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This damn engagement ring.
The square-cut blue diamond ring was unnecessarily large, just like the eyeball of a one-eyed monster.
The finely crafted diamond sparkled brightly, gleaming into hundreds of rays depending on the angle. It was sharp enough to leave a scratch on the skin if touched wrong.
Lauren Ismere was looking down at the hideous ring on his finger and remembered his shameless fatherâs face.
And he felt a bit better after imagining accidentally cutting his fatherâs face while having a scuffle with him with this ring on.
YesâŠâŠ. This ring was innocent after all.
He would be getting married one day as if he was being sold, entering the wedding ceremony without even knowing the groomâs face.
He hated this whole situation, but the most among them all was his father. Only because he didnât know how ridiculous this marriage was.
The Ismere family was originally a miner and a semi-baron household that bought the noble status with money. Which meant they were a family of commoners who couldnât step into high society circles even though they had noble status.
In noble society that valued noble blood, such people couldnât be easily welcomed. How could nobles with high pride accept a family that lived in a mine covered with black ashes?
The Ismere family was just on the way to become a ârealâ noble family, and they would need to go through at least three generations in the future to be treated equally with the general hereditary nobles.
Unfortunately, however, Laurenâs father, Killian Ismere, wanted to enjoy such a position immediately. And his only son Lauren, a dominant Omega, was a necessary part to blend with influential people.
Therefore, it was clearly a planned step for Lauren to have an unwanted marriage as if he were being sold.
Lauren thought the misfortunes of all children in this era probably started with a bunch of fucking assholes named âFatherâ. If it werenât for his fatherâs useless greed, he mightâve lived happily on the frontier, interacting with wealthy people in similar situations.
However, his father only had his head stuck in high society, and he was foolish and greedy that he eventually brought Laurenâs life, as well as his own, into an abyss.
One day at a banquet in the Imperial Palace, the Emperor jokingly offered him to sell Lauren so easily.
âSir Killian, would you do anything for me?â
It was said that the Emperor had a lot of fun that day.
The Emperor called Laurenâs father up to the dais of the banquet and made him drink several cups of cheap drinks. Perhaps everyone there was laughing at him, but he was so moved that he didnât even notice everyone was making fun of him. And it was honorable drink given by His Majesty himself afterall.
âIt would be a great honor for my family if I could be of your service, Your Majesty!â
âAnd will you give me all your fortune?â
ââŠâŠI, I beg your pardon?â
âAh, alright. Itâs just a joke. What am I lacking to covet your fortune anyway?â
âHa, haha⊠Thatâs right. You have the great Empire under your feet, Your Majesty, and you will not be able to seek any personal wealth.â
âThen what about this?â
âMarrying into my family.â
âExâŠâŠ excuse me?â
Anyone with even little thought would have noticed something strange at that point. The Emperor that had been mocking Killian so much suddenly offered a marriage, but unfortunately, Laurenâs father was so excited at this point.
âHow old is your only son this year?â
âT, twenty years old, Your Majesty.â
âThat is the perfect age to get married. Ah, isnât he a military doctor from the Imperial GuardâŠâŠ?â
âYes, yes! That is correct!â
An officer from the Imperial Guard. The youngest graduate of the Imperial Military Academy. That was the title his father was proudest of after his title as a dominant Omega.
The Emperor had made a sweet offer to such a father.
âWell, you know, I have a sore finger.â <sup>[1]</sup>
âB, by a sore finger, you meanâŠâŠ.â
Laurenâs father, Killian Ismere, started to have a high expectation.
The Emperor only had two sons.
Among them, the unmarried Alpha was the Crown Prince.
The second prince Edwin that had become the Crown Prince after winning the Emperorâs favor.
Of course, he had a flaw for loving to play around that his lower body was a bit promiscuous, but who would refuse to marry him since he was an attractive and handsome Alpha as well as the competent next Emperor?
The nobles that had been laughing at him a while ago suddenly became quiet as if they were flabbergasted by the drastically changing situation. And Killian asked, unable to hide his excitement.
âThatâŠâŠ Is Your Majesty talking about the still unmarried His Highness the Crown Prince?â
However, the Emperor completely shattered Killianâs presumptuous expectations.
âNo. He is a bit picky about his taste.â
âT, then, which finger are you talking aboutâŠâŠ?â
Killianâs head was thinking busily again.
The remaining son was the Emperorâs eldest son. He was an incompetent and unambitious idiot who wasnât even a good candidate. And he was so incompetent that his younger brother took away the crown princeâs position.
âAre you asking me to give my precious only son to be the mistress of a married man who is incapable and old?â
No matter he was an Imperial Family member or not, Lauren was the child who would become the future head of the family. Wasnât it just too much?
âWhat the hell is going on in noble society that never allows anyone to take mistresses⊠even though most nobles adopt Alpha as their son-in-law?â
âŠâŠAs Killian was busy pondering about the Emperorâs intention, someoneâs murmur clearly echoed in the quiet banquet hall.
âIs it perhaps, the third prince?â
The third princeâŠâŠ The hall shook in an instant.
About half of the nobles asked the person next to them as if they didnât know who the third prince was. And those who knew the existence were busy whispering among themselves due to some rumors spread in the dark.
