“Very well. Then from this moment on, the two of you will be forever- huh?”

The priest’s voice faltered as he was about to recite the obligatory lines.

Lucas turned to Ariana like lightning.

The guests in the audience stirred, a beat late, sensing something off about the bride’s response.

“What was that just now?”

“Didn’t you say no?”

Lucas, who had been momentarily dazed, tightly grabbed Ariana’s arm.

“Ariana. My Ari.”

Lucas whispered with a bright and gentle smile.

“You were supposed to say ‘yes’ just now. Are you making such mistakes because you’re nervous? Haha, how cute.”

“It wasn’t a mistake.”

Ariana replied, looking straight at Lucas.

“What do you mean…?”

Lucas, whose expression suddenly turned ugly, turned to the priest.

“Ha, haha. My bride seems to be very nervous. Please continue as planned.”

“Ah… um, yes. Then.”

The priest glanced at the bride with a bewildered face. Her expression was too calm for someone who had just dropped a bombshell, making him wonder if he had misheard.

“Then, ahem. If anyone has any objections to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace. Now, let’s move on to the next-”

“I object.”

A clear voice resonated through the crowd.

Elena turned around, startled as if she had seen a ghost.

“Uh, um. Pardon?”

The priest stuttered, looking as if he had bitten his tongue.

The Duke smiled faintly and stood up.

As he unfolded his body that had been lounging like a satiated beast, his presence expanded overwhelmingly.

Countless shocked gazes were fixed on him.

“I oppose this marriage.”

“Yes, what?”

The priest opened his mouth wide as if he had heard an alien language.

Amidst the astonished scene, the Duke took a step forward.

His long stride instantly crossed the carpet, reaching the bride.

In the silence that seemed as if time had stopped, the Duke grabbed Ariana’s wrist.

His intense gaze stared at Ariana as if to devour her.

“Ariana.”

That low, husky voice was so sweet that some ladies unconsciously blushed.

“This won’t do, after all.”

The Duke moistened his lips as if thirsty.

“I can’t give up like this.”

The Duke, who had pulled the wrist he had grabbed, swallowed Ariana’s lips right there.

“Mmph…!”

Her delicate shoulders trembled as if startled.

The Duke trapped even that trembling in his firm embrace, exploring the meeting lips more deeply.

“Hic.”

With a sound like a choked breath, white fists pounded the shoulders that trapped her.

However, the Duke only pulled that body closer, stretching his lips even longer.

The bride’s face, which had instantly turned as red as flower petals, seemed as bewildered as the guests, but the shocked onlookers couldn’t see that far.

The bride in the middle of her wedding ceremony is kissing another man.

The priest, witnessing this unprecedented situation up close, fumbled his lips frantically like someone who had lost his voice.

Thump, thump thump.

Whether from lack of breath or for some other reason, the bride, whose face had now turned as red as a ripe apple, pounded the Duke’s body wildly.

Only then did he reluctantly lift his head.

His red eyes, more heated than usual, looked down at the bride who was breathing heavily. His smile, tinged with deep satisfaction, was like a beast that had just finished a feast.

“Wh-what… What is this.”

The groom was the first to come to his senses.

Lucas shouted with a face that had turned bright red as if about to explode.

“Gasp, this, huff… What on earth are you doing, Your Grace!”

His voice trembled miserably, so excited that he was even panting.

Only then did the Duke, still holding the bride with one arm, turn his gaze to the groom and speak.

“I’ve decided. I won’t give her to the likes of you.”

Lucas, momentarily stunned by the piercing gaze, soon regained his senses and retorted.

“Th-this… This is absurd! Ariana is my fiancée! My bride! Even if you’re a Duke, this kind of behavior is unacceptable! Get away from my bride right-”

“Shut up, Marquis.”

“Wh-what did you say?!”

Turning his back on the enraged Lucas, the Duke whispered to Ariana.

“Ariana Lopez.”

Ariana, wiping her wet lips, looked up at him with shaking eyes.

The Duke smiled pleasantly, seeming to welcome even her sharp gaze, and said.

“Isn’t it time to choose the right answer now?”

“…”

“Choose me instead of that fool. No one will cherish you more than I do.”

“Ariana!”

The frenzied Lucas shouted, thrashing about.

“You’re not going to listen to such nonsense, are you?! It’s me, Lucas Fedegrin! The one you loved so much!”

Lucas cried out desperately, grabbing Ariana’s arm.

As the Duke was about to intervene, Ariana spoke first.

“…Marquis.”

