Chapter 2.6

Startled by his glare, the Bishop hurriedly picked up the officiation script he had set down earlier and began reading again.  

“Today, I bless this sacred wedding ceremony as a representative of God…”  

Livie listened to the same officiation script again, this time with her arm linked to the man’s.  

This wasn’t a dream or an illusion. Nor was it a memory.  

Everything happening now was real—this very moment.  

Livie trembled as if waking from a hallucination.  

“Boris, this isn’t right.”  

She loosened the arm wrapped tightly around her and looked up at him with a confused expression.  

“Why?”  

As soon as the hand that had been at her side was withdrawn, his face instantly turned sullen, his eyes drooping.  

“You said you wanted to get married.”  

Boris looked at her as if he couldn’t understand. Livie felt suffocated again.  

“That’s right, but I have to marry someone else, today, Boris. Not you.”  

“…”  

Thinking he might finally understand, Livie carefully studied his face.  

“Not me?”  

His head tilted in confusion.  

“I already have a husband—today.”  

As she said that, Livie briefly thought she might have gone mad herself.  

A bride dressed in her wedding gown, explaining to another man that she already has a husband today—it was absurd even to her.  

She had to end this situation quickly.  

“You have a husband, Livie?”  

Was it just my imagination, or did his voice suddenly turn cold? 

Livie glanced at the goosebumps on her arm and dismissed it as a trick of her mind.  

Boris reached out and picked up the marriage vow document lying on the platform.  

Below the signature of her future husband, there was a blank space where Livie was supposed to sign.  

But instead of her signature, there were only a few drops of black ink.  

“There’s nothing written here.”  

Boris waved the vow document in front of her as if to confirm it.  

The empty signature line swung back and forth, reminding her that the marriage hadn’t yet been finalized.  

“That’s because, just as I was about to sign it, the wind blew. And then you showed up. I was going to sign it, but you interrupted me.”  

The wind blew. Then you appeared.  

It sounded like the sweet lyrics of a minstrel’s song.  

“Interrupted?”  

His stiffened face turned toward her, full of shock.  

“Marriage vows are sacred, Boris. What you’re doing now is blasphemy against God.”  

Livie emphasized the words “God” and “blasphemy” with all her might.  

“Leave now. I need to finish the ceremony and go to where my husband is. Hand that over.”  

She reached out to grab the vow document fluttering before her eyes, but he raised it higher.  

The vow document dangled out of her reach, no matter how much she stood on tiptoe. Livie jumped repeatedly, glaring at him furiously.  

Finally, Boris lowered the hand holding the vow document.  

“…”  

And tore it apart.  

“No, don’t!”  

Rip, rip.  

The sound of the vow document tearing echoed, and Livie could only repeat the words “don’t” as she watched helplessly.  

Boris shredded the paper into tiny pieces and scattered them into the air.  

Amid the snow-like fluttering paper fragments, Boris smiled brightly once again.  

For a fleeting moment, time seemed to slow down.  

Like that day on the hill when they first saw snow together, Boris smiled radiantly.  

But the sentiment didn’t last long. 

“This is better, isn’t it?”  

“Huh? Uh… huh?”  

As she responded to his words with incoherent mumbling, the world suddenly turned upside down.  

“Kyaaaa!”  

Her vision was obscured by the billowing hem of her dress, and it took her a moment to realize she was slung over his shoulder.  

“Boris! Are you insane? Put me down!”  

She struggled, kicking her legs so hard that her shoes flew off in different directions.  

At the same moment, the people fighting over jewels seemed to spot another prey.  

They split into two groups and began fighting again over the jewels adorning Livie’s satin dress.  

In the chaos, neither the unwelcome guest swiftly walking down the red wedding aisle nor the bride slung over his shoulder was properly noticed.  

“I’m heavy! Put me down!”  

Her overly elaborate dress was cumbersome not only for her but also for him.  

Walking in it was hard enough—how much harder must it be to carry me while I wore it?  

Rip.  

She couldn’t believe her ears.  

“It’s fine. I’m good at carrying heavy things.”  

Rip.  

“But this thing is a bit bothersome.”  

Livie turned her head anxiously at the unusually close sound and saw it.  

The multiple layers of her dress were being crudely torn apart by his gauntleted hands.  

“Noooo!!!”  

The petals of her shredded dress fluttered to the ground.  

Livie stared at them with a hollow gaze.  

“You tore it…?”  

She could only gape at the perfectly ripped dress scattered across the floor.  

Her body felt lighter, and the dress, now less cumbersome, allowed her to move more freely.  

