・・・・・
I thought all the schedules would be temporarily delayed because of this incident, but rather, Claudia pushed my wedding forward more actively than the execution ceremony.
“See? I told you I hurried the wedding because I sensed something like this would happen soon. Anyway, some people really do have an eye for these things...”
She kept glancing at me anxiously without a moment’s rest. It seemed like she was worried someone might sneak in and completely steal me away the moment she let her guard down.
That protective gaze was only getting thicker by the day.
I gave an awkward smile and glanced up at Felix.
He was holding my waist tightly so I couldn’t move at all, resting his chin on my shoulder.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt like a slightly more playful gesture, different from his usual self.
If it was intentional, I was already won over.
Every time he blinked lazily and rested his face against my shoulder, my heart felt like it was melting.
‘Handsome, beautiful, pure, cool, sexy, cute — he basically has it all.’
What kind of shameless person was this? He couldn’t control his expression at all.
‘It seems like he’s under the impression that I’m still angry about the Lady Redlight incident.’
If that was the case, I was sorry, but I wanted to pretend to be a little angrier.
I tried my best to stay calm, suppressing the urge to gently ruffle Felix's hair and hug him tightly, as I stared straight ahead.
In the hall, all the servants representing each department were gathered.
"If it’s about the wedding, I’m okay with just handling it with a single piece of paper. Everyone’s really busy right now, so I think a simple ceremony wouldn’t be a bad idea."
I said this to question whether it was really necessary to mobilise this many people.
But Claudia immediately responded firmly, as if I’d said something completely absurd.
“We have to make it grand enough to be seared into everyone’s memory! That’s the whole purpose of the marriage from the start!”
"Ah."
That’s right.
Claudia intended to have a showy, display-oriented wedding — one that everyone would admire and envy.
By leaving such a powerful impression, people would talk about it for the rest of their lives.
She aimed to turn us into the empire’s representative couple.
Like a symbol — so that no one would dare look down on me.
“The ceremony will be held at the Grand Temple. That way, something like this will never happen again.”
"Th-the Grand Temple?"
The Grand Temple was reserved exclusively for imperial weddings.
More precisely, ceremonies could only be held there when the Emperor took an Empress.
“So what? If the Emperor wants it, then so be it.”
"That will definitely leave a lasting impression on everyone’s mind..."
As expected of Claudia, no wonder she was the Emperor.
The scale of her actions was on another level.
I began to feel uneasy, though for a slightly different reason.
‘Will this be okay?’
The reason I had recently started avoiding the temple was because of the priests, who were excessively clingy as if they'd all taken some kind of drug together.
"My lady, we earnestly wish to escort you to our temple."
"I don't believe you."
"I swear before God that I can feel a divine aura emanating from you. And it’s incredibly powerful!"
“No thanks.”
I managed to talk my way out somehow, but it was a nerve-wracking moment.
‘In the past, they just passed by me as if I were a mere stone.’
Seeing that even the priests were sensing something, it seemed that ever since the irredeemable trio died, God had been more actively watching over me.
More precisely, they were watching over me with the sole intention of ensuring the happiness of Claudia, the true protagonist of this world.
But no matter what, I had absolutely no intention of stepping into the temple on my own.
I was more materialistic and tainted by the mundane world than anyone else, and I could never endure a humble and pure life, not even if it meant death.
‘I’m sure they’ll bother me at the temple.’
I wore a worried expression, but when I looked at Felix, I felt reassured.
After all, the guardian of this world would be standing by me like a strong shield — what could there possibly be to fear?
No matter how much they might desire, even the priests wouldn't be able to do anything in front of Felix.
Felix seemed to sense my gaze and met my eyes with a warm, spring-like look before speaking.
"We’ll need to make arrangements in advance to make sure no one can back out with excuses."
“Why does that sound so ominous?”
"It means I'm giving them more than enough time and opportunity."
He gave a gentle smile as if to make sure I wouldn't misunderstand.
Then, as if changing the subject, he began listing the wedding plans he had already carefully thought out.
I was surprised at how detailed and thorough his plans were.
