“Do I look different?”

Shahar brushed the shadows from my eyes.

“You’ve certainly lost weight, but to me, you’re always beautiful.”

“Not my appearance. My heart has changed.”

Shahar’s eyes wavered for a moment but soon returned to their usual calm and serious look.

“It doesn’t matter. My heart remains the same.”

“I love you, Shahar. Even more than before.”

Like magic, his face softened instantly.

And the unease that had stuck to me like tar vanished as if it were a lie.

Even if I was just a stand-in protagonist, I instinctively knew this time. This time, I had truly saved the world.

My once empty heart was now overflowing.

“I love you too, Shahar. I already—”

“I know. I know how much you love me.”

I reached out and hugged him tightly. Even in my emotional state, my mind was filled with cunning plans.

Seren had given me a tip. The most basic institution to bind someone was marriage.

Among the jewels I had packed in my bag was the wedding ring given by the Sun God.

Shahar would never agree to marriage. He was so old-fashioned, firmly believing that the living must remain on the earth. And he thought marriage without being together was even more impossible.

Dragging out time as lovers would only reduce the chances of his heart changing.

Even after being someone’s fiancée for ten years, the marriage had fallen through. In such an ambiguous relationship, it was even more uncertain.

But I knew well that once we were married, he would change his mind. Given his character, he wouldn’t be able to stand not fulfilling his duties as a husband.

Regardless of Shahar’s wishes, I was determined to marry him.

A snatch-and-grab operation had to be swift. I had come fully prepared for it.

I gave him a subtle smile.

“What have you been doing while I was gone?”

“I planned to beautify the Underworld so that you wouldn’t feel sad when we reunited.”

“How was it? Was it worth doing?”

“Yes. Knowing it was a place you once stayed and would return to, I couldn’t leave it alone.”

How could I not love a man like this?

“That’s great. But I’ll tour it later. There’s something I want to do right now.”

* * *

As usual, I pulled him to the bed today. Shahar, unaware of anything, responded to my seduction.

When he touched my clothes, I coyly pushed him away.

“I want to do it differently today.”

“Differently?”

“Yes. Because it’s always been the same…?”

At my random excuse, Shahar’s face grew serious.

“Are you tired of me?”

“Of course not. We can just try something different.”

I took out a blindfold and covered Shahar’s eyes. His masculine jawline and sensual lips stood out. Though flustered, he let me do what I wanted.

Suppressing the urge to kiss him immediately, I carefully took out a piece of paper from my pocket without making any noise.

It was a marriage registration form.

“Guess what part you’re touching.”

I pressed his thumb to my red-painted lips and rubbed it.

Shahar’s lips curved into a pleasing arc.

“It’s a place that says incomprehensible things but is impossible to hate. Lips.”

“Who’s talking… Then what about here?”

My long hair flowed like water over his large hand.

He pulled my hand and hair together and kissed them.

“Hair.”

I was so entranced by the scene that I almost forgot what I was doing.

“W-where should I touch next…?”

Pretending to ponder, I quickly pressed his finger, covered in makeup, firmly onto the form.

Unique fingerprints, different from humans, imprinted clearly.

I felt like a master swindler tricking the King of the Underworld. Thankfully, I had no physical body. Given how sensitive he was to my heartbeat, he would have surely noticed.

Shahar tilted his head, feeling the unfamiliar texture of the paper.

I quickly dropped the marriage registration form to the floor and pushed it under the bed out of sight. At the same time, I placed Shahar’s hand somewhere random.

“J-just touched something else for a moment. So, what about here?”

This time, Shahar hesitated to answer.

Looking down at where his hand had landed, I blushed. My soft chest was squished under his hand.

Awkwardly removing his hand, I asked,

“How is it? Fun?”

Shahar smiled gently.

“I’d rather see your face.”

“Well done, Shahar. You didn’t get the last answer right, but you tried hard, so I’ll take off the blindfold.”

I slowly removed the blindfold. I saw the eyes I loved. Countless ages flowed quietly within them.

“Say you’ll be mine forever.”

“You know it already without me saying. I’ve given you my body, soul, and future.”

“Good.”

I slipped a ring onto his finger.

Then, I put a matching ring on my finger.

“This is a gift and a shackle from me. Given by the Sun God, it’s irreversible. With these rings, we are mates recognized by heaven and earth. In earthly terms, we’re married… As long as Shahar accepts, everyone will be happy and peaceful.”

Seeing me ramble, Shahar looked speechless.

My lips dried, fearing he might reject this absurd proposal.

“No matter how reckless and fearless you are, to do it this way…”

“You don’t hate it, do you? But it’s too late to take it back now.”

“How could I hate it? You’ve always been more than I deserve. I’m just worried. You don’t know what it means to be my spouse. How greedy and vile I am.”

Maybe Shahar didn’t know the meanings of greed and vileness.

“Don’t think like that. What matters is now, not the future. And you should worry about yourself, not me.”

I’m greedier than Shahar thinks.

And so, we became officially (almost) married. Once we returned to the surface and submitted the papers, we would be legally spouses.

After a long night, Shahar took me somewhere. It was a garden in full bloom with jewel flowers. The light reflected off each jewel, dazzling my eyes.

“I wanted to show you this when you returned to my side. In time, it will spread across the entire Underworld.”

“You prepared all this in just a few months?”

Shahar nodded awkwardly but soon spoke more seriously than anyone.

“It’s shameless, but will you marry me?”

I couldn’t believe my ears at the sudden proposal. Seeing me unable to answer, he quickly added,

“I know we can’t have a proper ceremony here. The date is tight, and we can’t invite guests. But I promise this. If you accept, I’ll prepare the most luxurious ceremony in the world. As for guests… if we gather all the Underworld officials—”

“Alright. And about the guests… it’s okay…”

I barely managed to speak. Being so happy that your throat tightens is exactly what this situation was. But I absolutely did not want to receive congratulations from ghosts.

I couldn’t even bear to imagine a gloomy wedding that couldn’t be distinguished from a funeral. All I needed was Shahar.

The most important thing in a wedding is a handsome husband.

In that sense, this wedding had everything, so no other preparations were necessary.

I wanted to hold the ceremony immediately, but Shahar asked me to wait for a few days.

As he promised, the wedding was carried out very swiftly.

The venue was the garden where he proposed. The attendees were just Shahar and me.

We looked into each other’s eyes and vowed our love.

“I swear to love you eternally and unchangingly.”

“From this moment, I will love you with all that I am.”

Even though it would never happen, even if time passed and my heart changed, my current love for him would remain unchanged.

Our short and simple wedding ended.

However, in romance novels, the essence and core of a marriage lie in the wedding night.

I entered the bedchamber with him.

“My dear, I feel both sorry and grateful that you chose someone as lacking as me.”

“Then, please treat me well.”

“I swear.”

Though it wasn’t our first night together, tonight was very special.

Shahar covered my bare body with his.

My heart no longer beat, but that didn’t matter anymore. Shahar, who had become surprisingly adept, left me utterly spellbound in many ways.

“How was I in your memories? Was I indifferent to you?”

“You were very kind and generous. Just like now.”

Without Shahar, I might have become a vengeful ghost and fallen into a deeper hell.

The grudge, compounded by my parents’ share, was so deep that a few sips of the waters of oblivion couldn’t fill it.

And in an unexpected moment, Shahar lowered himself to listen to me. His kindness melted the grudge embedded in my soul and etched love over the exposed wounds.

Feeling relieved and happy that he was by my side, I hugged him even tighter.