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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Wedding Incident (2)
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“Ah, my apologies. I simply came to greet you, as we will soon be family.”
Oscar approached Aracilla, a smarmy smile fixed on his face.
The closer he got, the more her beauty seemed to flourish rather than falter. His sticky gaze swept over her delicate features, which perfectly filled her small face.
“You are far too beautiful for my brother…”
Praising her in a sickeningly greasy voice, Oscar reached out to touch Aracilla’s hair.
However, Aracilla lightly twisted her body, evading his touch, and replied coldly.
“I know.”
“Haha, for someone like you to marry Demian. It’s truly regrettable. I, for one, would be a much better match.”
What kind of utterly self-unaware nonsense was this? Aracilla stared at Oscar with a bewildered expression.
But Oscar seemed to have uttered these words with genuine conviction, as he smiled with utmost confidence.
*Did he truly think he suited me better? How insulting.*
“Young Master, I have excellent eyesight and I look in mirrors often.”
“Is that so? But why…?”
“Meaning I know perfectly well who truly suits me better.”
Oscar Vandermir’s appearance was indeed handsome, but it was nowhere near comparable to Demian’s.
Oscar, who hadn’t immediately grasped Aracilla’s words, let out an exclamation of realization half a beat later.
“Ah, it seems Lady Aracilla prefers the pretty-boy type. A man, by all rights, should possess masculine charm like mine.”
He puffed out his shoulders and patted his rather thin chest. Aracilla stared at Oscar with an incredulous look.
While it was true that Demian had refined features, standing next to him, one would realize he was surprisingly well-built.
Of course, she didn’t know his exact physique without having seen him undressed, but she could guarantee he had a much better build than Oscar.
This man, clearly, had a thin, scrawny body that had seen no exercise whatsoever.
“I’m worried my brother knows nothing about women. Should you ever find yourself lonely at night, do not hesitate to seek me out.”
Oscar winked, uttering remarks utterly inappropriate to the bride of his own brother, whose wedding was about to begin.
It seemed he was so accustomed to living this way that he didn’t even realize how rude he was being.
“Young Master, I feel I must tell you, you seem to be mistaken about something.”
“Yes? About what…?”
Aracilla accepted his words about soon becoming family and decided to offer him some friendly, familial advice.
“Actually, Young Master, you resemble a starfish stuck to a rock.”
“W-what did you say?”
“So, I’d like to tell you that no matter how lonely I get, I would never seek out a starfish, as it is not a person.”
She added with a sweet smile.
“Any woman, not just me, would feel the same.”
“...!”
Oscar’s face turned beet red.
Never before had a woman defied him, the eldest son of the Vandermir Ducal Family and its implicit successor, who had lived as a notorious playboy.
Given his family background, women either avoided him out of disgust or played along to gain some crumbs.
It was one or the other.
But Aracilla had no reason to do either, which allowed her to stand her ground before Oscar.
“Return to your family before I release you back into the sea, Young Master. The ceremony is about to begin.”
“Y-you…!”
Feeling humiliated, Oscar trembled, looking as though he might attack at any moment.
However, he was repelled by the intimidating aura in her clear blue eyes when their gazes met, preventing him from acting on his impulse.
As Aracilla sat down on a chair and checked her reflection in the mirror, thoroughly ignoring his presence, Oscar finally stormed out of the waiting room with a resentful expression.
Listening to his thudding footsteps, Aracilla thought,
*That starfish certainly has a lot of energy.*
But how many legs does a starfish have, anyway?
* * *
Oscar, huffing and puffing, turned the corner and promptly tripped over someone’s foot, tumbling to the ground.
“Agh!”
“You might want to watch where you’re going, Brother.”
Demian, his hands in his pockets, menacingly slammed his foot between Oscar’s legs.
In that instant, Oscar felt a threat to his future progeny and, sweating coldly, scurried backward like a cockroach.
“You bastard, you tripped me on purpose, didn’t you?!”
“How could I? Knowing how many legs a starfish has, with only two of my own?”
Oscar flinched at the word “starfish” coming from Demian’s mouth, then scowled.
Demian stood straight, careful not to wrinkle his formal wear, and looked down at his brother.
“I thoroughly enjoyed watching you hit on your brother’s bride and get rejected.”
“You little bastard…”
“I’m warning you, do not approach my bride.”
A chilling voice settled in Oscar’s ear. Unlike his smiling lips, his eyes were cold.
“Any schemes you try will be futile anyway.”
Aracilla was clever, intelligent, and objective. There was no way she didn’t know she was too good for Oscar Vandermir.
Furthermore, she had gone ahead with this marriage because she didn’t want his brother to marry her sister, so there was even less chance she would get involved with Oscar.
“Who are you to tell me what to do?! How do you know it’ll be futile?!”
Oscar, bristling, asked a foolish question. Demian tilted his chin up, looking down at him even further, and spoke.
“Can’t you tell, seeing as even your brilliant mother couldn’t intervene this time? You can’t do anything without the Duchess’s help, can you?”
“Shut up, Demian!”
Oscar, enraged by Demian’s mockery, sprang up and lunged at him. Demian, with light and agile movements, easily dodged Oscar.
*Thump!* Oscar stumbled again, comically, all by himself. Demian leisurely approached him as he lay groaning on the ground.
“Shut your mouth and stay quiet, Oscar. Then get lost. You wouldn’t want to go back to the sea, would you?”
