Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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(2) A Lightning-Strike Wedding

“Mother has taken the trouble to arrange this match for me. How could it be anything but excellent?”
At that, my father’s mouth fell open as well.
“So you’ve finally come to your senses!”
My stepsiblings—the Stepmother’s own children—chimed in with their own voices.
“That’s such a brilliant idea, sister!”
“Right! An earl’s family, no less!”
Earl or charlatan—what did it matter? They were shipping me off to some absolute scoundrel. They were all cut from the same cloth.
Watching them spring to life the moment I announced my marriage, I suppressed my laughter. If I continued to stubbornly resist here, only I would suffer. For now, it was better to retreat and devise a different plan at my leisure.
“I think so too.”
If I refused the marriage, I might very well end up in a Convent instead. I had heard that troublesome or unmanageable noble daughters were often confined indefinitely to strict and demanding convents.
I shuddered inwardly. That was something I had to prevent at all costs. Better to escape this house first—whether to an earl’s estate or a slave’s quarters, it mattered little.
Having never known family, I had yearned for it my whole life. Yet I also knew well that when family became an enemy, there was no more difficult adversary to overcome.
I swallowed the delicious grape juice and savored it. At least the Glister Earl Family would surely serve better food than this place.
***
Once my mind was made up, the wedding proceeded with astonishing speed. Was it really acceptable to move this quickly? This was supposed to be a noble family’s marriage, after all. Everything happened so absurdly fast.
At this rate, that man must be quite the troublemaker in the Glister Earl Family as well, I thought. They were bundling together one household’s problem child with another’s—they must have been truly desperate to be rid of him. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
Layla, the daughter the Stepmother had brought with her, chattered beside me.
“No matter how hideous that man looks, please don’t faint on your wedding day, at least.”
Was this meant to be consolation or provocation? Either way, it only worked if the other person was shaken by it. I remained unmoved.
“That won’t happen.”
My task for today was to get through this ridiculous wedding and leave the Hartwood House entirely.
But Layla seemed to think my confidence was mere bravado, and she covered her mouth with her hand, giggling.
“Sorry, sister. I just remembered that time.”
She must have meant when that man showed up completely drunk and disheveled.
I hadn’t witnessed it myself, but I could imagine it well enough. I’d dealt with drunk troublemakers more than once during my various part-time jobs.
I swallowed my smile. As long as he wasn’t the type to hit women, I could manage. I wanted nothing more than to finish this wedding, shed this dress, and enjoy some fragrant, delicious food.
“Sister, congratulations on your marriage.”
Raikey, my stepsiblings, approached to offer his greetings. I glanced at him briefly. The smirk on his face suggested his congratulations were no more sincere than Layla’s.
“Take care of yourselves, Layla and Raikey.”
I couldn’t disappoint them, after all. I spoke in a voice tinged with wistful melancholy, then picked up my bouquet and followed the maids toward the Wedding Hall.
The family’s considerable influence meant the ceremony took place in the largest Temple in the Territory. The Priest who would oversee the marriage stood upon the dais, looking down at us.
‘It’s not so different from a modern wedding, really.’
Worried I might make some mistake, I approached the dais with downcast eyes, playing the modest bride. This marriage symbolized the union of the Glister Family and the Hartwood Family, yet surprisingly few had come to witness it. Their sole intention was clear: to quickly dispose of their family’s troublemakers.
‘Both sides are the same, really.’
Rowan found herself pitying the man who would be her counterpart as well. While she knew the family here wasn’t truly hers, he had endured this treatment from his own family—his “real” family—his entire life.
But then again, he had brought it upon himself.
She exhaled deeply, bracing herself once more in case the Groom arrived drunk and disorderly today. That was when it happened.
“Gasp…!”
“What…?”
The Wedding Hall suddenly erupted into commotion. Standing before the altar in her bridal veil, Rowan sensed the atmosphere had taken an unusual turn, yet she couldn’t see what was happening.
What’s going on?
