“I just want to shut up some people’s dirty mouths and stop my family from worrying,” Maery explained.
Many socialites were sneering and mocking her behind her back, saying that her fiancé abhorred her and that this marriage was a sham. The more shameless ones even said that she was a slut, trying to seduce Astar Levi, only to be disdained.
If she could slap all those disgusting faces until they were swollen, she’d gladly do it! She already had to endure two decades married to someone she didn’t like; why would she endure even more of the abuse if she didn’t have to?
Besides, it wasn’t just her that was suffering due to this but also her loved ones.
Maery’s gaze turned helpless, yet doting, “After seeing your scary face and stand-offish demeanor at today’s party, my brother is looking at me with tears in his big eyes like I am a martyr about to be sent on a suicide mission!”
She hid her mouth behind her hand and giggled, “He even begged me, for the first time in his life! He came up to me, pulled at my sleeve looking all pitiful, and whispered in a soft voice, ‘Sister, do… do not marry that scary person… alright?’”
Even recalling that made Maery grin from ear to ear. Kyaaa~ So cute!! Ah!!! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄) ❤
Levi also recalled seeing a child hiding behind his sister’s skirt earlier. Although Aris was already 12 this year, his puberty had still not kicked in, so he still looked very milky and adorable.
Levi didn’t like children, though. They were too stupid. And troublesome to deal with.
But he could understand Maery’s affections. It was similar to the gentle feelings he had for their family’s cat. It was interesting to look at, pleasant to touch, and unlike humans, it caused him no discomfort. On the contrary, it felt rather nice and relaxing to pet it.
If something made his cat sad and restless, then he would, of course, want to remove the source of its woe!
And also, he might not have a little brother that was worried about him, but he had protective parents.
“Now that you mention it…” Levi’s eyes narrowed in thought. His parents… also seemed to be worried about the whole arranged marriage matter? And they were constantly looking for opportunities to bring the two of them together. Annoying him to death! Even forcing him to attend this boring party…
If he could make the two of them stop pestering him, that would be a huge win!
Waiting for a long time now without hearing a protest from the reticent teen, Maery asked, “So… you ok with that?”
Levi nodded his confirmation.
“Good, good,” Maery’s eyes lit up, “Then… about mistresses…”
Levi’s face immediately scrunched up, “Not allowed. I don’t want a scandal on my hands. If you want to date, date after we are divorced.”
“My thoughts exactly! (☞゚ヮ゚)☞ So… We have an agreement?” Cordia Maery offered her hand, smiling from ear to ear.
Astar Levi’s frown eased, and he resolutely shook her hand, “We have an agreement.”
After this secret pact was established, Astar Levi and Cordia Maery started to attend unavoidable events together, acting as if they were a harmonious couple.
Those not in the know thought the two were well matched, but Blackie, who could hear what they were really talking about and even thinking, had no words.
The event he was currently watching was of a charity auction held 5 years ago.
A beautiful, elegant lady and a handsome, imposing gentleman made for a striking image as they walked together on the red carpet. Whether it was their most noble identity or fashionable appearance in their designer clothes, everything about them attracted revering and envious gazes from their surroundings.
Maery held Levi’s arm intimately, smiling towards the flashing cameras. Levi turned his better side towards the cameras as well, following Maery’s lead. It was just that there was no sign of a smile on his face. Instead, he looked as if he had eaten something sour.
As the two walked, Levi’s frown kept deepening until he finally asked under his breath, “What’s that horrid smell? Are you using a new perfume?”
“Smile and wave, Levi,” Maery squeezed through her gritted teeth, “Smile. And. Wave.”
Blackie, “…” Ai, this was painful to watch! Fast forward, fast forward!
And so he fast-forwarded until…
Oh, look! Finally! Four years ago, there was a party that the two attended together, and from first glance, Blackie could tell that both of them were in a good mood. This should definitely not be as painful to watch as the former event! One look, and it was obvious that after two years of associating with each other, they had visibly gotten more familiar!
Or perhaps a more accurate term would be, more tolerant? 🤔
Cordia Maery pulled her fiancé around the party arm in arm, until… “Hottie alert, 10 o’clock!” Maery restrained her squeal behind her hand.
‘Why would I care?’ Levi, next to her, barely managed to suppress his eye-roll.
However, after a few seconds, he could restrain his curiosity no longer. He lowered his head and used the cover of his long eyelashes to take a peek at the two people talking to each other at 10 o’clock direction.
“Which one? The left one or the right one?” He inquired under his breath.
Maery looked at the two people at 10 o’clock direction and fell silent.
