Chapter 1082: 69. The Door to Happiness
“Holy shit! Damn! Since when did women fighting look like this? I almost thought those old bastards from the Kingdom had come back for another war!”
Inside the Empire’s central intelligence chamber, a certain pink bear mascot lounged comfortably in a chair, casually stuffing popcorn into its fluffy bear mouth while remotely spectating the battle through the Empire’s highest-grade surveillance system.
Strictly speaking, it did not really count as spying.
After all, Her Majesty the Empress had personally entered the battlefield. Naturally, the Empire needed constant updates on the situation in order to provide support at any moment.
Though judging by the current circumstances...
Anyone who rushed up there would probably just become dead weight.
The current Celicia was terrifyingly fierce, battling several equally terrifying women in a fight so intense it practically shattered heaven and earth themselves...
No matter who eventually won, Pink Bear had already begun mourning a certain someone’s future.
“Mmm... wonder when this’ll finally end. That hateful woman’s been watching me way too closely lately. I still want to sneak some good alcohol during the wedding banquet.”
Pink Bear rubbed its stomach while muttering to itself, eagerly hoping Celicia would hurry up and win so it could go—
“Lord Pink Bear!”
Suddenly, an intelligence officer rushed inside, interrupting Pink Bear’s fantasy.
“Lady Phyllis is contacting us!”
“Phyllis? What’s she suddenly contacting me for?”
“She says there’s an anomaly with the Grand Barrier.”
“An anomaly? Wasn’t that thing made by her teacher?”
Pink Bear cursed while taking the communication stone.
“This old spinster—did her brain get caught in a door? Calling me at a time like—hello? Ah, dear little sister Phyllis, what is it?”
“Pink Bear!”
Phyllis’ voice sounded panicked.
“Activate every magic observation mirror in the intelligence center and aim them toward the Grand Barrier northwest of Belrand! Coordinates: two-four, five-one, seven-zero-five! I need to know what that thing is. Hurry!”
“What are you talking about? Wasn’t the fluctuation in the Grand Barrier caused by your teacher? You still haven’t caught her?”
Pink Bear casually shoved more popcorn into its mouth.
“Need my help? That old fossil really deserves a beating.”
“That old fossil is standing right next to me right now! Sweating buckets!”
Inside the Royal Mage Corps’ central control room, both Phyllis and the old man were staring fixedly at the violently trembling Grand Barrier control core before them, cold sweat covering their foreheads.
Phyllis had even abandoned every shred of ladylike dignity as she screamed at full volume:
“The Grand Barrier issue wasn’t [N O V E L I G H T] caused by this old bastard either! There’s an actual problem! One minute ago, something tore through the Grand Barrier in thirteen seconds flat and entered Belrand!”
“Huh?!”
Pink Bear instantly jolted upright.
“What the hell did you just say?”
...
...
The academy.
The underground sea of flowers.
“Hit her! Yeah, right there! Ahhh, why’s your control over Holy Light so lousy? If your teacher were here, she’d have already shoved a Holy Light spear straight up the enemy’s ass! And you! Your anti-magic armor’s already damaged that badly and you still didn’t repair it before fighting again?! Ugh, such a perfect opportunity wasted!”
A certain white-haired little girl was sprawled across a rocking chair, sucking on a lollipop while wildly waving her arms around as though she wished she could personally jump into the fight herself.
But suddenly—
Her movements stopped.
She turned her head and looked toward a certain direction in surprise.
“Oh my...”
Mela raised an eyebrow, her expression turning strange.
“Looks like this little scuffle was only the appetizer.”
Something dangerous flickered across her eyes.
“The real show... is about to begin.”
...
...
The new chapel.
Muen stood on the stage, still completely stunned.
After all, if anyone were thrown into prison, interrogated relentlessly, fed a final meal, dragged toward what looked exactly like an execution ground, only to then be told that the entire thing was a misunderstanding and they were not a criminal at all, but instead the groom about to enter the happiest marriage of his life—
If their brain did not overload on the spot, that alone proved their mental fortitude was absurdly powerful.
“So... are you absolutely sure this is a wedding and not an execution ground?”
Muen asked the priest beside him yet again.
“Execution ground? Does this really look like an execution ground to you?”
The priest frowned, then suddenly realized something.
“Oh, right. For a playboy like you, getting married probably doesn’t feel very different from going to the execution block.”
“......”
That’s not what I fucking meant, you bastard!
At long last, Muen finally understood why the misunderstanding had continued all the way until the moment he was shoved onto the stage.
And he also finally understood the meaning behind all those pitying gazes and bizarre actions earlier.
So everyone simply assumed that for the continent’s most notorious playboy—the man with the most scandalous romantic rumors alive—marriage was basically equivalent to dying once.
A misunderstanding!
A complete misunderstanding!
By heaven and earth, Muen Campbell was a one-hundred-percent pure gold good man!
...Though even a good man might have trouble adapting to suddenly fast-forwarding straight into marriage.
“This really is my wedding with Celicia?”
Muen could not help asking once more.
According to the progression he had imagined, shouldn’t the war have ended with an engagement ceremony first?
Then after the engagement, they would slowly discuss the marriage afterward.
So how had things suddenly skipped straight to this?!
“My child, I know your mind is in chaos right now.”
The priest patted Muen’s shoulder kindly.
“But who isn’t? Every man reaches this step feeling nervous. Feeling panicked. This is a necessary road every man must walk.”
“No, I just think my ‘necessary road’ was a little too short. It felt like I got isekai’d halfway through.”
“Don’t get caught up in such details. Look.”
The priest raised his hand and pointed toward the massive doors directly opposite Muen.
