GHOUL DUKE X ZOMBIE BRIDE?

"MY LADY, this isn't right!"

Zoe laughed when she saw Dal on the verge of crying. "Why isn't right?"

"Your wedding dress," Dal said in a cracked voice. "I can't believe that you're using an old and modest dress in your wedding, my lady."

Ah, so that was the problem.

[Dal is really pure.]

She looked at the mirror in front of her and turned around.

Since she only packed light clothes for that trip, she didn't have the kind of dress that would be considered fabulous. But the pastel yellow dress that she chose didn't look shabby. After Dal braided her hair and applied light make-up on her face, she suddenly turned into a pure-looking bride.

[Ah, the innocent look doesn't suit me, but Zoanne is really pretty.]

"Lady Zoe, you must hold a formal wedding ceremony once we solved the problem regarding Count Ratliff," Dal begged her with teary eyes. "I want to choose a proper wedding gown for my lady!"

"Okay," she said while laughing. "I'll marry Isaak again if we fall in love with each other for real."

Dan's eyes sparkled. "Then I will now start looking for the trendiest wedding gowns in the capital, my lady!"

Her attendant's enthusiasm surprised her.

[And why does Dal sound like she's 100% sure that Isaak and I will fall in love with each other for real?]

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the door.

[Ah, it must be Isaak.]

"I'll open the door," she said as she walked past Dal.

And when she opened the door, she was greeted by a very dashing Isaak.

Like her, the Grand Duke didn't bring fancy clothes. But the all-black formal suit and gloves that he wore looked so good on him that she wouldn't hesitate to say 'I do' to him.

And boy, his slick back hairdo should be illegal.

[How can someone be so handsome?]

"I don't have light-colored clothes," Isaak said while looking at her pastel dress. Then he looked her straight in the eye. "I should change my wardrobe soon."

"Why are you worrying about that?" she asked while laughing. "You'd look good even if you wear a sack, dummy."

Isaak just smirked at what she said, then he offered his arm to her. "Shall we go, my lady?"

"Yep," Zoe said, then she linked her arm with his before she turned to Dal. "Bye-bye, Dal. Good luck on your mission."

She asked Dal to do several things for her.

First, her attendant must return to the Royal Capital and give the letter that she wrote to her father. In that letter, she told Marquis Rochester that she would marry Isaak Viotto, and the reason for her hasty decision was to protect their family from Nigel Ratliff's harassment.

[I'd love to explain it to Father in person but we're running out of time.]

The dinner date that Count Nigel Ratliff set would be tomorrow evening. Thus, their preparations must be finished by then.

[And Dal must make haste to fulfill my second order.]

"You can count on me, my lady," Dal said while smiling politely, then she bowed to her and Isaak. "I wish my lady and my lord safe travels."

***

"IT'S REALLY pretty," Zoe said while looking at the Constellation on the wall. Sawyer, Isaak's knight, set up the Constellation in the Grand Duke's inn. "Although this is already my second time seeing it, I'm still amazed."

She didn't study quite well, so she didn't remember the names of the Constellations. But even if she did remember the names, it wasn't like she could remember what they looked like. Even so, to her, anything related to the universe was pretty.

[Except for the fact that we'll die right away if we ever get hit by a black hole or something.]

She turned to Isaak when he didn't respond to her.

But when she saw the curiosity in her eyes, she realized that he didn't ignore her. It looked like he just couldn't ask her the things that he was curious about because Sawyer was with them.

She winked at Isaak and sent him a message through her eyes. [You can ask later.]

Isaak tilted his head to one side, then he gently poked his finger into her cheek.

"What are you doing, Isaak?"

"You were acting cute," Isaak said bluntly. "My hand moved on its own."

[Pfft.]

Their moment was interrupted when they heard Sawyer clear his throat.

"Excuse me, my lord and my lady," Sawyer said formally. "The carriage is ready."

Huh?

Carriage?

Where?

It seemed like Isaak noticed her confusion because he pointed to the wall. "Yosef's temple is located in a secluded area in a different nation, so we'll be using a special portal."

When she turned to the wall, she noticed that if she connected the blinking dots, the Constellation would then take the form of a big and fancy carriage. "I see," she said. "But why is it shaped like a carriage?"

"That's our ride."

"How?"

"I'll show you how," Isaak said, then he turned to Sawyer. "We'll be leaving now. Inform His Majesty about our plan. And make sure to cover your tracks well."

Sawyer bowed politely. "As you wish, my lord."

