“D-day and night…?”
“Day and night.”
Kael let the curve of his eyes do the rest of the work.
She very nearly toppled over right then, as if under a spell.
“!”
‘Wait.’
He switched to formal speech for the proposal and turned those eyes on her.
She had almost folded on the spot.
“You’re not falling for it.”
He erased the expression as suddenly as it had appeared and made an obscure remark to himself. Then he reached into his jacket and produced something: a deep, rich burgundy jewel case.
‘…Oh.’
She had never seen a stone that beautiful in her life.
Even the gems from Colton’s hadn’t shone quite like this — with that particular luminance, that transparency, that depth.
She reached out instinctively to take the ring.
Kael pulled his hand back.
“You have to say you’ll marry me first.”
“What?”
“Why would I give it to you otherwise.”
“…Well. I mean, that’s technically fair, but it feels rather mean.”
The color of the ring was genuinely extraordinary — a white diamond, but with a faint, iridescent blush of soft pink, as though pearl had been woven through it somewhere—
‘…It’s beautiful.’
For one moment, the ring moved up, then down. Her eyes followed it helplessly.
“Better close your mouth before something flies in.”
“Stop playing games!”
He had moved it deliberately to catch her chasing it with her eyes.
Infuriating.
“You like it.”
She nodded. Slowly, but honestly.
She did like it.
“Say you’ll marry me and it’s yours.”
“…So I — I have the right to refuse? I can decline and not get married?”
“Would you say that’s the case.”
‘What kind of proposal is this? It’s just a threat.’
The villain’s approach to proposing was entirely in character.
“…Then, for now, I’ll hold onto it.”
She accepted the ring with extraordinary care.
She would keep it safe — and return it when the time came to divorce.
‘That’s right. I was coerced. This was coercion.’
* * *
The wedding day.
The formal ceremony would be held when they returned to the estate’s territory — in the capital, only close acquaintances and family had been invited for a modest gathering.
“Even so — isn’t this a bit extreme? What kind of wedding gets thrown together like this?”
“If it’s going to happen eventually, it’s better to get it done. Unfinished tasks are unsettling.”
“I mean, you’re not wrong, but isn’t everyone being a little absurd? I’m apparently the only one who finds this situation strange. Last week was the family meeting. One week after the family meeting and they’re getting married.”
‘Absolutely everyone here is irregular.’ She shook her head.
‘No — that’s not what’s important right now.’
“Emily — the wedding night is tonight, isn’t it.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll help me get ready today? Bathing as well?”
“Of course. That way I can actually help.”
“Good. Actually — I have something to confess.”
“What is it?”
“I…accepted the ring.”
“Oh — he proposed separately too? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s because—”
She gave Emily a general account of what had happened the evening of the proposal — Kael’s face, his calculated charm, and the utterly breathtaking ring that had made her lose her head and accept before she’d thought it through.
“So I’ve been feeling a bit guilty, honestly. Like I’m being dishonest about something.”
“I really don’t think you need to feel that way. The marriage contract was half-coercion to begin with. I don’t think refusing the proposal was ever actually an option available to you.”
‘That does ease the guilt somewhat.’ She had been quietly agonizing over whether she was being deceptive for days.
“D-do you think so?”
“Of course. He would never let you go. — Oh, it’s time to walk in.”
Her first wedding. In this life and the one before.
One night had cost her enormously.
“Please — take care of me. Kael. I’ve never done a wedding before…”
“Neither have I.”
He answered flatly and offered his arm. She took it.
Her legs were trembling. ‘I’m genuinely nervous.’
They walked the wedding aisle side by side.
They reached the altar. The officiant began.
“In the name of the Goddess… let the bride and groom, in times of hardship, in times of solitude, in cold and in warmth… until death parts them…”
It went on for some time.
Just as she was beginning to lose focus—
“Do you so vow?”
“I do.”
“Y-yes! I vow as well!”
She had been drifting and nearly missed her cue. She answered the moment she heard Kael speak.
“…Our lives become as one… to join in matrimony is… exchange the vow’s kiss.”
They turned to face each other.
Kael lifted her veil.
She looked up at him calmly.
‘A wedding kiss — surely just a brief, chaste one…’
“Oof.”
Kael pulled her in by the waist, sharply, and kissed her as though he intended to consume her entirely.
‘…?’
His hand spread across her back, drawing her flush against him until there was no space between them.
‘…?!’
By the time she was beginning to run out of breath, he ended it — a butterfly-light touch of his lips, pulling away.
At the same moment, the guests erupted into cheers and applause.
She blinked her wide eyes and stared at him. The corner of his mouth rose just slightly.
‘Thump.’
She hit his arm. Very quietly.
“I — I now declare these two to be husband and wife.”
Even the officiant stumbled over his words.
* * *
The ceremony ended and the reception began.
She changed into a deep violet silk gown — Katherine’s strong personal recommendation.
The reception was held in the estate’s outdoor garden. Round tables were scattered throughout, and guests mingled in clusters of two and three, the atmosphere warm and festive.
Kael had been pulled aside briefly by Carson.
She slipped behind a pillar and took a quiet breath.
“‘Ivelina!'”
Dorothy came shrieking toward her at a run.
“You look incredible! I’m not even joking — oh my—”
“You’re the most beautiful bride I have ever seen!”
Dorothy thrust both thumbs into the air. She was about to say thank you—
“But where is the Duke?”
“He looked so handsome today. That formal wear — honestly, it was too much. It suited him ‘perfectly’.”
Her friends stood right in front of her and kept looking around over her shoulders.
“You two are genuinely awful. You were won over by a bouquet and a pair of earrings?!”
She put her hands on her hips and scolded them outright.
“What do you mean won over? I genuinely think he’s a good man.”
“Same!”
“Traitors. The both of you.”
She crossed her arms with a huff.
Then something struck her as off.
“Wait. Has either of you seen Camilla?”
“No — not at all.”
Kate’s answer was matched by Dorothy’s nod.
“That’s strange. I sent her an invitation too. Do you think something’s really wrong with her?”
Kate and Dorothy only shrugged.
‘I’m genuinely worried. Not a word in weeks now…’
* * *
At the circular table, Ivelina sat with Kael, the Crown Prince, and Princess Reina.
And at this moment, they were engaged in what may have been the most pointless debate in living memory.
“Princess, you decide. Who is more handsome?”
“By face — the Duke. The Duke wins.”
She nearly spat out the water she was drinking.
Reina’s verdict — its absolute certainty, the complete absence of hesitation — combined with the expression on the Crown Prince’s face as the words landed was genuinely, objectively funny.
But the Crown Prince was not a man who recognized defeat.
“Duchess Hardeion — I give you the same choice. Between me and Kael. Who is more handsome?”
