Seeing his baby acting like a pure and shy maiden, Levi’s mouth twitched in an attempt to suppress a smile, ‘If you feel so shy now, baby, what will you do after dinner, hmm? Didn’t you promise to soothe me tonight?’
After all, he had a clear goal to cuddle his baby to sleep today, and this time, there was nothing that could stop him from achieving it! He was fully prepared for today’s final round of battle with his father-in-law! And this time, he was not going back in defeat!
30 minutes later, the fully prepared Astar Levi ground his teeth as he hauled his suitcase away from the Cordia manor.
What happened?
Father-in-law directly kicked him out!!! And with a valid reason too! The groom couldn’t see the bride–ahem, the other groom before the wedding!!! As per the initial plans, the groom and bride should spend tomorrow morning preparing for the wedding separately, welcoming their side of the family in their own respective manors. When the designated hour arrived, each side would lead their half of the wedding procession to the wedding venue, where they would unite as one before the altar.
Sure, now the groom and bride turned into two grooms, but everything else stayed the same! Ergo, Levi was supposed to go back to Astarea today!
(ノ꒪Д꒪)ノ︵ ┻━┻
Levi felt indignant! So indignant! Don’t want to, ah! Want to sleep with baby, ah! >︿<
“I… I also forgot about this…” Noah guiltily avoided Levi’s gaze and stuttered out a cute attempt at comforting him, “Just bear it for one more night… take sleeping pills if you can’t sleep… just one night, and then you can get SS-ranked sleep whenever you want…”
Levi stared at his evasive little darling with a deep, meaningful gaze, mulling over the words he was about to say to turn this unreasonable situation around. Surely they could work something out! He was determined to snuggle with his baby tonight!
As Levi was laying out a logical argument in his head, a ping was heard from his communicator. Levi glanced at the message, then his thoughts did a resolute 180 degrees turn, “Alright, baby. But no going back on your word later.”
Noah’s ears heated up, but he nodded.
And thus Astar Levi left the Cordia manor.
As for the message he received…
It was his mother, saying their manor just received a priority delivery, asking him if he had ordered something online.
Ahem, right, so he DID have to go back to Astarea… it would be better if Levi picked up that crate of super important equipment himself. (︶‿︶)
***
There was no such thing as a church wedding in Concordia. Religions, in general, weren't a prominent part of the culture. When you've got a society where everyone has a power, somehow a feat of waking on water or splitting the sea looked much less worship-worthy.
The groom and the bride would exchange vows in front of their wedding guests and sign the marriage certificate, and voila, they would be legally married. Straightforward and simple. No long and boring sermon to sit through, no old stone building to squeeze into.
Of course, the literal act of marriage itself wasn’t all there was to the wedding. This wedding was a whole day event. And it started with the bride and groom greeting their halves of the family at their homes.
Hence, Noah stood in the foyer of the Cordia manor, fully dolled-up in his wedding suit, looking more perfect than a masterfully photoshopped image of a prince charming. So radiant and handsome it was nearly blinding.
He wore a small yet captivating smile as he slowly greeted the Cordia family’s relatives, yet internally he kept sighing. He didn’t personally know any of these people, and Aris wasn’t close to these relatives either. The only two people here that he knew besides his parents and sister were Trey and Shaw.
Trey, as his personal bodyguard, followed a few steps behind Noah at all times. After a few days of healing his bleeding heart, Trey had managed to regain a semblance of tranquility. Though he still felt jealous of the scoundrel who would be marrying his lovely young master, he had accepted the fact that his young master and him were not meant to be. He could still remain by his young master’s side as a friend and a bodyguard, and that was more than enough.
In due time, he would surely be able to let go of his inappropriate feelings and move on. As for now… Trey smiled wryly at his lovely young master, who was worried that Trey would feel ignored, so he kept happily chirping and chatting with Trey in between greeting his relatives.
‘Sigh~ Young master, the better you treat me, it’s harder to let you go…’ (◞‸ლ)
Other than Trey, Noah also happily chatted with Maery and Shaw.
Shaw, though invited to the wedding as Noah’s friend, actually shouldn’t have appeared at the Cordia manor because he had no familial relations to the Cordias. Guests that weren’t considered family to the grooms were supposed to skip the gathering at their homes and directly arrive at the wedding venue later.
So, then, what was Shaw doing there?
The answer to this question laid with Maery.
After the change in the bride, many nasty rumors were going around. Half of them would eventually be dismissed as Noah’s and Levi’s love become more and more evident to everyone. However, the other half of the rumors were about Maery, so she had to do something to dismiss them herself.