"Bye, Sawyer," she said when she realized that it was time to go. "Look out for Dal if you see him at the capital."

Once again, Sawyer just bowed to her before he wished them safe travels.

Then the knight disappeared.

[Isaak's men really act more like assassins than knights.]

And she liked it that way.

"Zoe, getting in the Constellation is easy," Isaak said, then he placed his hands on the wall. "Just put your hands on the wall like this, and say the code that I mentioned to you earlier."

"Argh," she complained, then she placed her hands next to Isaak's. "Do we really have to say that cringe-y line?"

"We can do nothing about it since it was Yosef who set the code."

She almost laughed at how dead Isaak's eyes were at the moment. "You look like you're so done with His Eminence."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "He's not a bad person, but… I wish I could hit him just once."

She laughed at his honesty.

"Wait, I've been meaning to ask since earlier," he said, then he glanced at her with a blank look on his face. "Why did you call Yosef a 'hot priest?'"

"I should call hot people 'hot,' don't you think so?"

He frowned at her response. "That's not what I meant," he said. "I'm asking if you have met him already."

"Not personally," she admitted. "But he is in Zoanne's memories. Although in her memories, His Eminence is still young. Since he's wearing a uniform, I guess Zoanne and His Eminence used to be classmates."

It was true that young Yosef was in Zoanne's memories.

But to be honest, she called Yosef 'hot' because of how he was described in the book.

"Ah, right," Isaak said, as if he remembered something. "The real Zoanne and Yosef used to attend the same Theology class at the academy."

"Did you run a background check on Zoanne because I approached you at the banquet?"

"Yes," he said. "I apologize for that."

"Nah, I'd do the same if I were you," she said. "I know you have a lot of enemies, and being wary of everyone who approaches you is only wise."

"Thank you for being understanding."

She just smiled at him.

"Shall we go now?" Isaak asked. When she just nodded, he spoke again. This time, he seemed tired. "Let's say the code at the same time. Three, two, one…"

Zoe held back her laughter before she said the code with Isaak. "Yosef Geronimo is a god's gift to women."

***

ZOE was amazed after she found herself inside a fancy carriage with Isaak.

The view outside the windows was strange. She could see the starry night sky as if the carriage were flying up in the sky. Amazingly, the carriage felt like it wasn't moving, and only the "night sky" did.

"We're inside the portal," Isaak, who was sitting on the couch across from him, explained. "It will take us an hour before we reached Yosef's temple. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"No, I'm fine," Zoe said. "I can't believe that we can travel to another nation like this."

"It's only possible because Yosef allowed us to do so," he said. "As I said earlier, his temple is secluded. It's not that hard to find it since it's in the Free City, but entering his temple is a different matter since he's good at creating barriers."

Free City, huh?

According to the novel, a Free City was a lawless land. As such, it became the refuge of wanted criminals and outlaws.

[It's interesting that a High Priest chose a Free City as his home.]

As expected, a hot character would only do cool things.

"Zoe."

"Hmm?"

"Yosef is not "hot.""

[Pfft.]

"If you search through the real Lady Zoanne's memories, you'll immediately realize that Yosef has a bad personality," he said, then he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not talking behind a friend's back. All I'm doing is stating a fact."

She couldn't help but laugh at Isaak's strange behavior. "My dear Grand Duke, are you jealous?"

The stupefied look on his face made her worry.

[Oops. Did I cross the line? Me and my big mouth–]

"I guess so," Isaak said, then he avoided her gaze. "So please don't tease me or else I'll pray for Yosef to stub his toe on the table.

Zoe couldn't help but laugh again. "Isaak Viotto, that's so petty of you!"

***

"THAT DAMNED Isaak must be talking behind my back again," Yosef Geronimo mumbled to himself while attending to his hurt toe. He woke up in a hurry after receiving a message from the god that he served. And while walking into his dark room to find the door, his foot hit the corner of the table. He thought he was going to die. "I always fall into small, stupid accidents every time my name comes out of that bastard's mouth."

But even if he spoke like this about Isaak, he truly cared about that bastard.

Thus, even though he wasn't really fond of fulfilling his duties as a proper priest, he agreed to officiate his wedding. But it wasn't only because of his friendship with the Grand Duke.

He was actually interested in Isaak's bride.

"Zoanne Rochester, huh?" Yosef whispered to himself after he cried from the pain of his stubbed toe. "I'm pretty sure that she's dead, though?"

Was the ghoul duke's bride a zombie?

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3