The ceremonial stage stood resplendently at the end of the hall, a wide crystal platform trimmed with gilded edges. Twin banners, deep imperial violet and rich crimson hung from arched pillars behind it, their colors blending where the fabrics overlapped in the breeze.
The both of us stepped onto stage, tailored in the finest raiment the empire had to offer. Midnight moonlight illuminated us, highlighting our ethereal beauty, like straight out of a movie.
However, Evelyn's expression did not match the circumstances—she appeared anxious, nervously gazing at me, seemingly trying to communicate with me through our eyes. However, I ignored her, continuing to look sad in a way only she could notice right now.
She's so cute… I can't help but tease her, I want to see more… I'll make it up to her after this.
Members in the audience had a different opinion on her expressions though.
They believed the weight of her situation had at last settled on her.
An engagement to me—this would be her future now. Maybe she had talked herself into believing she was content with it, but standing on this grand stage now, it was all collapsing in on her.
As always, I didn't care what delusions they convinced themselves of.
I just kept sneakily glancing at her—the cutest girl in the whole wide world, the woman who would become my fiancée in a few moments.
Soon enough, the officiator finally stopped his incessant yapping and our families finished giving us their blessings.
Some time during that, Evelyn seemed to finally stop her needless worry and understood I was just teasing her, perhaps I had let a smile or two slip. Now, she had a resolved look on her face as if she made up her mind about something for some reason.
It was time for us to move closer to the center and say our oaths and exchange our rings. The oaths were incredibly cliche. Something about promises of alliance, upholding honor, supporting our shared house, etc.
Considering I literally just found out about the engagement this afternoon, I didn't have time to memorize the oath. As a result, I had to wear a wireless earphone with someone telling the script in my ear.
At last, we finished reciting our oaths. We stepped closer, taking out the ceremonial rings to exchange, sealing our vows.
I put the ring on her first, giving her a warm smile. She didn't blush, or even smile. She just seemed to harden her resolve about something.
I soon found out what.
After putting the ring on me, she kissed me.
Placing both her hands on my neck, she quickly tiptoed and pressed her lips onto mine.
On the stage, in front of everybody—Anastasia, our family, everybody.
I was so shocked, I didn't do a thing. I could only stare.
She appeared to relish in my actions, mirroring hers exactly when I first kissed her.
In the kiss, I could feel her lips curling into a smug smile on mine.
It was intoxicating, but she pulled back after just a few seconds.
Damn… This woman… I really like her.
Is it bad to say I've fallen for her?
***
'OH MY GOD! Oh my god!! What did I do?!! In front of everybody???? Since when was I so impulsive?!!' My thoughts spiraled as I nearly stumbled while walking off the stage.
What the FUCK!! I am an Adept! My balance is supposed to be perfect!! Why the hell am I tripping?!! Who the fuck designed heels anyway? They're so unbelievably shit!!!
AHHHHHH—how will I face Ana… What should I do… I can't stop freaking out.
Then, Aurelius grabbed my hand as we made our way away from the public eye and back to our families.
My face heated up more at his touch, at the same time, it also calmed me down.
"How are you going to explain it to my sis?" He asked with an amused look on his face.
"Uhh… ahh… Tsst—that was what I was just mulling over! I can't think of a good explanation…" I trailed off in frustration.
"Hmm… Let's just say we decided to date for real this afternoon," he suggested. Then, in an almost shy tone, he asked "it's the truth, isn't it?"
'Ah'
It hadn't truly sunk in until now—I was in an actual relationship. With Aurelius, no less.
Just yesterday, he was the little brother of my best friend who I had some feelings for.
Then it all escalated so fast…
I always believed he was detached to romance, never realizing how deep his feelings went.
Now, we're dating—ahh wait… We both liked each other, sure, but we never actually confirmed anything, that was what his question was asking.
"Oh… Did I misunders—" he said with that hurt expression and tone that broke my heart from before because I left his question unanswered. Tsst, this guy… I stopped walking and yanked him towards me, cutting off the rest of his sentence. As his body was yanked, I saw the curl of his smug smile at teasing me the same way he did before.
With a mock angry expression, I glared into his misty eyes, causing my expression to soften immediately.
'Ugh, I can't get angry at this face for long.'
"I love you okay. Got it?" I asked with an annoyed expression.
"Oh? Why don't you prove it?" He replied, with a playful expression, mirroring the circumstances that led to our first kiss. This guy… Ugh, how can I even describe it? Whatever, I like it, and that's all that matters.
"Alright," I responded, leaning in. He did the same, grabbing my chin as I reciprocated by placing mine on his neck again, moving closer until our lips met again in a deep kiss.
(First kiss with mutual consent lets go)
Away from the public eye, we continued for much longer this time, enjoying each other's taste.
Eventually, we pulled away after my phone started ringing, receiving a call from Ana. During the kiss, I could feel the vibrations of texts, but I had ignored them.
We kept looking at the ringing phone for a bit, having some final moments to ourselves.
He hugged me from behind, softly whispering in my ear.
"I love you too, you got that~?"
***
Laying on my bed, I thought of the past day.
'My first day in this world… How many protagonists have had this eventful of a first day post transmigration? There can't be many…' I mused to myself, turning around on my bed, unable to sleep.
I was going to be doing this for a while.
This wasn't just because of my stupid teen love moment, it was due to my physique.
You see, Aether Reaper Vessel constantly harvests the ambient energy to replenish both mana (magical energy) and vigor (physical energy).
Combined with being an Adept, my energy levels are absurd—I could easily last three days without sleep, five if I want to push myself. I'm not talking about absolute limits by the way, these times are within safe levels, posing me no health risk.
So, it will take a while until I can sleep, but I wasn't planning on it.
For others, the shower was typically the ideal place which allows you to enter an enlightened thinking state. However, mine was rolling around on my bed in a completely dark room.
With a relic that inscribed specific thoughts, I was recording everything I remembered from the novel—character details, major plot points, locations of cheat items, etc.
It was hard, I hadn't really paid attention to many of the minor developments because I kept getting ragebaited by the god awful characters and tropes.
Eventually, I finished, storing the magically printed pages of information securely in my storage ring.
'Thank fucking god they have these in this world. I always dreamed of having storage rings, they truly are so convenient… Just thinking about using this in the future instead of having to carry around bags or other shit fills me with determination.'
Of course, storage rings are only for the rich. If you're not at least the heir of an earl, don't expect to get your hands on one.
For reference, a storage ring of the lowest grade will set you back by around 250 gold. For you to understand how expensive that is, here is the monetary information of the world I recorded down
100 copper = 1 silver = 0.01 gold
Mundane person: 4 gold per year
Awakened: 5-10 gold pear year
Adept: 20-35 gold per year
Ascendent: 250-400 gold per year
(Range depends on what stage they are in)
Barons (~20,000): 3,000 gold 150 per year
Viscounts (~5,000): 10,000 gold 500 per year
Earls (~150): 75,000 gold 3,750 per year
Marquises (~60): 250,000 gold 10,000 per year
Dukes (15): 1,000,000 gold 40,000 per year
(Note: nobles are subject to much steeper taxes)