Chapter 467: The Final Wedding

As the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye walked gracefully forward, the stray hair on her head wobbled left and right.

Normally, Himekoji might have thought something like “I want to smooth that stray hair for her,” but now, there was absolutely no room for such thoughts in his mind.

His mind felt a little fuzzy.

His body felt a bit stiff.

He saw the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye walk straight towards him.

The strapless wedding dress, ethereal chiffon, smooth satin. Her slender and delicate collarbone, the gentle curve from her neck to her shoulders were all exposed to the air without any cover.

Such exposure made Himekoji’s heart leap.

Not daring to look much longer, he instinctively lowered his gaze—

And so it landed on the bride’s chest.

Gently wrapped by the elegant, comfortable fabric of the wedding dress, it looked even bigger than three centimeters added! They were even more pronounced!

He could almost make out the valley naturally creased by their form.

So, what was going on?

Had five-centimeter breast pads been used?

“Wumu…”

Perhaps because Himekoji’s gaze was too blatant, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, who had unknowingly walked close, puffed out her cheeks and let out a sound of shy, embarrassed complaint.

Her face flushed crimson, she even raised both hands to cover her chest, as if to block his view.

It seemed to say—

“Don’t look!”

And then—

“Hey! Careful!”

“Huh? Whoa!”

Her hands, meant for holding up the skirt, were forced to cover her chest instead. The long skirt dragged on the ground. Unused to High Heels, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye accidentally stepped on her own long, trailing wedding dress…

So…

She fell…

On the splendid red carpet, in a backward, graceful posture…

Hmm…

Graceful, right?

The Receptionist, who saw everything from the side, turned her head away with a “Pfft!” She lifted her hand to cover her mouth firmly.

She was stifling her laughter, struggling hard to hold it in, her shoulders trembling.

How long had it been since she saw the comedy of a bride tripping while walking down the red carpet?

Adorably foolish.

Instinctively, Himekoji also raised his hand. But not to cover his mouth; he wanted to cover his eyes.

Because he couldn’t bear to watch.

“Eh?! Wait! Blue… blue-and-white?”

But just as he was about to shield his eyes, an image jumped perfectly into his view.

The interlaced stripes of blue and white were like entwined sky and clouds.

She really, actually chose the blue-and-white striped panties after all?

For some reason, his heart was instantly filled with a small surge of joy and secret glee.

This feeling showed on his face; Himekoji’s eyes crinkled into a smile.

Only then did he remember it wasn’t time to just stand there. He quickly stepped forward to help the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye.

“Are you okay?”

Himekoji took hold of the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s hand.

“I’m…”

Her answer was as faint as a mosquito’s hum. Probably because she knew she’d made a complete fool of herself, her normally spirited stray hair now drooped limply over her forehead.

“Mr. Himekoji… You… you laughed at me…”

After letting Himekoji take her hand, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye mumbled this little complaint of dissatisfaction.

“Wh-where…? Pfft! Haha! S-sorry…”

Though he desperately tried to deny it, the uncontrollable curve of his lips was far too obvious, and the laughter that burst out just couldn’t be held back.

Himekoji felt it definitely wasn’t his fault.

It was the heartless Receptionist laughing so loudly over there!

Laughter was contagious, seriously!

“Hmph!”

She snorted in a way that sounded almost like a coquettish pout. After that, however, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye began to giggle foolishly right alongside him.

Himekoji pulled on the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s hand to help her stand. Still giggling foolishly, she then clung onto him, holding his hand tight and refusing to let go.

“Mister Groom, hold the bride’s hand properly, okay?” the Receptionist chimed in at just the right moment, teasing. “Don’t let the bride fall again.”

Although the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye flushed deeply again, she stayed quiet and didn’t argue.

She stole a sideways glance at Himekoji, then quickly looked away, as if caught doing something wrong. Only her hand holding his tightened… and tightened again.

“Cute.”

Suddenly, Himekoji bent down close. He brought his mouth near the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s ear, whispering praise as if it were a secret.

“Eh?”

The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye was startled by his sudden words.

“I meant… your Eye Patch.”

Himekoji explained.