And thus, Maery thought that she ought to show that everything she had said in the press release was totally true, and that she had zero romantic interest in Levi and was very happy and supportive of this marriage.
And what best way to show that than to bring a date to her brother’s wedding?
However, where would she find a boyfriend to play along with her on such short notice? Worst still, she had been too dedicated to her work lately and had no social life! She could only turn to Shaw, who was the only male she was currently close to besides the two grooms.
And thus, Shaw was brought in as Maery’s date for her act of a ‘happy sister that can finally date a man she liked after breaking off the engagement she didn’t want’.
Maery led this gentle and handsome doctor by the arm around the manor for a while and couldn’t help but peek towards him from the corner of her eyes. Shaw wore a soft smile from beginning to end, fully showcasing the charm of a mature intellectual and perfectly playing his current boyfriend role.
However, the more he acted like this, the guiltier Maery felt, ‘Ai! Not only do you have to watch your sweetheart marry another man, but you even have to pretend that you are dating his sister! I’ve really wronged you, Shaw! Don’t worry! You’ll find a lovely man in the future! In fact, just wait, I’ll help matchmake you to another lovely little bottom! You can count on me!’
Noah chatted a bit with the guests, a bit with Trey, a bit with Maery, a bit with Shaw. Yet, although he was the star of this show, surrounded by people, he couldn’t help but feel that something important was missing.
Ever since he arrived in this world, Noah had been stuck at the hip with Levi. Now that the man was not by his side, Noah felt strangely lonely. And he was not the kind of person prone to feeling lonely. He was the flexible kind who both enjoyed company AND quiet solitude. So now that he suddenly found himself missing this person whom he’d only known for a week, Noah felt justifiably rattled. Which made him think about another thing that he had grown so used to recently that he missed it once it was gone – Blackie’s annoying comments.
Sorry guys, I know this chapter was a bit boring, but I wanted to set up certain things properly for future developments. The next couple of chapters, when Levi and Noah reunite (and Levi finally confesses his feelings), will make up for it with their overwhelming sugar that is sure to give you diabetes. On the other note, I’ve gotten reports from people that some of you guys can’t see the comments on my site, so you can’t vote on the arcs. Sorry about this! Thanks to Masjca from discord, who has been super helpful with indulging my annoying requests for repeated page refreshes (; ゚ 3゚ )~♪, this should now be fixed. 🥳 In short, if you had issues previously, go visit lucypandora.com/vote again and this time it should work properly.
The AI was strangely quiet the last couple of days, with none of his usual spicy comebacks. “Blackie? You alright?” Noah asked while glancing at the current time on his communicator. “I’m great,” Blackie’s response came soon after. “No, I’m MORE than great! o( ̄▽ ̄)d The deep admiration and awe I feel for your work have made me at a loss for words. (︶‿︶) Ah, you only got here last week, and you're already getting married! This efficiency! Other hosts should learn from you!” ╰(*°▽°*)╯ Noah, “………” Typical Blackie. Miss him when he is quiet, but as soon as he speaks up, you can’t wait to press the mute button. (눈_눈) “Blackie…” Noah’s right eyebrow twitched several times, and he silently ground his teeth, “Save it. All your praises are insults in disguise.” Blackie, who was, for once, genuinely praising his host for his excellent mission progress, “…” ಠ_ಠ ‘Alright, suit yourself. ╮(╯∀╰)╭ Don’t regret it later.’
