What did I do this time? His favorability didn't even budge when I poured my heart out about Helcia's tragic story, but the second I mentioned wedding photos, it jumped again.
Don't tell me … does he actually want those photos that badly?
[There's no harm in trying, Host!]
[After you complete this mission, you'll also gain access to the system's market. Who knows? You might even find something useful to fade your scars!]
My eyes lit up at that. 'Wait, you're telling me I can shop for scar-removal items in your market? Why didn't you say that earlier?!'
[You didn't ask, Host.]
Well, it had a point. Either way, it didn't matter anymore since the system had already told me about it.
After that, the car fell into silence because Lando wouldn't speak unless I did. It seemed this young master wasn't great at small talk. He wasn't rude, just … awkward, like someone who never knew what to say to a stranger.
Not that I minded. As long as his favorability didn't drop, I didn't care if he sat there in silence forever.
Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the marriage bureau. The whole process was surprisingly quick and easy. Since we were both locals, all we had to do was hand over our ID cards, birth certificates, and fill out a few forms right there at the counter.
It was my first time getting married—both as Helena and as Helcia—and honestly, I didn't expect it to feel so … bland.
I mean, I was the one who asked him not to hold a wedding party, so I knew this would be simple.
But still … if my life hadn't been so messy, and if I were marrying someone I truly loved, of course I would've wanted something special, something that felt like a dream wedding.
As we waited for our marriage certificate, I glanced around. Other couples were here too, also doing courthouse weddings, but at least they came more prepared.
Brides in white dresses, grooms in suits, photographers snapping away to capture the moment.
Meanwhile, I was stuck in the clothes the nurse had given me at the hospital: a faded blue sweater and black sweatpants. Lando, at least, wore a clean white shirt and black pants, looking far more put together than me.
I let out a soft sigh when I glanced at us. To outsiders, it probably looked more like we were here to file for divorce rather than get married, especially since my face was still covered in scars.
What if people thought Lando had abused me?
That … wouldn't be good.
"Mr. Brixton, can you buy me a little flower?" I blurted out suddenly.
Lando, who had been busy typing on his phone, froze and turned his head toward me. "What?"
"A flower," I repeated, leaning forward a little. "You know, like a wedding flower?" I tilted my chin toward the window. "There's a flower shop right across from the marriage bureau. Maybe you could ask your bodyguard to grab one for me, anything will do."
Lando frowned slightly, his tone hesitant. "Why do you suddenly want a flower?"
I paused, turning the thought over in my head because telling him outright that I was afraid people might assume he'd abused me didn't sound like a good idea.
So instead, I smiled and said softly, "I just want something nice for our wedding. We don't have a white dress or a suit, and we're not even taking wedding photos so I thought, at the very least, we could have a little wedding flower." I leaned a little closer to him. "Just one. If that's alright with you."
Lando stayed silent for a moment. Then, without a word, he pulled out his phone and gave a short order to the bodyguard waiting outside the marriage bureau.
A few minutes later, his bodyguard returned and handed me a big bouquet of roses, not just big, but enormous!
When he placed it in my arms, the thing was so huge it nearly swallowed me whole. The flowers covered my entire face, and I had to tilt my head to the side just to breathe.
"M-Mr. Brixton, don't you think we have very different ideas of what a 'little' flower is?" I laughed awkwardly.
Lando raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say you wanted one flower? This is a bouquet."
He … wasn't entirely wrong about the number, but this bouquet had at least a hundred flowers in it!
Wasn't something this huge ridiculously expensive? Maybe around two hundred dollars or so?
Sure, Lando looked like a prestigious young master, but appearances could be deceiving. Just because someone looked rich didn't always mean they actually were.
His family wasn't much different from Helcia's. He was an illegitimate child too, which meant there was a chance they mistreated him as well.
What if his family only provided him an aide and a single bodyguard but barely gave him any real money?
At least, that was what Helcia had gone through.
Could he even afford dinner after buying me a bouquet this huge? If not … maybe I could use the money I'd earn from the system to buy him something to eat instead.
[Host, I don't think you need to worry too much about his financial situation ….]
The system suddenly chimed in, leaving me confused. 'Why?'
All this time, I thought the reason the system wanted me to raise his favorability was so he'd stay loyal once I had plenty of money for the both of us.
I mean, of course I wouldn't let my husband starve, especially when he hadn't even done anything bad to me.
[Host, even if you don't feed him, he will never go hungry.]
I narrowed my eyes, trying to make sense of that. Maybe his parents treated him better than Helcia's had or maybe he managed to earn money on his own, but honestly, that sounded impossible.
Even if his identity was hidden from the public, the big names in the business world definitely knew he was Victor Brixton's illegitimate son.
That alone would've made it hard for him to find a decent job, especially with how wide the Brixton family's influence stretched across Velmont Country.
On top of that, he was disabled, which meant he probably faced a lot of discrimination as well.
[Host, you're overthinking it.] The system's voice chimed again. [I told you, Lando Brixton will never go hungry or live in poverty, not because of charity or pity, but because his wealth makes it impossible.]
The more the system talked, the more lost I felt. 'What do you mean? Just how much money are we even talking about?'
It was hard to picture anything without proof. Then, out of nowhere, a glowing hologram panel appeared in front of me. This time, it wasn't my information flashing across the screen.
It was Lando's.
[Name: Lando Brixton
Age: 35
Occupation: Founder of ZENTRA Media
Balance: $10,000,000,000]
I gasped so hard I nearly choked and dropped the enormous bouquet straight out of my hands.
Was that ten billion … or did I just miscount the ZEROS?!