Would-Be Weddings

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**Would-Be Weddings** was the 8th story event in Court of Darkness. It started around April 20, 2021. Guy, Lynt, and Rio were available at the start of the event. Fenn, Toa, and Roy were added a few days later. This was the third event to feature two endings. The normal ending could be unlocked with crowns; upon completion, players received the event path prize for that consort. Players could alternatively unlock the the premium ending for 15 gems. The premium ending would grant players a CG and the event path prize for that consort upon completion. Normally, completing a story event would unlock an epilogue in the shop; this was the first event to not feature epilogues.

Could you marry a royal? The thought may or may not have crossed your mind, but a certain incident forces you on consider it seriously. Is your future with your magical consort fleeting or forever?

## Routes

### Guy Avari

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Guy is helping MC with the spell to light a lantern. Because he's helping her, she wants to thank him with results. The problem is she's having a hard time paying attention over all the fangirling she's doing. Guy's annoyed that she seems distracted and whispers to her that if she can't focus on what she's doing they can do something else...as long as she's not worried about her upcoming test. That gets her to focus again. Then Jasper comes in with a letter from Guy's dad and a message from the headmaster. Lou's going to deactivate Guy's sigilllum arcanum whenever Guy has time. Guy reads the letter from his father and tells MC to get her things ready.

On her way back to her room, MC bumps into Lynt. He says he was napping in the lounge and seems disappointed that Guy isn't with her. When she tells him about the trip, Lynt notes that the only person who ever accompanies Guy on trips is Jasper. Lynt suggests that Guy is taking her along because he would hate to be without her company.

Guy, Jasper, and MC take a flying carriage to Avari. On the way, Guy explains that some citizens have been complaining about higher taxes. Taxes hadn't been raised recently in that area, so Guy thinks the viscount (Matthias) is misappropriating funds. They're going there to investigate and gather proof before the people rebel.

Once they arrive, Guy, who is in disguise (having long hair, glasses and calling himself Drakon) introduces MC as his wife. She's caught a little off guard, but plays the part. On the way to the dining room, MC asks Guy in a whisper why he hadn't told her about pretending to be his wife. He answers that telling her ahead of time wouldn't have improved her acting, so there was no point. At the dinner, Matthias gets drunk and starts hitting on MC disgustingly. Guy pretends to not notice and spends his time talking to the earl (Gerant). Matthias invites MC to his place because he wants to show her something. She tells him she and her husband would be happy to visit.

When MC and Guy are alone in the room they're going to share during their trip, Guy's reaction to her performance is mixed. He tells her not to show weakness, but is pleased they now have access to Matthias's house. MC is not amused by this response.

The next day, MC and Guy head to Matthias's house. On the way, Guy talks about Rozeran's wares and exports. Silverwork is among them. While it isn't on the same level of something made in Invidia, it's still very high quality. MC's thinks how no matter where she goes, people are just trying to live their lives. She thinks Guy must be proud of this area in order for him to have told her anything about it, and she wants to protect the people here from whatever's going on. She spots a hairpin with jewels the same color as Guy's eyes. She and Guy share a cute moment when he buys it for her. In talking to the shopkeeper, they hear about how life has gotten more difficult due to the higher taxes; she suspects Matthias is behind it.

During their tour of Matthias's house, Guy and MC don't find any evidence that he's been embezzling money. During their tour, Jasper searched other rooms. He didn't find anything either. So, they return to Gerant's house for the night. They're scheduled to leave tomorrow and Guy doesn't want to extend their stay for fear of arousing suspicion. As he strategizes with Jasper, MC starts walking around the house with her familiar. She notices Gerant wandering around outside. She finds this odd because the sun's already set. Guy and Jasper come out of the room and tell her they're heading out. They leave before giving MC a chance to tell them what she saw. She decides to investigate herself and finds a storeroom full of expensive stuff. Gerant shows up and says he has to kill her now. In the scuffle, Gerant breaks the hairpin Guy gave MC. Guy arrives before Gerant can do more than try choking her. He gets her out of the storage bunker, but runs into a ton of Gerant's lackeys. Jasper returns with some soldiers and Guy uses his ancient magic to end things quickly. Guy explains that he had grown suspicious of Gerant when no one had anything bad to say about him; he and Jasper had left earlier to gather the soldiers.

After the skirmish, Guy takes MC to a nearby hotel and then to a bar for some drinks. Another guy tries to hit on MC, but Guy warns the other guy against it and takes her back to their room. She realizes Guy's jealous and he leaves a hicky on her chest.

They then return to the academy. They're there a few days before MC runs into Lynt while on her way to a magic lesson. They talk briefly about her trip. When she gets to Guy's room she's two minutes late. Jasper leaves to get her tea, leaving her alone with Guy. She's worried he'll be mad at her, but he isn't. He gives MC her hairpin, now fixed.

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### Rio Voleri

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While sitting around with Thoma, Grayson, Sherry, and MC, Rio gets a letter. One of the Volerian ministers wants to discuss his wedding. Everyone's surprised, including Rio, who's pretty sure he's not even engaged to anyone. He doesn't think too much of it though and the conversation turns to him not fully understanding what it means to be married.

