Gibben’s recovery was beyond surprising; it was at an astonishing level. On the day of the reception, Gibben had recovered enough to move on his own. Although his steps were much slower than usual, it took less than a week for him to fully walk, even though he couldn’t move at all before.

Sak, looking at him, joked that even if all the poisons in the world were combined and fed to him, he wouldn’t die.

Of course, considering how lethal this particular poison was, if the dosage had been slightly larger or if he had been exposed to another poison concurrently, there would be no guarantee of survival. It was a joke Gibben could make now that his condition had improved.

Anyway, thanks to Gibben entering the final stages of recovery, Riley could relieve some of her worries and join the reception.

However, Riley’s lightened heart unexpectedly became heavy again for an unforeseen reason.

“Riley, look at this!”

Hila, upon seeing Riley, rushed over excitedly and handed her something.

It was today’s hot tabloid, filled only with sensational content without checking the truth. It was also a reporting journal where Gibben often appeared.

Oh, such marriage rumors had surfaced.

Riley’s pupils shook as if experiencing an earthquake. With a very surprised look, Hila added while flailing around.

“Isn’t this amazing? Marrying the Lord of the Dark City! Is he finally coming to his senses?”

Already dealing with a tightly-packed schedule for a day and two nights… to have wedding rumors reported on the same day, it was the worst of the worst.

“It seems to be the work of an external reporter.”

Sak, upon receiving the tabloid, remembered a moment when her heart nearly sank.

‘…This isn’t about the recent incident.’

If a news article had emerged about Gibben Rianster almost being poisoned, her vision would have turned white.

Those who knew that the Dark City seat was vacant were an extremely small number even among the Horizon leadership.

Although it wouldn’t be a big problem if this fact were exposed, it wouldn’t be good either.

If it became publicly known that someone was under the threat of assassination, it would only stimulate those lurking beneath to eagerly await opportunities.

Moreover, revealing that information might not have been a problem, but it had been going on for years, with Gibben being questioned by numerous people ever since he took office as the Dark City’s Lord this year, following the upheaval caused by the murder of his mentor, Yun, and the entire Empire being turned upside down.
Starting with conspiracy theories that he intentionally murdered his mentor to seize the Dark City seat, conflicts with Yun’s other disciples, rumors of embezzling Dark City funds, and even wild speculations like Horizon’s imperial action to counteract its influence—all sorts of absurd conspiracy theories swirled around, causing him great trouble.

Now there were even rumors that the Rianster family was plotting against the emperor.

In such a situation, if the fact that he had been poisoned became known, all those dormant conspiracy theories would resurface, and it would be torn apart again. As there were still a few factions within Horizon opposing Gibben, there was no silver lining in any case.

Living through all this, a moment like this when marriage rumors were so welcome had finally come.

“I should start setting a wedding date soon.”

As expected, Gibben was nonchalant about the marriage rumors.

Well, it wasn’t like he couldn’t be. Marriage wasn’t a big deal, and it might even be an advantage rather than a disadvantage. It was just a matter of picking a date and holding a ceremony; besides, it was something that would eventually be revealed.

“I’ve checked the schedule, but it seems difficult this year. It might be possible next year.”

“That’s too late.”

“Or, how about we quickly have a simple ceremony, then officially register the marriage, and have the wedding next year? Since Miss Riley is also attending the academy, it might not be easy to coordinate the schedule for an immediate wedding.”

“I guess that can’t be helped.”

“How about handling the media coverage? Should we continue with our usual non-response?”

“Let’s do that.”

Because he had been entangled in various rumors and gossip, he had consistently opted for a non-response. He knew well that responding would only fuel the rumors without any benefit.

In fact, considering this, was there a need to remain silent about the already decided marriage rumor? However, he decided to keep quiet, thinking of Riley, who wanted to graduate from the academy quietly.

There was no need to burden her, who was already surrounded by various incidents and events, with a huge scandal like marriage rumors.

‘I guess she must be having a hard time.’