Ray Alexis Leanello was now Ray Alexis Ruivan. She was also a Ruivan and was under his wing for the next year.
‘That must be why I feel so bad.’
The low mood didn’t get any better, and shaking Weber’s hand was so unpleasant that he even took off his gloves. Ramiel’s discomfort that filled the hallway didn’t go away until he heard small footsteps.
“Ramiel, may I ask what you talked about?”
“There wasn’t anything special.”
“He double-crossed you and you were hurt, so he should pay compensation, something like that?”
“…Did you hear that?”
“It’s so obvious. Oh my, you didn’t get a title because you’re so stupid.”
Strangely, Ray’s sharp evaluation made his discomfort subside.
When that man showed up earlier, she gritted her teeth and muttered that she would kill him, so it seemed that she also hated him quite a bit.
“They say that it’s scary when an ignorant person has convictions, but where did the idea that she was the victim come from? Did you feel uncomfortable? I’m sorry. I’ll take care of it.”
“It’s not your job to apologize and take care of it. Ruivan will do it.”
“Huh?”
“He touched our family’s honor, so Ruivan should step forward.”
Ray unconsciously stopped walking and looked up at Ramiel’s words.
Boom, boom.
It was a feeling she had never felt before. The feeling of being protected and protected by someone.
It wasn’t that the Leanello family had neglected her, but she had never felt protected like this before. The timid Oscar hid behind his family when something happened, and Eina never took the lead in protecting her family.
There must have been the comfort of the power that the Ruivan family gave her, but the moment when Ramiel naturally declared that he would put her within that fence and protect her tickled her heart.
“Oh, what should I do? I think I’m in love right now.”
“Have you forgotten the contract terms?”
“I haven’t forgotten. I’m in love with power.”
Not with him, but with Ruivan. She was in love with Ruivan. Definitely not with him.
Ray took her gaze away from Ramiel’s face and looked at the end of the hallway, squeezing her heart.
“Rael, people are waiting. Let’s go back quickly.”
It was the moment when something very small sprouted in the hearts of the two who had just finished their wedding.
* * *
“Oh no, I missed it.”
After the two returned to the banquet hall.
Someone urgently appeared in the empty hallway. He looked around, as if he was constantly searching for something, and sighed as he looked at the banquet hall.
“I’m sure.”
The traces left in the hallway were darker than anything he had ever known.
The man, clenching his hands tightly, trembled with excitement, muttered softly.
“…Haa. I should get a list from that guy.”
Unlike his hands that were slowly groping the air, he walked very quickly and disappeared somewhere.
* * *
Everyone who met the Ruivan couple at the banquet hall gave them strange looks. It seemed like the story of Duke Ruivan tearing and eating his wife’s dress in a dark corner of the room had spread in an instant.
In particular, the slightly older couples looked at the Ruivan couple with happy faces and were happy that they would be able to see Ruivan II sooner than expected.
‘I should have worn the dress I was going to wear to the second banquet.’
There was no use in regretting it later while watching people whispering about the dress. However, even though it was embarrassing, they decided to be satisfied because they had properly spread the rumor that the Ruivan couple was overflowing with love.
The first banquet ended amidst the harsh and awkward stares.
“It’s really comfortable.”
Ray finally felt like she could breathe. Not only was it flashy, but she was also nervous about getting stains or dents on her family dress, so she felt alive after changing her clothes.
If the first part, the daytime banquet, was mainly about greeting the guests, the second part, the evening banquet, was about eating and socializing with the guests.
Since they had to keep moving, the bride and groom changed into more comfortable clothes than the formal first part. When the two came out dressed up, the first ones to greet them were the crown prince and his wife.
If it had been normal, they would have met separately and had a brief conversation instead of the wedding today. That’s why Ray received a short special training from Kreha, but it didn’t work out because of the unexpectedly quick marriage. It was because he no longer had to meet the crown prince and his wife alone.
Instead, it must have helped improve his basic physical strength, because he was able to stand all day wearing shoes and talk to people with a smile on his face.
“Duchess, is your dress okay?”
The crown princess asked with a smile.
“Yes. Thanks to your consideration, it ended well.”
The Crown Princess had been so happy that she covered her mouth with a fan and laughed when Ray mentioned that she would borrow the tailor for a while. Regardless of the truth, she seemed to be very fond of the rare appearance of a ‘couple in love’.