Claudia actively joined in, either agreeing with Felix or occasionally offering her own counterpoints, fully engaged in the planning.
It seemed like I was the only one who hadn’t thought about this!
"How about Grid Island for the wedding gift?"
"You mean the island where the diamond mines are concentrated? It’s not a bad idea, but it feels a bit lacking. I think it would be better to include the island and the entire kingdom."
“Sounds good. As for the rest...”
I said I wouldn’t accept it. Even though I strongly refused last time, it seemed they were planning to pass it off as a wedding gift.
The servants, including the head butler and head maid, couldn’t keep up with their conversation and gradually began to zone out.
Honestly, holding the wedding at the Grand Temple was already an insane idea from the start.
‘But, well..’
I had no intention of stopping them.
‘They’re so happy like this.’
Their smiles were more refreshing than the gentle breeze flowing through the window.
Receiving the affectionate gazes of the two siblings and hearing their soft voices, I shared my thoughts.
"Let’s build a small villa on the island and go there together for a vacation sometime."
・・・・・
For noble weddings, it was customary to hold the ceremony at the family’s own estate.
No matter how royal one was — unless they were the Emperor — there were no exceptions.
But an unprecedented wedding was being planned.
It was something unimaginable both historically and under imperial law.
All the nobles from various families — including the retainers of the Chamberlain family — had to hurriedly come to the capital.
Because of this, the capital was bustling with high-ranking nobles, even though it wasn’t the social season.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the schedules of nobles throughout the empire were completely disrupted because of this one wedding.
Yet, there were no complaints or opposition.
Since it was the wedding of a national hero and the empire’s protector, many were already eager to attend even before invitations were sent out.
On the wedding day, an unimaginable crowd gathered at the temple.
Although only a very small number of guests could attend the ceremony itself, crowds lined the roads leading to the temple.
“Did you hear? The Guardian bought Grid Island as a wedding gift.”
“No, more precisely, it’s the entire kingdom — including Grid Island.”
“A legendary romantic lover...”
The nobles forced polite smiles, calling them a perfect match, all the while thinking, ‘Has he lost his mind? What exactly does that young lady have...?’
They couldn’t understand how so many powerful individuals: the Emperor, the Guardian, and countless others, coveted and longed for her without exception.
To be blunt, there was absolutely nothing.
No looks, no money, no status.
It had been a mystery that lasted for years.
After waiting anxiously for hours under the scorching sun, the nobles finally saw Felix step down from his carriage.
His pristine white ceremonial outfit was much like usual.
But suddenly, they were struck dumb, as if seeing something completely unexpected.
‘Yeah, that’s how his face originally was.’
His sculpted features and the sacred aura were often likened to a celestial being.
Since he became the Guardian, that suffocating sense of intimidation had hidden it away, and they had briefly forgotten.
Everyone admired him, stealing glances at Felix.
Thanks to his softened expression today, they didn’t avoid him and could fully appreciate his unreal appearance.
Recalling from memory, Felix, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Magic, originally had calm, lake-like eyes, not fierce, predatory pupils with flashing blue glints.
At that moment, a gentle smile began to spread across his tightly closed lips.
His gaze then shifted toward the carriage that had just arrived — the flower-adorned carriage carrying the bride.
・・・・・
Felix extended his hand to Irene as she got out of the carriage and said:
“Please be careful. The ground is slippery.”
This wasn’t a snowy field, but a dry, flat ground on a summer’s day — hardly the sort of place where one might slip.
Truly, it was a needless worry, no more than excessive caution.
‘I guess I’ll be tied down for life.’
The nobles all shared the same thought as they watched the woman descend from the carriage, escorted by Felix.
From head to toe, she bore the unmistakable touch of the royal designer — so undeniably beautiful that no one could dispute it.
Intricate lace and diamonds sparkling brilliantly under the blazing sun.
Even just the softly glowing pearls embedded throughout hinted at how expensive the dress must be, beyond anyone’s guess.
But what truly mattered was that the design was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.
Typically, wedding dresses were traditionally designed to maximise skirt volume with crinolines.
