His eyes, however, barely contained a flicker of excitement.
In the past, this was something he wouldn’t even dare to dream about.
The false Li Ya changed into splendid clothes, still somewhat unaccustomed to them.
Today. Today of all days!
His heart pounded wildly, a flush spreading across his skin.
It took him a long while of deep breathing to calm down.
Click!
The door opened at that moment.
His body instantly tensed as he hurriedly stood up and turned to look at the old steward.
The old steward glanced at him and said in a stern tone, “Follow the procedure I told you earlier. Don’t make any mistakes. Wealth and honor will not be lacking for you.”
“Yes, yes.”
The false Li Ya lowered his head and repeatedly agreed.
His earlier excitement had now subsided.
The old steward led him to the carriage, adding another comment along the way:
“Your base blood is unworthy of allowing Miss Emily to bear your offspring. The master will find another man of sufficient excellence. Aside from not touching the young lady, servants will be arranged to satisfy your needs. After the wedding, do not do anything out of line. Stay in the manor and don’t go anywhere. Do you understand everything?”
“I understand. I will absolutely not do anything unnecessary. Please rest assured, Master and you…”
The false Li Ya kept his head low.
He understood that the master had found him only because he was suitable for impersonating Li Ya.
Aside from that, he had no value whatsoever.
Nobles placed great importance on bloodline, sometimes even marrying within the family to keep it pure.
A fake like him, without noble blood or talent for cultivation, could naturally never be allowed to pollute the noble lineage that had been optimized for over a dozen generations with his “inferior” blood.
But even so, it was enough.
He’d have a life of fine clothes and good food, no need to serve others.
Even if he could only watch his wife bear another man’s child, that was better than anything else!
The old steward said no more.
He led the false Li Ya into the carriage and headed to the wedding venue.
—
A fair hand pulled off the hood, revealing lustrous golden hair that reached the shoulders.
Between the strands, a pair of pointed ears peeked out, resembling an elf’s but not as long.
Teardrop-shaped earrings hung from her ears, their crystalline blue shimmering faintly—these were no ordinary accessories.
Eustia’s deep blue eyes looked toward the girl not far away, and she smiled in greeting.
“Long time no see, Luolan.”
“What a coincidence, Eustia…”
The girl replied like this.
A blue-and-white gown, ice-blue long hair.
Beneath her frost-like thick lashes, those silver-gray irises showed little fluctuation in emotion.
The only touch of color on Luolan was the faint pink of her thin lips.
She looked at her half-elf friend Eustia, whom she had met by chance.
Eustia did not explain why this coincidence was so convenient; she simply asked Luolan a question calmly.
“Where are you headed?”
“Grey Pine City. Some matters to attend to.”
Luolan’s voice was cold and clear, like her own color, almost devoid of emotional waves.
Still, Eustia, who knew her well, did not believe that Luolan’s personality was truly as it appeared.
“Oh? How about I accompany you?”
Luolan neither agreed nor refused.
That was probably taken as silent consent.
At that moment, the young saintess with platinum-blonde hair who was standing nearby also spoke up:
“Miss Luolan, I’d like to visit the church in this city. Would you mind if I came along?”
Luolan still did not answer.
Instead, she turned to look elsewhere, seemingly lost in thought.
Why would he…
The Cloud Boat did not directly stop above Grey Pine City; it wasn’t something you could just park anywhere.
They transferred to a small airship and descended toward Grey Pine City.
—
At the same time, a carriage pulled up outside the church.
Shu Yue was the first to step down from the carriage.
Kindly, she took Vanessa’s hand and helped her out.
She had no choice but to help.
Miss Vanessa was an expert at fake-falling.
If Shu Yue didn’t catch her, she’d simply fall onto her anyway.
Besides, Shu Yue needed Vanessa to get her inside.
Without Vanessa’s connections, she couldn’t even enter the churchyard where the wedding was being held.
The area was now cordoned off by the baron’s men, requiring sufficient status to enter.
Very few of the younger generation came.
Eustia had told Shu Yue to continue disguising herself as Li Ya and play along with Emily in this act.
But since someone had already taken over that identity, Shu Yue could only attend the wedding as a spectator and watch from below.
Vanessa intimately linked her arm with Shu Yue’s, a blissful smile on her face.
The people getting off the surrounding carriages were stunned.
Wasn’t that Miss Vanessa?
How was she calling someone else “darling”?!
No, this couldn’t be real!!!
It was as if many young men’s worldviews had collapsed.
After their breakdown, they glared at Shu Yue as if trying to kill her with their eyes.
Too bad Shu Yue didn’t even notice them.
It’s your goddess who’s rubbing against me and flirting—why are you blaming me?
Hmph, unreasonable!
Shu Yue and Vanessa walked inside, instantly becoming the center of attention.
After last night, almost everyone knew that Vanessa had someone she loved.
But no one expected her to show up so conspicuously.
As more scrutinizing gazes fell on her, Shu Yue frowned and turned to Vanessa beside her.
