Chapter 21

Today is a beautiful day, and also the day many choose to marry. Early in the morning, Justice had her hair and makeup done by Marcia and Tali. Amidst a sea of daisies, the wedding venue was exquisitely decorated, and Arkes and the others were grinning foolishly.

There were few guests, consisting only of family. The seven families had felt regret in the past, but time had allowed them to accept the situation. Their lives now were a complete transformation from before; their sons had official enlistment status, and the younger children in the family could attend school for free. They could not afford to be greedy. To have a wedding at all was already a blessing; God would forgive them, and with witnesses present, they were not without name or status.

Arkes was incredibly nervous. When he saw Ellie emerge, he didn't know where to put his hands or feet. The two of them exchanged vows first. Arkes stumbled through his oaths, his face flushed red. Ellie laughed, held his hand, and comforted him silently. He calmed down, looking at her with great tenderness. Ellie said "I do" with firm conviction; her gaze held deep affection for this simple, big-hearted man.

Using the excuse of taking photographs, Arkes and Ellie ushered the family away to avoid the judgmental looks they might cast on the next ceremony, which would be troublesome to explain. The orphanage nannies played music and sang hymns. Justice appeared beneath a veil, holding a bouquet, walking slowly toward the seven men awaiting her. At that moment, her mind was blank, her palms sweaty; she simply followed instructions. Seeing her nervousness, the men chuckled—it was rare to see her like this.

The guests below, seeing that their sons were all there willingly, offered their blessings. Dogma was unimportant; a happy life was what mattered. The nannies heard a different kind of sacred song, deeply moved by the sight, and the grooms' families joined in, singing to offer their blessings.

Justice wore a plain silver band on her finger, engraved with the initials of the seven men on the inside. She placed rings on each of them as well; only then did she truly feel the surreal sensation of being married. Justice was surrounded by the group to take photos, first individually with each of them, then together. Taking advantage of the occasion, everyone had their pictures taken, both alone and in family portraits. In the beautiful sea of flowers, every face was lit with smiles.

The nannies were keen on sharing embarrassing stories from Justice's childhood—these were their fondest memories. Justice tried to shush them, but she couldn't stop them; they loved seeing the grooms smile, so they rambled on. The seven grooms were truly handsome, and they listened to every word, laughing aloud.

"When Justice was ten, she had her first crush. She was holding a sunflower."
"Let me tell this part, let me!"
The nannies clearly loved this story and competed to tell it. Justice gave up; let them laugh if they wanted to. Before long, everyone was roaring with laughter, even Marcia and Tali were weeping with mirth. The story of a ten-year-old’s crush on a sixteen-year-old ending in disaster—the older boy hadn't even heard the confession, thinking the girl was just giving him a flower, and immediately gave the sunflower to a female classmate standing nearby. Ten-year-old Justice had beaten them both up, retrieved the sunflower, and buried it to commemorate the end of her first love. The nannies even remembered the memorial words she had written, and reciting them brought another round of uproarious laughter. Justice buried her face in her food, her ears burning red; who hadn't been immature once?

Under the "The Commander is the Handsomest" account, many wedding photos were posted. Arkes’s groom outfit was flamboyant, his hair heavily gelled. He stood at the front in the group photo with the other seven grooms, leading people to assume he was the one getting married and the others were his groomsmen. There was a candid shot of Justice: she wore a white one-shouldered gown, her short hair styled elegantly, earrings catching the light. She was pulling up her dress to catch the bouquet, about to kick it, her head bowed in a smile. In a humorous wedding photo, Arkes pretended to be hit in the head by the bouquet Justice kicked, falling backward while the seven men reached out to catch him.

On Justice’s own account, she posted a photo of the daisy field with the wedding setup in the distance. This was followed by a close-up of her smiling at the dining table. The last time she had posted a photo of herself was when she first entered the Imperial Silver Academy. Though this marriage was not recognized by law and could not be brought into the open, it was an important milestone for her. No one truly understood her, so they couldn't see the significance of the photo, assuming she was just attending a wedding.

Life at the base was dull, but the anticipation of the trip to Anisha made the time pass much faster. They kept up their morning runs, and at night in the dormitory, they chatted about what they would do in Anisha, even creating a bucket list.

The time passed amidst their anticipation, and the home-visit holiday arrived. Arkes spent half the time in Anisha for his honeymoon and the other half taking his wife to visit his parents in his hometown. The others stayed in Anisha for a few days before heading to the seaside city of Yadigo to stay at a manor.

The base pilots only flew those on leave to the Kosilian Airport. Justice led the group to buy tickets to Anisha; because they were military personnel, they didn't have to wait in line. The three tickets for Marcia, Tali, and Ellie were also given priority thanks to the handsome men’s smiles, and they were all seated in first class. Justice was not short on money now; long-distance flights required comfort.

While everyone was sleeping, there was a commotion. Marcia and Tali had been harassed, and the two women beat the man who had tried to take advantage of them. The man was well-dressed but older, assuming two pretty girls had no one to look after them. When caught, he tried to argue. He shouted for the police after being struck, but Justice spoke up: "Call the police now. We'll go to the station when we land." Eight tall, broad-shouldered men stood up. The flight attendant hurried over to calm the situation, informing the man that they were military and the two girls were with them. The man, who had been shouting just moments before, instantly shut his mouth and went to find a seat elsewhere.