But this dress had neither crinolines nor a corset, and the skirt’s cut flowed straight down, starting below the bust.
Objectively, it gave a cleaner, more elegant impression, but to those sensitive to fashion trends, it looked plain and even shabby.
On top of that, the sleeves were so short that her pure white shoulders were fully exposed.
No sooner had the bride and groom disappeared from view, a wave of murmurs spread through the crowd as if everyone had been waiting for the moment.
“The fabric was so thin, I thought it would be completely see-through. Almost all her skin was exposed. How indecent.”
Among them, the ones who gossiped the most eagerly were the young noblewomen and young lords, still naive about the ways of the world and driven mostly by curiosity and amusement.
“She’s a temptress who flirts with both men and women, so it’s no surprise. There’s no smoke without fire, you know.”
“She’s going to be the Guardian’s wife, but she doesn’t care about her conduct at all.”
“I heard they stayed in the same room even before the ceremony. Whatever else may be true, there’s no doubt she’s far from modest.”
“Hmm, so that dress really is bad enough to stir up all this talk?”
They flinched in surprise and quickly glanced to the side. It was Martina.
‘Why is she here…? I thought she’d be the first to enter the ceremony hall!’
Martina was the de facto ruler of the underworld, having unified two organisations that once completely dominated the criminal world.
She was one of the reasons the nobles dared not openly slander Irene.
The young noble ladies and lords all showed clear signs of dismay at once.
“It’s truly a shame. The royal designer really took my suggestions to heart…”
Martina muttered to herself as she lightly fluttered the fan in her hand.
Even the faint breeze sent a chilling shiver down their spines.
She carefully scrutinised each person who had dared speak out of turn, taking note of exactly which noble family they belonged to.
Then, as if delivering judgment, she lifted the corners of her red lips into a slight, commanding smile.
“Did you know? I have detailed records — from start to finish — of those who trafficked sex slaves between the red-light districts and the underworld.”
“...”
“Sex slaves, huh? Don’t you think that’s utterly vulgar? How desperate must someone be to spend money buying a person just to satisfy their desires?”
She said it, knowing they already understood it all too well.
With a blatantly contemptuous look, one young guy gritted his teeth, quickly muttered an apology, and hurriedly slipped away from the scene.
Martina snorted, watching their backs as they fled with tails between their legs, unable to utter a single word in response.
“There you are.”
At that moment, Erica approached Martina with a distressed, crumpled expression.
Sweat beads dotted her forehead as if she had been searching for someone all this time, and her clothes were dishevelled.
“Were you bullying the kids again?”
“No, it wasn’t me! They were the ones who insulted our Irene first.”
“Ah, which families and their names?”
“I remember, of course.”
“We’ll hold off on punishing them for now.”
Martina shrugged as if there was no question about it.
She had no intention of letting this matter slide easily, but of course, she wouldn’t let such a joyous day be stained by conflict either.
“Let’s go inside. Irene must be waiting.”
“More importantly, are you serious about that outfit?”
Martina pointed at Erica’s outfit with her finger and asked.
Erica wore an impeccably proper guest dress, so strictly by the book, it almost seemed rigid.
“I even bought a dress for you!”
At those words, Erica frowned deeply.
A few days earlier, Martina had handed her a shockingly revealing dress — its skirt slit from the thigh all the way to the floor — insisting it was traditional attire from the Eastern Continent.
“Don’t force your tastes on me.”
It was obvious she was just trying to tease her, so Erica had shut her down coldly, telling her to stop talking nonsense.
In response — whether out of pettiness or defiance — Martina had shown up today wearing the very outfit she’d tried to give Erica.
Either way, it seemed like an act of defiance.
‘She’s not even a child.’
Erica let out a sigh. ‘Did she seriously think I’d wear that?’
“That’s enough. Just come quickly.”
“It would’ve been better if you had just worn the dress I bought you earlier.”
“I’m fine. You’re probably the only one in this world who can pull off that design.”
Martina, who had been winding herself up to complain some more, shut her mouth tight at those words and obediently followed behind Erica.
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