RODH Side Story Chapter 1

Side Story 1. I Became a Ferret

“I don’t want to get married!”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

Ian’s third sister Linda and fourth sister Seria asked at the same time.

Ian answered exactly as he had said.

“I don’t want to get married.”

“You’ve got the best groom in the whole world, so what are you saying?”

Seria pinched Ian’s cheek.

Ian was tired of matching endless fabrics and corsages.

There were too many things to prepare for the wedding.

Even though the invitations and gifts were completely handled by their parents, there were still so many little details left.

It was a northern-style wedding.

The ceremony, which he thought would be simple, was said to last a full three days.

“Please read it.”

The list of procedures written on the paper Klain handed over was complicated enough to belong to any royal family.

When Ian looked at Nevan with a hopeless expression, he hurriedly tried to reassure him.

“You don’t need to worry, Lord Ian. It’s only for formality anyway…”

But hearing that only made him worry even more.

Ian let out a long sigh and asked his sisters.

“Is marriage always this hard?”

“When you wear a corset for nearly twenty hours, not twelve, it feels like your ribs shrink.”

“Right. And I thought my toenails were going to fall off from wearing the bridal shoes.”

The two older sisters, who had married long ago, giggled as they reminisced about that time.

So in the end, a wedding isn’t something you’d want to go through twice.

Ian was already overcome with fatigue.

But was it thanks to the gods?

The preparations for the wedding went surprisingly smoothly.

That is, if it weren’t for the pesky alphas who showed up now and then to stir trouble.

One day, Seor came with an obnoxiously glittering corsage and insisted Ian wear it at the ceremony.

“Doesn’t it not match?”

“What does a little mismatch matter?”

“Do you think a wedding is something you do alone?”

“So now you’re saying you don’t want anything I give you?”

“That’s not what I said. How did it come to that?”

After the sulking Seor left, the next visitor was Peter.

Not only did he fail to help with the wedding preparations, he even begged to be chosen as a bodyguard knight.

“I’ll come every day until you do.”

He even resorted to childish threats like that.

In the end, Ian, waving the white flag, appointed Peter as his bodyguard knight. Then this time, Luke sent a letter of protest.

[Don’t you think that’s too much!]

Why on earth are these people so interested in someone else’s wedding?

Just when Ian was getting sick of it all, Lucian presented him with some rough, northern-style wedding gifts.

Then, he casually brought up the subject of taking a mistress.

Ian discovered he had gained a new ability: to let unpleasant conversations pass in one ear and out the other.

“Hm? Ian, are you listening?”

“I am not.”

“Well, that’s harsh. Do you know how useful a mistress can be…”

“Stop trying to plant strange ideas in my head.”

Lucian didn’t stop with Ian; he even tried to tempt the innocent Alvis.

On the first day of the wedding, Alvis showed off the mana butterflies that would delight the guests and said,

“If it were the position of mistress Lord Lucian spoke of, it would be more than enough, but even if not, I simply want to be Lord Ian’s good friend.”

And then, lastly, the admiral from the south visited and turned the mansion upside down.

When Ian tried on his ceremonial attire, the man barged in and cried out, “Oh heavens, my word. By the gods!”

The admiral desired Ian earnestly.

It wasn’t just his background, but everything that made up Ian was aesthetically perfect.

And so, Ian felt once again like prey being hunted.

“I am displeased.”

“The Grand Duke shows no reaction even after seeing you like this. Why not marry me instead of such a dry man?”

“I am very displeased.”

Nevan stretched out his hand, grabbed the admiral who was staring at Ian, and threw him out the door.

Ian received congratulations from many other guests as well.

Most of them were people who wanted to get in line once they heard he was marrying the Grand Duke.

The most popular gossip in the empire right now was Ian and Nevan’s wedding.

Even the gossip papers that nobles secretly read detailed how the two met, how they nurtured their love, and what their individual charms were.

Ian read that gossip paper too.

“The Grand Duke of Kirias is one of the sexiest men in the empire… Have they all lost their minds?”

He could endure what was written about himself, but the part about Nevan filled him with anger.

Yes, he was sexy—but why did they all need to know that?

While jealousy rose like storm clouds, Nevan returned.

Ian tossed the trashy gossip paper far away and pulled him into a hug.

When he hugged him hard enough to crush bones, the large body flinched.

He smelled of the wind.

He must have been tired from traveling back and forth between the north and House Ruben, but Nevan never voiced a complaint.

