Shi Yun Lan stood before the mirror while Bi Ri helped him try on different clothes for the wedding.
"The young master... congratulations."
"Bi Ri..."
Shi Yun Lan interrupted her.
"I don't know much about marriage. I don't even understand why my father wants me to marry Jian Blu Eva."
He looked at himself in the mirror.
"But I have feelings. I can't deny that."
He paused.
"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do next."
Bi Ri smiled.
"Doesn't my young master know what to do?"
Before Shi Yun Lan could ask what she meant, Bi Ri grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer.
She kissed him.
Shi Yun Lan froze.
"Bi Ri?!"
Bi Ri then began teaching him about the things he was expected to know as a husband.
"...."
Inside him, Shion Lan watched everything.
For some reason, the connection between them felt stronger than ever.
He could feel every touch.
Every bit of warmth.
Every sensation that Shi Yun Lan experienced.
'Why am I watching this?!'
Shion felt embarrassed and irritated.
Yet he couldn't deny how wonderful those feelings were.
"Damn it!"
He suddenly remembered Solan Neumann.
'I'm cheating!'
He tried to suppress the feelings.
But he couldn't.
'I can't...'
For once, Shion found himself completely immersed in the warmth of the moment.
Fortunately, by the time the wedding arrived, Shi Yun Lan had learned enough to understand what awaited him.
...
The wedding ceremony finally began.
Jian Blu Eva stood in her wedding dress.
It was pink, with a brown belt around her waist, while a veil covered her face and concealed her natural beauty.
But Jian Blu Narsi didn't feel happy.
She couldn't bring herself to celebrate her sister's wedding.
She quietly left the gathering.
"Narsi?"
Jian Blu Eva called after her.
"I just want to walk for a while."
Narsi walked away.
The wedding was being held on the Shi family's territory, and from where she stood, she could see the area where Shi Yun Lan was waiting.
Her former fiancé had become her sister's husband.
All because of her own stupidity.
"Shi Yun Lan..."
She couldn't say anything more.
Then she noticed someone standing nearby.
Shi Yun Suan.
His face showed no emotion, but his eyes were filled with hatred as he stared toward the wedding.
Narsi glanced at him.
'What a scumbag.
If he hadn't ruined everything, I might have had another chance with Shi Yun Lan.
But he wasted everything.'
She looked toward the wedding again.
'I can't sabotage this.
If I did, my family would never forgive me.'
She lowered her head.
'Besides... I never even tried to communicate with Shi Yun Lan properly.
I left him with a terrible impression.
He has every right to avoid me.'
Narsi clenched her fists.
"I don't deserve Shi Yun Lan."
She looked toward the wedding.
"But why my sister?!"
Her teeth clenched.
"She tried to destroy his power!
Then why did he give her a chance and not me?!
He said he didn't have feelings!"
Her voice trembled.
"But he clearly has feelings for my sister!
That's ridiculous!"
She was about to lose control when she noticed Bi Ri approaching.
Bi Ri wore a huge smile.
She looked like someone who had just accomplished the most important mission of her life.
Narsi couldn't help asking,
"Excuse me... do you remember me?"
Bi Ri looked at her.
"Hmm?"
Then she smiled.
"Oh! You're the younger sister of my young master's wife!"
"!!!"
Narsi's fist tightened unconsciously.
Bi Ri pretended not to notice.
"But I think I've met you before..."
"Yes!"
Narsi immediately answered.
"We have actually met!"
"Oh, yes!"
Bi Ri pretended to remember.
"When I was serving my young master in your Jian family's territory."
"That's not what I mean!"
Narsi's face turned red.
"I was supposed to become Shi Yun Lan's fiancée three years ago!"
Bi Ri tilted her head innocently.
"Which one?"
"!!!"
Narsi stared at her.
"What do you mean, 'which one'?!"
Bi Ri smiled.
"There are many girls who love my young master."
She shrugged.
"But he ignored all of them.
So which one were you?"
"...."
Narsi couldn't answer.
She quickly changed the subject.
"Fine. I just want to know one thing."
She looked at Bi Ri seriously.
"Does your young master love my sister?"
She still hoped that Shi Yun Lan had been forced into this marriage.
Bi Ri's answer shattered that hope.
"My young master never talked about anyone during his entire life.
He was always immersed in training.
But when he met Jian Blu Eva for the first time, he talked about her."
Narsi's eyes widened.
"And he never allowed anyone to take care of him except me.
But he allowed her to do it."
Bi Ri smiled.
