The antique chapel had been a sacred place where secret weddings had been held since ancient times. Apart from the aged priest standing inconspicuously like a backdrop and a baby dragon wearing a ribbon, they were the only ones in the chapel.
“I requested it, to bring Your Highness here.”
“…Why?”
Lennox suddenly recalled.
It was said that misfortune follows if one sees the bride before the wedding. Although he didn’t believe in superstitions, Juliet in front of him was dazzling to the point of being dreamlike.
Juliet smiled broadly.
“You promised to hold a perfect wedding for me.”
“That’s right.”
He had made that promise.
It was also the reason why Lennox sent someone to the capital to get Juliet’s childhood drawing.
He wanted to gift a perfect wedding on a dazzling day, just as she wished during childhood.
“But I’ve thought about it.”
Juliet came closer.
The familiar scent made his throat dry for a moment. The distance was close enough for Lennox to count her eyelashes.
Unaware of the priest’s discomfort, Juliet slowly lifted the bouquet to the height of their heads.
“Lennox, you see.”
Wearing shoes, Juliet tiptoed and whispered into his ear.
Behind the bouquet, in a voice so faint that the priest couldn’t hear.
“I don’t want to wait anymore.”
“…”
“I mean… I want to spend the whole day together.”
Lennox gritted his teeth for a moment.
Juliet lowered the bouquet again and spoke seriously.
“So, let’s do it now.”
“…Are you serious?”
He needed a superhuman patience not to pull her closer without kissing her.
Lennox suspected that Juliet might be doing this on purpose.
But Juliet nodded her head very seriously.
“Yes. Who knows when the rain will stop.”
‘Yes’ what ‘yes’? It was clear that Juliet whispered without a second thought.
Lennox regained his composure.
“Are we going to get married right here?”
“If we hold the wedding here now, it doesn’t terribly offset our plans, does it?”
Lennox seemed to understand what she meant.
But he looked around the chapel. Due to the dark weather, the only lighting inside came from countless candles. It had its own charm, but there were neither lavish flower decorations nor guests.
“There’s neither music nor lighting?”
Seeing Lennox’s uneasy expression, Juliet smiled sweetly.
“It may not be grand, but I’ve waited too long.”
Lennox’s eyes narrowed.
He had been waiting too, for so long that he couldn’t remember.
“So I don’t want to wait anymore.”
“…”
“Peep.”
Below, the baby dragon made a small cry. Onyx was holding the rings well.
“Is it possible, Mr. Priest?”
“Um… Of course.”
Suddenly pointed out, the priest was briefly flustered but nodded.
“If that’s what both of you desire…”
Juliet asked him again.
“Is it okay, Lennox?”
…Is it okay to do as you wish?
“Juliet.”
Lennox smiled faintly, almost imperceptibly.
“I never thought I’d get married.”
He pulled Juliet into his arms.
“If it’s not with you, marriage is just a wordplay.”
It was sincere.
“All I need for my wedding is you. How can it not be okay?”
Upon hearing this, Juliet smiled brightly.
There was a priest, rings, and although not human, a magical creature to serve as a witness.
“Let’s start.”
“Oh, yes.”
The priest looked at the two people and a creature surrounded by the faint candlelight for a moment. He had officiated countless marriage ceremonies, but this was his first time attending a wedding like this.
“So before the vows, the rings-“
“Grr?”
Their attention was drawn to the baby dragon holding the rings.
But instead of bringing the rings as practiced, Onyx was twitching its ears, looking towards the door.
He never made a mistake during practice?
“Nix?”
The moment Juliet called the baby dragon, a ruckus arose outside the chapel.
“Your Highness! Where are you?”
“They are here, both of them?”
“Please come out!”
…What’s going on?
Exchanging puzzled looks, both of them stepped outside.
Thud. Outside in the chapel’s outdoor garden, a bunch of excited people had gathered.
“Miss! The rain has stopped!”
During this time?
But it was as said. Until just a moment ago, the sky, which had been pouring drizzles, cleared up completely. The rain clouds were nowhere to be found, and dazzling sunlight poured through the white clouds.
“Look, it’s a rainbow!”
‘Huh?’
Juliet, who was shielding her eyes with her hand and looking up at the sky, discovered something strange.
