Chapter 106

Yurik, who had finished talking with the attendant arranging the luggage, quietly approached and gently stroked the back of her neck, hidden by her hair, as he stood beside her.

……It was the spot where he had clung to her and left a deep kiss mark the night before.

Raihan, who was unaware of this, kindly asked after Yurik’s well-being, who had once again had to board the ship.

“Are you all right now?”

“As you can see.”

Yurik shrugged in response to Raihan’s question. Now that she looked, for some reason, the relationship between the two men seemed much smoother than before. Had they come to some sort of agreement without her knowing?

Thinking back, things had been odd since the Pezento Fireworks Festival. Why, hadn’t all three of them slept in the same bed that time? Even then, the two didn’t seem to be on bad terms.

Her attention, which had been observing the two men, was drawn by Raihan’s calm voice.

“I could have gone myself.”

“I wanted to come back.”

He answered decisively, shaking his head.

After all, it was a place where she would spend about half of her life. Even if not all her memories there were good, she could erase the bad ones. She truly thought of it as a good place.

After that, she spent her days peacefully in Elvirtein.

However, if asked whether those peaceful days were truly comfortable both physically and mentally, that wasn’t the case. To be precise, her mind was at ease, but her body never had a moment’s rest. She had to get new dresses fitted, worry about her hairstyle for the wedding day—there were mountains of things to do.

The people of Elvirtein treated her with sincere devotion.

It was revealed that she was actually the queen of the festival, and also the owner of Dinua Garden. Upon hearing this, she gladly promised to open the garden. There was no point in leaving it unused, and she had already taken everything her mother had prepared there.

Also, when she met Vicente again, his expression was far from pleased, but he seemed to think this was the best outcome, and soon left with a smile, asking her to take care of things.

With the future decided, the three of them had many conversations.

The first thing they discussed was her title and the issue of marriage.

Raihan, who had only recently learned about her grandmother’s will, looked quite surprised. At the same time, he apologized, saying he felt responsible for putting her in such a dilemma.

In truth, she had thought of this unique way of marrying before Elvirtein’s odd negotiation proposal, so she didn’t feel offended. Rather, because public opinion had shifted that way, there was little noise even in the current situation.

Also, she finally resolved her curiosity about the relationship between the two men.

As she suspected, on the second night of the Pezento Fireworks Festival, the two men had reached an agreement. They didn’t tell her what the agreement was… but essentially, they decided to tone down their mutual wariness and constant bickering.

At the end of the conversation, they added that the agreement was possible because their affection for her outweighed their jealousy toward each other. Furthermore, after she had hovered between life and death, their unity became even stronger.

‘No wonder…….’

She had wondered how Yurik could act as if he knew exactly how Raihan would behave. She didn’t know what kind of discussion they’d had that allowed them to react without surprise to even such words……

Moreover, during that time, Raihan had become a Grand Duke, so he was now Grand Duke Raihan L. Mortero, not just Raihan Elvirtein. However, the mansion they would live in was still under construction, so they were staying at the imperial palace.

“You’re not a Prince anymore.”

“That’s right.”

As they talked about where to live, what sort of interior they liked, and so on, the topic naturally shifted to the wedding.

“Do you have a place you’d like to hold the ceremony?”

“Oh, I’ve actually thought of somewhere…….”

As her words trailed off, she smiled meaningfully at the two men, who looked at her with questioning eyes.

* * *

What she had prepared in advance was a ceremony held on a cruise. In other words, a wedding at sea.

Of course, the ship would be docked, and she wanted to spread a wedding road on deck and hold the ceremony there. There were several reasons for choosing a cruise.

First, she didn’t want a large crowd of guests, nor did she want anything overly extravagant. Above all, she wanted a unique experience, so after much thought, this idea came to her.

She liked the idea at first, but immediately worried about Yurik. She wondered if he might struggle just with boarding the ship. Although he seemed fine traveling between Essen and Elvirtein, she couldn’t be sure.

So, as they traveled to Elvirtein this time, she subtly asked him.

Was he afraid of being on the sea, on this ship?

Yurik laughed as if he’d heard a clumsy joke, but when her face started to fall, he hurriedly answered.

“It’s fine. As long as I don’t fall in.”

“And riding on it?”

