The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 526: Titan’s wedding (1)

“Wow, what kind of theme are they going for here?” a luxuriously dressed young woman asked her balding, fat companion after they presented their golden invitation card to the receptionist, then entered the grand wedding hall.

It was built inside a covered football stadium to look like some ancient palace hall, with a huge arch that looked like the rib-cage of some giant. In their center, they held candle-filled chandeliers, each to light the long table underneath them. All of these formed circles around a central gilded round stage that was held by 40 golden giants…. Wait… Those were really large guys who stood there carrying that stage, mostly naked with bodies covered in gold!

“This place was modeled after an old legend of our family… Finding old obscure traditions had become the trend now after that wedding in Wiren,” someone said as he walked toward them. It was a handsome middle-aged man with grayish-black hair, dressed in a golden-threaded black suit.

“William!” that fat man chuckled as he hurried to shake hands with the handsome man, then quickly pulled him in a hug. “Congratulations on your son’s wedding! Who would have guessed that among us old pals, you would be the first to wed his son!” the fat man sighed.

“Old fatty, stop pretending, as if I don’t know you already have 4 illegitimate sons who already have kids!” William spat as he looked at the young woman. “Is she your daughter?”

“No, she is my wife!” old fatty replied proudly.

“What? What about Michaela ?”

“Things happened…”

“Things? She found out about the women you keep outside, didn’t she?” William asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Yeah… It is my stupid accountant forgetting to use the secret balance for the courtesanʼs expenses…”

“I told you that you should have been more careful with that cousin of yours!” William scolded lightly.

“Let’s not go there…” the fat man quickly sighed. “Where is the groom?” he asked, changing the subject.

“He is putting the final touches on his costume and should be here in a few minutes. Why don’t you take your seat? I will come see you later to have a drink!”

“Sure, sure…” the fat man said as he watched Wiliam head to greet some other guy.

Everybody who was anybody was attending this wedding. Hell, the entire country’s top brass was here, so William could only spare a few moments for each guest.

“You know William Goldmann?” the young woman quickly asked in shock as her husband dragged her to their seats right in the front near the stage. When he told her they were coming here, she thought that he got his invitation ticket through one of his politician friends, like most of the others in their circle. She had no idea he personally knew Master William, who was one of the richest people in the entire world!

“We were in school together… Their family has a tradition of letting their heirs start their business from a young age. I was just lucky enough to befriend him, and things developed naturally!” the fat man said. To tell the truth, his current wealth was all due to his friendship with William.

“Oh…” the woman nodded as she hugged the fat man’s arm tighter. “Wait… Isn’t that your x?” she suddenly asked as she watched a charming, tall middle-aged woman wearing a blazing orange dress walk in and begin to flirt with William at the door.

“Yeah… “ the fat man spat angrily. “She was also in our class…” he spat as he looked away, not wanting to delve into old stories.

The young woman quickly nodded, daring not to ask any other questions. She could only begin to look around the hall and feel proud of being here. All around, she could see all kinds of celebrities that she had never even dreamed of meeting in the past. She wished that her mother, who was against her marrying a man as old as her father, could come and see her at the moment! Too bad all phones were confiscated by security at the door.

“Young master, this is your seat…” someone suddenly said from the side.

“Does that slutty woman come with the table…” a young man replied, making the woman look to see a waiter guiding a purple-haired handsome young man to sit opposite her and her husband. That young man was looking at her.

“No, she is also a guest here…” the waiter who guided him said with a frown as three girls also took seats at the table. A black-haired teen in a blue dress, a brown-haired younger one in a red dress, and a third wheel-chaired, gray-haired girl who wore thick shades, who was being pushed by the black-haired one.

The woman frowned. How dare this guy call her a slut…

“Young master Victor White, Right?” Before the woman could comment, her husband gasped and quickly stood up and extended his hand toward Victor.

“Yeah… I didn’t expect anyone to recognize me around these parts!” Victor nodded as he quickly shook hands with the fat man.

