Chapter 21

“With this, the two are now husband and wife. No matter what lies ahead, may you face it together as one.”

Standing before the officiant, the newlyweds gazed at each other with blushing faces. At last, the marriage was sealed.

“Groom, please kiss the bride.”

Adrian carefully lifted the veil covering Vivian’s face. With a faint excitement and anticipation coloring her cheeks pink, Vivian looked up at Adrian shyly.

“Vivi.”

Now that nothing stood in their way, Adrian held Vivian’s face in both hands and kissed her. Normally, the wedding kiss was just a gentle touch of lips, followed by a quick retreat. But Adrian ignored all custom and devoured Vivian’s lips as if he would never let go.

“Mmmph!”

The veil that Adrian had gently lifted slipped back down with his eager movements, allowing Adrian to indulge in Vivian’s lips while they were hidden beneath it.

“Oh my!”

“Tsk! These youngsters these days!”

“Kyaa!”

“You’ve waited so long, Adrian!”

“A real man, Adrian!”

The guests were quickly swept up in excitement at the unexpectedly passionate display. Older guests clicked their tongues and cleared their throats, while Vivian’s friends blushed and imagined the kiss beneath the veil with sparkling eyes.

Adrian’s friends, knowing how long he had waited, whistled and cheered. No one would believe a man had waited six years for his fiancée to grow up, but Adrian had truly done just that.

Only the officiant, standing right in front of the couple, looked flustered and kept clearing his throat. But the bride and groom, lost in their own world, showed no sign of separating. The officiant glanced between their parents, hoping someone would intervene, but their faces were full of pride, so he could only sigh in resignation.

Inside the veil, Adrian was absorbed in licking Vivian’s lips. At first, Vivian tried to push Adrian away in surprise, but after a week apart, she craved him just as much and soon clung to him. Since their first night together, the wedding preparations had kept her so busy that she hadn’t even been able to hold his hand properly.

“Mmm.”

“Vivi, Vivi. I love you.”

“Me too, Eddie.”

Adrian slipped his tongue inside her lips again, swirling it freely, then licked the wet corners of Vivian’s mouth, cleaning them as he smiled.

“Tsk! Enough already!”

At last, unable to wait any longer, the officiant barked at them. Adrian finally emerged from beneath the veil, his lips smeared with the lipstick Vivian had worn. The guests burst into laughter at the sight, but Adrian, simply happy, smiled brightly.

Adrian and Vivian walked down the aisle, showered with blessings from the guests. Flower petals floated through the air, fireworks exploded here and there, and paper flowers rained down on their heads.

After the wedding, the reception followed. Only close friends and family gathered to celebrate the couple.

Adrian and Vivian, now dressed in pale yellow dress and jacket instead of their white wedding attire, mingled with each guest, exchanging words.

“Vivian. Adrian, Young Lord.”

When Cordelia approached, Vivian instinctively became wary and gripped Adrian’s arm tightly. Cordelia, folding her fan, spoke with an indignant expression.

“So you’ve finally taken my younger sibling for yourself, Young Lord.”

Vivian was startled by the cold, hostile voice. She was doubly surprised to realize that the target of that anger was Adrian.

“Uh, Sister?”

“You snatched my little sibling away from our family when she was only six, and now, as soon as she’s an adult, you take her away for good—how shameless!”

Vivian could only blink in confusion.

“…Sister?”

All she could do was call out to Cordelia, again and again, with no meaning behind it. While Vivian was flustered, Adrian calmly patted the back of her hand, which was wrapped around his arm.

“Sister! Please don’t do this!”

Shelia rushed over to stop Cordelia. But Cordelia, determined to say her piece, placed one hand on her hip and pointed at Adrian with the other.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice how you kept slipping away every time I tried to talk to you?”

In fact, ever since arriving at the ducal residence, Cordelia had been looking for the right moment to have this conversation with Adrian—just to ask for a little freedom for Vivian.

Cordelia had always felt sorry for Vivian, who had lived apart from her family since she was very young. After Cordelia’s engagement to Adrian was called off, and Vivian became his fiancée and left for the ducal residence, it was a long time before Cordelia had another fiancé. During that time, Cordelia grew up loved by her parents and close to Shelia, but she always missed her youngest sibling.

Cordelia couldn’t shake the thought that Vivian became Adrian’s fiancée in her place, and that was why she had to be separated from her family. That thought turned into resentment toward Adrian, who had chosen Vivian and taken her away.

“Vivian has only just become an adult. She should have more freedom, not be married off right away…!”

“Oh dear, it’s a shame you feel that way, Madame.”

Adrian’s face remained smiling, while Cordelia glared at him, unable to hide her frustration. Shelia, unable to stop the argument, just sighed repeatedly, and Vivian, unable to grasp the situation, looked lost.

“Sister, you never say a kind word to Vivian, but you’re jealous of Young Lord Adrian, for what you can’t do yourself.”

“Jealous? Jealous! What are you saying, Shelia?”

“Vivi, it seems Madame Cordelia thinks I’m not good enough for you.”

With the tense atmosphere between Adrian and Cordelia—though only on Cordelia’s side—Vivian, who once thought her sister was interested in Adrian, felt embarrassed. Memories of clinging to Adrian out of jealousy toward her sister came flooding back, along with everything that happened since, making Vivian’s face turn bright red.

As she looked like she was about to burst into tears, Cordelia, who had been growling all along, finally noticed Vivian and looked surprised.

“Vivian’s startled! Are you really criticizing me in front of my own sibling?”

“Of course not. I’m just pleading with Vivian because Madame doesn’t approve of me. I’m asking her to see me kindly.”

Adrian, treating Cordelia’s anger like the barking of a small dog, hugged Vivian and hid her face. Then he whispered softly in her ear.

“Vivi, you should only make that face in bed.”

“You’re terrible!”

Vivian buried her flushed face in Adrian’s arms. Adrian let out a low chuckle and carried Vivian out of the banquet hall. Cordelia, still fuming, was left to her husband, who had appeared at some point, while flower petals rained down to bless the bride and groom.

In the midst of the festive atmosphere, no one looked for the vanished newlyweds.