After landing from the seven-hour flight, Marcia and Tali followed the man and gave him a severe beating in the restroom. Other male passengers in the restroom were terrified, zipping their pants and holding their breath. When Justice’s group was waiting for their luggage, they saw the two women walk out briskly. Justice whistled, and the two responded with smiles.

Arkes and Ellie took their luggage and said goodbye to Justice, wanting to explore the city and make beautiful memories. The remaining ten all pulled out sunglasses and put them on. The two rented convertible hover-cars were in the underground garage. Justice tossed the keys to Marcia and Vilian; the cars didn't need to be unlocked, so they jumped right in, filling both vehicles. Justice sat in the passenger seat and ordered, "Move out."

The sports cars roared to life, and the group cheered. The beautiful convertibles appeared on the city streets, drawing stares. When pedestrians saw the car full of handsome men and beautiful women, they forgave the group’s boisterous yelling. Justice’s eardrums felt like they were going to burst. The group, never having been to Anisha before, was ecstatic, and with the thrill of speeding, they became even more excited. Consequently, they were pulled over by traffic police for speeding. Justice was lectured by the officer; she apologized with a good attitude and was only fined, not detained.

The sports cars slowed down, realizing they couldn't speed in the city. The group pouted, complaining it was boring. The convertibles arrived in front of a hotel, and the group got out, the cars automatically sensing their way to the garage. They checked in at the front desk, requesting a suite for three days. The hotel butler led them to the top floor and opened the door. The group gasped—the interior was luxurious, with several interconnected rooms. Champagne was popped to welcome them, and they toasted together.

Justice wanted to lie down and not move, but was swept up by Sander and carried out the door. They only had three days in Anisha; they couldn't waste time sleeping. The nine who had planned the itinerary began visiting tourist spots, taking photos all the way, each wearing a Global-link on their wrist. The seven men took turns carrying Justice; she truly couldn't find interest in the sights and just wanted to sleep. But their stamina was high and their interest piqued; they could walk for hours without feeling tired.

At night, she wanted to eat back at the hotel, but they insisted on the "White Pearl" restaurant recommended on the Global-link. After more photo-taking, Justice tried to dig in, but her hand was held back: "Wait a moment." She could only eat the bread meant for before the meal, chewed twice, and set it down—it was awful. An hour later, they left the highly-rated restaurant, all complaining that the food was terrible and only the plating was nice. Justice was starving. Seeing a food truck selling sandwiches on the street, she went over to buy one. It was unexpectedly delicious, and the food truck was soon surrounded.

Justice stood to the side eating, not noticing the food truck owner trembling, thinking they were going to rob him. It was a fulfilling day, and Justice didn't touch her bed until two in the morning. She slept soundly for five hours before being helped into a sitting position. Her face felt moist, and there was a toothbrush in her mouth. By the time Justice fully opened her eyes, she was in the elevator. Looking in the mirror, she saw herself in a slip dress and high heels and cried out, "Who changed me? How am I supposed to walk in these!" No one admitted it; they were all watching the elevator numbers.

Dressed in the dress, Justice lost all the sharpness she had at the base and looked very pretty. Once outside, Toran put a sun hat with a large bow on her head. Justice kept her sunglasses on, afraid of being recognized by an acquaintance in this getup. Of course, this group insisted on visiting the Imperial Silver Academy. Justice refused to go in and waited at a dessert shop next to the academy.

"Senior Justice? Is that really you?" Amber walked up, surprised, having thought he misrecognized her.
Justice turned her head. "It's me."
"Senior, why are you here?" Amber sat opposite her, looking at her with amazement; this was not her usual style of dress.
"Waiting for friends."
"Senior, do you have time tonight? Let me treat you to dinner." Amber gave a shy smile.
Justice replied, "I have a lot of friends with me, so never mind."
"Senior, why are you wearing a ring?" Amber stared at her finger, not blinking.
Justice replied nonchalantly, "I'm married."
"Since when!" Amber’s voice rose, then he realized he had been rude and explained, "It's just strange that you're suddenly married."
Justice didn't care about his reaction and smiled, saying, "What's strange about that? I’m at the right age."
"Senior, who did you marry?"
"Someone you don't know."

Amber stood up, saying he had to go to class, and said goodbye. After leaving the dessert shop, he immediately contacted someone to verify if Justice was indeed married. Half an hour later, Amber was furious—Justice had lied to him. She wasn't married at all; she hadn't even submitted a marriage application. But when he went back to find her, she was already gone.

Amber returned to his apartment, asking his heart what he really wanted. After so much time, when she was sitting right in front of him, he still felt his heart race and his face flush; he would recognize her at a single glance. Hearing she was married, he felt a momentary, uncontrollable urge to kill that person; knowing she wasn't, he felt both relieved and angry. She could manipulate his emotions so easily. Amber placed a hand over his heart—what did he really want?