On the left was a fresh little cutie straight out from college, and the one next to him was… his middle-aged father…
“...” 〒▽〒 With tears in her eyes, Maery attempted to change the subject, “Oh, look at 2 o’clock! What a cute dress! Serene looks so beautiful in it, doesn’t she?”
Levi was dissatisfied that his previous question had been ignored, but nonetheless, he paused a moment to take a peek at 2 o’clock direction and then asked, “Which one is Serene?”
Maery fell silent again. Never mind the fact that Serene’s and Levi’s mothers were cousins… but out of the three people standing there… one was wearing a skirt, and out of the remaining two who wore a dress, one of them was a man...
Maery took the olive out of her Martini and then gulped the entire glass down all at once.
‘Alcohol, please work your magic quickly!’ QAQ ‘The party has just started, and I am already about to reach my daily Levi-limit!’
Blackie, too, was about to reach his Levi-limit, so he chose to skip these public displays of “affection” and just watch the footage of the two having their weekly lunch together.
At least then, the two could act like themselves and perhaps even discuss something relevant?
And thus, Blackie fast-forwarded to an utterly ordinary lunch date that happened three years ago.
Maery waltzed into the private room, looking exhausted, “Hey.”
Levi grumbled something intelligible as his response, not even bothering to lift his eyes off the light screen in front of him.
Maery evidently expected nothing less from Levi, thus she slumped down in the chair, feeling at ease.
Ever since she started to work as a Healer, she had been hard-pressed to find a break!
At least, for lunch, she could take a breather and relax! (~ ̄▽ ̄)~
After a momentary pause, Maery sat up, opened up her light screen to a new drama she had recently started watching, and put her wireless earbuds in.
One ate slowly while scrolling through some documents, the other ate equally as slowly while watching a drama based on a popular BL novel.
Besides the sound of eating, the room was perfectly silent.
Or it would have been if it weren’t for an occasional snicker coming from the fujoshi indulging in her daily pleasures.
Author Note
It turns out that Levi is not as much of a scum as you guys thought. Back then, before the smut, when Levi claimed that there were no feelings between him and Maery, he wasn’t lying. I remember people complaining in the earlier chapters that cheating is not ok and that they don’t like the fact that ML is the brother-in-law. At that time, I could only say “it’s not what you think” because I didn’t wish to reveal any spoilers. Though honestly, I left you guys so many clues that it was really obvious if one stopped to think about it.
Just some of the clues that I remember from the top of my head:
P.S. Also, I’ve given you guys several clues that Maery is a fujoshi before:
Levi’s eyebrows furrowed more and more until he could remain silent no longer, “Can you eat more… quietly?” (≖ ‸ ≖) Maery crunched on her shrimp chips, “Lev, I keep telling you. There is a very simple solution to your problem, and its name is ‘noise-canceling earbuds’.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Levi, (눈_눈) “And I keep telling you, not being able to hear what’s happening around me is dangerous.” Maery, “And as I already mentioned once or twice, it wouldn’t be dangerous if you just used a Shielder bodyguard like normal people!” (︶^︶)ノ Levi, (°ㅂ°╬) “And as I already mentioned, once or twice, assassination attempts are the highlight of my day!” Maery finally looked up from her light screen to shoot Levi a look one would use to look at a pitiful retarded child, “That reminds me, what happened to what we talked about last time? Have you gone to seek psychiatric treatment yet?” 。◕ ‿ ◕。 Levi, “Scram!” (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ Blackie, (っ °Д °;)っ ‘Don’t dismis
Blackie came out of the memory lane, feeling like he had aged 10,000 years! Unfortunately, in his absence, the present versions of Levi and Maery, had not even matured a bloody second! They were still bickering exactly the same as before he had left! "Would you stop making me sound like the plague?!" Levi snapped. Maery giggled and easily dismissed his complaint, "Don't be silly. I wouldn't let my brother contract the plague!" Levi, "…" (눈_눈) How can this person and his baby have the same parents? And how can that very similar appearance between the two siblings evoke a totally different feeling in his heart? “I can’t wait to see which unlucky bloke will end up with you!” Levi snorted, “You better make mental preparations. You won’t be able to find a better husband than me!” “Nonsense! Nearly anyone is better than you!” Maery immediately refuted. “Oh? Name one man that is or would be a better husband than me!” Levi chal