A few days later, Rio and MC are hanging out in the A, B, and C Rank lounge. The headmaster appears, and asks about a letter he had received. He gives it to Rio to read. It's a notice that some ministers from Voleri are going to hold an engagement party for Rio on Colde. Rio, having not responded to the first letter, decides it would be best to write to the ministers. On their way to the refectory, Rio and MC bump into Roy and Guy. Roy seems a bit confused. He asks Rio about a letter he had received in the mail inviting him to Rio's engagement party. Rio clears things up again before he and MC continue on their way. Thoma, Sherry, and Grayson are there when they arrive. Sherry's annoyed a minster would do such a thing as it is well beyond the bounds of what they should be allowed to do. She suggests that this is either an attempt by the ministers to force Rio into marrying or marrying someone specific. To figure out which, she suggests Rio name someone as his fiancée when he writes to them. Rio says he'd like to name MC since he likes being with her. MC isn't sure if he means that in a friendly capacity or as something more, but agrees to pose as his fiancée.

Thoma takes the letter with him when he goes to Voleri. While Thoma is gone, Rio and MC talk more about marriages. Rio tells her that his parents are best friends and really enjoy each other's company. However, it's apparent to MC that Rio hasn't seen a romantic aspect to their relationship. Thoma comes back with bad news; the ministers are still planning to come to the academy and hosting an engagement party for Rio. Rio asks MC if it would be okay for him to propose to her for real, but MC declines. She tells Rio she doesn't want to marry someone if they only think of her as a friend.

MC avoids Rio until the ministers show up. She apologizes to Rio and asks if he still wants her to pose as his fake fiancée. Rio, of course, isn't mad, tells her that isn't necessary, and apologies for making her uncomfortable earlier. Later, he brings her a dress and asks her to come to the party. MC does. However when she sees Rio struggling to tell the ministers the truth of the situation, she tries to play the role of his fake fiancée in an attempt to rescue him. He stops her and tells them the truth. Rio also gets down on one knee and tells MC that she's special to him. Later, at Sherry's suggestion, Rio and MC go out on the balcony to talk. Rio says that he doesn't fully understand relationships other than friendships, but does feel differently about MC compared to his other friends. He asks her what that means, and MC says he needs to figure that out for himself. Rio promises to let her know as soon as he does. MC shows him to how to seal his promise with a pinky swear, and Rio is excited to learn a custom from Earth.

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### Roy Invidia

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MC is walking with Sherry on their way to the dorms after their lessons when they bump into Roy and Grayson. They have a short exchange before some members of Roy's fanclub come back and whisk him away. Grayson wonders why Roy bothers with them; he wouldn't give them the time of day. MC is a little upset that Roy didn't tell the girls she was his paramour when they asked him who she was. Fenn offers that it's because it's Roy's way of keeping MC safe.

MC meets Roy later on the rooftop garden for a magic lesson. They cut it short when she seems unable to concentrate. Roy then gives her a silver ring which came in a set of two; he has the other ring. MC is excited by this, but saddened again when Roy tucks the second ring (on a chain around his neck) under his shirt rather than display it. He asks her to go on a date with him.

The day of the date arrives and Sherry helps MC get ready. She explains the ring Roy gave her is a traditional Invidian ring worn by many paramours and spouses and has a charm to keep the couple together as long as both are wearing it. Roy arrives to pick MC up and the two share a moment before heading out.

While they wander the streets in town, MC is vigilant about keeping an eye out for Roy's fanclub. He pouts a bit since she's not paying attention to him and tries to comfort her by telling her most people will avert their eyes when they see a couple together. They walk around a while before going to a café. MC struggles in deciding what to get, so the owner recommends a limited-time-special for newly weds. MC tries to correct the man, but Roy likes the idea of being married to MC and wants to indulge in the fantasy. While leaving the café, MC is embarrassed they had to feed the first bite of the dessert to each other and they had an audience. Roy sees Fenn and pulls MC into a crowded area so they wouldn't be noticed. He tells her he doesn't want the illusion of them being married to be ruined so quickly. MC is a bit flustered by his words and closeness, so she tries to play along as a way to try flustering Roy. It doesn't work, and he moves her ring from her right ringer finger to her left ring finger. Some of Roy's fangirls saw MC and Roy together and plan to separate them. They also want to involve MC's ring somehow.

The next day, MC is still really happy from her date. She sees Roy in the hall, but before he can greet her he's surrounded by his fanclub. While's he's occupied, one fangirl tells MC she saw her and Roy walking around town together. She says Roy doesn't really love MC and was just being nice. To make sure MC doesn't get the wrong idea, she takes MC's ring. MC makes an attempt to get it back, but accidently knocks the fangirl into Roy. The fangirl accuses MC of attacking her and then invites Roy to tea. Roy declines and whispers to MC to meet him at the rooftop garden. When MC arrives there, Roy hugs her and asks what the other girl did to her. MC knows Roy will give her anything she wants, and if she tells him about the ring, he'll get it back for her. However, MC wants to retrieve it on her own. So, she tells Roy she wanted to talk to the girl about something and everything that followed was a misunderstanding; she intends to talk to the girl later to smooth things over. MC leaves, feeling bad about lying to Roy. Roy's left behind wondering if he's to blame for her lie. He then asks Grayson to deliver a letter.

MC receives a letter and meets with Sherry, who takes her to the A, B, and C Rank lounge. Roy has gathered together all of his fangirls and confronts the girl who stole MC's ring. Roy pulls the chain with the matching ring from around his neck and explains that the two turn black when one is not in the possession of the intended wearer. The girl isn't admitting to the theft, so Fenn steps forward and says he saw her take it from MC. She has little choice now but to return it to Roy. He takes the ring and pulls MC away from the back of the room. He tells everyone that she's important to him, and someone asks if the two are engaged. Roy confirms that she is his wife, not seeing much of a need to insert "future" in as an adjective.

Roy takes MC to the anterior courtyard where he slips the ring back on her left ring finger. Both rings turn from black back to silver. Roy take his ring off the chain around his neck and asks MC to put his on him. She slides the ring on his left ring finger. Then the two kiss.

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