Fortunately, the heat had subsided a little.
If he held out like this, he would be able to finish the wedding safely without Eve finding out.
It was when he was habitually fiddling with the restraints.
"The priest is entering!"
Noelier looked up at the sound announcing the entrance.
The flowers scattered by the children adorned the white wedding road.
Applause poured out from the people congratulating the wedding.
And the owner of that shout appeared.
Eve stepped onto the carpet holding Therese's hand.
"Congratulations, Eve!"
“Lady Eve!”
Eve approached Noelier while receiving all the praise.
A warm breeze, blessings from people, and family members celebrating the marriage.
It was a happiness he hadn't even imagined.
Eve moved forward with a smile on her face.
She lifted her gaze as she took in the white baby's breath and light pink roses decorating the long white carpet.
She made eye contact with Noelier, who was standing at the end of the road.
She gestured with her eyes toward the bouquet in her hand and shrugged playfully.
Then, she smiled broadly.
It was a smile so beautiful it was blinding.
The moment he saw it, Noelier realized.
I love that person.
It was a feeling he realized clearly for the first time.
It was when a clear smile formed on Noelier's lips.
"You didn't keep your promise."
A voice that had become familiar by now rang out.
Thud.
It felt like his heart suddenly dropped to the very bottom.
"...!"
Noelier held his breath.
He recoiled and fumbled around his chest. It felt as if a sharp dagger had plunged deep into his heart.
He gasped for breath and recoiled. His face contorted in pain.
The heat filling his body was gaping open to swallow him.
Pain as if his body had been split in half overwhelmed him. It felt as if something formless was slowly gnawing away at his soul from the very tip.
At that moment, a nightmarish memory came to mind.
Mother and father, who had to die in vain amidst the flames he created.
Their distorted faces lingered before Noelier's eyes.
The screams heard in the nightmare grew louder. The sound of blessings for their marriage faded into the distance.
The sparkle in Noelier's eyes vanished.
As she looked at him, Eve's smile slowly formed.
"...Noel?"
Eve's pace slowed. Therese, who was walking with her, looked at her as if asking why it was wrong.
Noelier, clutching his chest, staggered. His vision blurred. He couldn't even see her face.
“Noel!”
Eve threw down the bouquet she was holding and approached him. However, Noelier could not respond to her call.
Soon, his vision went completely dark.
***
Noelier, who had been staggering, completely collapsed.
As Noelier suddenly collapsed, the gathered people began to murmur.
“Noel!”
I carelessly tossed the bouquet I was holding aside and ran to Noelier's side.
"...!"
The tremendous heat I could feel even without touching it made me flinch involuntarily.
'Could it be that a runaway incident has occurred?'
Why on earth?
This wasn't even in the novel!
“Sister!”
Rachel, having thrown down the flower basket, approached me.
“Don’t come!”
I stopped Rachel as she approached in a hurry. Rachel stopped abruptly.
I didn't know what would happen if Rachel and Noelier came into contact now.
"...Just a moment. Just wait there for a moment."
“Sister.”
Rachel had a terrified look on her face.
"It's okay as long as you have me. Rachel, you know that, right?"
I forced a smile.
“It’s okay to have your sister.”
"..."
Tears welled up little by little in the child's red eyes. Rachel nodded slowly.
I swallowed hard.
The rampage had not started yet. There was a chance to stop it.
I took out the key to the restraint I had put inside the glove.
It was something that had been put in to be imprinted immediately after the wedding.
Even though it might be difficult to imprint right now, I just bite that nape of the neck for now.
'We might be able to delay it a little.'
I reached out my hand toward him. Swelling heat enveloped me.
'You just have to hang in there a little longer.'
I squeezed my eyes shut. Then I hugged him tightly.
"...!"
I felt a shock as if my entire body were being split in half. It felt like even being stabbed with a spear dipped in hot lava wouldn't be as painful as this.
"Eve!"
Someone forcefully pulled me away.
