Chapter 128

EPISODE 128 – ENGAGEMENT CEREMONY (5)

‘Explosion Witch’ or ‘Explosion Angel . ’

Either way, a few hours passed after a fearsome being was born .

Jude’s appearance was revealed under the full moon that illuminated the deep night alone .

“Cordelia . ”

“Over here . ”

His call in a low voice was answered by a low voice too .

On the roof of the luxury accommodation .

Cordelia gestured while she was seated at the edge of the roof . She was wearing black clothes so that she could travel in secret .

‘Her hair stands out so much though . ’

Cordelia’s bright red hair seemed to glow under the moonlight .

Her long hair was tied together and arranged in the so-called ponytail, and a smile spread over Jude’s face .

“What are you doing? Are you not coming?”

“Ah, yes . ”

A ponytail is better than twin tails after all .

Jude absentmindedly thought before he quickly went to Cordelia and sat down next to her .

Just like Cordelia, Jude was wearing a black and skin-tight garment .

“Let’s go right away . Wear this on your back . ”

“Okay . ”

When Jude handed her the backpack, Cordelia quickly wore it on her back before she crawled on the roof and moved towards the back of Jude .

“How long will it take?”

“If our time is not wasted on negotiations…we’ll definitely be able to come back before sunrise . ”

“Good, you have no problems with your stamina then?”

“None, Madam . Your servant has extremely good stamina . ”

“Bullsh*t . ”

Cordelia giggled and smoothly moved like a mollusk again as she climbed and attached herself on Jude’s back .

“Let’s hurry . It will be a big problem if we get caught . ”

“No, it won’t be a big problem . ”

They would just get scolded a little more since they had done it before already .

Jude smirked and corrected Cordelia’s position on his back . He took a deep breath before raising his head and looked at the distance .

Twenty-Four Gale Steps .

Black Wind’s Advent .

And a golden whirlwind arose .

Jude lightly and silently raced on the roofs as he became a gale .

He crossed Langesthei at lightning speed .

“Wow!”

Cordelia was a bit amazed as the wind brushed past her cheeks . She tightly hugged Jude’s neck and enjoyed their speedy movement .

Tak-tak-tak .

Lightly, lightly, lighter .

Jude jumped from roof to roof without any difficulties . He ran on the roof as if he was running on flat ground, and he jumped high at some point .

“Black Dragon’s Ascent!”

Jude shouted out loud and Cordelia instantly got goosebumps .

‘That’s embarrassiiiiiing!’

Why are you not ashamed!

But it was real and not something made up .

It was a real power and not something a Chuunibyou made up .

Jude used the energy of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors to increase the black dragon’s strength .

As its name implied, he soared high as if ascending and jumped over the walls of Langesthei at once .

“Kyaaa!”

Cordelia delightedly screamed without realizing it as she felt like she was on a ride, and Jude’s smile deepened .

And they reached the forest .

Cordelia raised her voice as Jude continued running without hesitation .

“By the way, Jude!”

“Yes! Princess!”

Cordelia’s cheeks turned red again at Jude’s cry .

She was familiar with that nickname now since he had called her that a lot, but she was still embarrassed about it sometimes .

“A-anyway! What are you planning?”

“What?”

“Fairy Queen!”

They spoke in a series of words that were difficult to understand without knowing the context, but the two were Jude and Cordelia . They could read each other’s thoughts by just looking at the eyes of the other, so they could understand each other even with those short words .

“You mean, how are we going to get the Fall Protection from the Fairy Queen?”

“Yes!”

The Fall Fairy Queen .

She was the toughest opponent out of the three Fairy Queens whom Jude and Cordelia had met .

‘The Fairy Queen is not a dupe!’

The other Fairy Queens could be duped, but not for the Fall Fairy Queen .

They had to pay a reasonable price if they wanted to receive her protection .

She might have given them the Moonlight when they first visited, but she didn’t give them the Fall Protection .

“I have an idea, but what about you? Do you have any ideas?”

Jude asked while he continued to run fast, and Cordelia replied as if she was waiting for him to ask her .

“If you don’t give me your protection, something will explode!”

“What? You mean the Fairy Queen herself?”

“Are you crazy? I mean the valley or the fairy forest!”

