Between the most notorious family and the most powerful family on the continent, there had long been a shared interest.

To further solidify their respective powers, the two families finally decided on a marriage between their heirs, and the partners were chosen to be Toya and Akito.

Toya did not welcome this marriage in the slightest. Love was never a consideration from the start, and he viewed Akito as nothing more than a pawn offered up by his family to gain power.

Furthermore, Toya was one of the world's leading villains. He was a cruel man who trampled over countless people and would think nothing of destroying a whole family if necessary.

People trembled at the mere mention of his name, and few ever dared to refuse what he wanted.

To such a man, an arranged marriage was just another transaction.

---

On the day of the engagement, the lavishly decorated ceremony hall was filled with members of both families.

Toya stood at the front of the hall dressed in a black suit. Though his appearance was perfectly composed, a faint trace of boredom and cynicism was etched onto his face.

Opposite him stood Akito in a pure white suit, his face hidden behind an opaque white veil.

Toya glanced at him briefly before indifferently turning his gaze away. Checking the face wouldn't mean anything to him anyway.

He was just a partner assigned by the family.

However, as the final procedure of the engagement ceremony began, Toya stepped directly in front of Akito.

And according to custom, he slowly lifted the veil that was covering the other's face.

As the white cloth vanished from his sight, Akito's face was revealed for the first time.

In that moment, Toya's hand stopped.

The person before his eyes was completely different from the weak young master he had imagined.

Toya stared at Akito in silence. This was the person he had considered a bothersome arranged marriage partner just moments ago. Yet strangely, once his gaze landed on him, he found he couldn't look away.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

It didn't take long for Toya to realize what it was.

He liked him.

No, 'liking' wasn't enough.

From the moment he first saw that face, he felt that this person had to be by his side.

A very faint smile played on Toya's lips. It was slightly different from the cold, cruel smile he usually wore when looking down on others.

...