The Witch Didn't Raise the Tyrant That Way - Epilogue (1)

Two days after returning to his royal duties, Kyle formally announced our engagement.

It was described as a political marriage between the royal family and the Duke of Edelsbach’s household—a union between the king and the duke’s eldest daughter, whose existence no one had even known about.

The announcement was originally planned for the hunting competition banquet, but Kyle had stormed out of the banquet when he was informed that I had tried to escape. As a result, the announcement had been delayed.

“…I see. So, my wedding announcement almost happened without me knowing about it.”

“You hate crowded places, don’t you? You dislike nobles even more. If I had dragged you there to make the announcement in front of everyone, they’d have meddled nonstop. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

His reasoning was wildly off-base, but since Kyle insisted he had done it out of consideration for me, I couldn’t scold him further.

Once the engagement was announced, everything began to move at a dizzying pace, as if everyone except me had been eagerly waiting for it.

“My lady, today we’ll be choosing your dress.”

“My lady, the royal seamstress will be visiting soon with the fabric merchants, so please don’t head to the lab yet. Oh, last time we only picked the design! Now we need to compare all the types of silk to find the perfect match.”

“My lady, do you prefer this bead pattern or this one? Ah, it’s for the sleeves. We’ll decide on the embroidery for the skirt hem later.”

“My lady! Are you still in the lab? Today we’re supposed to practice your hairstyle! Come wash up quickly. You know the rule: no one touches your hair while His Majesty is present.”

“My lady, please come here for a moment. Just for a moment, I promise—it’ll only take an hour. The samples for the shoes you’ll wear at the wedding have arrived. His Majesty forbade any male artisans from entriyng the palace, but since there aren’t any female shoemakers in the workshop district, only the shoes were sent. So you can take your time reviewing them.”

Right… it felt like everyone except me had been eagerly waiting for this.

For nearly a month, I spent every single day meeting with palace seamstresses and various artisans, trying on luxurious, expensive items whose differences I could barely discern. It was exhausting.

“Lyn, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t taken the throne, we wouldn’t have to bother with all these unnecessary things. We could’ve just filed the paperwork with the authorities and called ourselves husband and wife. If this gets too much, let me know—we’ll find a way to skip the wedding ceremony altogether.”

“Are you even listening to yourself? You’re the king; you have to handle the basics at least.”

I had spoken so confidently at first, but if I had known how much preparation this would require, I might have pretended not to notice so Kyle would’ve scrapped the whole ceremony himself.

Completely drained by all the wedding planning, I started sneaking away to the herb garden I had set up in the annex, now known as “the cottage.” Surrounded by the fresh scent of lush herbs, I tried to regain some peace of mind.

“Is this why Kyle was so obsessed with my scent?”

Of course, my retreats didn’t last long. The maids, who knew perfectly well that I only ever fled to the lab or the annex garden, would find me within the hour and drag me back.

“Becky, Henriette… Can’t you just decide everything for me instead?”

“You know His Majesty said he’d be disappointed if he couldn’t see your reactions firsthand, which is why he sends his secretary to monitor everything.”

“And we know it’s a habit of yours, but please don’t speak formally to us in front of the secretary, okay?”

“…Sorry.”

Right… Kyle was so adamant about people respecting my new status that even a slip of formality toward the maids would earn his icy wrath. Adjusting to my new position was yet another part of wedding preparation.

And it wasn’t just the wedding dresses for the ceremony and reception that needed attention. I had assumed the cottage, now relocated, would serve as our marital home. But no, a new bridal chamber had to be prepared. Apparently, there was a tradition where queens resided in a special suite on the floor above the inner palace.

And, of course, everything had to be tailored to my preferences.

“Kyle… can’t you just decide for me?”

“You don’t like anything?”

The merchants who had come to supply materials and decorations for the chamber must have failed Kyle’s expectations because he looked ready to punish them for presenting what he considered subpar goods.

“No, no…! That’s not it. It’s just that everything looks so beautiful I can’t tell what’s better.”

“If they’d brought proper options that suited your taste, you wouldn’t feel that way in the first place.”

“How would they know my taste if they don’t know me?”

“It’s their job to figure that out. Did you know every person who buys your potions or herbs before making them?”

“…….”

“Exactly. So let me go deal with those merchants—”

“You told me I wouldn’t have to worry about these things, and that’s why I decided to marry you. Maybe I’m just better suited for forest life after all…”

“Ugh.”

Thankfully, after much persuasion, I managed to pass off the decisions about the bridal chamber to Kyle—or more accurately, his aides—without any merchants facing consequences. If only there weren’t that silly superstition about the groom not seeing the wedding dress before the ceremony, I could’ve delegated that too.

At least the people I met during this process were surprisingly kind. Even though I now bore the name of Edelsbach, surely everyone in the kingdom knew I was merely an adopted daughter. And yet, no one treated me with disdain, not even the relatives of my maids, like Yvette, who sometimes faced dismissive attitudes.

“I guess it’s because Kyle is backing me as well as the Edelsbach family, huh?”

Occasionally, strangers approached me with surprising familiarity.

“Lady, good day. I’m Lady Merchella, wife of Count Liren. I’ll be teaching you royal etiquette.”

“Hello. I look forward to your guidance.”