“From the moment you stepped onto this stage, only the bride may open those doors. Then she will slowly walk toward you through applause, flowers, and music.”
His voice grew emotional.
“Imagine that scene, my child. How beautiful it will be. How intoxicating. You will remember it for the rest of your life.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be memorable.”
Muen forced out a bitter smile.
“But I still just want to understand how things turned into this.”
Truthfully, he really had not prepared himself for this moment at all.
There were too many things he still needed to deal with.
Too many choices he still had not made.
One after another, the faces of various girls surfaced in his mind, preventing him from fully focusing on this wedding.
And yet—
He could not truly blame the “mastermind” behind all this.
Because he understood very clearly what kind of resolve and determination that girl must have carried while forcing all this into reality.
Just taking the risk of being besieged by all the others...
Wait.
Celicia still hadn’t shown up yet after all this time.
Don’t tell me she actually went off to fight the others?!
“Stop thinking so much!”
The priest suddenly barked loudly, dragging Muen out of his thoughts.
“Focus only on waiting for the bride’s arrival. When that moment comes, you will become the happiest man in the world!”
“...Happiness, huh?”
After the priest’s passionate guidance—no, brainwashing—Muen could only stare fixedly at those doors.
He still could not imagine what his life after marriage would look like.
But perhaps, just as the priest had said...
This really would become the happiest moment of his entire life.
Creak.
A beam of light from above the chapel perfectly illuminated the doors.
And within that radiance—
The doors slowly opened, scattering countless glowing motes into the air.
“Hurry hurry hurry! Her Majesty has arrived! Music! Flowers! Applause!”
The priest reacted fastest, immediately waving frantically toward the people on both sides of the chapel.
At once, beautiful wedding music began to play.
Delicate flower petals scattered into the air, carpeting the path the bride would walk.
All the guests rose to their feet and burst into enthusiastic applause!
The joyful atmosphere instantly infected everyone present.
They were about to witness the birth of a blessed new couple.
“Waaah...”
Amid the applause, the Lion King could not stop himself from crying.
“To think... I’d actually live long enough to see this day. No regrets. No regrets at all! Even if that brat blames me for the rest of his life, it’ll still have been worth it!”
“Who wouldn’t feel that way?”
Professor Prang sighed emotionally beside him.
“When I watched you get married back then, I probably felt exactly the same.”
“Sigh, though that brat doesn’t seem very appreciative.”
Lorne looked toward the stage and noticed that Muen showed absolutely no joy whatsoever. Instead, he looked utterly stunned, as though the bride’s sudden appearance had completely shocked him.
Instantly, irritation rose inside Lorne.
“Sure, dragging him here and forcing him into marriage is a little excessive, but the other party is still Her Majesty! Couldn’t he at least give her some face and smile a little? At a moment like this, even if he has to fake it, he should act happy!”
“And besides—Celicia... no, Her Majesty is so beautiful. Wearing a wedding dress, she’s definitely the most beautiful woman in the world. How the hell does he still dare wear such a miserable expression?!”
Still grumbling unhappily, Lorne turned his head to look.
He also wanted to see just how beautiful his future daughter-in-law was right now.
Three seconds later—
Lorne slowly turned back around.
His expression blank.
His entire body trembling.
“What are you shaking for?”
Professor Prang looked at Lorne’s trembling hands with disdain.
“You’re already an old man. Is there really any need to get this emotional? Try acting dignified for once.”
Professor Prang turned to look himself.
He wanted to see exactly how beautiful Her Majesty the Empress looked right now to make even the mighty Lion King react like—
Three seconds later—
He slowly turned back around.
Expression blank.
Body trembling.
“Hm?”
Behind them, King Indra looked at the two trembling old men with contempt.
“Is there really any need to get this emotional? Even children are calmer than you two. Have some composure...”
King Indra turned his head—
Three seconds later—
He slowly turned back around.
Expression blank.
Body trembling.
Apparently...
Composure was not happening today.
Only now did the three of them finally understand why Muen and even the priest onstage wore those exact expressions.
But they also could not understand—
Why that existence...
Would appear here.
Rustle.
At some point, the music had stopped.
At some point, the guests’ applause had stopped as well.
The entire chapel became deathly silent.
So silent that even the sound of bare feet stepping upon flower petals could be heard clearly.
The “bride” who had pushed open the doors slowly walked toward the groom one step at a time.
A black dress trailed across the floor behind her, layered with exquisite thorn-like patterns.
Crimson-red hair spread around her like a burning maple forest in late autumn.
Several delicate scales scattered across her exposed shoulders and neck only served to make her pale skin appear even fairer.
The hands and bare feet emerging from beneath the black dress radiated a flawless jade-like beauty beneath the bright light of the chapel.
Her face remained blurred, as though hidden behind some unseen veil.
Only those vertically slit eyes, forged like molten gold, radiated a terrifying majesty that demanded submission from all living things.
No one dared meet her gaze.
No one.
This chapel, hosting the wedding of the Empire’s Empress, was filled with powerful figures. Among them stood beings like the Lion King and King Indra, individuals who stood at the peak of the continent itself.
Yet every single one of them instinctively lowered their eyes before those golden pupils.
And yet—
At this very moment—
Those burning golden eyes that looked down upon all creation suddenly lifted and calmly met Muen’s gaze upon the stage.
No one dared breathe.
The moment was brief.
Yet endlessly long.
Finally—
She reached Muen’s side.
Her steps remained utterly steady and calm, as though within this enormous chapel, only Muen himself truly existed.
And indeed—
She had come solely for him.
Then, before everyone present, within this sacred chapel itself, she extended her hand toward the groom dressed in wedding attire and holding flowers.
And in a tone that allowed no refusal whatsoever—
She spoke.
“Come with me.”