Da-da-da-daaaan—
The majestic sound of a pipe organ thundered through the cathedral, seeming powerful enough to shatter the ceiling itself.
Flower petals drifted down over the pristine white aisle.
To everyone else, it was the most sacred and beautiful wedding imaginable.
To me?
It looked like hell.
"Kiiiiieeeek—!"
"Hehehe, rotten smell, rotten smell!"
"Today's sacrifice looks fresh!"
The petals scattered by the guests resembled the blackened wings of rotting moths.
Grotesque demons perched on the shoulders of every attendee, drooling greedily as they stared at the altar.
This wasn't a wedding hall.
It was an all-you-can-eat buffet for evil spirits.
"Violetta? What's wrong?"
The man standing beside me squeezed my hand gently.
"You're so nervous your hands are freezing."
Mikhail von Eberhardt.
My fiancé.
And the very man who, in my previous life, had used me until I was no longer useful before sending me to the guillotine.
To everyone else, he was the Empire's greatest romantic.
To me?
I nearly threw up.
Beneath his immaculate tuxedo rattled a bare skeleton, stripped clean of flesh.
Dozens of maggots squirmed inside his empty eye sockets, threatening to spill out at any moment.
And from deep within him came a voice.
Not his own.
The voice of the writhing mass of greed lodged inside his soul.
"I love you, Vivi. Your dowry, your title, your family's fortune—it's all going to be mine. Hehehe."
The moment my head rolled from the executioner's block, all my memories returned.
Before becoming this foolish noblewoman, Violetta, I had been Lee Sujin, an ordinary woman from South Korea.
Whether then or now, my luck had always been terrible.
I was born with the ability to see ghosts.
Back in modern Korea, I could see them.
But I couldn't touch them.
Couldn't fight them.
Couldn't do anything except suffer endless nightmares and sleep paralysis.
Maybe that resentment followed me into this life.
Because after my regression, my spiritual sight became even stronger.
And more importantly—
I can touch them here.
This world possessed a wonderful thing called Holy Power.
In Korea, I could only tremble and pretend I didn't see ghosts.
But now?
If I could see them—
I could hit them.
And apparently, that counted as exorcism.
"Violetta... the wedding kiss..."
The skull leaned closer.
Its jaw opened wide.
A disgusting stench of decay poured from its mouth.
That was enough.
Absolutely not.
How dare something like that try to touch my lips?
Pretending to close my eyes, I quickly surveyed the altar.
Beside the officiating priest stood a ceremonial decoration meant to symbolize divine protection.
A massive morningstar.
A golden sphere of solid metal hung from its end, roughly the size of a human head.
Perhaps it was intended to ward off evil.
For me?
It looked like an excellent communication tool.
That's right.
Nothing teaches manners better than physical force.
I lifted my wedding dress and strode onto the platform.
Before the priest could stop me, I grabbed the enormous weapon with one hand and hoisted it effortlessly into the air.
Something deep inside me responded.
Bluish holy flames began flickering around the metal head of the morningstar.
"Lady V-Violetta...?"
The priest stared in confusion.
"Why are you—"
Even Mikhail blinked his hollow eye sockets at me.
"Mikhail."
I smiled sweetly.
The morningstar rested casually across my shoulder.
"Your breath smells so awful I can't take it anymore."
"...What?"
CRACK—!
The sound echoed through the cathedral.
Then silence.
Bone fragments exploded outward.
Well, at least that's what I saw.
To everyone else, it probably looked like Mikhail had suddenly been launched across the altar with a shattered nose.
"AAAAAAARGH!"
He screamed and tumbled down the steps.
Blood poured from his ruined face.
The guests sat frozen.
Mouths hanging open.
The shy, timid daughter of a count had just smashed her groom in the face with a holy war hammer during their wedding ceremony.
But what I saw was different.
Mikhail's skeletal jaw hung crooked.
The black shadow hiding inside him writhed in agony as it shrank beneath the impact.
"Oops."
I casually rotated my wrist.
"Guess my hand slipped."
Black slime dripped from the morningstar.
"V-Violetta! Have you gone insane?!"
A shrill voice rang out from the front row.
My half-sister.
Laura.
The Empire's beloved Saintess.
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she rushed to Mikhail's side and wrapped her arms around him.