“Well, Wieren Principality is not that far from here, and I have some investments there, so I tend to follow the news…” the fat man said, making his wife quickly remember. Wasn’t this guy the pervert who held a harem wedding in some aristocratic country using some obscure law? She remembered seeing a clip about him online and thinking that the world was getting more and more lawless! “Those three should be your esteemed wives…” the fat man added as he secretly inspected the three girls.

“More or less…” Victor said, looking at Theta, who shut him with a hateful glare. “All the girls wanted to come, but you know how things get with harems, I can’t flaunt them around as that would make other men look poverty-stricken, so three is kinda the maximum I could bring…” Victor said.

“Ah…. I kinda understand… “the fat man said as he secretly cursed at Victor, wondering if he could achieve something similar one day. “I didn’t expect to meet you here…” he said, changing the subject.

“Well, I am friends with Gary, and little Elise here is his cousin, so it makes us kinda brother in laws!” Victor said, roughing up Elise’s hair and making her slap his hand off.

“Ah… So it’s Lady Elise…” the fat man said, looking toward the blind girl. He knew about this one. “My name is Derick DivineFlint, I am a friend of master William, and I heard him mention you before!” He quickly introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you…” Elise said dismissively as Victor nodded toward the fat man.

The woman just watched with disgust. This girl… Wasn’t she just too young? Damn it! Those rich guys can really do what they want! Damn it, why was her husband checking that girl? Could it be? NO! This can’t be allowed! Tonight, she definitely had to find a way to satisfy him to make him forget this one…

“As lascivious as ever, I see…” someone spat, making the fat man and his new wife look to the side to see that his ex-wife, Michaela , was pulling a chair to take a seat.

“Michaela …” he sighed. William didn’t know that they were divorced, so he should have placed their seats next to each other.

“I see that you are still keeping that fox around…” Michaela said.

The young woman wanted to retort, but remembering what her husband said about them both knowing master William from childhood, she decided to hold her tongue. She didn’t reach where she got by being narrow-minded.

“Mika, let’s not ruin this day for William…” the fat man said after a brief pause.

“...” Michaela humphed then relaxed in her seat, finally noticing the people in front of them. “Elise… Is that you?” she asked as she finally noticed the short girl.

“Ah… Aunt Michaela , itʼs me… It has been a while…” Elise said shyly as she took off her shades, but kept her eyes closed.

“You poor lass, I am sorry I didn’t attend your wedding. I had no idea your grandfather would marry you to that…” Michaela paused as she quickly remembered that the purple-haired guy here was Elise’s husband. “Congratulations…” she finally said.

“Thanks…” Victor said before leaning toward Elise. “Do you know her?” he whispered.

“She is Mrs…” Elise began to reply.

“Miss now…”

“Ah… Miss Michaela was my tutor when I was young, you know how all family heirs have to study business administration from a young age… Due to my circumstances not being able to attend class, Uncle William recommended her to take care of my education!” Elise explained.

“Oh… Nice to meet you!” Victor said. “I am Victor White…”

“I know how you are…” Michaela spat as she turned to inspect Elise and make sure that she didn’t look sick or malnourished, as she did back in William’s place. Surprisingly, Elise looked a little fatter than she remembered. Well… She could only shake her head and sigh, thinking that she couldn’t do a thing to help this little girl. “I hope you are treating Elise well… She is a very delicate girl!” she said as she turned back to Victor.

“...” Victor chuckled dryly. “We are getting along well… Right?” he said, turning to Elise.

“Um… Victor is very good to me…” Elise nodded sincerely.

“.....” Michaela frowned a bit, not knowing what to think.

“This way, madams!” A waiter suddenly guided someone, making all five at the table turn to see an old woman in a black gown walk toward them, followed by a blond woman in a sparkly green gown with a young boy being dragged behind her.

“Oh, thank you…” The old woman said dismissively as she turned to the table. “Oh, hi there, I am…” she began to introduce herself, then paused as her eyes recognized the brown-haired girl. “Robin!!” she gasped as she froze in place, as did the woman in a green gown, who didn’t expect to see Theta here!

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“Humph!” Theta spat coldly and looked away, showing no courtesy toward them as Victor turned to inspect them.

“You little girl… As if escaping home is not enough, you dare be disrespectful…” the blond woman began to scold, but the old woman raised her hand, making her stop.

