On the day of the grand wedding, every single girl in the mansion wore a pristine, custom-tailored white bridal gown. Looking at the sheer concentration of breathtaking maidens gathered before him, even Regulus—who knew their bodies, minds, and desires intimately—couldn't help but sigh in genuine awe.
Beautiful, charming, lovely... these standard words of praise were far from sufficient to describe the heavenly scene unfolding in the estate's central courtyard. Any single one of them was an exquisite beauty in this fantasy world. If placed in the modern world he once inhabited, they would be legendary historical beauties capable of bringing down empires. No, they were even more stunning than that.
"What's wrong? You look inexplicably emotional," a gentle voice teased. "Today is a monumental day, so you should be smiling brightly."
Theresia van Astrea stepped forward, raising her delicate hands to gently frame Regulus's face. Originally, she merely wanted to adjust his expression into a happy smile. However, driven by a sudden whimsical impulse, her slender fingers playfully squished and pulled his cheeks, forcing his handsome face to display all sorts of ridiculous expressions.
After a bit of artistic effort, looking at her hilarious masterpiece, the Sword Saint couldn't help but burst into a fit of clear, melodic laughter.
Theresia's ringing laughter immediately caught the attention of the other brides nearby. After looking over, the gathered girls were all thoroughly amused, chuckling softly at Regulus's ridiculous, squished expression.
Facing this sudden teasing, Regulus locked his eyes on Theresia, who had dared to poke the dragon.
"W-Wah!"
Theresia let out a soft, flustered squeak as she was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace. The moment she felt her husband's hands sliding down her waist, her face flushed crimson. She immediately raised her arms, pushing against his chest in mock struggle.
However, her gentle resistance—combined with her rapidly reddening face and breathless gasp—made the struggle look far more like flirtatious foreplay than a genuine push.
"No! Don't do this here!" Theresia whispered hurriedly, her eyes darting nervously to the surrounding brides. "If we start doing this now, the others will definitely notice..."
When spending time alone with Regulus, clothes were often torn to shreds in the heat of the moment. Delicate bridal gowns like these were far more fragile than everyday garments.
"Refusal is completely useless," Regulus smirked, tightening his grip on her waist. "If my dear Sword Saint dares to play a prank on her husband, she has to pay the immediate price."
"I said no, really..." Theresia whimpered softly, though her body relaxed against him.
"Don't worry," Regulus whispered against her ear. "I'll be extra careful with the silk."
"Honestly..."
Theresia felt entirely helpless—both against her own mischievous impulse and Regulus's insatiable, sudden affection. To prevent her precious wedding dress from being ruined before the ceremony even began, the Sword Saint could only try her best to cooperate with his playful advances.
As for being watched by the other girls... truth be told, she had gotten used to an audience a long time ago. In fact, every bride present had long since abandoned their former maiden shyness.
However, just as Theresia was bracing herself to receive a pre-wedding 'attack,' two girls returned from the front courtyard. Looking around the grand hall, they quickly spotted Regulus and Theresia locked in an embrace.
"Ah! How unfair! I want to join in too!" Ine Mitarai gasped, instantly lifting the hem of her white bridal dress to dash to Regulus's side.
Unfortunately, before she could take more than two steps...
"Now is hardly the time for your perverted antics!" Carol shouted, grabbing Ine by the collar and yanking her back. "Have you already forgotten the important task we went outside for?!"
To be entirely fair, under normal daily circumstances, Ine was extraordinarily reliable, diligent, and took wonderful care of the household. But the moment Regulus entered her line of sight, that reliable persona vanished into thin air. She transformed into a chaotic troublemaker, making Carol wonder if Ine had been born with the wrong temperament entirely.
Because someone whose eyes were so constantly blinded by intense desire, always scheming to do shameless things with her husband... she was practically a female mirror image of Regulus himself. They were utterly two birds of a feather.
The only difference was that Ine's insatiable desire was directed exclusively at Regulus. As for Regulus, his gaze spanned every single beauty present in the mansion—and even beyond the estate's walls.
Besides that, what made Carol most speechless was that Ine actively assisted Regulus in causing trouble. Theresia, Anileni, Kisaragi Naoko, and Shion had all been subtly manipulated into making decisions Regulus wanted to see, entirely under Ine's secret instigation behind the scenes.
"Ah! Oh, right!" Ine blinked, her head tilting. "Now is indeed not the time for such things."
Carol shook her head in sheer exasperation at the air-headed maiden. It was a good thing she was there to supervise her; otherwise, the schedule would have been completely derailed. Still not entirely trusting Ine's self-control, Carol kept a firm grip on her hand as they walked forward.
"Dear~" Ine called out sweetly.
"What's wrong?" Regulus asked, reluctantly releasing Theresia's waist.
"Do you still remember the special promise I made to you earlier?"
"A promise?" Regulus looked at Ine in confusion. He didn't recall making any formal agreements with her recently.
"It was back when you went to see the sisters off at the estate gates!" Ine reminded him, winking.
"The promise when seeing them off... Ah! I remember now."
"You actually forgot..." Ine pouted dramatically.
"Ahem~ Actually, I didn't forget," Regulus coughed smoothly. "I just assumed that the intense game we played that night was my reward."
"That doesn't count!" Ine huffed playfully. "That was just me wanting to play with my dear husband. That was for my own enjoyment, so it doesn't count as your official reward!"
"Is that so? Since you're bringing it up now, does that mean you've fully prepared my actual reward?"
"Of course! You are definitely going to love it," Ine giggled, a sly, cat-like smile spreading across her face.
Standing beside them, Carol was completely bewildered. What on earth were these two talking about? Although she could easily guess that Ine was up to no good again, was this really what she had been secretly planning for weeks?
"Stop bullying the Sword Saint for now," Carol interrupted, clearing her throat. "The invited guests have officially arrived in the reception hall."
"Have the guests arrived already?" Regulus asked.
"Mhm."
"Alright, I'll go greet them."
Saying that, Regulus smoothly handed the weak-kneed, blushing Theresia over to Carol's supporting arms. The moment Regulus stepped toward the reception hall, Ine eagerly trailed right behind him like a devoted shadow.
Soon, Regulus entered the grand parlor and saw the small group of so-called 'guests.'
They were the Old King himself, Theresia's parents, Carol's parents, Julia's father Roswaal, plus... two unfamiliar, breathtaking women.
No, more accurately, it was only one unfamiliar woman, because one of the two beauties was Tishuya, who had been missing on a long-term assignment.
Besides this small circle, there were no other guests present—and honestly, no one else needed to be invited. Regulus had no blood relatives in this world, and most of the girls in the mansion didn't have surviving family either; even if they did, contacting them across regional borders on short notice was virtually impossible.
After a brief, polite exchange of diplomatic pleasantries...
Under Ine's proud introduction, Regulus finally learned the true identities of Tishuya and the mysterious, unfamiliar beauty beside her.
It turned out Ine had secretly invited two of her own distant, high-born female relatives to the Capital—and they were the grand reward she had meticulously prepared for Regulus.
Because she had successfully tricked both of them into coming directly to his mansion by writing highly misleading, enticing letters.
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