“It’s not a trauma I’ve experienced myself, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”

After saying that, Yurik took a deep breath and added in a small voice. Falling into the sea made him feel helpless, so he hated it. Thinking about whether those people from that day felt the same way was even more unsettling.

“But you told me it’s okay.”

“Hmm?”

“You said you’d stay by my side. I wasn’t out of my mind, you know.”

He was referring to the time when he’d fallen into the sea and had just been rescued.

Sometimes, simple comfort is more effective. Long-winded words can lose their way. Anyway, she was glad her simple reassurance had helped.

Thus, she decided to hold the wedding on the cruise.

In the middle of July, the elegant and massive cruise was filled inside with pure white fabrics, decorations, and soft green plants.

For this day, the well-prepared dock and the deck of the cruise shone brilliantly.

Everyone had different opinions on where to hold the wedding. Some suggested holding it four times, once in each country, while others said to do it once and choose the location by another method.

After much deliberation, they decided to have it just once in Essen.

Holding this grand event four times would be too exhausting for her, and holding it twice, once with each man, would lose the initial excitement.

They chose Essen because it was the country where she first met both Yurik and Raihan.

From the deck, she could see a crowd of reporters at the dock. Today’s wedding was closed to both reporters and nobles.

Although the political situation had forced this kind of union, the so-called ‘Triangle Scandal’ was simply about love, so she had no desire to become a spectacle.

‘At most, they’ll get a few tiny photos of us.’

Looking up, the sky was bright and clear, as if blessing the day.

The white fabrics draped all over the ship contrasted beautifully with the blue, making everything feel even more vivid.

The ceremony was conducted differently from usual. Instead of a solemn officiant, the groom entering, the bride entering, and a vow kiss, it was more like a free-spirited banquet.

Only today’s bride and grooms—just the three of them—walked the wedding road. The guests were all friends or family. On Raihan’s side, even Vicente had come secretly. As for her and Yurik… well, with no family, there was no one else to invite.

The officiant, Nina’s mother, Duchess Chapelle, said she’d never seen a wedding like this, but couldn’t help smiling.

Then, when it was time to exchange rings,

Everything became quiet. It was as if everyone had been waiting for this moment.

In that atmosphere, Yurik was the first to kneel before her. His handsome face shone even more today. How could he look dignified even from below?

Yurik gently took her left hand, his touch trembling slightly with nerves, and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. Then, as if making a vow, he pressed his lips to the ring for a long moment before letting go.

Yurik rose, and then Raihan, who was standing beside her, knelt on one knee. Like Yurik, he placed a ring on the same finger and pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

The two wedding rings, placed one after the other, both sat on her left ring finger.

She had chosen thin rings on purpose, so they matched well together. The size of the gem or number of carats didn’t matter to her. Of course, it was a kind of display, but she had no need for such things.

Now it was her turn to place the rings.

One on Yurik’s left ring finger, and one on Raihan’s left ring finger.

Finally, the applause of congratulations burst forth from all around.

She quietly let out a sigh of relief, shaking off the tension that had built up unnoticed. Just then, Yurik wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her close, and pressed his lips firmly to the corner of her mouth. It looked almost like a kiss.

As screams and applause erupted again, Raihan, as if unwilling to lose, pulled her to his side and pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth as well.

However, it was on the opposite side from where Yurik had kissed her. Even indirectly, it was clear they didn’t want their lips to touch, which made her burst out laughing.

“Are you happy?”

“Of course.”

“Are you okay now?”

She answered Raihan’s question without hesitation, but paused for a moment at Yurik’s. She couldn’t pretend not to know what he meant.

Are you no longer afraid of the future? Are you sure you want to be with us?

Of course, she wasn’t suddenly afraid anymore.

Just like her mother’s wishes left in the letter, she had found someone to walk the path with, someone she could rely on. Someone who had patiently waited for her wandering, someone who filled her emptiness.

The reason she paused was simply to look at the tokens of love on her left ring finger.

The two rings, set with tiny gems, sparkled in the sunlight.

Just like the glimmer of the sea, and the scales on a lake.

“……Yes.”

She nodded with a bright smile.

Finally, she was free from her long-held emptiness.

* * *

[Exclusive] 〈Triangle Scandal〉 ends with the most extraordinary wedding in history!