"It's about time. We should head down."
Alex glanced at his watch and spoke softly.
Grace took his arm, a flicker of worry appearing in her expression:
"Your father has never seemed to like me. He always thinks I only married you for your money."
"Well... I think he's right."
Alex deliberately stiffened his face and joked, "You have to give him some time to adjust."
"Fuck you! That's taking it too far!"
Grace scolded him playfully and punched him in the arm.
The two began flirting and fooling around again.
Leaning against the doorframe outside, Sephirot watched the display of affection, conducted as if no one else were in the room, and turned his head away expressionlessly.
In this moment, he suddenly understood people who liked to smoke.
If he could light a cigarette right now, at least he wouldn't feel like such an out-of-place fool.
"It seems I've interrupted you."
A slightly weary voice came from the other end of the hallway.
The newcomer was Alex's older brother, Daniel.
His collar was open and he held a glass of whiskey in his hand.
"Alex, things are just about ready downstairs. Everyone is waiting for you."
Having said that, he looked at Grace with a complicated expression: "Grace, if you want to run now, there's still time."
Daniel spoke half-jokingly, "You... don't belong to this family."
Grace paused, assuming this was some kind of specific humor.
She shrugged: "Are you joking? I've worked so hard just to get to this point."
Hearing this, Daniel looked at his brother Alex: "Fine then. Since you don't care, get out there quickly. Everyone is waiting."
With that, he turned and left.
Watching his brother's retreating back, the smile on Alex's face gradually faded.
He followed up with his own persuasion: "Seriously, Grace, Daniel is right."
"If you're willing, we could just leave right now and go somewhere where no one knows us."
Grace was completely baffled by the brothers' remarks. She frowned: "Alex, today is our wedding! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
"You really can still change your mind right now."
Alex took her hands, his tone earnest.
"No."
Grace's gaze was firm. "I'm not looking back."
Outside the door, Sephirot listened to this and sighed inwardly.
In this life, one must stay far away from the infatuated and the riddlers.
One makes people blind, and the other likes to get people killed with cryptic talk.
—--
On the lawn of the mansion, guests were gathered in abundance.
The newlyweds stood before the photographer's lens, reciting deeply moving vows to one another.
Everything looked so beautiful and happy.
Night fell, and the bustle dissipated.
The noisy wedding banquet finally came to an end. Alex swept Grace, who was still in her wedding dress, up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom amidst the suggestive laughter of several relatives.
Sephirot stopped in the hallway, rubbing his chin. He decided it was best not to go in and join that particular commotion.
Before long, the bedroom door suddenly swung open.
A middle-aged woman with her hair swept high, dressed in purple, walked out.
She was Alex's Aunt, the one whose new husband had been victimized and killed.
As she passed beside Sephirot, she cast a cold, haughty glance at him.
"Mr. Sephirot, you may come in now."
Alex's voice drifted from inside the bedroom, sounding somewhat frustrated.
Sephirot pushed the door open and entered, finding Grace sitting on the edge of the bed with a look of utter bewilderment.
It seemed Alex had already laid out the family tradition to her.
"A game? In the middle of the night, we're supposed to play a game with the whole family?"
Grace found the suggestion beyond ridiculous.
"Yes, it's mandatory," Alex said. "As far as I know, the box might contain checkers, backgammon… I know, it sounds stupid."
"It's more than stupid. Don't you think it's creepy?"
Grace wore a strange expression as she looked toward the entering Sephirot. "Then what is he doing here?"
"He…"
Alex stammered, "Tonight, he will be spending the time with you."
Sephirot's eyelid twitched. *How is this guy still alive with a mouth like that?*
*The way he phrased it made it sound like I was coercing him into something.*
Sure enough, Grace bolted upright, her face a mask of shock and anger. "You idiot, this joke isn't funny at all!"
"On our wedding night, you want me to spend the evening with a total stranger?!"
"No, no, no! Grace, you've got it wrong."
Alex waved his hands frantically. "What I mean is, just in case anything unexpected happens during the game, he'll be acting as a bodyguard. He'll stay by your side every step of the way tonight."
"He's a professional."
Grace looked at her husband, faintly sensing the unusual atmosphere permeating this mansion.
However, being naturally easygoing, she didn't overthink it.
To her, this was merely some eccentric ritual of a wealthy family. No matter how boring it was, it was still just a game; what could possibly be dangerous about it?
"Do I have to win this game?" Grace asked resignedly.
"No, you just have to play with them," Alex said softly, embracing her. "And then, you'll officially be a member of our family."
Having comforted his wife, Alex walked to the door and nodded toward Sephirot. "Mr. Sephirot, I'm counting on you tonight."
Sephirot gave a slight nod.
A few moments later, Grace walked out of the room.
She glanced at Sephirot, who stood outside the door like a statue, her eyes filled with a mix of wariness and unease.
Anyone would feel uncomfortable if their husband arranged for another man to follow them closely on their wedding night. Sephirot didn't care, following her while maintaining a distance of several paces.
In the first-floor gathering hall, the direct relatives of the Le Domas Family had already been waiting for a long time.
Strangely, these family members, who should have been exclusionary, did not express any suspicion regarding the appearance of a stranger like Sephirot.
He wasn't sure what excuse Alex had used to gloss over his presence.
The group crowded around Grace, ushering her into a special room located right in the center of the hall.
Just as Sephirot was about to follow them inside, a man who appeared to be a butler reached out to stop him.
"My apologies, sir, but this is the Le Domas family's inner sanctum. Only family members are eligible to enter."
Sephirot gave him a glance and stepped back into a corner.
The moment the butler turned to close the door, Sephirot's magic stirred slightly beneath his feet, leaving only an indistinguishable dark shadow in his place.
He himself, however, had already slipped inside the room before the door swung shut.
There was no natural light inside the room; it relied solely on a few lit candles as light sources.
With the aid of the mantle provided by the Devil Arm Valak, Sephirot blended perfectly into the darkness.
He wanted to confirm whether a demon truly existed.
Many buck heads and beast specimens hung on the walls, and the display cabinets held various shotguns and battle axes.
In the very center sat a round wooden table.
The Le Domas family was already seated around it.
Once Grace had finished looking around the room and took her seat, a short-haired woman, dressed in a sharp and sophisticated manner, suddenly spoke:
"Grace, do you usually like playing games?"
"Um... that depends on what kind of game it is," Grace replied, looking at her with a smile.
"We'll find out soon enough."
(Translated by yourtl.app)