NOVEL NEXT Chapter 117: Marriage to Happen
I see Marie, Augustus, Laplace, and Lucien leaving while Evelyn is still on the floor, trying to hide her tears, but failing miserably.
'...Kind of cute... not that it matters, since it's already decided whether she wants to marry me or not.' I look at the Demon King and the girl beside him.
"Esther, your family has been notified and they completely approve of the marriage. Evelyn's family has also approved, with little resistance," the Demon King says to me as I get up from the floor.
"I see. So it's official, and Evelyn is now my fiancée," I say, already deducing that I am obviously the dominant partner in this marriage. Among demons, gender doesn't matter much, since two girls can have children through magical means. So, what matters in choosing the dominant partner is who is stronger and who has more status to offer.
Evelyn is weak; that fact alone practically disqualifies her from being the dominant one, and her reputation as a failure destroys any minuscule chance she might have had.
"Exactly. Evelyn is your fiancée from this day forward, which naturally means the nobles will soon be gathered to celebrate your marriage. After the wedding, the two of you will have your first night together, and everything will be complete," he says as I approach.
"Hiiii! I'm Tsuki, but you probably already know that!" the girl next to the Demon King says, addressing me animatedly as she holds out a paper. I take it and read it briefly.
'I see... it's a very thorough marriage contract... which also means it can never be annulled...' There are "incomplete" marriages that can be annulled, and complete marriages that can never be annulled, regardless of the reason.
'It means Evelyn and I will be partners for life...' It's interesting. I think this way I'll be able to see her much more often.
Initially, I thought if we were to marry, it would take one to two years, since Evelyn would have to stop being an adventurer and return to the castle. But because of this angel attack, my father has decided to speed up the wedding, which means he really wants to start an all-out war against the angels.
'With extra troops and the family's money... my father can invest heavily in advancements to reach the angels' continent... which will force the humans to choose a side...' I ponder the implications.
'Considering the Hero is here, the chances of the humans helping us are huge, since they'll see that we can finally advance on our own...' My father never did this before due to personal interests. But now his personal interests are gone, meaning he is now acting 100% for the good of the people and to counter the damage the angels are causing us.
"I-I don't want to..." I hear a soft voice and look back to see Evelyn standing. She wiped her tears on her dress and is trying to maintain a confident pose, but with her legs trembling like that, it just looks ridiculous, giving her only a pitiful image.
"F-Father, c-can't you reconsider? T-There must be something else... o-or another way," she says nervously. Strangely, her refusal... irritates me.
'Why doesn't she want to be near me? It's just a marriage; it won't even change her life much... In fact, it will improve her life, since she'll have my protection.' I don't understand her refusal. And the only thing I can think is that her refusal is personal... meaning, she doesn't want to get married because I am the partner. And that... gives me this strange, bitter feeling of rejection.
"Evelyn, we've already discussed this. I will not reconsider. I would only reconsider if you, alone, could give me everything this marriage will provide. Tell me, Evelyn, can you give me several tens of thousands of soldiers ready for war, and 50,000 Cryan Obsidian coins?" he asks Evelyn, who blanks out at that number. Even I am surprised, especially by the coins.
'50,000 Cryan Obsidian coins for this marriage?... From Evelyn's family?' They are richer than I expected.
"B-But, F-Father! T-That's like a [Game Over] for me! P-Please, I d-don't want this marriage... m-maybe I can do something else! I-If you just give me back my guild license, I c-can hunt monsters and make a lot of money! And possibly buy soldiers," Evelyn says, somewhat desperate.
But in this stupid, nonsensical speech, a word my father doesn't understand comes up, but I immediately understand it.
'Game Over?...' I know this word, too. Another word that proves Evelyn knows the truth about this world, and this time I heard it myself.
"..." This infuriates me, because I understand it's as if she's saying her life is over the moment she marries me. And seeing her view this marriage as a death sentence fills me with rage.
