader of the Red Delrose knights, which was no lie, since that was how he showed his face to her.
By hiding his identity, as a result, Ilyin was not afraid of him.
Aden knocked on the hard wooden table, and the knights held their breath as they realized their master was irritated.
He couldn't stand in front of a bride who believed that Duke Biflten could freeze a person just by looking into her eyes and who wouldn't treat him like Den.
This rumor had been convenient for him when he received his dukedom at a young age, yet now it bothered him to no end.
“Sir, the three elders are here,” one of the knights announced.
Aden stopped banging on the big mahogany table and told him to let them in.
The room was now bustling and Aden found the presence of those who were not knights irritating.
She thought about the woman's faint presence and imagined that if they were quiet like her, at least she wouldn't want to kill them.
“Sir,” the three elders said in unison, bowing before him.
But Aden knew it was fear that motivated them, not loyalty.
“What brings you here?”
“Your wedding is near,” Lidan said first, but the eldest Mille intercepted him.
“Let Mille prepare your wedding ceremony.”
"What do you mean?
I thought Elo would do that." They seemed not to have discussed this before coming.
Aden looked at the confusion between them.
“Mille has overseen the marriages until now,” replied the eldest.
“When the bride was from here, didn’t the Duchess like the Elo salon more?”
He spoke about Aden's mother and the Duke's gaze turned to Elder Elo, who then coughed.
"That's because she stayed here for a long time.
A lady who stayed in the Empire until recently, would you like that light?"
When the Mille elder responded, Aden raised his hand to shut him up:
“I don’t know why you talk like that.”
Aden thought of Ilyin, who was trying to get used to the cold on his way.
However, she couldn't leave without that blue cloth and Aden had no intention of making her leave until the first night:
“I will skip these procedures and get married in this mansion.”
***
This marriage was a strange affair.
Its hallways were filled with lights that looked like miniature suns, which she loved.
But this time, it was a contract marriage, so she could leave whenever she wanted.
Aden knew, but his strong eyes said that Ilyin wouldn't leave yet.
“She’s weak against the cold,” someone commented.
“Please be nice,” someone asked.
Everyone gave him unwarranted advice, while he skipped all the ceremonies.
Ilyin agreed to the contract even after being told that she would have to endure the cold outside if she proceeded.
This was a marriage contract, after all.
She had come here for something and Aden had done it to silence the elders.
Nothing mattered after that.
Even if the elders asked for an heir, the succession ceremony would only take place in three years, so they had to keep quiet until then.
Aden saw his bride, who was reading the marriage documents.
She wore the divine blue cloth and a light white coat.
He thought she looked like she was drowning in her coat as he approached her in silence.
He had mixed feelings about how she would react when their eyes met.
Well, the marriage was just a contract and Aden left it that way, but his heart started beating faster unexpectedly.
***
“There won’t be a wedding ceremony?” Ilyin thought this meant she had to leave Biflten, but that was not the case.
“Biflten gets colder in the third month and people here don't go out much in the fourth month, when the preparations are almost finished,” Idith explained.
Ilyin looked at the man's clothes.
This was the second time Ilyin had spoken to a Red Delrose and Idith bowed after introducing herself.
“He told me to ask if you feel uncomfortable.”
“Your Highness said that?”
Idith hesitated for a brief moment:
“Yes, he did.”
Ilyin looked outside.
The snow was still too hard and cold for her.
The climate in Biflten was divided into four months instead of four seasons.
Although she thought the same, the coldest weather occurred at the end of the third month and continued until the fourth month.
She knew they weren't following traditions because she wouldn't be able to withstand the cold.
"I understand." Idith looked surprised and Ilyin lowered his head a little:
“Thank you for being considerate.”
‘Did the Duke order this, or did someone from the Delroses?’ Either way, Ilyin knew they were thinking of her, even though she was getting married with a lack of ceremony now.
She had to go through all the skin nourishing treatments that Biflten required her to do, from the day before her wedding and her skin was now more beautiful than when she was in the Empire.