Instead, as the wedding day drew closer, his face seemed to shine brighter.

“What’s your secret?”

“What secret do you mean…?”

“Your face keeps getting better every day.”

Nevan looked dazed for a moment, then his cheeks turned a little red.

He avoided giving an answer.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

Even when Ian pulled at both his cheeks, he didn’t answer.

If he won’t answer, then he deserves punishment.

Ian avoided Nevan’s lips on purpose and kissed his cheek instead.

Nevan’s eyelashes trembled as his lips parted slightly.

The message in those crimson eyes seemed to say, “Don’t tease me,” and Ian smiled.

“Do you know something?”

“What is it?”

“Your eyes are truly beautiful.”

“……”

Nevan’s cheeks grew redder.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment—”

Before the words could finish, his lips were captured.

Like cutting with scissors, his lips opened and closed restlessly.

Hot breaths mingled as the two quickly shed their clothes.

With strong force, Ian’s body was pressed against the wall by the door.

He wrapped his arms around Nevan’s neck.

Nevan came in even deeper.

“Mm, mmph.”

When Nevan’s tongue moved as if it were his own, Ian tapped his shoulder, and he withdrew at once.

Instead, he sucked lightly at his nape.

The pheromones were so strong Ian almost thought he was lost in the middle of a forest. He was nearly intoxicated.

His eyes shot open wide.

“A mark! You can’t leave a mark!”

The shirt for the wedding did not have a high collar; any mark on his neck would be seen.

Even if it could be hidden with makeup, considering his sisters’ nagging, it was better not to create the problem at all.

Nevan muttered timidly.

“I left just a little one.”

“Let me check.”

The two went together to the bathroom and looked at each other’s faces in the mirror.

Their flushed expressions were embarrassing, but just as Nevan said, the mark was small enough to be barely visible.

It was like he had only been nicked by fangs.

Ian glanced at him, wondering if perhaps Nevan was a vampire.

Nevan met Ian’s gaze in the mirror without flinching.

“Nevan, you don’t feel a craving for blood or anything like that, do you?”

“…What?”

“Never mind.”

Ian shook his head, thinking it was a foolish imagination even by his own standards.

* * *

The last day of the wedding was even more chaotic than the preparations.

It must have been because there were more guests than expected.

Unexpectedly, the Emperor himself officiated.

Since there was no proper high priest, he had actively volunteered to do it.

“As the two are bound together by fate, it is the empire’s joy and honor.”

Through applause and fluttering mana butterflies, Ian and Nevan shared a brief kiss.

Seor and Peter, unwilling to watch that scene, gazed only at the petals drifting in the sky.

Is spring really that great?

While Seor was grumbling inwardly, the wedding finally came to an end.

Then came the time to greet the guests.

Ian experienced what Linda and Seria had complained about.

“Twelve hours? I wore a corset for nearly twenty and thought my ribs had shrunk.”

“Right. And I thought my toenails would fall off from the bridal shoes.”

Though there was no corset or bridal shoes for him, he had to stand like a statue to greet the endless stream of guests.

Most of them were from the central and southern regions, and they found Nevan intimidating.

Which meant Ian was the one who shook hands until his hands ached and gave all the greetings.

After the thank-yous were done, a short ball followed.

Thanks to weeks of practice, the dance was performed flawlessly, but a wave of fatigue soon crashed over him.

On the way to change clothes, Ian stumbled on the stairs, and Nevan quickly caught him.

“Are you alright?”

“Ugh… I need that.”

“What do you need?”

Ian asked Nevan to bring four bottles of potion from the room.

“Understood.”

So weddings are meant for those with good stamina.

Ian held on to his trembling legs as he changed clothes.

Soon, Nevan returned with Chloe.

“Lady Chloe.”

“Heavens, why do you look so pale, Your Grace the Duchess!”

“Would you hand me that potion?”

Nevan was about to give Ian a yellow bottle when Chloe stopped him.

“This one works better.”

Chloe handed over a mysterious green bottle.

Ian narrowed his eyes and asked,

“Am I going to die if I drink this?”

“No! This one’s much more effective.”

“Is it a stamina enhancer?”

That’s my husband.

Ian nodded and downed the strange green potion.

And then—

The world suddenly began to grow larger.

When Nevan and Chloe appeared like giants, Ian realized something strange had happened.

Chloe’s face, looking down at him, was pale with shock.

Nevan, standing beside her, asked,

“Ian?”

“Ki-ang?”

What the—why is this happening!