CH 24

It was Riggs’ wedding day, and he could smile just thinking about it—however, the reality of the situation was that he couldn’t smile comfortably.

This was because if someone were to barge in just as the goddess Isis had revealed, it was going to be either before or after the wedding, so the tension he was feeling was relatively up there.

Even though he had already deployed the reapers everywhere and recruited more security personnel, he couldn’t feel relaxed.

And that was not his only concern.

‘Isis clearly said that Isabelle is a direct descendant of Pilsburg. And now that the scoundrels of the Pilsburg imperial family had noticed this fact, they’ll try to capture her.’

The imperial family had a great pride in their lineage, as well as a great obsession.

Just before the lineage was about to be cut off due to the previous emperor’s failure to produce an heir, if he’d already found Isabelle, he’d be desperate to take her.

Of course, all of this was under the premise that the goddess Isis’ words were true.

‘The goddess said she would abandon Pilsburg and be a goddess for only Isabelle…’

If one were to think rationally, this wouldn’t make sense at all.

A god exists based on their devotees’ belief in them, and from what the public knew, no one worshipped their god more than the Pilsburgs—though an insider’s opinion might be different.

Isabelle grew up in a temple, but she wasn’t very pious.

From the goddess’ perspective, it would be more practical to defend the Pilsburg imperial family.

As he was wrapping up a conversation and checking the number of bodyguards, two reapers named Al and Del rushed in a hurry.

“Your Highness, I believe you must go posthaste. Lady Isabelle is—”

“Let’s go.”

As long as Isabelle’s name was uttered, he couldn’t waste one second.

Riggs cut short the conversation he was in right then and walked away.

The reapers hurried behind Riggs, telling him about what Isabelle and the young lady of the Ruiv¹ family had talked about.

Vividly taking in the current situation, at a certain point Riggs glanced at the reapers and spoke, his voice lower.

“Did Isabelle say that just now?”

“You mean the part about her being Isabelle Cardiago in an hour, sire?”

“Yes. That.”

“Of course. That is what the Lady said.”

Riggs’ cheeks heated up.

She couldn’t believe that Isabelle herself had used the surname of Cardiago with her own lips.

Even though he knew it was something that was only said to warn another young noblewoman, he was giddy.

“Al. Dell. Go and get snacks for Isabelle. She likes soft fruits that are cut into small pieces. My fiancé tends to get indigestion when eating before an important event.”

Riggs knew Isabelle’s constitution well enough.

Though she was by no means weak, she quickly got indigestion due to nerves before doing something important.

Wasn’t it that before she went to the plaza one day, she had a hard time even eating cherries?

Soon, he saw Isabelle drinking some water that Bill had gotten for her.

Riggs naturally wrapped his arms around her shoulders and spoke.

“Isabelle, you must have been starving yourself again to avoid indigestion. I already instructed the chef, so let’s eat something delicious after the wedding.”

“Really?”

“I asked him to grill some turkey to your tastes, crispy on the outside but moist on the inside.”

Her blue eyes that were as clear as the sky twinkled.

The shining gaze wasn’t directed at him, and though it was for a shallow reason, it was some type of desire.

Anyway, Isabelle tended to grow weak towards those who gave her food.

Thanks to this, Riggs had long since memorized all of Isabelle’s favorite dishes, even the recipes.

‘I won’t be as busy as I am now after the imperial council meeting, so I can eat together with her for every meal.’

Sometimes, he even thought that he would be okay to even cook for her.

It was clear that the employees of the ducal estate would be in a flurry if this were to happen, but it didn’t matter as long as Isabelle liked it.

‘No matter how much I try to rush, it’ll still be after the imperial council meeting. But do I really have to wait a couple months?’

Two months felt so terribly long, but come to think of it, he’d been patient for the past ten years.

Convinced that he could wait more, Riggs reached out to Isabelle.

“Isabelle. The guests are waiting, but should we go now?”

“Okay.”

Isabelle took Riggs’ hand and let herself be guided by him.

Then, dozens of gazes could be felt looking at them.

‘From here at the front, there’s a lot of people.’

With everyone there as witnesses, Riggs and Isabelle signed their pledge to be faithful to one another.

The reapers tossed petals everywhere, and the fragrant scent of flowers wafted through the air.

“Duchess Cardiago².”

Riggs murmured joyfully and put the wedding ring with a large gem on her finger.

Although it wasn’t them who prepared the rings, Isabelle also put the other ring on Riggs’ finger.

Riggs admired his hand for a moment, feeling that the ring fit him perfectly.

Again, he thought it was a relief.

He was confident that he would eventually become Isabelle’s groom during her wedding, which he had thought about so many times.

‘I don’t know why I was so nervous back then. Of course, I’m the only one fit to live with Isabelle.’

As though the crying baby deer act was a distraction tactic for the invasion of Baron Iron, no one would say anything about it. However, there was no need to justify the situation since Cardiago was originally a household of the underworld anyway.

Smiling brightly, Riggs gently removed the petals on Isabelle’s head.

