Several days passed since the incident with Arvild. At this point, the castle was back on track. There was damage to the castle and several guards were injured. Luckily, no one was killed in the incident.
Unfortunately, Arvild also survived.
Still, he was no longer a threat to me. His sword abandoned him and he had been disarmed.
I chuckled to myself at the thought of him trying to do anything while missing an arm and the tips of most of his fingers on his remaining hand.
All while hoping he would just bleed to death in a ditch somewhere.
I had time to speak with both Sir Gordon and Walter at one point about Bravery.
What they told me was very interesting.
No one actually knew where they came from or how they were made, but the swords had special properties.
The hilt and crossguard of the swords were completely indestructible.
The blades, themselves, changed their properties based on the wielder.
A wielder that rejected the philosophy of the blade they held or misused it was labeled as defective. A false wielder. The sword would dull and its power weakened. Eventually, it no longer listened to its wielder until it shriveled up and broke.
Once a magic sword broke, it became unbound from its wielder. Forever abandoning the defective user.
The blade would remain in a broken state until a new wielder was found, however.
A wielder that held true to the philosophy of the magic sword had their blade strengthened.
The blade of a true wielder was completely indestructible and an extremely powerful weapon.
Next, the sheath of the magic swords was fabricated by the sword itself. Even if it was kept or stolen by the previous wielder, a new one would form and the old one would crumble to dust.
Later on, I also had a chance to speak with the King about Bravery.
In short, he said that to the victor go the spoils. He asked me to hold onto the sword for him until a new user could be found. The sword was a national treasure and it didn't feel right to have it, but technically it was useless until someone who could wield it was found.
That, and Vengeance insisted that it was my duty to hold any sword that didn't have a wielder.
I examined it too.
{Item: Legendary Magic Sword 'Bravery'. Currently unbound. (Owner not chosen)
Description: A powerful magic sword that can only be used by its chosen warrior.
Quality: Divine Mythical.}
Item Stats: HP: ????
Mp: ????
P.attack: ????
M.attack: ????
P.defense: ????
M.defense: ????
Acc: ????
Spd: ????}
It was exactly like Vengeance when I first examined it.
I wondered for a while what I would do with this thing and pushed the thought into the back of my mind.
I felt like it would choose a wielder when it was ready to.
Other than that, everyone was stunned at the speed of my recovery. Truthfully, I owed it to the new power I obtained from Vengeance.
Although, Walter also warned me about it.
"Becoming the true wielder of Vengeance is a difficult thing to do. You must walk a fine line between just execution, and extreme violence. Do not underestimate it," is what he said.
He heard those words from Honor, apparently.
I had to be fully prepared to kill when necessary then, it seems.
As much as I really didn't care for killing, I decided I should probably get used to it, seeing as I would probably be doing a lot of it in the future.
For now, though, I had other plans.
* * *
A week after the incident, I stood at the altar once again. At this point, I felt good as new.
My wounds were healed and I couldn't feel any more soreness.
I watched again in awe as Isabella was escorted to the altar by her father. She wore a different, yet just as extravagantly beautiful dress.
Both this one and the last were custom made and ordered by the royal family from the best tailor in the country as Isabella said. They were one of a kind originals that had never been seen before.
Security this time was much tighter. Walter forced me to agree that if something happened this time, he would handle it.
I was perfectly okay with that, in all honesty. Considering that I'd made my point with Arvild...
At last, Isabella stood before me once again.
The priest began reading our vows again.
"Alright then. Barring any more interruptions, hopefully we can finish things up today. Now, Baron Mizik Iratus, heir to the Iratus household, warrior hailing from Lorelei, and wielder of the Legendary Sword Vengeance, do you take Isabella to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold for the rest of your days? Giving yourself fully and only to her in both sickness and in health till death do you part?"
"I do," I said with a smile.
"First-Princess Isabella Victoria Albatross, heir to the throne of our beloved country of Albatross, do you take Mizik to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold for the rest of your days? Giving yourself fully and only to him in sickness and in health till death do you part?"
Isabella quickly looked around.
The entire room was silent.
"I do!" She said quickly and proudly.
Finally, Walter presented a small pillow holding Isabella's ring to me and kneeled.
Cassandra would have actually been the ring bearer, but...
I was sure everyone understood why she wasn't here.
Nevertheless, Walter was more than happy to take the job.
I took the ring and placed it gently on Isabella's finger.
"Are there any more objections?" The priest said as he looked around.
The room was completely silent.
Then by the power vested in me, in sight of the gods of Avernia, I now pronounce you, Mizik Iratus, and you Isabella Victoria Albatross, husband and wife. Mizik, you may now kiss the bride."
I lifted the veil over Isabella'a face and kissed her on the lips.