So she took full advantage of her freedom and began pounding on Boris’s back.  

“You lunatic! Maniac! What do you think you’re doing?!”  

No matter what she screamed, Boris briskly walked to the outdoor chapel doors and flung them open.  

The moment the doors opened, Livie’s scream abruptly stopped.  

‘What is this?’  

Outside was a completely different world—black, black, and more black.  

It was an unfamiliar sight in this quiet, dull, and boring village.  

Black horses and knights dressed in black armor.  

“…”  

The overwhelming scene silenced Livie.  

Though she didn’t want to admit it, she was too tense to speak.  

Seeing the group exuding an aura of darkness, her words seemed to vanish.  

‘So that’s why the wind blew like that.’  

The outdoor chapel had an open ceiling, with a platform and chairs placed on the grassy field.  

It made sense that such wind would blow when these people arrived all at once with their horses.  

They looked like grim reapers gathering to welcome the dead.  

And the worst of them, without a doubt, was the man carrying her like a sack.  

The scenery grew even more ominous.  

“What… what is this?”

Livie hurriedly blinked her eyes open and shut. The knights, exuding a murderous aura as if they had emerged from hell, were holding other knights clad in red cloaks tightly in their grasp.  

Those knights in red cloaks were the ones sent by the Duke of Resette to escort her.  

They were waiting to escort Livie to the Resette Dukedom but now appeared as though they could barely breathe, exchanging only anxious glances with one another.  

The knights of the Duke of Resette were renowned for their exceptional swordsmanship. Seeing them held captive like puppets sent chills down Livie’s spine.  

“Boris, Boris?”  

“Hmm?”  

Hearing his name called so sweetly, a wide grin stretched across his face.  

“What is it, Livie?”  

His sparkling eyes even seemed to twinkle.  

“Those… those people. What’s going on? Why are they like that?”  

“Ahh.”  

At her question, Boris finally nodded and answered.  

“They said they were here to take you.”  

Livie, still slung over his shoulder, realized how ridiculous this exchange was. Yet she couldn’t help but continue asking foolish questions.  

“Let them go right now! What are you doing?”  

“No.”  

He replied with a bright smile once again.  

“It’ll be troublesome if I let them go.”  

At that, Livie almost retorted, 

“You’re the troublesome one.”  

But some instinctive fear bubbling up from within silenced her.  

Boris strode toward a massive warhorse that was pawing at the ground. He gently placed Livie onto the saddle.  

His touch was so delicate that it was hard to believe this was the same man who had mercilessly ripped her dress earlier.  

It was as though he were handling a fragile porcelain doll or a butterfly that might crumble if grasped too tightly.  

Sitting on the unusually large horse and looking down, the ground seemed impossibly far away. As Livie flinched in fear, Boris offered a faint smile.  

“Don’t be scared. Leonard doesn’t hurt women.”  

After ensuring she wouldn’t slip from the saddle, he effortlessly mounted behind her. Wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, he pulled her close to him.  

“Um, Boris, Boris?”  

Livie repeatedly called his name. Watching him smile brightly as if pleased to hear her, she found herself momentarily speechless.  

Despite having torn off a significant portion of her dress, it still trailed behind her. Her bare feet dangled below the saddle. Everything was happening too quickly.  

“W-where are we going?”  

The cold touch of his armor brought her back to reality. Boris tugged at the reins, turning the horse around.  

As the horse moved rhythmically, her body swayed back and forth. Thanks to the firm grip of his hands, she didn’t fall or lose her balance.  

“You’ll find out when we get there.”  

He answered nonchalantly, urging the horse to pick up speed.  

From such a high perch, the increasing speed only amplified her fear. Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed Boris’s arm tightly.  

Unaware of the corners of his lips curling up as he pulled her closer, enclosing her in his embrace.  

“No, I don’t need to find out…”  

Shaking with fear, Livie’s trembling seemed to amuse him. He tightened his grip around her slender waist.  

“Ugh.”  

The sudden pressure made her feel as though her insides were being crushed, and she let out a strange sound.  

“Oh, sorry.”  

Boris immediately loosened his hold, his face turning pale.  

“B-but don’t loosen it too much!!”  

The loosened grip caused her to slip slightly from the saddle, prompting her to let out a sharp scream as she clung to him.  

“It’s okay, Livie. You’re fine.”  

A large hand patted her back soothingly.  

Nonetheless, her arms, wrapped tightly around his neck, tensed as though she were strangling him.  

Thus, Boris rode on, holding her in his arms.