“So, Teo, what do you think? Doesn’t this one make look a little fat? And this one... feels too thin, right? Wait, I’ll go try it on.”
“......”
“What? Still not smiling? Is helping pick out dresses that hard?”
At Elga’s low growl, I stretched my expression into a bright smile.
“I’m absolutely thrilled...!”
Of course, Elga frowned at my exaggerated nymph-like reaction, grabbed my cheek, and yanked it straight upward.
“You were the one who said you’d help us today. It’s what you should be doing as the groom, so don’t you dare try to slack off or space out. Got it?”
“...Y-Yes, ma’am.”
She was right. Today, I was out with the noble ladies in Monarch City’s luxury shopping district, helping with wedding preparations.
To the noblewon of this country, marriage was like one long photo shoot.
And since this wasn’t just any marriage, but a national event, there were all kinds of things to prepare and purchase.
First and foremost: dresses.
Pure white dresses.
They all looked similarly beautiful to , but each of the five won tried on different outfits one by one and asked for my opinion.
“Teo, how about this? It’s called Nymph White. Very classical. But I also like that Pure White one over there.”
“Lord Teo, is this one... too low-cut at the chest?”
“Teo-kun, for elves this is...”
Even with each woman saying just one sentence, that was five sentences. I could feel sothing going wrong. And we were supposed to keep doing this for the next ten days?
I’d rather go end the Church’s civil war myself.
But this was sothing I had to do. The duty of a man with a harem. So I decided to accept all of their comnts and match their energy without a single complaint.
No matter what they wore, I’d find them beautiful and stunning.
This was a once-in-a-lifeti wedding.
And because it must only happen once, they all wanted it to be perfect. It was going to be the greatest day of their lives. So I took it seriously too.
“First, I’ll just head to the restroom for a mont.”
Whoosh.
I slipped out of the shop and took a quick breath.
“Fuuuh.”
Filling my chest with air, I glanced around.
The capital of Angmar, Monarch City, was the largest city in this world. Naturally, there were a lot of people—among them, so so rich it made your jaw drop.
This was the noble district where those rich people frequently ca and went, shopping, strolling, or dining. Normally a place where elegant gentlen and ladies walked with smiles—it was unusually silent today.
“On another level, seriously.”
The reason wasn’t complicated.
For a day of comfortable shopping, my wives had rented out the entire noble street.
Their authority was so overwhelming, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it reached the heavens—this kind of outrageous act was actually possible.
I an, who would oppose the queen herself ordering a road closed? With a light stretch of my body and mind, I headed back inside.
And then—
The won who had entered the store early in the morning to pick out dresses didn’t co back out until it was ti for a late lunch.
***
We had lunch at the sa place I’d once gone with Professor Stella.
An autumn lunch. Bread and at on the terrace of a luxury restaurant, completely reserved for us, with a cool breeze blowing across our faces. Delicious.
It hit then—how used to this luxurious court life I’d beco. Life, it seems, is about adapting.
Though I suspected it would take a while to get used to all this noise.
“So then, wouldn’t it make the most sense to enter in the order we joined Teo? I’ll go first. Then the rest, one by one in order.”
At Elga’s suggestion, Stella frowned.
“How about by age?”
Naturally, Ayra opposed.
“Things like this should be determined by status. As queen, I should be the one to enter first. That’s proper both in principle and appearance.”
Then Mirna spoke.
“I’m used to setting orders like this, since I lived with Nare. In my opinion...”
That’s when Nare cut in.
“I got it! You’re all trying to say we should just enter together, right? Great idea! All five of us can enter at once!”
I wasn’t entirely sure, but they spent the entire al debating who should step onto the red wedding carpet first. So many opinions, so much to say—no decision in sight.
Elga let out a light cough.
“Then for now, since I’m the head lady, I’ll make an executive decision. Let’s go with what Nare suggested: all of us enter together.”
Everyone turned to stare at Elga in surprise.
She just shrugged and said, “What? Did you really think I’d insist on going first no matter what?”
Honestly, I had thought so. Elga was the kind of woman who couldn’t rest until she got what she wanted.
“I know how to yield. I do know how to share.”
It seed Elga had grown in her own way, going through many things. Maybe becoming a mother had made her more ho-oriented?
Fascinating.
People really do change, it seems. Just as I’d adapted to these lavish court als, customs, and ceremonies—maybe Elga had too?
Mirna scoffed with a snort.
“Looks like the wild girl’s finally been tad. Never thought the Lady of Leones would llow out like this.”
“Who tad who? I am the wild itself, thank you. And look who’s talking—splitting yourself into two and chattering away. Never imagined you two would be the noisy ones.”
“You’ve always been noisy. You even grind your teeth in your sleep. Very unladylike.”
“N-Nare...! Whose side are you even on!?”