âYes, but why? The mutantâŠâŠ.â
âHis face was crushed since birth, so he has no nose and only one eye. He is a monster with hair all over his body. But heâs from the Imperial Family, so they canât show him, only treating as if he doesnât existâŠâŠ.â
âHow old is he? Hasnât it been over 10 years since Her Majesty passed away?â
âI donât know how old he is. Iâve never seen him before. How would I know?â
Killian, who couldnât expect such a strong bond with other nobles, was unlikely to hear such a story.
What he heard about the third prince that day was that he had no nose and only one eye. And he was a mysterious mutant prince with hair all over his body.
ââŠâŠ But heâs still the third prince, Lauren! Youâre going to be a princeâs consort, and the child youâre giving birth to will be the Emperorâs grandson!â
âEven if he has no nose, heâs still a prince! Even if heâs one-eyed, heâs still a direct line of the Imperial Family!â
By repeating such stupid remarks, Killian persuaded Lauren.
In fact, it was actually no different from coercion, not persuasion.
 âDo you know how difficult it is to be a relative of the Imperial Family? Look at Duke Visdate. No matter how great their family is, they only have Betas. They donât have any official heir, let alone a line with the Imperial Family. They canât even carry their face!â
âCanât you do this for your family? I mean, you were born a dominant Omega because of me, and you went the Imperial Military Academy and got a prosperous knighthood thanks to my money, and yet you couldnât even get married for the sake of your family that I built up with blood and sweat?!â
Lauren rolled his eyes and swallowed the rising nausea back to his throat as he recalled what his father had passionately said.
Laurenâs appearance resembled his deceased mother, and his Omega trait was manifested at the age of 12. His tuition fees were not from his fatherâs money but from the property inherited from his deceased grandfather.
âŠâŠIn other words, Lauren didnât receive a single thing from his father.
Of course, the ethics of this world taught you that you owed your parents a lot just for being born.
His 20 years of living thoroughly as a tool for his fatherâs own ambitions were a life that wouldâve been better if he hadnât taken any debts from the beginning.
âŠâŠAnyway, due to the bolt from the blue that day, the wedding preparations were carried out in an instant.
And when Lauren came to his senses, he was already standing in front of the bishop in white robes.
The guests gathered at the huge Imperial Church were devastatingly few.
The guestâs seats that were less than 20% full. Only direct descendants of the Imperial Family, as well as a handful of high-ranking families and their children, were seated.
They were the lucky ones to be invited to this extremely private ceremony. Perhaps after today, Lauren and the third princeâs names would go up and down in newspapers, through peopleâs mouths, at all kinds of tea parties and luncheon gatherings.
Lauren was staring blankly at the huge stained glass on the churchâs wall and frowned. It was supremely sacred to see the noonday sunshine passing through the colorful glass and hitting all the saints in the synagogue, but this political marriage was a burdensome scene for Laurent since he knew from the start that it was far from sacred.
Lauren closed his eyes for a moment, escaping from reality, then took a long deep breath and opened them again.
Actually, the rumors that the third prince was a mutant almost resembling a monster was very disturbing. And the nobles thought he wouldnât be such a monster, and they refined the rumors with realistic guesses.
However, the Emperorâs message to Ismere household, âLetâs simplify the ceremony as much as possible due to the third princeâs poor health,â only added the credibility to those rumors and stimulated public curiosity.
At this point, even Lauren, who wasnât even interested in the groomâs appearance, began to feel a bit nervous. He had taken a sedative before entering here, but his heart was pounding so hard that his stomach felt nauseous.
The bishop quietly signaled to Laurenâs back, announcing the groomâs entrance. All of a sudden, the audience gasped a little.
Unable to look back, Lauren shifted his gaze to the guestsâ shocked faces.
âWhat the hell does the groom look like for making them like thatâŠâŠ.â
Someone quietly approached Lauren, positioning himself next to him and stood there.
âThe groom Aslan Campbell and the bride Lauren Ismere.â
Lauren turned his head to check the groomâs face. And his heart almost stopped.
âThe sacred wedding shall commence now.â
âMy groom has a nose and two eyes.â
âTwo beautiful people to receive the grace of the Lord today.â
âHe is not a hairy monster either.â
âStanding hereâŠâŠ.â
The audience kept buzzing. The hall was so noisy that the bishopâs opening declaration was buried. The majestic string ensemble also failed to cover the commotion.
Bam. Bam. And the bishop hit the podium several times with his hand.
âThis is a sacrament that God is watching. Esteemed guests, all of you are witnesses of this sacrament, so please take a reverent attitude.â
The bishop asked for attention with a stern face, then looked at Lauren over the podium.
However, Laurenâs gaze was not on the front but on the groom next to him.
The third prince who would soon become his husband was a young boy that seemed very far from the title of âgroomâ.
His platinum blonde hair that reflected the colorful light of stained glass as it was, flawless skin without blemishes, and dense facial features.
The pretty but slightly sensitive young boy looked up at the bishop with a grumpy expression on his face. It was a face that looked as if he was forced to do something he didnât want anyone to see.
His cheeks, still chubby with baby fat, looked puffy because of his sharp expression.
Those cold eyes suddenly turned to Lauren. Just like the bloodline of Campbell family, those eyes were very clear.
Like the blue diamond in his engagement ring.
[1] sore finger: A Korean proverb that means the children whom the parents are worried about because theyâre not doing well.
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