My vision, which had gone black for a moment, returned.
"Oh my goodness, my dear. Are you okay, my dear?"
It was my grandmother who pulled me away from Noelier. My grandmother, looking pale, checked on my condition.
"Noel, Noel is..."
I muttered in a half-dazed voice.
As I turned my head with difficulty, I saw Noelier lying there as if dead.
"...I have to do it again, again."
I struggled to get up. My grandmother shook her head as if to say no.
"No, my dear. You felt it too. It’s a heat you can’t handle. You must not get any closer. You never know what might happen."
"It's okay. As long as I'm here, things will be fine, so you just have to bear with it for a little while..."
"Please, my baby..."
Grandmother shook her head, choking back tears.
The human King was clinging to me and pleading, and the people were confused by the sudden turn of events.
The murmuring sound buzzed and echoed in my ears.
I shook my head with difficulty.
If I give up like this, Noelier will go berserk.
I didn't want to lose him.
I struggled to break free from my grandmother's embrace. She grabbed my hand, but I shook it off.
I fumbled along the floor and approached Noelier.
It was when I was trying to grab his hand that he lost consciousness and collapsed.
"Eve!"
Cold body heat gripped my wrist. My body turned weakly.
The person who grabbed me was Aria. She spoke firmly.
“Eve, no.”
"Let go of me."
"You mustn't get any closer. You know what I'm saying!"
"Just the engraving, just the engraving!"
I screamed as if in agony. Aria had blocked me to protect me.
However, consumed by the fear that I might lose Noelier, Aria felt like an obstacle to me. I pushed her away.
"What do you mean? You haven't imprinted yet?"
But Aria grabbed my shoulder again.
"Why on earth did you postpone it? If it's in this state, there must have been signs!"
She grabbed my shoulder and asked, as if pressing me.
"But Noel said that not now."
“What?”
Aria asked back as if she couldn't believe it.
"That makes no sense. To think he would delay the imprinting himself... It must have been incredibly painful..."
Aria captured the fallen Noelier in her violet eyes.
I took advantage of Aria's confusion and shook off her hand once again.
Time was of the essence. While they were struggling like this, Noelier must have been suffering agony worse than death.
“Eve, just a moment.”
Aria stood in front of me.
"...I have something to check.”
She stared at Noelier with a tense expression.
For a moment, a glint appeared in her purple eyes.
"Ha."
Aria let out a hollow laugh.
Did you see something? I grabbed her as if clinging to her.
"That restraint around the neck."
She said in a trembling voice.
"Did the leader wear it himself?"
I nodded slowly.
"That is what I understand. That Noelier wore it to control her power after his second awakening..."
"This..."
Aria bit her lip as if she had a headache.
"That isn't a standard restraint."
“What does that mean?”
"...There is an ancient magic at work."
She bit her lip in embarrassment.
"To unlock that, you first need to release the ancient magic on the restraints. The key comes after that."
"But..."
How could I possibly know that?
"Aria, by any chance, can't you see a way to solve this? You would know, Aria..."
I grabbed her hand as if grasping a rope.
However, Aria shook her head with a stern face.
"It’s not just any ordinary magic. I’m telling you, it’s magic that has already vanished. We don’t know how to undo it. There’s no way we could possibly see it..."
It felt like all the strength was draining from my body.
Noelier's rampage had already begun, and all that remained was destruction.
I stared at the fallen Noelier with empty eyes.
To think that there is absolutely nothing I can do while the person I love is dying right before my eyes.
It was when I was biting my lip, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.
“Who, sister...?"
A voice full of tears called out to me. I flinched in surprise and turned around.
Rachel and Zion were looking at me with terrified faces.
"Sister, what's wrong with brother? Is he sick? Is he in a lot of pain?"
Zion sobbed as if frightened by the sudden turn of events.
"..."
Rachel was staring at the collapsed Noelier with a dazed look on her face, as if in shock.
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