"...At least eat something before you leave."
The moment those words left my mouth, the entire wedding hall fell silent.
A silence so deep that if a spoon fell to the floor, everyone would probably hear it.
The knight kneeling on the floor looked confused.
The nobles looked confused.
My father looked confused.
Even the priest looked confused.
And Noah...
Noah looked the most confused of all.
His gray eyes stared directly at me.
Blink.
Blink.
For some reason, I felt strangely accomplished.
In the original novel, Alice didn't care about Noah at all.
Not even a little.
If Noah suddenly disappeared for a week, the original Alice would probably only say, "Oh."
But I was different.
How could I not care?
This man was my favorite character.
My precious favorite character.
The walking embodiment of loyalty.
The future victim of betrayal.
The human puppy that the author cruelly sacrificed for drama.
Of course I cared.
Noah continued staring at me.
"...Eat?"
His voice was calm.
But somehow he sounded genuinely confused.
"Yes."
"..."
"You haven't eaten yet."
"..."
"If you go to war on an empty stomach, you'll get hungry."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Why was everyone staring at me?
Wasn't that common sense?
A soldier needed food.
Even in my previous life, people couldn't work properly without eating.
The knight kneeling before Noah slowly looked between us.
His expression seemed to say:
"Am I interrupting something?"
My father suddenly covered his face.
"Dear daughter..."
"Hm?"
"Please stop talking."
"...Why?"
"Because you are embarrassing me."
What?
How rude.
I was simply worried about my husband.
Noah remained silent for several seconds.
Then unexpectedly...
The corner of his lips twitched.
Just slightly.
So slightly that nobody else noticed.
Nobody except me.
Wait.
Did he almost smile?
No way.
Noah Alden almost smiled?
The same Noah Alden who spent ninety percent of the novel looking expressionless?
I immediately felt excited.
This was progress.
Tiny progress.
But still progress.
Meanwhile, the knight finally cleared his throat.
"Sir Noah..."
Noah immediately returned to his serious expression.
"Prepare the troops."
"Yes, Sir."
The knight hurriedly left.
The atmosphere instantly became heavy again.
The northern border.
Monsters.
The first major incident in the novel.
I remembered it clearly.
This battle itself wasn't fatal.
Noah would survive.
However, this was where everything started.
This was where he earned fame.
This was where he caught the attention of powerful nobles.
This was where he eventually became involved in the succession war.
And that succession war...
Was the reason he died.
I bit my lip.
No.
I couldn't let that happen.
Not this time.
Not when I already knew the future.
Not when I finally had the chance to save him.
"Lady Alice?"
I suddenly snapped back to reality.
Noah was looking at me.
"When I return, I will officially move into the Schuberg estate."
"Huh?"
His brows furrowed slightly.
"...We are married."
"Oh."
Right.
We were married.
Actually married.
Legally married.
In front of hundreds of witnesses.
For some reason, hearing him say it out loud made my brain freeze.
Married.
Married.
Married.
To Noah Alden.
My favorite character.
The handsome knight.
The loyal husband.
The tragic puppy.
My husband.
My face immediately became hot.
Dangerously hot.
Noah tilted his head.
"Are you sick?"
"No!"
"..."
"I'm perfectly healthy."
"..."
"Very healthy."
"..."
Why did I make it sound weird?
I wanted to disappear.
Immediately.
The nobles around us began whispering again.
My father looked ready to retire from parenting.
Noah simply stared at me.
Then unexpectedly...
A very small sigh escaped his lips.
"I see."
For some reason, he looked relieved.
---
After the ceremony ended, the banquet officially began.
Music filled the hall.
Nobles laughed.
Wine was served.
The atmosphere became lively.
Unfortunately...
I had a problem.
A very serious problem.
I was hungry.
Really hungry.
I hadn't eaten anything all morning.
The original Alice had apparently been too nervous about the wedding.
Meanwhile, I was now paying the price.
My stomach growled.
Loudly.
Very loudly.
I immediately froze.
Please tell me nobody heard that.
Please.
Unfortunately...
Someone did.
"..."
I slowly looked up.
Noah was standing beside me.
Holding a wine glass.
Looking directly at me.
Kill me.
Please.
Just kill me.
He definitely heard it.
He absolutely heard it.
Noah stared at me for several seconds.
Then...
He reached toward the banquet table.
Picked up a plate.
Filled it with food.
And handed it to me.
"...Eat."
"..."
"..."
"..."
I stared at the plate.
Then at Noah.
Then at the plate again.
This man.
This wonderful man.
This beautiful human being.
Was feeding his wife before leaving for battle.
How was he real?
In the novel, nobody appreciated him enough.
Not even the readers.
I almost cried.
"Thank you."
"...You're welcome."
The conversation ended immediately.
Painfully immediately.
We both stood there awkwardly.
Neither of us knew what to say.
I ate.
He stood there.
Watching.
Why was he watching?
Now I was nervous.
Very nervous.
"Do I have food on my face?"
"No."
"Then why are you looking at me?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Noah looked away.
Wait.
Did he just get embarrassed?
No way.
Noah Alden?
Embarrassed?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
And yet...
The tips of his ears looked suspiciously red.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
---
An hour later, Noah prepared to leave.
Outside the castle, hundreds of soldiers had already gathered.
The atmosphere became serious.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
This wasn't a game.
This wasn't a movie.
People could die.
Soldiers could die.
Noah could die.
I watched from the castle stairs.
Trying to remember everything from the novel.
The battle itself should be manageable.
However...
There was one detail.
One detail that suddenly made my blood run cold.
The poisoned arrow.
My eyes widened.
That's right.
In the original story, Noah was injured during this battle.
Not seriously.
But he was struck by a poisoned arrow.
The poison didn't kill him.
However, it weakened him for months.
That single injury later contributed to countless future problems.
I completely forgot.
My heart immediately began racing.
No.
No.
No.
That absolutely couldn't happen.
Not again.
Noah mounted his horse.
The soldiers prepared to depart.
I clenched my fists.
Think.
Think, Ae Ri.
Do something.
Anything.
Suddenly—
An idea appeared.
A terrible idea.
A ridiculous idea.
An absolutely insane idea.
But still an idea.
Without thinking, I ran down the stairs.
"Alice?!"
My father shouted.
I ignored him.
I continued running.
Straight toward Noah.
The soldiers looked shocked.
The knights looked shocked.
The nobles looked shocked.
Noah looked shocked.
Good.
At least I wasn't the only one.
I finally stopped beside his horse.
Panting heavily.
Noah looked down at me.
"...What happened?"
I grabbed his sleeve.
Everyone gasped.
Apparently noble ladies weren't supposed to do that.
Too bad.
I didn't care.
"Don't get hit by an arrow."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The entire world seemed to stop.
Noah blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"An arrow?"
"Yes."
"..."
"Especially a poisoned one."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The soldiers exchanged strange looks.
My father looked like he wanted to faint.
Meanwhile, Noah continued staring at me.
Long.
Very long.
Then unexpectedly...
His expression softened.
Only a little.
But enough for me to notice.
"...I will be careful."
For some reason, those four words made my heart skip a beat.
Then Noah raised his hand.
Slowly.
Carefully.
And for the first time...
He gently patted my head.
"...Wait for me."
My entire brain immediately crashed.
Wait.
Wait.
WAIT.
Did Noah Alden just pat my head?
In front of everyone?
My face exploded with heat.
Meanwhile, Noah calmly turned his horse.
As if he hadn't just committed emotional violence against me.
The soldiers followed behind him.
And before I could recover—
The army departed.
Leaving me standing there.
Completely frozen.
While my heart beat faster than it ever had in both of my lives.