“This is not the time or the place…” the old woman scolded lightly as she took her seat with the help of the waiter.

“Yes, mother…” the blond woman said nervously as she also took her seat, then looked at her son, who was glaring at Theta, gesturing to him to also sit down.

After that, it was a staring contest… Kinda…

“... Lady Bloodflint, it is a pleasure meeting you here…” the fat man, feeling the awkward atmosphere around the table, quickly said, welcoming her.

“Oh, Master Derick, it is a pleasure meeting you, too! And you too, Lady Michaela, it has been a while since you attended our gatherings!” the old woman said.

“Been out of town on a business trip…” Michaela replied. “How is your esteemed husband? Why don’t I see him here with you?”

“Ah, don’t bother asking, I haven’t been seeing him or my son a lot lately! They have been busy arranging the business after that accursed accident!” the old woman said as she shook her head.

“Yeah, my condolences… It must have been tough losing that many heirs in the crash!” the fat man said, having a hard time keeping a straight face as he remembered how it happened. He was invited to that ‘gathering’ too, but thankfully, he was going through a bitter divorce and was not in the mood for fun.

“Oh! I finally remembered… The bloodflints… werenʼt they the ones behind the plane to crash while doing that…. What they called it… Orgy on wings?” Victor, out of nowhere, said, then began to chuckle while shaking his head. “It was totally unbelievable…”

Hearing him, the fat man’s wife couldn’t help but be stunned as she remembered the news about that. She was about to laugh, too, but quickly held it in.

“It is not appropriate to speak of such things on such occasions…” The old woman spat coldly without changing her merry expression as she finally turned to face Victor, whom she already knew was her true identity after her daughter-in-law reported about Robin being with him a while back. She was wondering when this little filthy blood would strike back against them, and it seemed she chose today!

Getting arranged on the same table as Robin’s couldn’t have been a coincidence. Victor must be the one behind this, and it was clear he planned to suppress her! “If I may ask, who may you be?” she asked, acting as if she didn’t know who he was.

“The one and only Victor White, it is a pleasure to meet you!” Victor said casually as he finally stopped chuckling... “And you are?” he asked, also acting as if he didn’t know her identity despite it becoming clear at that point.

“Roberta bloodflint…” the old woman replied as she secretly glared at Theta, then at Victor again.

“Nice to meet you!” Victor nodded, then turned to face the blond woman. “Is this your maid? Is she walking the dog for you?” he asked, turning between her and the young man who was sitting to the side, staring daggers at Theta.

“...YOU… HOW DARE….” The blonde woman took a moment to figure out what he meant, then flared in anger.

“Jena!” the old woman hissed, silencing the woman before turning to face Victor again. “No, this is my daughter-in-law and my grandson… They are Robin’s stepmother and brother!” Roberta reported gently; she was old enough that she knew how to handle stupid social games. “And concerning our little Robin… I am just wondering what your relationship with her is, Young master. The mechivous girl ran away from home a while ago… We were worried sick, and seeing you here with your esteemed self made me wonder about your relationship!” the old woman said, forcefully shifting the subject.

“...” Victor paused, looking at Theta, then turning to face Roberta again. “I plan to marry her once she comes of age!” he said flatly, making the black-haired woman to his side raise an eyebrow as she glanced at him. Theta kicked his leg under the table, but no one noticed.

“Oh… “ the old woman nodded, then turned to face Theta. “Dear Robin, you should have told us you were with Young master Victor… We had been worried sick about you!” she sighed like a gentle grandmother.

“... Now you know!” Theta spat. This was the first time she heard her grandmother spout her name when calling her. In the past, she only called her filthy blood.

“ROBIN, SHOW SOME…” the blond woman, Jena, began to scold again.

“Well…” the old woman interrupted, silencing Jena. ”That would complicate things a bit, though…” she said after thinking a bit.

“How so?” Victor asked as Derick, his new wife, and Michaela felt strange watching this drama unfold in front of them. Should they get some other table?

“You see, Robin is now the 2nd in succession rights for the family after her father…” the old woman explained. “Usually, women in her position would find a son-in-law to marry into our family, but due to the young master’s status, I don’t think that would be appropriate…”

“No, it wouldn’t…” Victor said with a sarcastic tone.