“Ah, so your natural eye color is amber?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh dear, I’d heard that you had brown eyes and dark blonde hair, so I prepared a gift accordingly… But you might like it anyway, so would you take a look?”

“Uh, yes. Thank you.”

When I had conversations with people like that, it was usually because they remembered me from when I had been wandeLyng around the main building in a maid’s uniform.

Kyle had claimed he made sure no one talked about it, but apparently, quite a few people had noticed me awkwardly loiteLyng without carrying any cleaning supplies.

Beyond that, I had to learn about the order of the marriage ceremony that would take place in the Great Hall, the aristocratic customs Kyle apparently didn’t need to know, the dances to be performed at the reception, and so much more. Things I had never imagined would be part of my life just a few months ago. And so, a month and a half flew by in a blur.

One day during that time, I met the Duke of Edelsbach—the man who, on paper, would become my family.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Leon of Edelsbach, and I’ll be your father from now on.”

“The pleasure is mine. I’m… Lillithea.”

“I’m afraid you’ll find me a dull old man, but I hope the name of Edelsbach will be of use to you.”

The first time I saw him in the audience chamber, I’d been so startled by his gaze that I couldn’t get a proper look at him. But in reality, the Duke of Edelsbach was far more approachable than I’d expected. Perhaps to break down my nervousness, he sprinkled light humor into every conversation and even shared sensitive details about his family without hesitation.

“I originally had two sons. My eldest made some reckless mistakes in his youth and ended up a ruined man. I raised my second son as my heir, but he passed away before me, leaving no children behind.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry to hear that. My condolences.”

“It’s all in the past. And thanks to those circumstances, I now have the chance to welcome you into the family, Lady Lillithea. I’m choosing to see it as a positive outcome. After all, there’s no more issue with succession, is there?”

Apparently, one of the conditions Kyle had guaranteed to the Duke for my adoption was that one of the children I might have with Kyle would inherit the Edelsbach title. Of course, Kyle had reassured me that there was no obligation to have children if I didn’t want to. Still, the arrangement ensured that, even without any of the Duke’s blood in our future child, the Edelsbach family would become a branch of the royal family. For the Duke, it was undoubtedly a beneficial deal.

That said, the Duke had probably hoped to push Yvette, a relative from a branch family, as a match for Kyle instead…

“I’ve lived in the inner palace for a while now, and I truly believe that no one but you, sister, could handle His Majesty. You two are such a perfect match!”

Whenever we were alone, Yvette had started calling me “sister.” She would chatter on enthusiastically about my relationship with Kyle, praising it as if it were fated. The Duke, hearing this, nodded gravely, as though he shared her sentiment.

To be fair, when I thought about how Kyle treated other people, it wasn’t hard to see why few would dare to covet the queen’s position.

Still, when I reflected on why I could supposedly “handle” Kyle or why we were considered such a good match…

“Even if she’s my adopted sister, Yvette has seen every part of my personal life and love life up close, cleaning up after me all the while…”

The thought made me embarrassed, and my shoulders, which I’d learned to keep straight during my etiquette lessons, involuntarily slumped.

“I know it won’t be easy at first, but I hope you’ll come to see the Edelsbach family as your shelter and lean on us when you need to.”

The Duke spoke kindly, his tone both polite and genuine. His amber-colored eyes, similar to my own, shone with warmth. Considering that I was an adopted commoner with no prior status, his treatment of me was extraordinarily respectful—even over-the-top.

“Your words alone mean so much to me. Thank you.”

“No, I mean it sincerely. I heard this secondhand, so forgive me if I’m mistaken, but I understand you lived a difficult life alone with your mother when you were young?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“You see, my eldest son fell into despair after breaking things off with a maid he loved in his youth. If that maid had borne a child, that child would be around your age now. So when His Majesty introduced you, Lady Lillithea, I couldn’t help but see the possibility.”

…What?

For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The story of the Duke’s eldest son felt strangely familiar.

Was he… subtly suggesting that my mother might have been that maid?

Could it really have turned out like this?

But… Mother left him deliberately.

Since I lost my mother at such a young age, I had little memory of the exact details of her life. I didn’t know where she had lived before, who the nobleman she had been involved with was, or what kind of love they had shared. She never told me any of it.

The only things I knew for sure were that my mother had run away because she believed he wouldn’t let her have children, and that he never came looking for her. To me, those two facts said everything.

Whether it was a misunderstanding between them or not…

“Considering that my mother willingly endured being called a witch and moved to the forest, she must have wanted to escape him for good.”

There was no need to meddle unnecessarily. Not for the sake of Lillithea, who had already lived a difficult life in this body, nor for my mother, who had made the painful decision to raise a daughter alone.

“Indeed, how fascinating.”

I smiled brightly at the duke, brushing aside the sudden confusion that had momentarily clouded my mind.

“Ah…”

When I deliberately feigned indifference to the topic, the Duke seemed to pick up on my reluctance to discuss it further.

“…You must visit the Edelsbach estate sometime. It’s only about an hour and a half by carriage from the capital, so you could make a day trip out of it.”

“Thank you for the invitation. I’ll be sure to visit with Miss Yvette next time.”

“No, no… it’s not an invitation. It’s your home now. This may be a sudden connection, but we are family now. You’re welcome to come and go as you please.”

Even so, he remained kind and respectful to the end.