Near the clouds, clusters of twinkling lights gathered. They looked like birds and also like a swarm of butterflies.
‘They are moving the rain clouds in entirety.’
Suddenly, Juliet remembered the magician saying so. And Juliet knew of an entity capable of such an act besides the magician.
“…Tantalus?”
A name she had momentarily forgotten flowed from Juliet’s lips.
(Our name is Butterfly of Tantalus!)
Others were preoccupied admiring the rainbow, but Juliet believed she had undoubtedly seen a swarm of butterflies.
“Ah.”
“Lennox, just over there-“
“Yes.”
Surprised Juliet grabbed the man standing beside her.
As their eyes met, Lennox held her and smiled warmly.
“It seems someone came early for a wedding gift.”
“Quite impatient, huh.”
At that, Juliet, who had been momentarily dazed, burst into laughter.
They stood there for a while until the twinkling butterflies completely disappeared from sight.
Ding dong, ding dong.
Soon after, a bell rang from a distant spire, announcing the commencement of the ceremony.
“Shall we go, my bride?”
“Gladly.”
Juliet smiled brightly and held out her hand. They walked out together into the sunlight.
* * *
The wedding held in the North had a very limited number of guests. However, the whole Empire was stirred right after the ceremony concluded.
Those who weren’t invited chatted about how luxurious the wedding was, and how much was spent on flowers.
The aristocrats were eager to meet the Duchess after decades, driven by rampant rumors, but she wasn’t in the North.
At the Duchy, the response was ‘The Duke and Duchess are absent.’
For a while, no one knew where the newlywed Duke and Duchess had gone for their honeymoon.
Splash.
But Juliet, sitting by the fountain dipping her feet, thought it natural for people not to know their whereabouts. She hadn’t thought she’d be here just two days ago.
Splash, along with the sound, a man soaked in water emerged from the fountain.
“Is this all?”
Clatter.
What he placed beside Juliet was a variety of colored gems. Just a while ago, near the fountain, Juliet’s bracelet had broken during a minor tiff.
One, two, three, four…
“Ah, there’s one more.”
Counting the numbers, Juliet realized a ruby was missing.
“…Yeah?”
However, Lennox’s eyes narrowed meaningfully, seeing Juliet only interested in the received bracelet.
Somehow, it was unusual.
“Kyah!”
The next moment, with a splash, Juliet also fell into the fountain.
Late afternoon.
They rode horses and roamed around all morning, played childish water pranks, and kissed and explored each other whenever they felt like it.
Eventually, it was around sunset when Lennox let her go.
But as Lennox wrapped the wet Juliet with a big towel, he hesitated.
“Does it hurt?”
“I don’t have any energy.”
Juliet retorted cheekily.
But Lennox couldn’t take his eyes off the bruises on her collarbone and neck for a while. Despite handling her as if she was fragile glass, Juliet’s pale skin bruised easily.
Lennox felt a slight guilt. He was greedy, now and always.
Mine, my lady.
The desire for possession and obsession ran in the blood of the Caraille family.
The place they were staying was none other than Count Monad’s residence.
“Why did you bring me here?”
Thinking they would return to the Duchy after spending a month-long vacation in one of the best resorts on the continent.
Suddenly, Lennox brought her here, and abruptly handed her a meticulously prepared key to Count Monad’s residence, saying, ‘It’s a wedding gift.’
“Because it’s your house.”
Ambiguously answering, Lennox picked her up and took her to the bathroom.
After a simple dinner, they strolled around the remarkably tidy mansion.
“…When you disappeared, I didn’t know where to find you.”
It was an event from last winter.
When Juliet, worn out, ran away from his selfishness, he was half out of his mind.
“So, I came here impulsively.”
“I heard.”
Juliet nodded.
Her nanny, Yvette, had told her.
Right after she left the capital, the Duke came looking for her, Yvette said. Lennox suddenly appeared and sent people to renovate the mansion.
Before they knew it, they were in the room she used during her childhood. Lennox was attentively examining the height marks on the door frame.
They were marks from measuring Juliet’s height as she grew up, left untouched even through the renovations of the old house.
Juliet somehow got the impression that he liked the mansion of the Count’s family.