“Hey, you seriously sound like a terrorist right now, okay? Threats are a crime, a crime!”

“Tsk, it’s not . ”

“What do you mean it’s not?”

“I mean, in my experience so far, most of the problems have been solved once we blew it up . Isn’t that right?”

“No, you demon . I won’t allow it even if you say it cutely . ”

“I neber shed ith cutely . ”

Cordelia childishly spoke, and Jude closed his eyes for a moment and doubted himself .

‘This is serious . ’

He felt that this side of her was cute too .

In any case, Jude opened his eyes again as he began climbing the mountain to head to the valley where they could meet the Fall fairies .

Cordelia spoke again .

“What was your plan then?”

“Cordelia, you have the backpack with you, right?”

“Yes . ”

“Inside, there are three boxes of premium chocolates from Langesthei that I bought earlier . ”

“Wait . ”

“What?”

“I mean, are you going to lure the Fairy Queen with chocolate?”

“Yes, with luxury chocolate . ”

“Hey, is the Fairy Queen a kid? Will she listen to you just for chocolate?”

“She would, right?”

Cordelia blinked her eyes at Jude’s question, and she soon nodded and said .

“Come to think of it, you’re right . ”

He was correct on the queen being like a kid .

Because even the queen was still a fairy .

“Wow, my Jude is clever . Let me praise you a lot . ”

Cordelia said so and stroked his head, and Jude lifted up her position on his back as he said .

“More, please praise me a little more . ”

“What more should I do?”

“Think about it . ”

The rather sincere Cordelia really began to think about it, and Jude increased his speed even further .

And they finally arrived in front of the valley .

Cordelia grumbled as she soaked herself in the cold valley water and succeeded in calling out the fairies by singing Twinkle Little Star .

‘Fairies are easier to deal with than I thought . ’

They had thought at first that there was a set date and time, so they struggled a lot back then, but now…it felt like a vending machine that would make something come out if they just pressed the button .

At any rate, Jude and Cordelia met the Fairy Queen and after some negotiations, they succeeded in achieving their goal .

No, they didn’t just succeed .

It was a great success .

“Wow, wow, wow . ”

Cordelia stood alone under the full moon and turned her body around several times, and Jude was lost in admiration .

Because she was so beautiful .

Cordelia was like a goddess now – no, she was like a fairy .

It wasn’t because Jude had a love filter in his eyes .

Cordelia was really like a half-fairy now .

“Fairy Dress!”

Instead of her black clothes, Cordelia was now wearing a white dress that looked to be fluttery and translucent .

Made of a soft yet shiny cloth reminiscent of a fairy’s wings, the main material for this dress was moonlight .

“A fantasy dress made by collecting the fantasy moonlight . ”

JudeWiki made its appearance after a long time, and smiles spread over the faces of Jude and Cordelia .

“They gave this one for that?”

“They gave this for two boxes of chocolate, right?”

One box was enough for getting the Fall Protection .

After tasting chocolate for the first time, the Fairy Queen revealed her true nature as a fairy, and the two were able to close a successful deal under very favorable terms .

As Cordelia turned around in place, the wide skirt beautifully spread out as if it was a blooming flower bud .

“It’s pretty, hehe . ”

Smiling brightly like a fairy, Cordelia grabbed the hem of her skirt and randomly posed several times .

“Fairy Dress . A-rank . ”

Jude and Cordelia knew that the Fairy Dress wasn’t really meant for combat .

Nevertheless, the reason why the Fairy Dress was an A-rank item was because it was really faithful to the natural role of a dress .

“It increases the Charm stat by 1 . 5 times . ”

It didn’t increase the absolute value, but it was still a striking piece of equipment that made its wearer stand out .

It also corrected the appearance values, so it gave the wearer a fairy-like mystique .

‘When the ball is held, everyone will be enchanted . ’

What will happen if Cordelia fully wears makeup and dons the Fairy Dress when she goes to the founding ball?

What if she appeared in her awakened mode instead of her normal look now?

‘She can turn into an angel after all . ’

Just imagining it felt amazing . He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising .

‘They’ll be really captivated . ’

She would dominate the founding ball itself .

‘No, of course it’s not like a beauty pageant, so there is no need for her to dominate it . ’

Still, what was good was good .

And if she could really dominate the ball, it would be possible to take advantage of it .