"How could you do this?!"
She glared at me.
"What did Sir Mikhail ever do to deserve such cruelty?!"
The guests immediately erupted.
"What a wicked woman!"
"Lady Violetta has finally lost her mind!"
I almost laughed.
Because Laura looked far worse than Mikhail.
Clinging to the back of her neck was a monstrous demon the size of a grown man.
Its grotesque tongue slid into her ear as it constantly whispered greed and temptation.
That's the real culprit.
The thing that destroyed me in my previous life.
The thing that corrupted the Empire.
Laura had made a pact with that demon.
In exchange for counterfeit holy power, she drained the vitality of everyone around her.
"Vivi!"
Laura pointed at me dramatically.
"Get on your knees and apologize at once! Otherwise, in the name of the Temple, I shall—"
As she approached, the demon on her shoulder cackled and spat black sludge in my direction.
Disgusting.
There was no way I was letting that touch my wedding dress.
"Sister."
I tightened my grip on the morningstar.
"Don't move."
"What?"
"There's a bug on your shoulder."
"...What nonsense are you talking—"
WHOOSH—CRASH!
The morningstar swung.
My target wasn't Laura's head.
It was the demon attached to her shoulder.
"KYAAAAAAH!"
Laura collapsed to the floor screaming.
I hadn't touched her.
Not directly.
But the demon and its host shared their senses.
To Laura, it probably felt like being hit by a steel club.
The creature howled and tumbled off her shoulder.
"Oh my."
I smiled.
"The bug is bigger than I thought."
The demon attempted to crawl away.
I stepped on its tail with the heel of my wedding shoe.
"V-Vivi... please... save me..."
Laura sobbed.
"Hm?"
I tilted my head.
"What are you talking about, Sister? I'm treating you."
Still smiling, I raised the morningstar high above my head.
To everyone else, it probably looked like a deranged younger sister preparing to execute her fallen sibling.
Then—
"STOP!"
A thunderous voice exploded from the cathedral entrance.
A killing intent powerful enough to freeze the air swept through the hall.
Silver light flashed.
CLANG!
My morningstar halted.
A sword blocked its descent.
White uniform.
Blue cloak.
A face so cold and beautiful it might have been carved by the gods themselves.
Damian Lyriart.
Grand Commander of the Holy Knights.
Inquisitor of Heresy.
"Lady Violetta."
His voice was icy.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
His sword pointed directly at my throat.
Any normal noblewoman would have fainted on the spot.
Instead, I almost gasped in admiration.
Wow.
He's clean.
Every person in this cathedral carried greed, envy, jealousy, or malice.
Every one of them was crawling with spiritual parasites.
Except him.
Damian stood utterly untouched.
Brilliant white holy power surrounded him like a blazing sun.
He wasn't a man.
He was a living air purifier.
A walking bottle of holy water.
"Move aside, Sir Knight."
I adjusted my grip.
"The cleaning isn't finished."
"Cleaning?"
His eyes narrowed.
"You call this cleaning after nearly beating two people to death?"
"Of course."
I smiled brightly.
"My mind has never been clearer."
I gestured toward the floor.
Damian followed my gaze.
His expression shifted.
For just an instant.
There.
In the empty air where my weapon had struck moments earlier.
Faint wisps of black smoke were dispersing.
Demonic energy.
Weak.
But unmistakable.
...What is this?
Confusion flickered across his eyes.
As far as he knew, Violetta possessed no holy power whatsoever.
Yet somehow, every swing of her weapon was erasing corruption that even high-ranking priests struggled to cleanse.
He stared at me.
Long and hard.
Then finally asked:
"...Who are you?"
I lifted my wedding dress with one hand.
Rested the morningstar against my shoulder.
And smirked.
"Isn't it obvious?"
I pointed at the scattered skeleton and shrieking demon.
"I'm a bride who beats up bad guys."
The wedding was completely ruined.
But my life?
My life was finally beginning.
I winked at the stunned commander.
"Sir Knight, you might want to step back."
I raised the morningstar again.
"That's an expensive cloak you're wearing."
Holy flames surged around the weapon.
I grinned.
"Now then."
"Second round of physical therapy."
"Begins now."
WHAM—!
And thus began the most terrifying—
and strangely satisfying—
wedding in the history of the Empire.