“Just let the kids solve it amongst themselves. As long as the three come to an agreement, I have nothing to say. Speaking of which…” Cordia mommy turned to tap something on her communicator. She seemed to be calling Maery, for a short moment later, Maery’s face appeared on her light screen. Cordia mommy scanned her ruddy-cheeked daughter and then tentatively asked, “Honey… did… did you beat up–ahem, have a talk with Levi?” Maery snickered with her pearly white teeth on full display, “Yeah. Who would’ve thought that Levi, that block of wood would actually be set on fire by our family’s cute little dumpling!" Astar Levi, who had been cursed out as a block of wood right in his face, “…” (눈_눈) Astar mommy, who was still on the line and had just had her son cursed outright to her face, (*◕‿◕*) Curse? What curse? Little Maery was just stating the truth, ah! The two mothers let out a collective breath of relief. Phew! So the ex-bride w
In the end, Noah, this good baby, could read the mood and decided to stay silent. Since the two, for some reason, didn’t wish to go to dinner yet, then he’d go along with their plans. And that’s how the trio, with the accompaniment of several bodyguards, ended up going to the west skyscraper where there was a huge cinema. On the way there, every once in a while, there would be a camera flashing their way from the iron-blooded reporters who wouldn’t let one terrorist attack get in the way of their bonus. Naturally, the trio just ignored them. Firstly, they were used to media attention. Secondly, they had nothing to hide. And thirdly, in the case of Levi and Maery, they hoped that the footage of today would go out because it could give more weight to their future explanation of the truth behind the change of marriage partners. In that spirit, to give the media some more juicy shots, as soon as the trio entered the establishment, Maery giddily floated aw
Before Noah could respond, what Levi had been waiting for since the beginning of the movie finally happened! On the screen, a zombie jumped from out of nowhere! Without further ado, Levi’s arm that had been resting on the backrest behind Noah swooped in like an eagle catching a small fluffy bunny. The bunny, caught completely unprepared, ended up encircled and snatched up right into the belly–uh, the lap of the predator. A high-pitched squeal reverberated through the empty cinema, yet the source of it wasn’t the dumbfounded bunny who found himself in the arms of the wolf with his face pressed into the other’s sturdy chest but the spectating fujoshi some seats away. Levi ground his teeth at the ear-piercing interruption. Enlisting the help of this pig teammate was the worst mistake of his life!! Since he had no way to vent the stifling fire burning in his chest on its source at the moment, Levi concentrated back on his precious darling. He held Noah’s
With his own impending doom on the horizon, Levi was forced to loosen his hold (very regretfully), allowing the little one’s fluffy head to pop out from under the crook of his neck. Noah interpreted this as him succeeding in reassuring Levi, and the other giving him his ‘permission’ to continue watching the movie. Thus Noah’s two big amber eyes looked left and right, and then their owner gently wiggled around to get a better position in the other’s hold. Levi bit his lips to prevent a throaty moan from escaping them. The sensation of that fleshy little bottom wiggling on top of his crotch… ah… the only saving grace that prevented his half-hardened member from shooting up that little ass was the fact that he had already shot his load twice today… “Be good, don’t move about,” Levi warned, his deep and raspy whisper setting off all of Noah’s alarm bells. This little bunny’s movement abruptly stilled, and his body turned stiff. His brother… he cou
Maery pretended to be fully concentrated on eating her salad, while in truth, she kept sneakily peeking towards her little brother sitting across from her. No, it wasn’t because seeing Noah munching on crispy fried chicken made her feel bitter about being forced to eat a salad so as to not give away her previous lie of being on a diet… And it also wasn’t because she suddenly realized that her darling brother had this rather enchanting way of eating. (/≧ω\) No, the reason why she kept looking over was to gauge her baby bro’s current value on the happiness meter as to strike when it reached its optimum. Her wait didn’t take long – Noah hadn’t been that hungry in the first place. As soon as the first delicious piece of chicken went down his throat, his oil-covered pink lips curved up in a satisfied smile. “Little brother,” Maery spoke up, “Earlier, I remember you asking whether Levi and I broke up?” Noah nodded. He did seem to ask that when the t
With his emotional mood completely spoiled, Noah returned back from his introspection to the present, where Maery and Levi were awaiting his reaction with bated breaths. Noah’s shocked expression slowly shifted into something… odd. It made sense that the two wanted the outside world to think that they got along well. This arranged marriage was of great importance and would influence the stability of the two cities. But… “Sister, I am not an outsider. So why did you keep the truth a secret from me all this time?” Maery sheepishly smiled and scratched her head, “We didn’t just keep it from you. We didn’t tell our parents either. We didn’t want you guys to worry. If you thought that Levi and I had a harmonious relationship, then you could rest your heart at ease regarding this arranged marriage.” She sighed, “Otherwise, how would our parents feel knowing that their children were sacrificing the best years of their life for politics and a loveless marriage? Dad w