“Hehe, I’m a bit embarrassed . ”

Cordelia bashfully said as she shyly laughed with a red face, and Jude was grateful that the girl in front of him was his fiancée . He then straightened his expression afterwards .

“Okay, anyway, let’s go back . ”

“Yes, yes, let’s go back . ”

Cordelia felt better and quickly changed her clothes . She rode on Jude’s back again and the two became like a gale as they returned to Langesthei .

And two days later in the afternoon .

“Yoooooooung master!”

“Majaaaaa!”

At the mansion of Count Bayer, located in the frontier city of Bailon .

Maja’s nickname as the Ice Princess was brought to shame as she expressed quite intense emotions, and Jude didn’t lag behind too .

As he hugged Maja who had come running, he lifted her by the waist and even turned around .

“Yo-young master?!”

“Hahaha! I miss you! Maja!”

Jude got used to lifting people this way because of Cordelia .

Maja was flustered with a red face, and she soon burst into laughter . It was because she was reunited with Jude after a long time, and also because she realized that Jude had become really healthy now .

‘He got bigger . ’

Jude was originally smaller than Maja herself, but not now .

He grew tall enough that she had to look up, and his body that seemed to be delicate enough that he looked like a girl than a boy was now firm and made him look strong .

“Young master, I have a lot of things I want to hear . ”

“I also have a lot of stories I want to tell you, Maja . ”

Because Maja was like a real older sister to Jude .

But there was an order to everything .

Jude carefully put Maja down before he turned his head and saw Count Bayer facing Gaël .

“Father . ”

“I heard the situation from Count Chase . But I want to hear more from you . ”

Everything that had happened since they left Vedrfolnir .

Joy and curiosity coexisted in the eyes of Count Bayer . Because his sons whom he were worried about, brought so many gifts on their way home .

‘He got stronger . ’

Count Bayer was one of the strongest among the ten great swordmasters .

He could roughly guess Jude’s condition just by looking at him .

Unnatural .

His growth couldn’t be explained in the usual way .

But Count Bayer also thought that it was natural .

‘Did his talent that had been suppressed for so long exploded at once?’

Cheonmujiche had once been suppressed by his Gueumjulmaek .

Add to that were the several lucky coincidences that he encountered .

‘I can’t wait to test him . ’

How strong Jude was, at which level he was now, and how much stronger would he be in the future .

And there was another joyful news for him .

“We have already began the preparations . Let’s hold the engagement ceremony after two weeks . ”

“Yes, father . ”

Gaël replied a little awkward as if he was shy, and Count Bayer smiled .

He was very happy .

He actually felt sorry for Jude, but Gaël’s engagement touched his heart more than Jude’s achievements .

‘It was long . ’

10 years .

Gaël didn’t even mention the word ‘marriage’ after the incident of that day .

“A happy occasion, what an auspicious occasion . ”

He didn’t expect his second son’s runaway to turn out like this .

Count Bayer once again happily laughed, and as he looked around, he saw all the people in his mansion who were also delighted at the return of his two sons .

“Let’s go in . Tonight will be a long night . ”

“Yes, father . ”

Gaël replied, and Jude smiled as he followed the two .

And two weeks later .

Gaël and Adelia’s engagement ceremony was held .

***

The Bayer family and the Chase family, two of the twelve northern families .

The union of two families was something to be wary of and not celebrated, but unexpectedly, the reaction of the 12 northern families was positive .

‘Because there were members who will be united anyway . ’

To begin with, the two families had tried to unite through the marriage of Jude Bayer and Cordelia Chase .

The marriage of Gaël and Adelia would have made the relationship between the two families a little closer, but that was it in the end .

‘No, I’d say it became better . ’

Marriage was originally a union between two families .

Even more so for high-ranking nobles such as the 12 northern families .

Count Bayer and Count Chase lost the opportunity to grow their power by marrying Gaël and Adelia to other families .

‘Well, Bailon is a city where one can just fool around . ’

It was just a frontier city anyway .

That wasn’t a very good reason, but in any case, the 12 northern families sincerely blessed Gaël and Adelia’s engagement for this reason .