Hearing his baby’s honeyed words, Levi’s restlessness did not settle down in the slightest. On the contrary, the fire within him burned even more intensely. It had not even been a full day since they parted, yet Levi felt as if he hadn’t seen his baby for a long and torturous eternity. Throughout the entire morning, he had barely managed to restrain himself from running straight over to the Cordia manor to kidnap his bride-ahem, groom! He kept recalling how his baby acted like a mouse seeing a cat last night, not even daring to look him in the eyes. Would his precious darling get cold feet? That notion alone was enough to make Levi feel as if he had ants in his pants, yet that was not even all of it! His baby must be looking especially stunning today! And yet, he, Levi, wasn’t there to protect his treasure from being subjected to covetous gazes and dirty thoughts of others!! Thinking how this beautiful flowe
Cordia daddy shared a look with the Astar daddy and wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Levi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His face broke into a mesmerizing smile, seemingly unfazed by Noah’s slight delay; however, his shaking hand betrayed his true mood as he signed the marriage certificate. Noah’s hand didn’t shake. His ears were neon red, but the movement of the pen in his hand was decisive and smooth as silk. Just like the fluid movement of his mental power now that he remembered to wrap the premises in his SS-ranked soothing. He could hear the two mothers blowing their noses, so he wanted to help them feel better. But mostly, he wanted to soothe the unrest within Levi’s heart that he had inadvertently caused with his earlier pause. Maery walked out from beside Noah, carrying a deep red cushion with two elegant golden rings. Her smile was so wide she looked like a cross-breed between an orange tabby and
The cheers and claps slowly turned from enthusiastic to awkward, but Levi still refused to let go. He had yearned for his baby day and night for so long. Now that he had finally gotten a taste of heaven, it was especially difficult to put a stop to it. This mouthful of honey was still far from enough to satiate him! How would he be willing to let go? Unable to bear the sight of this any longer, one very disgruntled city lord of Concordia loudly coughed to interrupt. And was unceremoniously ignored. A vein bulged in Cordia daddy’s neck, and he coughed even louder, fully imbuing all his frustration into that violent cough. ‘Shameless scoundrel!! How long do you intend to suck my son’s face?! (ꐦ °Д°) What are you trying to do here?!? Eat him up whole in front of everyone?! You think it’s all fine as long as you are only showing them your back?! As if they can’t tell what’s happening!!!’ Finally, he received a response this time – he go
And-and-and…! Now that he thought about it… That fateful morning a few days back, which he dared not recall… Ah, ah! If the other truly saw him as his little brother, how would the punishment for accidentally touching his tin-tin be to jerk him off?! A big brother should be protective of his younger brother and not want to do “this and that” with him!!! What bullshit about taking responsibility and good bros helping each other out!?! He had thought Levi was less conservative about such things, but as it turned out, this shameless thing was just coming up with excuses to eat his tofu this entire time!!! (ꐦ °Д°) Bloody hell!! For all he knew, this horndog might have intentionally been sticking his shaft up his ass!!! Wait… (≖_≖) Levi’s spider-sense suddenly tingled, and he couldn’t help but cautiously ask, “Baby? What’s wrong?” Noah did not respond, for he had just realized a glaring problem that he had previously missed! Back then, when that inde
He knew he should be really mad at Levi, but he couldn’t hold onto this anger. Like a punctured balloon, no matter how he tried to stoke the flames underneath it, the hot air just kept passing right through! He had clearly been tricked and taken advantage of, but instead of feeling angry and vengeful, he felt… a bit happy. (⁄ ⁄> ﹏ <⁄ ⁄) Being wanted by the person one liked… wasn’t it normal that his little heart felt super sugary-sweet? This husband of his might be a shameless scoundrel, but… but his heart was in the right place… (/≧ω\) Bah, forget it. They were a pair of legally wedded husbands now. There was no point holding on to a petty grudge like this. If it weren't for Levi's aggressive pursuit, who knows when he would have realized that he liked Levi. A pure-minded worldborn like him might have gone on for years thinking that the two of them had a touching brotherhood between them. He’d much rather be taken advantage of than to put Levi
Author Note: Before you continue reading this chapter, if you are not familiar with the song "The Final Countdown" by Europe, you should go listen to it on youtube (https://youtu.be/9jK-NcRmVcw). When a tune / beat is mentioned in this chapter, you should imagine the start of this song. --- With an upturn of his lips, Noah reached his slender hand towards a waiter who was passing by, elegantly snatching a wine glass from his tray. Then he motioned a toast towards the people present and took a small yet somehow alluring sip. The sweet red wine stained Noah’s lips a darker shade of red as if rouge. His pink tongue quickly licked it off as if a kitten lapping up milk, leaving his pink lips glossy and especially enticing. Levi and Trey, to the right and left of him, stiffened. And much to Levi’s outrage, even a couple of old farts in front couldn’t help but swallow hard. Really made Levi want to beat people up until even their mot
The only two whose smiles remained just as radiant throughout were Maery and Levi. Levi had no intention to hide his good mood, and after a week-long practice, he had already learned the proper method to deal with facial cramps. Thus, he kept happily showing off his little “wife” to everyone for the entire day and night, clearly proclaiming his ownership for all eyes to see. And, of course, he also took a few nibbles of his baby’s tofu here and there for good measure. And to help him endure ‘til the full course meal… o(≧▽≦)o And there were even a few legit couple activities scheduled where he could righteously smother his baby! Such as cutting the cake together. (Heh heh, his little kitty had such soft little paws! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)) Maery, too, was almost as ecstatic as Levi. On the one hand, she couldn’t be happier that this wedding wasn’t hers and Levi’s, especially after seeing how happy the two of her favorite boys were together. And on the other han