“I’m on my side! Oh, hey, Professor, what’s that? A ring catalog? I wanna see too!”
“Oh, these are just the latest gems we received recently...”
The ladies all crowded around Stella’s catalog, their eyes sparkling. After all, slipping a ring onto the finger would mark the final mont of the ceremony.
Wait, so am I supposed to wear five rings? One on each finger?
I imagined myself smiling foolishly with five rings on my hand and stopped right there.
Didn’t feel like it would suit .
When I gave a slight shake of my head, my eyes locked with a pair of deep black ones watching .
It was Ayra, the queen. While everyone else was focused on the rings, Ayra had been looking at .
I asked,
“Lady Ayra, are you not particularly interested in rings?”
“Who knows. I just don’t feel the need to decorate myself with jewels. No matter what kind of gem I wear, it’ll lose its shine next to .”
“...I see.”
“Just kidding.”
Lately I’d noticed this a lot—Ayra wasn’t very good at joking. Maybe she just wasn’t a fun person. But looking at her pretty face sohow made her feel amusing anyway.
Good-looking people could just say “This is tasty” while eating and everyone around them would break into smiles.
Thinking like that, I realized it didn’t really matter if Ayra lacked a sense of humor. That such a woman would beco my wife... No, not just her—everyone at this table was going to be my wife.
I suddenly rembered the glass tank full of chipmunks—Kkeongkkeongi.
Brown fur with little black stripes, the chipmunks clustered together in the glass box were cute and chaotic.
Kkeongkkeongi always looked worn out, surrounded by several females. But watching it was oddly fun and adorable—I never noticed how much ti passed.
If soone were watching from high above, would I look like Kkeongkkeongi too?
If soone had been observing everything I’ve done...
I found myself reflecting on my past. How did my life appear to others?
I couldn’t exactly say I’d lived an honest life.
But I’d tried hard enough not to be judged too harshly. Maybe soday, I should write everything I’ve been through down in words.
It wouldn’t be called Villain Hunter though. This isn’t a hunter’s tale—it’s my own.
But no good title ca to mind.
It was then that I realized everyone was looking at .
Ayra asked,
“Teo, are you feeling down?”
“No, I’m feeling good. Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“It’s just... you had this strange look on your face. Co to think of it, you haven’t seed very settled lately. Don’t tell you’ve co down with a case of Marriage Blue Magic?”
“Marriage Blue... magic?”
When I asked, Mirna chid in.
“They say it’s a curse placed by an ancient witch nad Marriage, who never got married herself. Before the wedding, people get sad and confused—it’s called being cursed by Marriage.”
I’d never heard of the curse, but I had heard of pre-wedding blues. So that’s what I looked like to them, huh?
They weren’t wrong. Lately, I really hadn’t been able to sit still.
Going to Roman and Gracia may have been because I just couldn’t stay put—I had to do sothing. I didn’t know how to put it.
“Just...”
Would saying it aloud make it clearer?
“It just doesn’t feel real. Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real. What I’ve done until now, how I even got here...”
A groom with five wives. It was so far outside the norms I’d grown up with that it made reality blur. It felt like I was dreaming.
Maybe I really was under the spell of so evil witch, seeing an illusion.
Elga leaned back in her chair and said,
“Honestly, I still don’t believe it either. How did I end up like this? Looking back, I must’ve been under so kind of spell too.”
Mirna chuckled softly.
“Co to think of it, the ancient nymphs were said to be wicked fairies who enchanted people. They’d lure you in and drown you.”
“Miss Mirna, aren’t you talking about rmaid legends? I an, I guess that works—rmaids were just nymphs who lived in the sea, long ago.”
The won began chatting rrily again. While watching their profiles, Ayra, sitting beside , reached out and gently held my hand.
“It’s ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) not a dream. I know it. Even if you wake up, we’re not going anywhere. So there’s no need to be afraid.”
I laughed.
I never imagined the day would co when Ayra would say sothing like that to comfort . Was it because I’d tad her?
No—maybe it was the other way around.
Maybe they had tad .
And in the soft warmth of her palm, the gentle touch, and the chatter of autumn wind all around —I felt the tightly locked door inside begin to open.
“There’s actually sothing I’ve been aning to tell all of you.”
I don’t usually talk about myself. You could say I’ve been afraid to tell others who I am and what kind of life I’ve lived.
But if there was ever a ti to speak, now felt like the only chance I’d have. My sensitive intuition almost whispered it to .
I said,
“After the wedding, there’s a place I’d like to take everyone. You could call it a honeymoon destination, or anything else, really...”
Then Nare asked,
“Teo, you have a place you want to go? Where is it?”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward .
And I finally brought up the story I’d kept buried in my heart for a long ti.
“It’s my hotown.”
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