“That’s why I wonder if Robin would take the initiative to give up her succession rights and enjoy a good post-marital life in your household!” the old woman said, making her thoughts clear. The blond woman to her side quickly nodded. If Robin were to give up her rights, many things would be fixed, and her son would be able to be the next patriarch.

“I…” Theta wanted to agree immediately.

Robin will decide later; she is still a minor, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to make such a decision before meeting the old patriarch! He is not going to drop dead anytime soon, I hope…” Victor interrupted her.

“Hopefully not…” The old woman frowned.

“I am planning to make a visit to your family in a couple of days to both ask for Theta…Robin’s hand officially, and to discuss ‘family’ business! Who is that?” he asked, disregarding Theta’s pinch on his calf.

“...” the old woman squinted harder. She was in a very tough position. She was dead set against letting Robin, who was a prostituteʼs daughter, inherit the family, but if her husband got involved, he might agree, wanting to forge a stronger bond with Victor. “Well, my husband is out of town, so as you said, why don’t we delay things once Robin is old enough…”

“I…”

“Ehm…” Before Victor could say anything, someone cleared his throat on the microphone.

Everyone looked up to see a well-maintained old man standing on the stage in a golden suit.

Harvey Von Geldstadt!

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my grandson’s wedding!” he said, making the grand hall go quite quiet almost immediately. All the ones here knew what this man represented. Even Victor, who wanted to keep arguing, shot Roberta a quick glare and then turned to listen to Harvey.

“I came up here, not only to welcome you all, but to also explain a few things before Gary and April come on stage… Many of you are probably wondering about this setup and all the naked men holding the stage…” he said, making everyone quickly remember those men that, for a moment there, really became a part of the decor. “No, they are not a part of some sexual activity who forgot to leave before the wedding started…” Harvey chuckled at his lame joke, making a few others mimic him and act as if he were funny. “Let me explain, this wedding’s title is the Titan’s Jarl’s Banquet… It is a traditional wedding ceremony that our family had in its annals! The last time this tradition was followed was 200 years ago… But after that, due to the rise of new trends, it fell out of fashion. Thankfully, thanks to a certain someone, following tradition has become ‘COOL’ again, and that’s why we are here…” Harvey said, glancing at Victor. “This set tells the story of a human woman who was sacrificed to the Titan king to be eaten, but ended up healing his broken heart, and they became husband and wife… You can read the story in full in the booklets that would be distributed with a few gifts after the Wedding!!” Harvey, as he turned to check the audience’s reactions. “Now, let’s start…. Oh, and just let me remind you that whatever you will see will be a part of the show! I hope you watch and enjoy it….” he finally added as his eyes turned toward a table to the side where his illegitimate daughter sat with her family, feeling a bit conflicted as he really wanted to put them on the front, but Octavia refused.

Anyways, hearing him, everyone clapped as they relaxed in their seats.

Harvey nodded, then turned to the side and helped an old man in a decorated priestʼs dress climb onto the stage and stand beneath an altar made out of strange, large bones.

“May the groom and the bride enter!” The priest said as Harvey stepped down and headed toward a table right under the stage, sitting beside William, a tall woman who was clearly Garyʼs mother. Beside them sat two women. Charlotte, who kept shooting Victor a few glares every now and then, and a cold blond beauty that looked kinda like Charlotte but had a more heroic air around her. She was Garyʼs eldest sister, Valerie!

Before Victor, or rather Alpha, could fully look at them, the lights dimmed down, leaving the entire hall pitch black.

Primal music began to play in the back. It was a strange mix of techno and drums accompanied by a harp that made the place feel ethereal.

“I heard they hired Katano Dazio to write this wedding’s music…” someone whispered.

“Really? I heard he retired, that must have cost a fortune...” his companion shut him up.

“Shhhhhhhhhh….” someone shushed them.

Moments later, two spotlights shone, not on stage but on the sides of the hall. Revealing two paluquins that were also carried by 4 golden men each. On top of them sat the bride and the groom, respectively, both dressed in golden garbs with only Gary’s handsome face showing while the bride’s was hidden underneath a golden veil.