“Lennox, do you like this house?”
“I do.”
Juliet smiled warmly for a moment.
“There’s a lot about you I don’t know. So, I thought I’d understand more by coming here.”
“What do you mean?”
“About the house you grew up in, what family means to you.”
“…”
Juliet looked at him quietly for a moment.
Lennox had never specifically mentioned his parents. But she had heard enough about the tragedy of his family, and she faintly sensed it.
She wasn’t sure what lay behind his arrogant pride.
“Lennox.”
“Tell me.”
“Do you still dislike children?”
After a brief pause, Lennox softly answered:.
“I don’t. If they were like you, they’d be lovable.”
And he honestly added:
“…I don’t want to see you suffer though.”
He now remembered how hard it was for Juliet to have a child. Of course, it was because of the damn curse, but still, there was nothing he could do other than forcing food down her throat.
“And?”
“…”
As Lennox glanced gently at Juliet, he smiled softly, holding Juliet’s cheek with his left hand.
“I won’t be a good parent like yours, Juliet.”
He had never had good parents, and didn’t even know what a proper family was.
He wanted to give Juliet anything, but his affection was infinitely shallow. His desire to provide a happy family for Juliet seemed like explaining a rainbow to the blind.
However, Juliet held his hand and leaned her cheek against it.
“Lennox, do you know why I decided to marry you?”
He really didn’t know.
“Out of pity?”
“…”
“Isn’t it?”
“Do I look like someone who would accept a proposal out of pity?”
As Juliet rolled her eyes sweetly, Lennox smiled with an unconfident tone.
“…A madman who bought dozens of rings before proposing?”
“There was that, too.”
Juliet giggled.
“Do you remember? In Velot, the day we went to see the festival.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“At that time, Your Highness-“
Suddenly Lennox smiled and swiftly kissed the inside of Juliet’s wrist.
Lennox, who won the horse riding bet yesterday, had banned the title ‘Your Highness’. He mischievously smiled, suggesting she think of another title, as he increased the level of intimacy whenever ‘Your Highness’ slipped from Juliet’s lips.
Ah, Juliet quickly corrected herself.
“You said something.”
“What did I blabber again?”
“You said ‘our child’.”
-If our child isn’t baptized, you’d be upset. How can I stand seeing you like that?
“So, it will be okay.”
“You really…”
He was helpless in front of the smiling Juliet.
Stretching out her pale arm, Juliet gracefully commanded:
“Kiss me.”
Lennox knew he would never be able to resist her in his lifetime.
“…As you wish.”
An eager and affectionate kiss followed, and he felt unbearably happy and thrilled.
But if Lennox Carlyle could see the future, he would know there’s not much to worry about.
Though it’s a matter of the distant future, fortunately, it wasn’t Juliet who suffered severe morning sickness when she was pregnant, but him, who couldn’t even swallow a sip of tea and became thin like he lost blood.
Nine months later, the child, who was born safely amidst blessings, resembled both parents equally.
Despite the worries of the Duke family members who prayed the baby would resemble the mother. The moment he held the newborn, he realized.
A person who was inherently arrogant and twisted, who never had good parents, can indeed love a child unconditionally.
But that was a matter for later, and they didn’t know what future awaited them.
“…It might not be as easy as we think.”
“I know. But it’s okay.”
Juliet’s soft hair scattered over the white sheets. The evening sky turned purple, and Juliet’s pale cheeks were tinged with the color of a peach.
“As always, we will do well.”
As Juliet smiled, Lennox instinctively felt that he would never forget the scene of this day.
“Juliet.”
He wrapped Juliet who was covered with the sheet from behind, with a tender motion as if handling fragile glass.
“Hmm?”
“My heart is yours.”
As he softly whispered, kissing her bare shoulder and nape, Juliet giggled as if tickled.
“Yes, I know. Because you’re mine, obviously.”
She seemed not to fully believe it, though sincere. He wished he could hand over his heart as proof.
“I love you. I’ll tell you as many times as you want.”
“Me too.”
Juliet turned her head and tenderly kissed his cheek.
The warm twilight bathed the room. It was an endless honeymoon. From the intertwined hands of the couple, a pair of rings sparkled beautifully.
(Epilogue: THE END)