“Your Highness, I actually thought you were going to get the wedding done today because you were lazy.”
Ray felt a pang in her heart at the Crown Princess’s words.
“But I didn’t know that you were so close that your clothes would get ruined.”
Ray’s face turned red at the Crown Princess’s direct mention of the dress, even though that had never happened.
“You wanted to get married quickly, didn’t you?”
Ramiel answered the Crown Princess’ question with a smile.
“I guess you forgot about the kiss we had at the vow ceremony earlier.”
The Crown Princess laughed out loud at the Crown Princess’s words and left the room, telling her to enjoy herself.
“Rael, the rumors about us have really spread.”
As the prince and his wife moved away, Ray slowly released Ramiel’s arm that he had been holding onto like a lifeline and drank the drink he was holding in one gulp.
“It’s fortunate that we can handle it all at once. Now, if we just do something annoying for a few hours, we’ll be free.”
It was a rare moment when Ramiel and her heart were on the same page. Ray clenched her fist slightly and said.
“Let’s hold out hard.”
The banquet was coming to an end.
The prince and his wife had already left a long time ago, and the people were slowly getting ready to leave, congratulating and saying goodbye to the Ruivan couple.
Ramiel grabbed Ray’s staggering arm and made him lean against him.
“…Ah.”
Ramiel let out a small sigh at the slow response.
Ray continued to accept and drink the drinks that people offered her.
When the main character seemed a little drunk, the guests stopped offering her more drinks, but there were quite a few people here who were not pleased with the newlywed couple who had suddenly gotten married. They cleverly teased Ray, avoiding Ramiel, and made her drink a lot.
If they were nobles, they would have known how to gracefully refuse in such cases, but Ray smiled and sipped his glass, as if he hadn’t learned that from Wilpof. Ramiel could have stepped in and stopped him, but there was a limit to it.
As a result, Ray ended up like this, not even realizing that Ramiel’s forehead wrinkled.
“I’m dizzy.”
Ray simply rested his forehead on Ramiel’s sturdy arm.
“Did you drink some water?”
If Ramiel had been like that, he would have already taken the sticky drunkard off and thrown him somewhere. However, this drunkard was his wife, and dozens of people were watching him.
“Yes, yes, I drank it.”
The count and his wife, who had come to greet the two, looked worried as they looked at Ray.
“Is the duchess okay? She seems a little drunk.”
“I, um, honestly, was a little tired and was whining to Rael. Thank you for your concern.”
The steely determination to show the perfect marriage to everyone here brought Ray to her senses. If she just smiled and endured today, this moment, this would never happen again.
The old count couple looked at the new couple with cute faces, said goodbye, and left the banquet hall.
“Lord Ramiel.”
As soon as they disappeared from sight, Ray’s drunken voice returned.
“Rael, do you remember when you stopped me and told me to drink? I remember everything. You’re the enemy.”
Ramiel, who was trying to look calm despite his frowning expression, opened his eyes wide at Ray’s words without realizing it.
“You said enemy?”
He thought Ray was just drinking whatever she was given without thinking because she couldn’t refuse.
“Ugh. Yes.”
Ramiel knew that Ray would be rude and swear at him if she didn’t want to drink, as befitting her reputation as a witch. Ray Alexis had put herself in the bad reputation of being a ‘witch’ out of necessity.
So he expected her to act like a witch and prepared for it in his own way. However, his expectations were all wrong. Ray enjoyed the banquet quietly and didn’t act rudely.
“You chose the enemy…?”
“If you accept Laaeri’s work, I’ll write it down.”
Ray’s pronunciation became increasingly slurred and slow, but he could clearly hear what she was saying.
The reason Ray drank despite her embarrassment was because she had her own understanding of the situation.
“We’ll also take our leave. Congratulations on your wedding today.”
Someone came up to say goodbye to the Ruivans, and Ramiel responded with a mechanical smile before immediately turning his gaze to Ray, who was leaning against his body.
“I’ll guide you. Be carefully.”
Ray greeted with a bright smile on her face and leaned her head back into Ramiel’s arms.
“Why did you do that? Did you think I wouldn’t know about Ruivan’s enemies?”
“Hehe. I’m just using the money, so I should at least protest.”
It was a confession created with 15 Robe and ‘Plus Alpha’.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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