She tensed, wondering if that libertine had arrived drunk and was causing a scene, but she detected no sense of danger. Unable to contain her curiosity, Rowan carefully lifted her veil slightly and peered backward.
Good heavens…
Turning her head cautiously to look behind her, Rowan couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath. The man entering the Wedding Hall walked forward in formal attire, his face brimming with displeasure.
Elegantly gleaming silver hair, eyes of blue-violet hue, and delicate yet resolute features paired with an impressive physique—Rowan caught herself staring, her mouth agape, before glancing at Layla. Both she and Raikey stood in stunned disbelief, unable to hide their shock.
This can’t be real.
Before her eyes could meet theirs, Rowan hastily turned her head back toward the altar.
Thank heavens for small mercies.
At the very least, he hadn’t returned reeking of alcohol and depravity. The original Rowan must have been so shaken by this extraordinary first meeting that she’d actually considered fleeing in the dead of night with that disreputable Childhood Friend. And besides…
No matter how rotten his character might be, with a facade like that, she could endure anything.
His appearance was absolutely stunning to behold. The libertine who possessed such looks—her husband Alexis—walked steadily forward and took his place beside her. Rowan felt her breath catch at the sheer presence of Alexis standing at her side.
This aura…
What was this extraordinary presence?
Experiencing this sensation for the first time in her life, Rowan found herself nervously studying Alexis’s expression. With her face concealed by the veil and the man standing so close beside her that she couldn’t observe him in detail, the aura emanating from him was overwhelmingly oppressive, making her entire body ache.
What is this?
Having never encountered anything like it before, Rowan could only tilt her head in confusion.
Perhaps it’s because I’m in a different world now, inhabiting someone else’s body, that I’m sensing things differently.
Rowan closed her eyes and simply gripped the bouquet in her hands tightly. For now, she just needed to get through this moment without incident.
“Priest.”
Suddenly, a deep voice resonated through the hall. Rowan’s eyes widened considerably.
How fortunate!
She swallowed her admiration.
Even his voice is incredible!
Alexis spoke.
“Regardless of the procedure, neither I nor this woman care—just finish this as quickly as possible.”
Wow, what efficiency!
Whether Alexis knew what was going through her mind or not, he spoke lightly, as if spitting out the words.
“If this woman faints again in the middle of it, it’ll become a nuisance.”
Rowan let out a hollow laugh.
So the original Rowan’s fainting spell left quite an impression on him.
Though right now, she felt like she might faint for entirely different reasons. If she’d known he looked like this, she could have come to this wedding with genuine joy!
Unaware of Rowan’s complicated feelings, the Priest regarded her with pitying eyes, knowing she would become an unfortunate victim, and reluctantly began reciting the blessing. In truth, presiding over such a hollow, loveless marriage was something he found deeply distasteful.
“Then, considering the bride’s condition, I shall proceed as swiftly as possible.”
Like someone speed-reading scripture, the Priest rushed through the blessing. Rowan, squeezed uncomfortably into her dress, her face hidden behind the veil, and overwhelmed by Alexis’s presence, couldn’t hear a single word. She simply repeated “Yes, yes” like a parrot in response to the Priest’s words.
“…And thus, beneath the solemn blessing of the divine, two souls have become one, and we proclaim this truth to all gathered here….”
The Priest’s voice sounded distant to me. In that same moment, I felt a creeping sense of dread.
‘Surely not….’
I felt the world begin to spin before my eyes.
‘No, not now!’
With Layla already mocking me for fainting, and Alexis doing the same, if I collapsed again here of all places—
‘Why is this body so pathetically fragile?!’
Back when I lived alone in that Single Room, struggling to survive, I never fainted even once despite the malnutrition! Yet this body—it happens at the drop of a hat!
“No….”
I tried to hold on with all my might, but it was futile. And in my desperation, the arm I reached out to grab was none other than….
“What are you—”
Alexis’s forearm.
‘His forearm is surprisingly solid.’
With that thought, consciousness slipped away from me. My last memory was of a silver-haired youth with a bewildered expression looking down at me as I collapsed, my veil slipping away.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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