As the drums beat faster and faster, the paliquins made their way to the stage where April and Gary slowly stood up and walked toward the altar, their eyes on each other.

The music stopped.

“Dearly beloved, today we gather here to witness the marriage of Gary and April, who chose to take the Titan jarl’s oath to live and die together by the Titan clan’s ancient rites…”

Boom!

BOOM!

Boom!

BOOM!

The drums began to beat slowly as the priest began to tell some stupid story of the titan and his wife. How they met, then got to trust each other, and how the titan Jarl, after she died, froze their bodies together in a final embrace!

It was very romantic, making many little girls in the hall cry, including Elise, Theta, and Lin. Only Victor kept checking the old woman’s butt the entire time for some reason, but thankfully, the hall was so dark that only a few could see him.

Anyway, the story quickly reached an end.

“So… Gary, do you agree to take April as your titan bride?” the priest finally said, turning to face Gary, AKA Jim.

“I…” Jim, who was smirking inside as he kept checking April’s curvy body, paused as in front of him a system prompt appeared. Unlike what the priest said, it had some extra clauses.

FROST TITAN WEDDING [SYSTEM MARRIAGE]

Gary von Geldstadt [ JIM ROCKER ] & APRIL [RAMON GOLDSPEAR]

THE BRIDE AND THE GROOM CAN’T MARRY ANY OTHER FOR ETERNITYIF THE BRIDE OR THE GROOM PERISHES, THE OTHER WILL FREEZE TO DEATH IN A MATTER OF 3 HOURS

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………….” he gasped. Was this a system thing? Was there something like that? really?

“What?” the priest asked.

“...” Jim’s eyes began to look around. Like hell he was going to say yes to this! He only wanted to bang the girl, not live and die with her. “I….” he hesitated as Harvey eyed him.

“You what?” the priest asked as everyone began to murmur as they saw him look around in hesitation.

“I don’t want to follow this Frost Titan thing… “ he said as he finally noticed the prideʼs name. What? She had a fake identity, too? Was her name Ramon?

“Gary, what’s going on? You were the one who insisted on this before… I warned you before, this is not a game!” Harvey, who stood up and pointed at Gary, said.

“I changed my mind! I… I need to use the toilet...” Jim paused as he finally noticed something was wrong. This was a trap!

PAM! The lights all turned on, revealing that the stage was no longer empty around the altar but full of guards in golden armor, holding long lances.

“You are not the real Gary, but an imposter…. Arrest him!” Harvey hissed as the guests who knew nothing about this could only look at each other and wonder if this was a part of the show.

“Shit!” Jim, who confirmed that his identity had been discovered, quickly activated an escape talisman.

It didn’t work!

“Don’t even try, this place is already surrounded by an array…” Harvey said, glancing sideways toward an elder who sat on one of the tables.

That old man’s face was pale white.

Harvey, seemingly noticing where Jim was looking, turned to look at the old man. “So it was your third brother…”

“No, I… I don’t know what is….” the old man began to say as Jim turned to escape.

PAM!

His hand was caught by someone; it was the bride, April, who let the veil drop from her face to reveal a burly man underneath. Yeah... His name was Ramon, and he had the most beautiful eyes one could find...

Shit!

Jim gasped; he couldnʼt believe he was just checking this girl, planning how to fuck her a moment ago. He could barely contain the nasuia, and just as he was about to go all out!

Ting… Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn………

The sound of a harp string resonated in the hall. Thanks to the strange silence around, everyone heard it.

Before anyone could process what happened.

“MONSTERS!” one man in the back shouted, then, grabbing his chair, he smacked it on his own young daughter’s head.

BAM

As everyone watched the scene in shock…

POOF…

The lights turned off all of a sudden, leaving the hall pitch black!

“DEMONS…”

“PIRATES!”

TRACK

“THE GAYS ARE ATTACKING!”

“MOMMY!”

PAM!

BOOM!

”THE NUTCRACKER HAS COME FOR US!”

”RUN! The Pedo police is here!”

”SHIT.... ”

PAM!

After that, it was pure chaos with everyone attacking everyone and shouting strange things, with only a few people in the hall remaining clear-headed!