Chapter 174: Wedding-Crasher(4)

"Sir... What-"

Luke quickly covered one of the knight nearby's mouths to silence him. Luke then begins to look around to see if anyone else has noticed. Luke then sighed in relief when he noticed no one was looking at them, so he placed his hands down while the knight looked at him puzzledly. Luke looked at the knight with hesitation; since he and Dos had already parted ways, Luke has no one to help him, so he must bulldoze his way in himself.

"Uh... The priest sent me here to fill in for him."

"Huh? Why would he do that on such an important day?"

Luke clicks his tongue internally. He then heard Nash speaking in his head.

• Do you want me to deal with him, Dad?

Luke simply frowns and shakes his head. Since the knights here appear to know what the real priest looks like, he needs to explain to at least one of them so that they can spread the word and excuse him.

When Luke heard the knight in front of him laughing, he flinched.

"Haha, sir, you're such a jokester! You nearly got me there! Sir, I know you're the real priest. You can't fool these eyes!"

Luke looked at the knight, who was laughing at him, puzzled and shocked. Even Nash, who is looking over Luke's shoulder, is baffled.

• Did he hit his head somewhere, Dad?

'Perhaps... Or maybe he's on drugs...'

While both Luke and Nash are mystified by what is going on, the knight wipes his tears of laughter away and smiles at Luke.

"Sir, I knew the bishop had made the right choice in selecting his replacement. According to the descriptions of you, you are very amusing and appear to be very faithful."

Luke frowned as he gazed at the knight.

"Descriptions?"

The knight then looked at Luke in astonishment.

"Oh, you didn't know? The bishop sent us descriptions of you so that we could recognize you if we ever ran into you. It is said you have a very soft and kind face, and you have an aura of faith about you that impressed both the bishop and the duke, which is why you became the bishop's replacement, and you are privileged to lead the ceremony... right?"

Luke was silent for a few moments before noticing something was wrong.

"Didn't the bishop send you some of my pictures?"

The knight then looked at Luke with a bewildered expression.

"No, the bishop didn't. He claims he doesn't need to because it will be obvious who it is."

"...How about my name?"

"Huh? He also didn't say anything about your name. He simply gave us your description. Nothing more, nothing less."

Luke was baffled as he looked at the guard. He is starting to feel skeptical about this entire event. Something doesn't feel right here.

'The bishop sent someone... without a face or a name? And the Grand Duke just let it happen? What exactly is going on here?'

Luke considered his current situation to be both convenient and inconvenient. He had the feeling he had stumbled upon something he shouldn't have. Luke just frowned at this thought, all the problems he needs to face are stacking up nonstop.

'Then that must've meant that priest I knocked down is... A nameless fellow.'

Luke's eyes darkened, and a chill ran down his spine. The current situation indicates that there is something far more serious going on at this wedding... No, in this continent. Luke has a few ideas running through his head right now, but he can't be certain without proof.

Luke sighed deeply and massaged his temples. The knight became concerned when he noticed this and looked at Luke.

"Are you feeling unwell, sir?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's get started on the ceremony as soon as possible. We're running out of time."

"Oh, yes! This way!"

Luke then follows the knight and looks around the large and spacious cathedral interior around him. Everything around him appears to be old but expensive; add to that the fact that there are wedding decorations all around that probably cost more than a mansion, the cathedral appears even more expensive than it already does.

While walking behind the knight, Luke noticed some of the knights they passed by bowing respectfully to him. Luke first looked at them before returning their smile. He may appear to be like this on the outside, but on the inside, he was deeply disturbed by how such high-ranking knights of the powerful grand duke only know about the priest descriptions but blindly trust them.

'I should really just go home after this.'

Luke sighed quietly to himself. He is exhausted both physically and mentally. He is so exhausted that he can even sleep on the cathedral's cold marble floor right now.

"We've arrived, sir."

The knight then drew Luke's attention, and he saw the knight pointing to the massive expensive altar in front of him. They are currently standing to the side of the altar, allowing Luke to see the entire altar as well as the guests inside. As a result, Luke can see Klein and the others sitting not far from the altar.

Klein, Miya, and Lizzie were all staring at Dos, who was sitting stiffly beside them in the obviously suffocating suit. They must be baffled as to why Liam is currently with them rather than Luke. Luke simply sighed and began to walk towards the altar's center. Luke could feel the guests' heated gaze on him, which irritated him even more.

Luke chose to concentrate his attention solely on the situation in front of him. As a result, he noticed the Grand Duke staring at him as he stood in the middle of the altar. The Grand Duke must have been waiting for him for quite some time, as he appears irritated.

"Sir Priest, what's the matter with you being so late?"

Luke fixed his gaze on the grumpy-looking old man in front of him. The Grand Duke appears to be in his late thirties, with fading black hair swept back due to age. His face is wrinkled, and his belly is huge and round. He appears to be more pregnant than Finesse was back then. Despite these unappealing characteristics, Luke simply smiled at the Grand Duke.