When I pulled away, both of us had tears in our eyes.
"Finally...you're mine forever," Isabella said.
"And you're mine as well," I replied.
"Alright! That does it! No more interruptions, let's get the parade started!" King Ronald shouted joyfully.
* * *
Once we exited the castle, we were led to a large carriage that had two thrones on top of it. It was decorated with beautiful flowers and pulled by white horses.
We were surrounded on all sides by elite knights. Walter was our carriage driver as well.
I was instructed to place Vengeance on a small display in front of my person on the carriage to show the public. An announcement had been made days prior that Vengeance really did exist and that the Princess' husband was its wielder.
Many other nobles followed behind the carriage in an attempt to hold some of the audiences praise to no avail...
As annoying as it was that the nobility seemed so starved for attention, I tried not to let it bother me.
After all, most of the people in the capital were interested in one of two things...
Seeing the wedding parade of Princess Isabella with her in her white dress, and the lost sword Vengeance.
Isabella was considered a national treasure, apparently. Pure, highly intelligent, extremely beautiful, and wonderfully kind. It was no surprise to me that they felt this way.
And also, Vengeance was officially listed as the third sword owned by the country of Albatross. This, alone, would cause its military presence to have more weight to it.
Our carriage slowly made its way through the city and the people on both sides of the path cheered gleefully and in awe. As Isabella wrapped her arm around mine and waved, I also did the same.
Eventually, we passed by my family from the diner. They were all cheering loudly for us.
Among all of the fanfare, however...
I turned to my wife and spoke.
"Isabella, you're everything I could ever ask for. Thank you for everything," I said.
"And thank you for seeing me as I am. Not as a Princess, not as a rich girl, or even a pretty face. Thank you, Mizik Iratus, for loving me for who I am," she said with a smile.
We continued onward with the parade until eventually looped back around to the castle. We had a reception to attend next and a lot of the wedding attendees were anxious for a drink.
Especially the young noblemen that had previously desired Isabella's hand for themselves.
Seriously, they were absolutely livid with me for stealing her heart.
But as far as I knew, no one would dare stand against me now after my display in the duel with Arvild. I was seen as someone on the level of Walter Orthright, now.
Isabella and I led the way to the reception hall. We ate luxurious food, danced together to beautiful music, and had lots of laughs with many people.
I even got a chance to talk to Queen Evryss again.
"You know...maybe you aren't so bad after all, Mizik. I suppose we should try to get along since you're part of the family now, hm?" Were her words.
I agreed with her completely.
I only wanted the best for Isabella.
Although, I still had the Black Ooze to think about as well as my cousin Tyranus...but that could wait. For now, I wanted to enjoy the moment.
Once the festivities ended, Isabella and I, escorted by Walter, returned to her room as we usually did every night.
"Walter, that will be all. Please sleep well, okay?" Isabella said.
"If course, my lady. I hope you two have a lovely evening," he said. Walter turned and winked at me before walking away.
What the hell was that for?
We entered Isabella's...I guess it was technically our room, now...and shut the doors.
We stood there for a moment before the realization finally hit us.
"U-um...we're...married now, huh?" Isabella said as she looked away from me.
I was having trouble thinking at that point. I felt like just getting cleaned up and going to bed like normal...but I felt like there was something...expected tonight...
"Y-yeah...married..." I said.
We stood in silence for a few moments before I spoke up.
"Well, I'm going to get cleaned up. After that, I'll just lay down!" I said cheerfully as I tried to mask my embarrassment.
"Right! And when you're done, I'll get cleaned up as well...and then...umm..." Isabella said as her voice trailed off.
I showered quickly and got dressed, then went to lay down in bed.
As I heard the sounds of Isabella showering, I started to panic internally.
Damn it all! What am I supposed to do here!? Walter, you old bastard! Why did you wink at me!?!?
A few minutes later, as I was breathing deeply and holding my eyes shut, I felt Isabella climb into bed next to me.
Through the moonlight illuminating the room, I turned to look at her and found her already staring deeply into my eyes. She wasn't laying down, but sitting up.
"Isabella...?" I said nervously.
"I...want to be closer to you..." she said quietly.
I sat up and smiled nervously.
"I think I'd really like that. We're married now, so...I guess we can...uhh..."
She let out a nervous laugh.
"I love you, Mizik."
"I love you too, Isabella."
* * *
I awoke in the morning and found Isabella still asleep on my chest.
She was snoring loudly and also kind of...drooling on me.
I just smiled and put my arm around her.
I guess...I'm really a man now.
Last night was certainly interesting...
Truth be told, I had no idea what I was doing. I was clumsy and somewhat shy about it.