“...Do you really think you’ll get away with hurting me like this?”
Oscar, his nose bright red from hitting the wall, gritted his teeth. Demian shrugged.
“It is truly unfortunate that you hurt yourself by falling alone, Brother. However, I believe I am not to blame.”
He bowed with an overly polite gesture, then turned and walked away. Oscar, furious, punched the wall, then groaned again, his fist aching.
Hearing the pathetic sounds without even turning back, Demian clicked his tongue, then glanced toward the bridal waiting room.
He had spotted Oscar walking down the corridor with a scheming look on his face and followed him, witnessing the incident in the bridal waiting room.
As if to deliver a blow, Aracilla had effortlessly dispatched Oscar without anyone’s help.
*Starfish.*
Demian chuckled, mulling over the nickname Aracilla had given Oscar.
If Oscar was a starfish, he wondered what he himself would be.
* * *
As the Emperor arrived, the ceremony commenced.
Demian, who had entered first, stood before the altar, awaiting Aracilla. Soon, she appeared, holding her father’s hand, crossing the red carpet.
An eccentric mage who had declared celibacy.
Making a mockery of her past, the Aracilla before him now approached her groom, gracefully treading the carpet as a beautiful new bride.
Demian moved his long legs to receive his bride’s hand.
As Aracilla’s hand passed from the Marquis to him, their gazes met. Demian’s reflection appeared in her blue eyes.
*My bride.*
The words he had casually uttered in front of Oscar now, strangely, felt real for the first time.
*Though temporary, I’ve gained a new family.*
A family other than the Vandermir Ducal Family.
Of course, family held little significant meaning for him.
As the two stood before the altar, the Grand Priest recited a blessing and then posed questions in turn.
“Demian Vandermir, do you swear before God to love and respect Aracilla Hugo as your wife for the rest of your life?”
“Yes.”
“Aracilla Hugo, do you swear before God to love and respect Demian Vandermir as your husband for the rest of your life?”
“Yes.”
In truth, to attach the words “for the rest of your life” to this marriage was ironic, as its end was predetermined even before it began.
Yet, neither of them showed it. For now, they were performing a love match.
“The two of you shall exchange rings.”
Aracilla and Demian stood facing each other. Colorful sunlight, filtered through the stained glass, cast faint halos of light upon their fair skin.
Demian slipped the ring onto her slender left ring finger. Aracilla, in turn, placed the ring onto his thick finger.
“By this, I declare before God that Demian Vandermir and Aracilla Hugo are bound together as husband and wife.”
The Grand Priest declared solemnly.
And so, on a beautiful spring afternoon, the two became husband and wife.
* * *
The ceremony was followed by a reception.
Demian changed into a dark gray tailcoat, and Aracilla changed into a light pink satin dress.
As the two of them walked side-by-side, feigning a harmonious marriage and exchanging greetings, the Grand Duchess Vandermir approached them, bringing some people with her.
“It’s been a long time, Grandmother.”
Demian bowed his head to his stern-faced grandmother. Aracilla, who hadn’t met her before the wedding, followed suit and greeted her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Grand Duchess. My name is Aracilla. I look forward to your guidance.”
“Your greeting is quite belated.”
The Grand Duchess replied with a displeased tone. Her sharp gaze fixed on Aracilla.
Originally, she had urged Aracilla to visit the Vandermir Ducal Estate to pay her respects before the wedding. But Demian had stopped her.
*My grandmother is more like my brother’s grandmother than mine. So don’t go unless being insulted is your hobby.*
Aracilla was already busy and certainly didn’t have time to seek out insults. So, she made all sorts of excuses and didn’t go.
As a result, this was her first meeting with her husband’s paternal grandmother on her wedding day.
“You claimed you were too busy to visit the ducal estate, yet you still managed to attend your own wedding.”
“Exactly. It’s a relief I wasn’t busy today, Demian.”
Aracilla naturally deflected the Grand Duchess’s criticism. Demian’s thick, handsome eyebrows twitched.
It was a reaction to her suddenly calling him by his given name.
“I was speaking to you, Aracilla Hugo.”
The Grand Duchess deliberately added her surname, signaling that she did not accept Aracilla as a member of the Vandermir Ducal Family.
If Aracilla had truly married Demian out of love, such an action might have hurt her somewhat.
But that wasn’t the case, was it?
“Oh, did you? My apologies, I’m quite bad at picking up on subtleties. The Duchess can attest to that.”
Aracilla’s eyes curved into a gentle smile as she even pointed directly at the Duchess. Far from being hurt, she didn’t even have the slightest scratch.
“By the way, Grand Duchess, I am now Aracilla Vandermir.”
She corrected the Grand Duchess as if she had simply made a slip of the tongue, then added,
“Perhaps it’s still unfamiliar, causing you confusion. It’s alright, I’ll keep reminding you, so don’t worry.”
It was a statement implying that such attempts to attack her would be futile.
“Hmph, you certainly found a bride just like you.”
The Grand Duchess let out a scoff and looked at Demian. Demian, who had been looking only at Aracilla, shrugged.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“You impudent pair are exactly alike. Let’s see how well you fare.”
The Grand Duchess, having delivered her backhanded blessing, departed with her entourage.
Demian, who had been chuckling at her retreating figure filled with indignation, startled at the sudden warmth of breath against his ear.