"Ahaha, I am sorry about that. I was so distracted by your extravagant and gleaming decoration that I lost track of time while I was on my way. Your wedding is truly one of a kind."

The Grand Duke then smugly smiled and puffed out his stomach. Luke just stared at this; the buttons on his clothes appear to be barely holding on and could snap at any moment.

"Hmph! Without a doubt! After all, I am the Grand Duke! My wedding is not to be taken lightly!"

Luke then looked at the Grand Duke, who appeared to be self-absorbed. If the Duke truly believes that this wedding should not be taken lightly, then...

'Why the fuck did you let a faceless, nameless priest officiate at the ceremony?'

Luke appears to have succumbed to his curiosity, as he begins to approach the Duke and ask him questions.

"However, Grand Duke, it is certainly surprising and disappointing that the Bishop is unable to lead the ceremony instead, no?"

The Duke then freezes in place, which Luke notices. Luke simply observed this reaction quietly while attempting to piece together the information he has gathered thus far. Luke then noticed the Duke gradually turning his head towards him. And the grand duke's expression is truly surprising; the grand duke is glaring at him, but not in anger, but in fear.

"...A-are you threatening me?"

Luke wanted to frown in bafflement at the grand duke's strange reaction, but instead kept a straight face and smiled.

"I don't know what you mean by that, grand duke."

"D-do not play with me! I've already done what you wanted! I even took my time to catch that Pierce woman and force her to marry me! I even invited you to my wedding without revealing your identities! S-so... Don't... Don't reveal..."

As the Duke began to sweat nervously, Luke's eyes widened. So Luke was correct, there is something going on in here. And, perhaps, the priest that Luke encountered is not someone ordinary...

'Son of a bitch, what did I get myself into?'

While Luke was thinking about this, he placed his shoulder on the nervous Duke, causing him to flinch and turn pale. Luke then gave the Duke a slightly scary look to make him feel even more threatened.

"Grand Duke, no- Romeo Albrecht, I can't hear you. Don't reveal what, you say? "

Luke then tightened his grip on Romeo's shoulders, causing him to shake in fear. Luke wants to force this man to tell him everything he wants to know right now.

"D-don't reveal... The fact... T-that..."

Luke was becoming irritated at this point.

"For fuck's sake, make it more clear!"

"Y-yes! Please keep it a secret that I use and smuggle your drugs!"

Luke let go of Romeo's terrified shoulder and looked at him in disbelief.

"Our drugs...?"

"The bride has arrived!"

The focus of Luke and Romeo then shifted to the cathedral's main entrance. Luke then clenched his jaw and clicked his tongue. Luke then glared at the shivering Romeo for one last time before returning his expression to normal and focused on the opening door in front of them.

Luke could then see a veiled Irene emerge from the cathedral door, holding a large bouquet of flowers. Her long, flowing gown trailed behind her as she began to walk towards the altar. Luke will undoubtedly appreciate Irene's beauty if he is not preoccupied with other pressing matters.

'I guess we need to run away with the Grand Duke now.'

Luke turned to face Romeo, who was standing beside him. He is not done with him yet, he is far from done with this pig. He needs to spill every information he needs from him.

Luke simply sighed to calm his mind and body. He felt like his shoulders are getting a lot heavier these past few days.

'Perhaps because of the stress I'm under.'

• Let's eat cake later, Dad!

Luke fell silent as he listened to Nash ramble on about cake in his head. Luke then came to the realization:

'Perhaps it isn't because of stress...'

Luke then realized that Nash is rapidly growing in size, which is good for Luke but also bad because Nash likes to sit on his shoulders a lot. There will come a day where Nash will not even fit on his shoulders anymore. Time certainly flies.

Luke was so distracted by his thoughts that once he snapped back to focus he noticed that Irene is already there in front of him. Luke just cleared his throat and grabbed a nearby bible to avoid Irene's strange stares.

"Let us now begin the ceremony."

'How did Lance do this again?'

Luke clicked his tongue. He has no idea how to conduct a formal ceremony. He will just let his mind and mouth do the work for him.

"We are witnessing the everlasting bond of a couple, The Grand Duke of this shining empire, Romeo Albrecht, and the Pierce Household's Daughter, Irene Pierce. Now, let us proceed to the vows, but first..."

Luke's eye then glanced up towards Romeo who is avoiding his gaze. Irene noticed this as well and looked at Luke with a confused expression. Luke simply stared at Romeo for a few seconds before speaking.

"Do you accept Irene Pierce as your lawfully wedded wife, Romeo Albrecht?"

For a few seconds, Romeo remained silent before slowly opening his mouth. He appears to be hesitant.

"I... I do- ACK!"

BAM!

As Romeo was about to finish his sentence, a cold and hard board-like surface smacked into his face. Everything went black immediately after that brutal impact with that said surface.