He didn’t want to look at her lovely lips lest he cross that road right here.

She said ‘Isabelle Cardiago’ with her own lips.

The trees that he had been growing steadily for a long time had now just begun to bear fruit.

So he wanted to have at least one word.

“Isabelle, can you close your eyes for a moment?”

Isabelle, who had been thinking about something else, was brought back to her senses.

It was because Riggs was looking at her now, his face right in front of hers.

“Riggs?”

“It’s a wedding, but if we don’t do this, we might get suspected. I can’t play the role of a husband half-heartedly, can I?”

“Ah…”

When she glanced to the side, she saw the nobles looking at them with their eyes flashing, perhaps trying to ascertain if their love was the real deal.

Since love couldn’t be measured in its depth, she didn’t know that showing a little would have a great butterfly effect.

Hands clenched over the skirt of her dress, Isabelle closed her eyes and mumbled.

“It’s kinda weird—kissing a friend.”

“Isabelle. Since it’s our wedding, let me tell you one thing.”

Riggs raised both hands to cup her cheeks. When did he grow this much?

As if he was preciously holding an apple with both hands.

His hands were hot.

“You’re not just a friend to me. You’re a woman.”

When she opened her eyes to ask what he meant by that, she could see the area around his eyes reddening.

There was a languid smile on his lips.

“From the moment I first saw you.”

And then there was a kiss. That single moment felt like an eternity.

Unheard applause and cheers roared through the hall, yet faded into the background.

Some of the reapers said, ‘As expected, the rumors about Milord’s lower body are all false…’ while shedding emotional tears.

Isabelle clutched her dress even more tightly.

Even though it was only on her forehead, it felt like her heart had dropped to her feet at that moment.

It felt weird.

It was a strange feeling that seemed like a haze forming around her heart.

It was all the more so because Riggs was smiling in front of her, then he murmured softly.

“If I knew you’d be this surprised, instead of your forehead, I should have kissed you on the lips.”

“…Huh?”

“Isabelle, you always teased me, too. You uttered racy jokes as easy as breathing. Now that I’m your husband, let me try it, too.”

She thought he’d be as bright red as she was, but Riggs looked to be too relaxed.

Isabelle fell into thought regarding Riggs for a while, and it lasted until the wedding reception was already over.

* * *

Pilsburg’s weddings usually followed a lot of complex customs involving religious officiants and nobles from high society coming as guests, but according to Cardiago’s customs, the ceremony was more focused on the drinking side of things.

From afar, Isis sighed as she watched the ceremony where everyone had already gotten drunk.

The only person left standing was Duke Cardiago.

Then, her worried gaze turned to the approaching Kiel, whose hands were occupied by two fistfuls of sausage skewers.

“Isis, it’s been a while since we saw each other. Shall we have a drink? Let’s catch up.”

「 Kierkegaard of the underworld. Your body is too small for us to have a drink together. 」

“Tsk.”

Kiel gave up roping the goddess in as his drinking buddy.

Though he took on the form of a child, he was watching the three-syllable woman as though with a somewhat dubious gaze.

“Why are you so obsessed with her? I mean, I know it felt good when she patted me, but still.”

「 You still have many doubts, Kierkegaard. But you don’t have to think twice—it’s not because of my old weakness that I’m keeping close to Isabelle. 」

“Hmm… No matter how much I think about it, you’re being strange. I can’t believe you love humans so much even though you’re a transcendental being.”

Isis did not say anything back.

Kiel, who had lost interest, went down to the wedding hall again to find another person to be his drinking buddy.

The person who caught his eye this time was the butler, Bill.

Kiel approached and stood next to the butler, watching the dignified demeanor of his Lord and the smile of the three-syllable woman.

“Hyung finally got married to the three-syllable woman. I thought I wouldn’t see this sight until I die.”

Kiel, who had to see Riggs acting like a pushover, patted himself on the shoulder as though he were comforting himself for all the times he had suffered.

Contrary to him thinking that there’s one thing solved, Billian³ still looked tense.

“Bill, why don’t you take a break? You gotta have a drink on a day like this.”

When the butler still expressed his reluctance, Kiel grumbled and pouted.

“Wow, the world has gotten a lot better. When I was considered your senior, whenever I asked to drink, you would answer, ‘Yes, it’s an honor to drink with you, sir!’ and you’d run to me after shedding tears of emotion and then… Bill?”

The butler didn’t listen even when Kiel tried to talk his ears off.

And Kiel saw just how much Bill’s eyes were shining.

“What’s wrong? Is it because you’ve been told to prepare for an attack?”

“What are you talking about, Lord Kiel.”

“Huh?”

The loyal butler folded his arms, then he spoke in a very strict and serious voice.

“There’s still the highlight of the wedding left—the long-awaited first night.”

¹ ‘Ruiv’ was previously translated as ‘Louise’

² ‘Duchess’ in Korean is ‘Duke’s wife’ when translated literally, which is why Riggs was so happy when he said his.

³ ‘Billian’, the full first name of Bill (the butler) was previously translated as ‘William’