Ariana looked at Lucas with eyes that had tears in the corners, perhaps due to the kiss from earlier.

Lucas quickly nodded at her appearance, which was as pitiful as it was pure.

“Y-yes, Ariana. My Ari.”

Although he didn’t know why the Duke was suddenly acting like this, he couldn’t lose Ariana.

If only Ariana, who used to revere his words like heaven, would choose him, even the ruthless Duke couldn’t steal her away in front of so many people.

“Were you scared? Come to me quickly. I-I’ll protect you!”

Lucas spread his arms wide as if trying to protect his woman from a thug. Although Lucas wasn’t particularly short, the difference in build compared to the Duke made him look like a rodent instinctively puffing itself up in front of a predator.

“I, I’ve decided.”

Lucas turned to Ariana with unbelieving eyes.

“…Decided?”

“I don’t think I can marry you after all, Marquis.”

Her voice was calm, but her words were resolute.

Lucas, with a dumbfounded expression, faithfully went through the five stages of grief.

“You’re… joking, right? Ariana.”

First, denial.

But when Ariana’s expression remained unchanged, Lucas began to tremble with anger.

“Are you saying you’re going to… huh. Br-break off our engagement? At the wedding venue?!”

Lucas raised his hand and pointed at the Duke.

“You’re going to leave me and take that man’s hand? You’re crazy! Do you know who he is? He’s a murderer, a human butcher!”

“Even a murderer has ears to hear with.”

Lucas flinched, but at this moment, anger overwhelmed fear.

“Ariana! Why are you suddenly acting like this? Do you want to be thrown into a mental hospital?!”

For a moment, contempt flashed across Ariana’s face.

Slapping away Lucas’s hand, Ariana said.

“Even if it weren’t for His Grace, my choice would have been the same. I’d rather choose to grow old and die alone.”

Ariana slightly bowed her head and coldly spat out so that only Lucas could hear.

“Rather than entrust my body to the filthy hands that play with my sister.”

“Ah, ah… Ariana.”

Lucas’s mouth gaped open and closed.

‘You knew?’

His body staggered from the shock.

‘Since when?’

“Ari, that’s…”

Lucas, who had been mumbling blankly, gritted his teeth.

“It’s… it’s a misunderstanding. I can explain everything.”

“That ended, quite quickly.”

Before entering the venue.

The moment he heard that strange voice, the uneasy feeling that had been seeping in turned into a nightmare.

Lucas grabbed Ariana’s wrist.

“Let’s talk alone, Ariana.”

“Don’t.”

Shaking off that hand, Ariana said in a frosty voice.

“Sully my body with your filthy hands.”

Lucas looked at Ariana with disbelieving eyes.

However, he wasn’t given time to be dazed.

“You heard her?”

A low, languid voice pierced Lucas’s ear.

“Your bride chose me.”

Lucas looked up at him blankly.

He saw the Duke’s face, smiling contentedly like a satiated lion.

“So now she’s my woman.”

With those words, the Duke lifted the bride and slung her over his shoulder.

As if it was an unplanned action, a small “Kyaak!” burst from the bride’s mouth.

Everyone looked on with astonishment as the Duke turned to leave.

‘The Duke is stealing the bride.’

‘What on earth is…’

‘What am I witnessing?’

Shocked gazes poured in.

‘Good heavens. This is the most interesting wedding of my life.’

Among them, some were gleaming with the realization that today’s events would be a drinking story for decades to come.

‘Breaking news. This is breaking news material!’

There was also the Information Guild Master, continuously operating his camera.

“St-stop! Return Ari to me! You absolutely cannot take her!”

Lucas, belatedly coming to his senses, hurriedly blocked the Duke’s path.

“Oh?”

The Duke looked down at the obstacle and smiled fiercely.

“Try to stop me if you can.”

The glint in his red irises was a palpable killing intent.

“If you don’t value your life.”

Lucas momentarily lost his balance and staggered.

The Duke passed by Lucas with a cold sneer.

“Guards! Damn it, someone stop him!”

Lucas shouted belatedly, but there was no one who could stand in his way.

The uninvited guest left the venue without any hindrance.

With the beautiful bride slung over his shoulder like a trophy.

“Ariana! Ariana!”

Lucas, whose body had finally unfrozen, frantically chased after them.

“Damn it all, I absolutely won’t allow this! I’ll definitely get you back! Ariana!”

“Kyaaah! The Marchioness has fainted again!”

In the venue left behind by the bride and groom, commotion exploded like fireworks.