“Your father really doesn’t mind?”
“Mind what? That I’m willing to play with boys? He’s absolutely delighted.”
The girl spoke with her head lifted, a hint of pride in her voice, a charming smile curving her lips—she looked lovely.
Shu Yue suppressed a twitch at the corner of her mouth.
She hadn’t realized how different Vanessa’s family was from Emily’s.
That Viscount Hermann was nothing like Baron Leicester.
He didn’t treat his children as tools.
Vanessa seemed to read her thoughts and casually explained:
“Before being his daughter, I’m first my grandfather’s good little granddaughter~”
No wonder Viscount Hermann didn’t dare treat Vanessa the way Baron Leicester did.
A marriageable young lady like Vanessa could go out and play every day—it turned out her mother had a strong maternal family, and her grandfather doted on her.
That was how she could live freely.
They entered the churchyard, found a seat on one side, and prepared to watch the show.
Shu Yue glanced around out of the corner of her eye.
Everyone who could attend were prominent figures in Grey Pine City.
The young were in the minority; most came accompanied by someone older.
Shu Yue and Vanessa were the only female-female pair.
There were still quite a few pairs of “scoundrels and harlots.”
Shu Yue looked at the false Li Ya as he walked into the venue and observed closely.
She could tell that his muscles were taut with tension.
It wasn’t just nervousness; there was also a faint pathological quality to it.
Was he excited?
“Well, even though Emily can’t compare to Shu Yue, she’s still a pretty girl. And she’s a noble. Marrying such a wife would indeed be something to be happy about.”
At least for a local of this world, a man marrying into a noble family was a dream from storybooks.
A beautiful, rich woman wasn’t so easy to marry—look at yourself first.
A dream?
Sooner or later, dreams end.
Shu Yue held a pessimistic view of the false Li Ya’s future.
She didn’t believe being a stand-in was a career with any future.
Shu Yue shifted her attention away from the false Li Ya and took the opportunity to sweep her gaze around.
She spotted a young man whose eyes held suppressed anger.
She also saw an old acquaintance from when she had confronted Baron Jim in court.
What surprised Shu Yue was that he had brought a woman with him.
The woman kept her head lowered, her face hidden.
The false Li Ya stepped onto the platform, exchanged a few brief words with the old clergyman presiding over the ceremony, then stood to the side, quietly waiting for Baron Leicester and Emily to arrive.
“Here they come.”
Vanessa whispered a reminder to Shu Yue.
Shu Yue turned to look at the starting point of the red carpet.
A luxuriously decorated carriage stopped there.
When the door opened, Baron Leicester carefully helped the girl in her wedding dress out of the carriage.
Prearranged boy and girl attendants walked ahead, carrying baskets and scattering flower petals.
Her high heels stepped onto the red carpet, dragging the long train of the gown.
Guided by the baron, the girl in her wedding veil walked all the way down the red carpet to the end, where the old bishop and the false Li Ya awaited her.
Emily looked up at the burning desire in the false Li Ya’s eyes and couldn’t help but curl a faint smile, as if mocking something.
If it were him, he’d only be impatient to finish quickly and then go do his own thing, wouldn’t he?
Ever since Shu Yue arrived, she had never actively sought out Emily.
From the few conversations they’d had after chance encounters, Emily also knew that Shu Yue had someone she loved and didn’t care about her.
Actually, she felt a little disappointed inside.
Not only did the person she was supposed to marry not like her, but he also had someone else on his mind.
But even so, under her family’s pressure, she had no choice but to marry such a scoundrel.
Really…
Emily had been resentful earlier, but now she somewhat wished it was Shu Yue standing there instead.
Shu Yue was much better than this fake in front of her.
At least she didn’t look at her with that disgusting gaze.
“Emily, it’s okay. Just imagine him as little sister Hecate.”
Emily took a shallow breath, calming her unsettled emotions.
Baron Leicester noticed the change in his daughter and tilted his head slightly to see her face.
Upon seeing the faint smile on Emily’s face, he was puzzled but didn’t dwell on it.
At this point, Emily had no choice.
The reason he had still given Emily this opportunity instead of replacing her with another daughter was that if both parties in the marriage contract were swapped, it would be easy for people to see through the trick.
Those in Grey Pine City who dared to make a move had already been purged.
But the baron ultimately chose the safest option: maintain the original contract and still have Emily be the bride.
Emily stepped onto the platform, standing opposite the false Li Ya.
The old bishop solemnly announced:
“The wedding ceremony begins.”
“I ask everyone present here: Does anyone object to the union of these two?”
First call—no one objected.
Second call—no one objected.
Third call—no one…
Just as everyone thought this procedure would pass, a loud male voice broke the silence.
A young man squeezed onto the red carpet.
His eyes wide, he stared at the stage and shouted angrily:
“I object to their marriage!”
Wait, who was this?
Shu Yue and Vanessa both stood up to watch the drama.
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