"..." I walk over to her and slap her hard across the face. The sound of the slap echoes through the area as she puts her hand to her cheek, shocked, as if this were unexpected and shocking.
"Evelyn, would you shut up? What part of 'there will be no reconsideration of the marriage' did you not understand? If you're just going to cry and complain, then say nothing, do nothing, and stop wasting our time. Just stay quiet in your corner while the real 'Adults' talk." If she wants to act like a child, then I will treat her as one.
Only a stupid child would throw a tantrum over something that is tradition. We are nobles; it's natural for our father to choose our marriage, although the slap was more because she compared the marriage between her and me to a death situation.
"I apologize for this... inelegant display, Father. Do not worry, I will properly discipline my fiancée after the marriage." I bow slightly, lifting the side of my dress while placing one foot behind the other to apologize for Evelyn's behavior.
"It doesn't matter. Tsuki, continue explaining," my father lets it go, while Evelyn looks at me and finally realizes that no matter what happens, no one will care about her opinion on this matter.
Along with the tears streaming down her cheek, a red palm mark appears on her face, making her look even more pathetic than before.
"..." She starts running away crying, but no one tries to stop her. If she had behaved and stayed here, she could have even voiced her opinions on things during the wedding that she might have wanted to do, and we might have accepted.
But her crying and her escape perfectly illustrate how unfit she truly is to have a say among the nobility.
Eve looks at me with a clear murderous intent in her eyes, but she soon dashes off after Evelyn.
"So, Esther, I'm thinking of a really big and chic wedding, you know? But with a unique theme that represents both families! That's why I'm thinking of using black, red, purple, and white as the main colors," Tsuki says, completely ignoring what just happened.
"And using dark navy blue and an orange-yellow lighting would look great." Tsuki talks about the colors for the general decoration, but it doesn't really interest me, so I'll let her decide with my father.
"About Evelyn's dress..." When Tsuki starts to talk about the dress, I stop her.
"I will decide that," I say in a serious tone that makes Tsuki stop.
"O-Of course, the bride's dress for the wedding is obviously your decision, since she will be your bride... Well... there's a lot to discuss, and I don't want to take up the Demon King's time, so we can handle that just between us later... Now, about my payment," Tsuki says, turning to the Demon King.
"I will take care of that tomorrow. For now, finish what you need to do. Since Esther seems quite receptive, I don't think we'll need any further additions, correct?" he asks, already wanting to leave.
"Yes, Father. I am satisfied with everything I read in the papers Tsuki gave me," I confirm as he gets up from the throne and passes by me.
"Excellent," he says only that and continues on, leaving me alone with Tsuki.
"W-Well, it seems it's just the two of us now? So, what kind of dress are you thinking of having Evelyn wear? I know some shades of white that—"
"Black. Completely black," I say spitefully. If Evelyn considers this marriage the end of her life, then she should wear a dress befitting a funeral.
"...Black... for the bride? Wearing black?... You're the boss... but I'll be open to you changing your mind," she says, clearly not liking it much.
"Yes..." I'm not entirely sure either. I might change my mind, but for now, I think making her wear black is appropriate, considering how she viewed my marriage.
"And your dress?" she asks as I think. I can't wear white since that's commonly the bride's color, and Evelyn will be wearing black, so it would be a bit confusing, but I also don't want a purely black dress.
"I'll decide later. I need to think about which color would suit the wedding, considering Evelyn will be wearing black..." Obviously, Tsuki won't give Evelyn a 100% black dress. It will possibly be a dress with a black base, using dark shades of gray and slightly lighter shades of gray in the frills to make the dress stand out.
"I see... Well, we have plenty of time! You two still need to meet your families on your mother's side. Are you excited about that? You've never seen them before, right?" she says as I think about it briefly.
'My mother...' I never wondered who my mother was before. Why? Possibly because she is like all the others; she doesn't see the truth of the world. But it might be interesting to meet her.