Grace opened her green eyes wide.
*You wouldn't know. When you, who exhaust yourself trying to remain calm, open your eyes wide in surprise, what it does to me. When you bite your soft lips, what I want to do to you.*
He had closed the distance by a step before he knew it.
That single step tore down an invisible boundary, and beyond that boundary, reason lost all purpose. The soft, warm texture of her cheek against his right palm, the crimson hue between her lips as he pressed her chin to part them slightly— the beast inside him went wild.
He wanted to get closer and closer.
*Please. Just once.*
Even if only for a single moment, let the one standing beside you be me.
Like a fervent, devout priest, Ares pleaded with Grace. And so, the moment his name finally left her lovely lips, Ares thought that even if the world ended, it would be fine.
*'Ares.'*
Ares, who had been envisioning that moment with vacant eyes, exhaled a ragged breath.
At the recollection of her disheveled golden hair, her reddened lips and eyes from his rough touch, he felt the beast inside him run wild once more.
"I'm going mad, really…."
After splashing water on his face countless times, Ares eventually gave up on sleep.
The night he surrendered to wakefulness was dyed with Grace, as if by natural law. Like nature that gently embraced all things in the world, yet turned cruel one day, striking lightning and overturning the earth, Grace shook him to his core.
The jet-black curtain of night had covered the entire world. But as a hazy light began to seep through the warp and weft of that seemingly impenetrable curtain, the world slowly began to brighten.
Having been shaken all night, Ares was exhausted by then, half-reclining upon the sofa.
Gazing at the dawn that had seemed like it would never arrive at midnight, yet so easily drove out the darkness and reclaimed its color, he finally admitted it.
That pushing Grace away was impossible.
Then what was he to do now?
Ares rose from his seat and began to dress. He washed, put on the formal suit Eliza had prepared herself, and paid his respects to the ancestors according to Richmond tradition.
And instead of heading to the chapel, he let his feet lead him where they would.
"Your Grace…?"
The attendants who followed behind in confusion realized his steps were heading toward Grace's room and smiled quietly.
Mrs. Rexton, who had been directing Grace's preparations, also spotted the groom revealing himself at the end of the hallway. At first, she opened her eyes wide, but soon smiled. Then, as befitting a quick-witted lady's maid, she withdrew the maids busily moving about inside the room.
Grace, who had just been examining her finished reflection in the mirror, turned her body following the movement of the retreating maids. There stood Ares in a black formal suit adorned with gold embellishments. Appearing more dashing than ever, he tugged his lips into a smile.
Grace faltered.
Because his smile had changed overnight. It was not the smile that always hid something sharp, but a warm and gentle one. With his fierce, elongated eyes curved, he greeted her.
"Hello, Grace."
Looking at Grace, so radiant and beautiful, Ares thought:
*However long the days I spend with you may last.*
*Even if the day comes when this relationship meets its ruin. No, such a moment will surely arrive someday.*
*I will be true to you in every moment.*
"You're beautiful today, too."
Grace opened her eyes wide in surprise, but Ares smiled brightly.
* * *
The chapel was luxurious without ostentation, ornate yet elegant, bright in tone yet weighty. It delivered a fresh shock to the numerous nobles. It was not so chaotic that one had nowhere to rest one's eyes, yet everywhere one looked was filled with precious things. Though not excessive in the least, there was not a single small decoration that was not splendid.
But even the beautiful chapel was pushed to the background the moment the main figures of the wedding appeared.
The duke in formal attire wrapped in shining gold embellishments was intense, as if personifying an apex predator. And the bride standing beside him was also so intensely beautiful that one could not look away.
Eliza's wedding dress was designed to need no necklace. Intricate lace wrapped around the neck and continued along the shoulder line to the wrists, and tiny real diamonds studded along the main flow of the lace shone brilliantly. It was a dress so ornate that it might overwhelm the wearer, yet on Grace, it fit as if made for her.
While people could not tear their eyes from the couple's appearances, Eliza thought:
*Something happened between those two.*
Her eyes, having doffed mourning clothes for a bright-toned dress just for today, narrowed slightly. If Ares had met that gaze, he would have cringed.
"Hmm… He seems to be in quite a good mood."
At Eliza's murmur, Mrs. Isaac beside her gave a small dry cough. But regardless, Eliza watched the young man and woman crossing the chapel and smiled.
The night before, Mrs. Isaac had quietly comforted her. But Eliza took her hand and shook her head.
*I'm happy. I'm simply happy, so do not try to comfort me.*
The wedding dress she had thought would never have a chance to be worn again had found its owner. Decorating the chapel she had believed she would never adorn again, she had been happy the whole time.
So how could this be a matter for consolation?
It would be a lie to say she had not thought of the child buried in her heart that night.
They say a child's love for their parents can be buried, but a parent's love for their child cannot.
Is that all? A child who has lost parents is called an orphan, a husband who has lost his wife a widower, a wife who has lost her husband a widow— but what do you call parents who have lost their child? There is no word to call them, as if language itself dare not exist.
So how could she not have thought of that child?
Eliza clasped her withered hands tightly.
When the handsome couple knelt before the Northwestern Archbishop, the archbishop delivered a long blessing. When the blessing ended, the archbishop marked their foreheads with holy water and asked,
"Walter Richmond, do you swear to undertake this holy marriage with a chaste body and mind?"
To his question, Ares answered,
"Yes, I swear."
Then the archbishop turned to Grace and asked,
"Grace, do you swear to undertake this holy marriage with a chaste body and mind?"
"Yes. I swear."
Eliza raised her head a little higher and looked up at the God looking down upon the people.
*Walter.*
*My child.*
"Walter Richmond, do you swear before God to take Grace as your wife and to cherish and love her for all your life?"
"Yes, I swear."
*Forgive this old woman.*
"Grace, do you swear before God to take Walter Richmond as your husband and to respect and love him for all your life?"
"Yes, I swear."
*Forgive me for being elated at this marriage, for simply wanting to bless their future.*
*If this wounds your heart, then on the day I die and go to your side, I shall kneel before you and beg for forgiveness.*
"By this, I solemnly declare before God that the holy matrimony of Walter Richmond and Grace has been accomplished."
Along with thunderous applause, tears flowing from Eliza's eyes fell silently below her chin.