What the heck is this?
I blinked several times.
Then blinked again.
And once more.
Yet the man standing at the end of the altar remained exactly the same.
Silver armor covered his entire body.
A long black cape draped behind him.
A sword hung at his waist.
And the most disturbing thing...
The helmet.
He hadn't even taken off his helmet.
Was he afraid someone would steal his face?
Or maybe his face was actually hideous?
No.
That couldn't be.
In the novel, my favorite character was described as incredibly handsome.
Extremely handsome.
The author had even spent three whole paragraphs describing his appearance.
Then why was he still wearing that helmet?
Was he shy?
Could he possibly have social anxiety?
Countless possibilities began running through my mind.
Meanwhile, the guests appeared completely unbothered.
As if a groom wearing full battle armor at his wedding was perfectly normal.
Was I the strange one?
Or was this world strange?
"Alice."
My father's voice sounded beside me.
"Hm?"
"Stop staring at your husband like that."
I flinched.
Apparently, I had been staring at him without blinking this entire time.
"A-Ah, sorry."
My father sighed.
"You truly changed after your accident."
Of course I changed.
Because I wasn't the original Alice.
I was Ae Ri.
A former office worker who died miserably in a broken elevator.
Naturally, I couldn't tell anyone that.
They would probably think I had gone insane.
I turned my gaze back toward the man standing at the altar.
My future husband.
The most loyal knight in the entire novel.
My favorite character.
Noah Alden.
The man who died simply because he was too kind.
It was heartbreaking.
If only he had been a little more selfish.
If only he had stopped loving Alice.
Maybe he wouldn't have died.
But things were different now.
Because I wasn't the original Alice.
I would never betray him.
And I certainly wouldn't kill him.
So...
Please.
At least take off that helmet.
I want to see your face.
---
The wedding ceremony proceeded smoothly.
Very smoothly.
Too smoothly.
I began to feel suspicious.
In novels, weddings were always interrupted by something.
An assassination attempt.
A kidnapping.
A former lover suddenly appearing.
But nothing happened.
Until the priest finally asked,
"Do you accept this woman as your wife?"
Everyone turned toward Noah.
I did too.
Then—
"Yes."
One word.
Only one word.
His voice was low.
Calm.
And for some reason, my heart skipped a beat.
Wait.
Why does his voice sound so good?
I hadn't expected that.
His voice was far more attractive than I had imagined.
Then the priest turned toward me.
"Do you accept this man as your husband?"
Of course I do.
I had been his fan even before I transmigrated into this novel.
"I do."
A faint smile appeared on the priest's face.
"Then I hereby declare you husband and wife."
Applause immediately filled the hall.
The nobles stood.
Music began to play.
And that was when the problem appeared.
"The groom may now kiss the bride."
The room instantly fell silent.
I froze.
Noah froze.
The priest froze.
Everyone froze.
Because...
He was still wearing his helmet.
How exactly was he supposed to kiss me?
I almost laughed.
Several nobles began whispering.
Even my father looked like he had a headache.
Noah remained motionless for several seconds.
Then...
Slowly.
Very slowly.
His hand rose toward his helmet.
My heart began beating faster.
Finally.
FINALLY.
I was about to see my favorite character's face.
Click.
The lock on the helmet came undone.
The helmet lifted.
And the entire hall fell silent.
I fell silent too.
No.
I even forgot how to breathe.
Pitch-black hair.
Storm-gray eyes.
Sharp jawline.
Slightly tanned skin.
And a face so handsome it almost looked unreal.
Good heavens.
The author hadn't exaggerated at all.
This man was truly handsome.
Ridiculously handsome.
I could almost understand why the original Alice had fallen for Duke Rubius.
If every man in this novel looked like this, temptation would definitely be a problem.
Noah looked at me.
I looked at Noah.
Then...
He frowned slightly.
"Is there a problem?"
I suddenly realized I had been staring at him like an idiot.
"N-No!"
My face instantly heated up.
Damn it.
How embarrassing.
Several noble ladies started whispering among themselves.
I even heard someone say,
"So the rumor that Sir Noah had an ugly face was false."
A rumor?
Why would there even be a rumor like that?
Noah ignored them completely.
His gaze returned to me.
Then...
With a careful movement.
A very careful movement.
He kissed my forehead.
Not my lips.
My forehead.
It was brief.
Respectful.
Gentle.
Yet somehow, my face grew even hotter.
And for the first time since entering this novel...
I felt that maybe.
Just maybe.
My new life wouldn't be so terrible after all.
However, just as I finally started to relax—
BANG!
The doors of the hall burst open.
Everyone turned.
A knight rushed inside, his face pale.
"Sir Noah!"
His voice echoed throughout the hall.
Noah's expression instantly turned serious.
"What happened?"
The knight dropped to one knee.
"Monsters have appeared at the northern border!"
The hall immediately erupted into chaos.
The nobles panicked.
The priest stood frozen.
Meanwhile, I could only stare at the knight, my heart pounding.
Because I recognized this event.
I knew it very well.
This was the beginning of the tragedy.
The starting point of the path that would eventually lead Noah to his death.
And now...
I was standing right in the middle of it.
"..."
Noah glanced at me briefly.
Then at the guests.
Then at the knight delivering the report.
His gray eyes became cold.
Dangerously cold.
"Prepare the troops."
"B-But, Sir... today is your wedding day."
"That doesn't matter."
I immediately stood up.
"It doesn't matter?!"
Everyone turned toward me.
Oops.
That was a little too loud.
But seriously?
The wedding had only been over for a few minutes.
And he already wanted to leave for war?
Noah looked genuinely surprised.
Perhaps because the original Alice never cared about him.
I took a deep breath.
Then looked directly into his eyes.
"At least eat something before you leave."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The entire hall fell silent once more.
Noah blinked.
For the first time since we met, genuine confusion appeared on his face.
And somehow...
I had a feeling that our married life was going to be far more complicated than I had imagined.