"That means she's very important to him."
She suddenly noticed Narsi's expression.
"Wait! Young mistress!"
But Narsi had already left.
Tears fell from her eyes as she walked away.
She finally understood.
Her chance with Shi Yun Lan was gone.
...
The day of the wedding arrived.
Shi Yun Lan stood in the wedding hall while the guests watched the young master of the Shi family.
He stood motionless, dressed in a midnight-black kimono that seemed to swallow the light around him.
The silk was embroidered with crimson flowers and ghostly silver branches that curled through the darkness like veins of fire.
A wide obi wrapped around his waist, secured by a circular silver clasp decorated with a single red flower. A silver tassel hung from it like a drop of moonlight.
The collar revealed only a narrow layer of the robe beneath, darker than black and edged in blood-red.
It wasn't merely clothing.
It looked like armor.
A warning.
And a work of art.
Shi Yun Lan's face was slightly red.
He remembered the private lessons Bi Ri had given him.
But there was one thing he still didn't know.
He had never seen Jian Blu Eva's uncovered face.
'Beauty queen, huh?'
'I'm positive...'
'I'm positive...'
'I'm positive...'
For some reason he wished Jian Blu Eva to be that beautiful.
He took a deep breath.
Then he waited.
A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
Shi Yun Lan turned.
His grandfather, Shi Yun Lai, stood beside him.
"Little Lan..."
Shi Yun Lai whispered.
Shi Yun Lan hadn't expected such a serious tone from him, so he listened carefully.
"Are you ready for the best night of your life?"
"...."
Shi Yun Lan's face became slightly red.
Shi Yun Lai grinned.
"I brought you some natural reinforcement."
He slipped a small potion into Shi Yun Lan's pocket.
"I want a grandson this year."
He patted his shoulder.
"Understand?"
"...."
Shi Yun Lan looked at the potion.
"Well."
He kept it.
Then the doors opened.
Shi Yun Lan's eyes widened.
"...."
Jian Blu Eva entered.
She walked calmly toward him.
But to Shi Yun Lan, her arrival felt like something far beyond ordinary footsteps.
The sound of the wind.
The songs of birds.
The gentle rhythm of raindrops.
The rustling of leaves.
Even the warmth of sunrise.
All of it seemed to accompany her presence.
Shion Lan felt it too.
Their connection had become so strong that the boundary between them was almost gone.
They both felt the same thing.
Calmness.
Warmth.
And something neither of them could properly name.
For the first time, Shi Yun Lan felt truly alive.
The two stood before each other.
The elders began the wedding ceremony.
They wrote their names on the wedding papers using the blood of the sacred beast prepared for the ceremony.
Then each of them placed a drop of their blood into a ceremonial mixture.
Their auras reacted.
The mixture transformed into flames.
The elder raised his voice.
"The ancestors have accepted this relationship.
A talented man and a gifted woman.
Stand together in good times and bad.
In wealth and poverty.
In life and death."
"Congratulations!"
Shi Yun Lan embraced his bride.
He didn't kiss her on the lips in front of everyone.
That felt too private for him.
Instead, he gently kissed her forehead.
The celebration continued.
There was drinking.
There was dancing.
And eventually, the newlyweds retired to their room.
Shi Yun Lan carried Jian Blu Eva to the bed and gently placed her down.
Then he slowly removed her veil.
His eyes widened.
"...."
Her beauty exceeded everything he had imagined.
The soft white skin, the wavy brown hair and the natural green eyes.
Even Shion Lan was stunned.
'She can be compared to Solan and—'
Shion suddenly stopped himself.
'Wait!
I need to get out of this situation!'
But in this world, Shi Yun Lan continued but he didn't take the potion as he no longer needed it.
For the first time, the two of them were completely alone.
That night, Shi Yun Lan and Jian Blu Eva finally became husband and wife.
Later, Shi Yun Lan lay quietly on the bed with Eva resting in his arms.
Her eyes were sleepy.
She looked exhausted, yet a gentle smile remained on her face.
Shi Yun Lan looked at her.
"...How adorable."
A warm smile appeared on his face.
Shion Lan felt the warmth as if it belonged to him as well.
For a moment, he felt as though he could truly become one with Shi Yun Lan.
Then—
"....!!!!!"
Shi Yun Lan suddenly grabbed his head.
His breathing became heavy.
"Lan?!"
Jian Blu Eva woke up and became immediately worried.
"What's happening?!"
She released her aura, trying to ease his pain.