But Isabella knew exactly what to do. Even if it was her first time as well, she had extensive knowledge on a variety of subjects. Intercourse was no exception.
Still...I was her first.
We'd slept together for so long that it felt natural for us to be together. It was a wonderful night of romance and pure love between just the two of us.
In all honesty, just thinking about last night made my heart race. I had to try not to picture it.
I needed to get my mind off of it.
Since Isabella would probably be asleep for a bit longer, I decided to look at my status menu.
In it, I saw several new skills.
{New Skill(s) Acquired!}
I began to select each of the three new skills that I received and read their effects.
{Skill Name: Vengeance Death Curse}
{Skill Description: Unleash a cursed wind filled with the vengeful rage of your heart. Targets affected by 'Vengeance Death Curse' have their defense and speed reduced drastically. Effect increases in proportion to the target's sins against you.}
{I remember the things you've done to me. Your sins will crush your very soul.}
{Skill Name: Flames of Rage}
{Skill Description: Passively cloak 'Vengeance' in the crimson flames of your rage. As rage increases, flames may be unleashed to burn your prey to ashes.}
{Suffer! Burn in the flames of my anger!}
{Skill Name: Wrath Possession}
{Skill Description: Allow the spirit of 'Vengeance' to take over your body and mind. While under the effects of 'Wrath Possession', the user is granted the combat prowess of former 'Vengeance' wielders. Also adds effect: 'Power Suppression Null'. Skill 'Wrath Possession' can only be used once the users Rage has hit a certain threshold.}
{Forget yourself. Let go. I will finish this. They will know true terror as they flee for their lives!}
These skills were amazing! I seemed to recall some of their effects while fighting Arvild, but hadn't bothered to check my status until now. I continued looking through my status menu and found something else.
The unknown skill had an icon next to it.
I selected it and it pulled up another menu. One that I was sure hadn't been there before.
{Skill Name: Unknown(!)}
{Skill Description: ??????????}
{Attributes}
{Primary: ???????????}
{Secondary: Soul Link. The user's fated partner receives all effects of [UNKNOWN SKILL], and shares the primary users level, experience table, and all exp gains. Note: Primary and Secondary users stats are kept separate. Soul Link can only be used on one person. Current status: linked. Secondary user name: Rose (Isabella Victoria Albatross).}
{Tertiary: ??????????}
Huh. That's weird.
I read the description again.
It didn't really sink in for some reason.
I read the description a third time.
WHAT!?
I began gently nudging Isabella and she cuddled my chest.
"Nnn...five more minutes... Haaah...so warm..." She said.
Gah...too cute!
"Isabella, I think you need to check something..." I said nervously.
"Hmm...?" She said. She looked up at me, still sleepy.
My heart skipped a beat. It was adorable.
Usually when she woke up, she was well-rested and not very sleepy at all.
"Umm..." I managed to say.
"I dunno why...but I feel so drained right now... And so...strong... Like everything's moving a little...slo...wer..." She said.
Isabella laid on my chest again and looked up at me.
"Miziiiiik~! I wanna sleep more! Let me sleep on you, my love! I love you soooooo much!" She said with a smile as she nuzzled my chest.
A moment later, she passed out and began snoring loudly again.
Ah shit. I might have broken her somehow with my stupid passive... But by the gods, that was cute...
Maybe that's why she was acting weird? Was it really my passive?
Or was she just being super affectionate because of last night?
...
Maybe I'm just feeling crazy? It's been A hectic few days and I might not be right in the head. Maybe I could use the extra sleep... It's not like I have anywhere to go today...
I decided to stop fighting it and wrapped my arms around Isabella. She was still so soft and warm, I just wanted to lose myself in the feeling of holding her.
I went back to sleep very quickly after that.
* * *
Later that morning, the two of us finally got out of bed and got dressed.
As I finished getting ready, Isabella hugged me from behind.
"Mizik...I feel so drained... Can I just sleep today...? Last night was so...nice...!"
I honestly didn't want to think about that. I decided to change the subject to the status menu problem.
"Check your status, Isabella. There's something I want to confirm."
"Okaaaay," she said tiredly.
She managed to get dressed, but her hair was still a mess and she looked exhausted.
"Hm...oh. Everything seems normal. Still level...whaaat?"
Here it comes...
"WHAT THE HELL!? WHY AM I LEVEL 70!? WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY SKILL POINTS!?" She shouted.
A moment later, Isabella began to wobble and fell over. Luckily, I caught her.
"Uwaaa...Miziiiik... I feel so close to you... Let me....sleep in your....arms....."
She fell back to sleep as she cuddled my chest and began snoring loudly again.
I laid her back on the bed and composed myself, making sure to cover her up.
Is this what married life is like?