Inside one of the central neighborhoods of the town was a large villa surrounded by lush gardens. It was now fraught with activity, with servants coming and going everywhere, carrying random things.

However, it was not as busy as it should. After all, this time, they were supposedly preparing for something quite big: A Wedding.

Specifically, just the bride.

Right this time, there was a meticulously dressed young girl standing in front of the large villa.

In fact, she wasn’t set to leave until the next morning, but people wanted her prepared already, so they didn’t have to bother with it so early in the morning.

This was supposed to be a happy event, but her eyes were red from crying, heart was pained from the unfairness of it all.

Amidst the preparation, another young woman arrived. She was around her age and had a more delicate appearance than her. Wherever she passed, the male servants would stop and stare in fondness.

The other woman seemed used to this, her gaze perenially gentle, and headed to the bride’s side.

She looked on with faux-reluctance, but her eyes were filled with mirth—not that most people noticed this, of course.

"Oh, my dear sister Anna, I will miss you so," she said, grabbing the other woman’s arm. Before Anna could pull her arms away, the other woman tactfully let go, appearing graceful and kind.

"To think they chose Acero Town, a very new town at level 1. It hasn’t even stabilized yet," she sounded concerned, but anyone who knew her well could tell she was amused. "But knowing sister, you probably will be able to help them. You’ve always wanted to do noble things, after all.

"Be sure to be happy, okay? And be sure to serve your husband well, okay? Marrying into a noble house is still an honor for an illegitimate daughter like you."

Anna gritted her teeth, her bitter eyes wanting to hurt this woman, but the guards around them would definitely stop her before she could. Rather, their treatment could be rougher, and her life in the other town would be even more miserable.

This sister of hers, Vanya, was the actual illegitimate child. She was conceived when Anna’s mother was pregnant with her.

Normally, an illegitimate child would not have enough power to saunter around like this. But Vanya was not only very beautiful—and had a lot of good suitors to choose from, all of whom could help their father—she was also an elementalist. Like this, she was quickly raised in position and was raised directly under her father’s wings, gaining legitimacy.

Vanya’s mother was taken in because of this. After all, such a beautiful daughter needed to have a legitimate mother.

That woman was a seductress who captured her father’s heart. A little pillow talk and the man’s decisions have been affected.

Before Anna realized how much was about to change, her mother was framed to have had an affair, so it was she who became the illegitimate child—and with questionable origins, too.

Soon, even her own fiancé, betrothed to her from birth, was taken away. She hadn’t even seen him since the betrothal, and Vanya was now wearing his bracelet—an ancestral gift passed down in his family—lovingly telling her it was from him.

Now, Anna was being sent out to be married to a low noble without much influence, as ordered by the Lord for no other reason than to remove her from their sight, as if having their son’s ex-fiance with questionable origins in the same place was an embarrassment to them.

Of course, her father, who had never loved her, agreed without hesitation. He even pushed forward his other daughter, and it seemed like the negotiations had been successful this time.

...it wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed them getting closer the past few years. She just refused to see it before.

Seeing Anna look like this made Vanya laugh. Leaning forward, gently touching her hair, which was now tied with intricate metal accessories. Wearing this for an hour or two was bound to feel straining, let alone traveling the entire way there.

Despite this, the travel to the other town would take two days or so, and Anna was expected to be well-kept the entire time.

As for why she couldn’t just change before entering the town...it was a request from the other side. They hoped that the bride would be ’proper’ the entire way from the home of the bride to the home of the groom, to show the significance of the partnership.

Who cared about the bride’s comfort, anyway?

It was just tradition in the area. If she was not perfect when she arrived in the other town, or if other citizens outside saw her in an ’imperfect’ state, then there was a chance she would not be treated well by her husband.

This was rarely a problem because most couples were from the same town. Anna could be said to be very, very unlucky, to be coming from another territory altogether.

And Vanya would not be satisfied until she completely rubbed it on the other woman’s face.

"If you need advice on how to please a man...I can help you," Vanya paused, looking vindictively at her. "Wilem was always quite...passionate. I’m sure you already know this of course."

Vanya’s bell-like laughter attracted the men present, but to Anna, the sound gritted her heart and her nerves.

Imagining her man being with another in that way made Anna’s heart break to pieces. It hurt so much that she felt dizzy.

And...they had never done anything beyond a few chaste kisses. She thought he was on the same page as her, to only do those things after marriage, but it was apparently just her illusion.

"Speaking of my Wilem...he asks me to send his regards," she said. "He is very sorry for what happened, so he can’t find the face to see you in person. I’m sure you don’t want to see him look at you in pity, right? You forgive him, right?"

Seeing her heartbroken appearance, Vanya felt very satisfied. It was only then that she decided to leave the bride alone, wearing a wide smile on her face.