The Reborn Sovereign of Ruin, Bound by His Star

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Casual, According to Liars

The ceremony was described as casual.

That was a lie.

It was only casual in the sense that no one had invited half the court to stare at Liam while he legally attached himself to the Crown Prince of Agaron. There were still sealed documents, an official with ceremonial cuffs, witness markers, an ether recorder hovering above the table, and enough family power in the room to collapse a government if someone sneezed politically.

But there were no cameras for public broadcast.

No balcony.

No court commentary.

No crowd was waiting to decide whether Liam looked damaged, hesitant, claimed, healed, conquered, or any other word people liked to use when discussing someone else’s life.

So, by royal standards, it was practically informal.

The official activated the table seal. Pale gold ether unfolded over the documents, forming two clear spaces for signatures and a line of old legal script above them.

Liam stared at it.

Arik’s hand remained steady around his.

"You may let go," Liam murmured.

"I may."

"You are not doing it."

"No."

The official, who had clearly decided survival required pretending not to hear them, continued. "This ceremony records the legal engagement between His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Arik Lyon of Agaron and Lord Liam Sienna Canmore of Ravenwood and Armstrong, witnessed under Wrohan law and recognized under imperial treaty."

Rex stood at the witness line, hands behind his back, looking solemn enough to almost hide the fact that he had slept perhaps forty minutes.

Enia stood beside Henry. Mirelle stood slightly ahead of the Armstrong side, beautiful, dangerous, and satisfied in a way that made Liam suspect she was already composing six different social consequences for anyone who disliked the private ceremony. Noah, near Kamal, looked far too pleased to be included in anything involving legal permanence and family drama.

The official turned first to Arik. "Your Highness, do you enter this engagement freely?"

"Yes," Arik said.

It landed in Liam’s chest with embarrassing force.

The official turned to him. "Lord Liam, do you enter this engagement freely?"

Liam felt the room hold its breath as everyone understood that no had become sacred this morning, and yes could not matter unless no had been allowed to live.

Liam looked at Arik.

The prince did not urge him. Did not tighten his hand. Did not smile as if the answer were already owed.

He only waited.

"Yes," Liam said.

Arik’s eyes warmed.

The official looked visibly relieved, which Liam decided was fair. The man had survived arson-adjacent tailoring politics before legal formalities; he deserved small mercies.

"Rings may be exchanged or acknowledged."

"We already have them," Liam said.

The official blinked.

Rex’s mouth twitched.

Arik lifted their joined hands, allowing the dark-gold and crimson-gold rings to catch the light.

The official recovered quickly. "Then the rings are acknowledged."

"Efficient," Mezos said from the door.

The official ignored him with heroic strength.

They signed next.

Arik signed first, his name appearing in black ink before the document drank it in and illuminated it with imperial gold. Liam took the stylus after him. For one absurd moment, he thought of all the reports he had signed in labs, all the budgets refused, and all the project approvals delayed or gutted because George had left the country in the hands of leeches.

This signature was different.

Liam signed.

His name flared dark crimson beneath his hand.

The ether seal closed over both signatures, binding them into the legal register with a soft, resonant hum.

"That is it?" Liam asked.

The official hesitated. "Legally, yes."

"Good."

Arik’s mouth curved.

The official cleared his throat. "A ceremonial kiss is traditional but not required."

"No," Liam said.

Arik did not even look disappointed. He looked amused, which was worse.

Rex coughed into his hand.

Noah’s shoulders shook once.

Mirelle’s smile sharpened with approval.

The official nodded with the composure of a man adding another unexpected item to his mental report. "Then the engagement is complete."

Enia exhaled.

It was quiet, almost hidden, but Liam heard it.

Arik did too.

For a few seconds, no one moved. The room seemed to settle around the fact. No applause, no music, no public roar. Only morning light over sealed documents and Arik’s hand still holding his.

Then Rex stepped forward and clasped Liam’s shoulder.

"Congratulations," he said.

Liam narrowed his eyes. "You sound emotional."

"I am sleep deprived. Do not exploit me."

"I will consider it."

Rex turned to Arik. "Congratulations. You are now legally attached to Wrohan’s most difficult engineer."

Arik looked at Liam. "I know."

"You sound pleased," Rex said.

"I am."

Liam looked away before his face could betray him.

That was when the photographer entered.

Liam immediately regretted every decision that had led him there.

The first photographs were official: Arik and Liam beside the sealed documents, then with Rex, then with Enia and Henry, then with Mirelle, then both family lines arranged behind them with the precision of a minor military deployment. The photographer was careful, fast, and smart enough not to ask Liam to smile after the first attempt produced something Noah later described as "a polite threat."

Arik, unfortunately, looked flawless in every frame.

Liam accused him of cheating.

"I am standing still," Arik said.

"You are doing it politically."

Arik leaned closer as the photographer adjusted the next shot. "Your suit is not wrinkled."

"It had better not be."

"I told you I would use ether."

"That was not permission to look smug."

"I am not smug."

"You are engaged and smug."

The photographer made a faint choking sound behind the camera.

Mirelle said, "That one may be useful."

"Absolutely not," Liam said.

"Too late," Noah murmured. "History has captured you both."

Liam turned his head. "Stay in line."

Noah placed a hand over his heart again. "Still wounded."

"Recover elsewhere."

The social part began after the official portraits, which meant no one called it a reception because Liam had forbidden the word until evening. Instead, attendants opened the side doors to a smaller adjoining salon where tea, coffee, light food, and champagne waited beneath discreet warding. It was family-only, or as close to family-only as royal politics permitted.

Kamal accepted tea. Rex accepted coffee strong enough to qualify as a policy error. Noah accepted champagne and then looked personally offended when Mirelle told him it was too early to enjoy himself that much.

Enia drew Liam aside first, smoothing a hand over his sleeve.

"You are tired."

"I am engaged."

"Those are not mutually exclusive."

"I am fine."

Her look made clear she had given birth to him and therefore had no patience for poor lies.

Liam softened despite himself. "I am fine enough."

"That is better."

Across the room, Arik spoke quietly with Henry and Rex, the dark ring on his finger visible whenever he moved his hand. Liam found himself looking at it too often.

Mirelle noticed, because of course she did.

"He suits you," she said.

Liam took a sip of water. "The ring?"

"The man."

Liam did not answer quickly enough.

Mirelle’s expression gentled by a fraction. "That is allowed, you know."

"What?"

"To be pleased."

Liam looked at Arik again.

The prince was listening to Rex now, face calm, body angled enough that he could still see Liam without appearing to watch him.

"I am deciding," Liam said.

Mirelle smiled. "Of course."

Arik looked over then, as if he had felt Liam’s attention cross the room.

Their eyes met.

Liam lifted his glass slightly.

Arik’s smile was small, devastating, and entirely his.

From the doorway, Mezos checked the time and said, "The public reception begins in forty minutes."

Liam closed his eyes. "That is the worst thing anyone has said today."

Rex lifted his coffee. "No. Today has been excellent. No one was murdered, the engagement happened, and we still have time."

"For what?" Noah asked.

Rex smiled without warmth.

"The rest of the day."