The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s Eye Patch was pure white and heart-shaped, a unique design with its own distinct playful charm.

“Mr. Himekoji’s too.”

Then, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye returned a whispered secret of her own. She stood on tiptoe, leaning close to Himekoji’s ear and saying this.

Their conversation was hidden from the Receptionist.

Though it wasn’t anything improper, if overheard, it would surely be mortifyingly embarrassing. In that sense, both were sufferers of thin skin and got embarrassed easily.

“Yeah?”

Himekoji raised his hand and touched the Bandage covering his left eye. The stylist had ingeniously wrapped it into a heart shape, perfectly matching the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s Eye Patch.

At first, he had protested, saying it was too embarrassing to be wrapped like this. But now, thinking about it… it actually felt pretty good.

As long as the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye liked it.

…

They held hands as they walked down the red carpet all the way onto the Ceremonial Stage.

In front of the Ceremonial Stage stood a huge floor-to-ceiling window, with blue skies and ocean outside.

“Mr. Himekoji, I… I have no more regrets now.”

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye turned around to face Himekoji, smiling softly.

That smile was peaceful and beautiful, full of satisfaction.

The faint weariness from sustaining her spell after wishing was hidden beneath that smile.

The tiny dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night, kept awake only by coffee, were masked by her makeup.

Even that tiny bit of greed, those small desires that sometimes surfaced, were held back—perfectly and forcefully.

Greed is forbidden.

This, was enough.

This time, she even managed to hold back her tears.

Because, she couldn’t embarrass herself every time she was happy by ending up crying like a huge mess.

“But that won’t do.”

Yet, Mr. Himekoji answered her in a way she didn’t expect once again.

“Why… why not?”

“Because… we live for the sake of regrets.”

Just like what Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye had done these past two days—working so hard, being so serious.

He kept those words to himself and didn’t speak them aloud.

He continued gently, putting all his effort into keeping his voice soft,

“Think about it, there should be nothing but regrets, right? Didn’t you say you like eating instant noodles? But you’ve only tried one flavor.”

“Th-there are different flavors?”

She asked such a basic question.

It was because, in Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s world, the only things that mattered were fighting and how to die.

“Of course! Yesterday you had the tonkotsu flavor. Apart from that, there’s old pickled mustard tub flavor, old pickled mustard tub flavor, old pickled mustard tub flavor…”

“Th-this is still only two kinds…”

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye weakly countered.

“We only watched one movie too. In the future, we should go see one every week… no, let’s just see one every day! Action movies, comedies, thrillers, romance… Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, which kind do you like best?”

Without waiting for her answer, Himekoji jumped to another topic,

“We didn’t have enough fun at the Amusement Park either! It’s all because Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, you were too timid! You wouldn’t try the roller coaster, you were afraid of the drop tower, and you refused point-blank to go in the haunted house! Next time, no matter what, we have to make up for it—we’ll try everything!”

Words that should have been full of joy, that should have been said in a light, cheerful tone… yet Himekoji spoke them faster and faster, as if afraid, talking non-stop by himself.

“So… so… promise me, okay? Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye…”

Himekoji realized he was losing composure, which only made him more desperate to force out a smile, but tears, annoyingly, flooded his face first.

Even so, even so, there were still things he had to say—

“So, you must… absolutely must… live on carrying regrets… okay?”

This time, it was as though their roles had swapped; the only one shedding tears uncontrollably was Himekoji.

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye smiled, gently, so very gently.

The bride in her wedding dress stood on tiptoes and softly patted the groom’s head.

“Don’t cry. Isn’t now meant to be a happy time?”

That was all she said in comfort.

“I-I’m crying because I’m happy!”

Himekoji choked out the words, his voice almost breaking,

“Thinking about… in the future… watching movies together with Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye… visiting the Amusement Park together… or doing other sweet things together… I just… I just feel so happy…”

“How wonderful…”

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye breathed out softly, like a sigh.

Her gaze drifted slowly towards the big window outside; the deep blue sea seemed endless, and the white clouds hanging at the edge of the sky scattered in the wind.

“How wonderful…”

She breathed it out once more.

Her smile was partly lonely, slightly broken.

…