But after a short while, Shi Yun Lan's breathing returned to normal.
"Lan..."
Eva looked at him anxiously.
"Are you okay?"
She stopped.
Something was wrong.
Those eyes.
Pitch-black.
Lifeless.
Without even the faintest trace of light.
They were the same eyes she had seen when they first met.
Shi Yun Lan looked at her.
"I'm fine."
His voice had changed.
His short, emotionless responses had returned.
"Eva..."
He closed his eyes.
"I don't feel well right now."
He pulled the blanket over them.
"Let's sleep."
Eva remained silent.
She hugged him carefully.
She didn't understand what had happened.
But at least...
His deadly aura was no longer spreading through the room.
She could breathe again.
Inside Shi Yun Lan, Shion Lan felt something else.
Pain.
The same pain he had experienced the last time his connection with Shi Yun Lan had been severed.
'Who was Shi Yun Lan connected to before me?'
Then the world around him began to collapse.
Everything faded.
The Veins Domain was ending.
'I think I'm finally returning to reality.'
Shion closed his eyes.
'How many days did I lose consciousness this time?'
He left the Veins Domain.
...
Karath Academy.
The answer became clear immediately.
Shion Lan had been unconscious for an entire week.
He lay in the infirmary.
His mother, Rita Lan, and Solan Neumann were both beside his bed, their faces filled with worry.
Shion slowly opened his eyes.
"Sola—"
"Auntie!"
Solan immediately interrupted him.
"Here, I'm Sol Hart!"
Rita blinked.
"Oh! Right. I forgot."
She rubbed her head.
"You're a spirit mage, aren't you?"
Solan understood what Rita was really asking.
She shook her head.
"Sorry, Auntie."
"His spirit is beyond my knowledge."
"Isn't there any solution?!"
Rita's voice trembled.
"My son is always suffering!"
Solan lowered her head.
"Hmmm..."
Suddenly—
"!!!"
Both of them looked toward the bed.
Shion was moving.
Slowly.
He seemed exhausted.
Solan immediately grabbed his hand.
"Shion!"
She leaned closer.
"Are you okay?"
"Ahh!"
Shion flinched.
Solan became even more worried.
She hugged him.
"Don't worry. I'm here for you."
"...."
Shion froze.
For some reason, he felt as though he had been caught cheating.
He looked away.
"Sol..."
He whispered.
"I think you should stop."
Solan looked around.
She noticed the physician staring at them with clear disapproval.
"Ahmmm... it's just—"
"No need to explain."
The physician turned away.
"This isn't your house. You can't do whatever you want here, little lord."
"...."
Shion couldn't say anything.
But he wasn't comfortable with Solan being so close to him.
Not after everything he had just experienced.
"I'm fine."
He looked at her.
"You don't have to worry."
"Shion..."
Solan ignored the physician.
She moved closer.
"I couldn't sleep properly while watching you suffer."
Tears appeared in her eyes.
"Please tell me what happened to you."
Shion couldn't bear seeing her cry.
He pulled her into his arms.
"My heritage was affecting my spirit after I reached the fourth level."
He paused.
"I just didn't expect it to happen so suddenly."
Solan smiled through her tears.
"I think I should stay with you."
She tightened her arms around him.
"So I can take care of you properly."
"!!!"
Shion froze.
Those words.
They were almost identical to something Jian Blu Eva had said.
'She didn't see anything... did she?!'
"Ahem!"
Rita deliberately coughed.
"Shion."
He looked toward her.
"You forgot about your mother."
"I didn't."
Shion glanced at Solan, who was still in his arms.
"But you know..."
He sighed.
"She didn't give me a chance to think."
Shion finally stood.
But after spending an entire week unconscious, his legs weren't ready to support him.
He nearly fell.
His mother immediately helped him.
Shion smiled.
For a moment, he felt happy.
Then Rita spoke nervously.
"The physician told me you're too weak to do anything."
She showed him a paper.
"He gave you special permission to go home."
Shion looked at the paper.
Then shook his head.
"No."
Rita stared at him.
"What?"
"It was my fault."
He handed the paper back.
"I won't escape my responsibilities because of an illness."
"I'll continue my punishment."
"What?!"
Solan shouted.
Shion immediately looked at her.
His gaze silenced her.
He remembered one of the Ancestors' Wills.
"If an illness can spare someone from punishment, then every criminal can claim to be ill-minded."
He paused.
But that wasn't his real reason for staying.
There was another reason.
And only Shion Lan knew what it was.