“It’s rare to have an engagement that everyone sent their well-wishes like this . ”

“Huh? What do you mean? It’s an engagement, so everyone would obviously wish them well . ”

When Cordelia tilted her head and asked, Jude simply smiled instead of properly explaining it to her .

Because he didn’t want to dirty the pure Cordelia’s mind with the hardships of life .

“Unnie is pretty . ”

At the garden of Count Bayer .

Many people were gathered in the banquet hall that was fully decorated by the two counts, and there was one person who stood out as if she was shining alone .

Adelia Chase .

She was, indeed, Cordelia’s older sister . She was a beautiful woman even when she was not dressed up, and her beauty was to the point that she was like Helen of Troy .

She was as beautiful as a goddess in her white dress that gave her a very elegant look after her lovely blonde hair that was nicely tied up by a lace had now been let down .

And Gaël Bayer was next to her .

He was handsome as he was Jude’s older brother, but his sense of stability stood out .

Despite being in a place where the attention of many people gathered on him, he maintained his usual expression, so Cordelia felt that his calmness of mind made him a reliable adult .

“He’s somehow cool . ”

And she was somehow envious .

As the light of longing filled Cordelia’s sparkling blue eyes, Jude said in a small voice .

“Cordelia . ”

“What is it, Jude?”

“Should we ask for it?”

“What?”

“An engagement ceremony . ”

Cordelia blinked at Jude’s words .

I’m having an engagement ceremony?

With whom?

Jude and me?

“I mean, we never had an engagement ceremony since we were engaged while we were still in our mother’s wombs . ”

Cordelia recalled her memories for a moment before she nodded her head .

Because it was as Jude had said .

‘We were indifferent to each other before we remembered our past life memories . ’

It was rare for her to talk and see her fiance’s face, so she didn’t like him much .

‘Because Jude was sick and stuck at home all the time . ’

She was worried about her fiancé, but there was no particular feeling beyond that . Their relationship was literally nothing more than a fiancé and fiancée who their families had decided to engage .

“What do you think? Should I ask them to do it?”

When Jude asked again, Cordelia looked at Gaël and Adelia again .

They were standing in front of everyone as they faced each other, and one could see how much they loved each other even from a distance .

‘What if I replace it with Jude and me there?’

She imagined it for a moment .

And Cordelia covered her face with her hands .

“Cordelia?”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait . ”

And thought again .

Jude was asking for an engagement ceremony .

Jude was asking if they could do it too now that he had seen Gaël and Adelia’s engagement ceremony .

‘Do you really like me?”

You’re asking this because you like me…right?

But she didn’t feel comfortable with it .

Because he was Jude .

Because he was Outboxer009 who irritatingly teased her everyday in the chat window!

‘Eyes, look at his eyes . ’

Because her unnie did it .

She would be able to tell by looking at his eyes .

Cordelia took a deep breath before she lowered her hands that covered her face and then gulped nervously . She turned her head and tried to face Jude .

However…

‘Euaaaaah! I can’t look at him!’

Because she and Jude could communicate with just the look of their eyes .

As she thought back now, he would be able to clearly read her thoughts at that moment .

‘Hey, do you like me?’

‘Why are you looking at me and asking if I like you? What is this, ax disease?’

…Something like that would happen .

So it was impossible . She couldn’t meet eyes with Jude right now .

‘Then, how do I check it?’

Should I find another way?

“Cordelia?”

Jude tilted his head and asked, but Cordelia was lost in her thoughts as she covered her face with both hands . The engagement ceremony continued while the two were like that .

And time passed .

“Ah, they’re kissing . ”

“What?”

Cordelia raised her head after struggling from all kinds of delusions, and she was able to see Gaël and Adelia kissing each other after they exchanged rings .

Both of them looked to be very happy .

“We made this . ”

Jude spoke in a small voice, and Cordelia nodded her head . Everyone who was gathered in the banquet hall gave the couple a warm applause .

May they continue to be happy .

May they be able to continue protecting their happiness .

Cordelia erased her thoughts about Jude from her mind, and she held her hands together and prayed .

She sincerely wished for it .

And what they needed to do to achieve that .

The fate and future of everyone that needed to be changed again .

One month after the engagement ceremony .

One month and 15 days before the 300th anniversary of the country’s founding .

Invitation letters from the royal capital arrived at the homes of Count Bayer and Count Chase .