The sun rose over Aurelion in layers of gold.
Light spilled across white stone towers and rune-carved bridges, catching on floating lanterns as they dimmed and drifted down to rest. The city felt… calmer. As if it had accepted something new into its rhythm.
Leon noticed it the moment he opened the door.
People looked at them.
Not with fear. Not with suspicion.
With recognition.
Elena stepped out beside him, close enough that their sleeves brushed. She hesitated—just a fraction—then slipped her fingers into his.
The System did not chime.
It didn't need to.
They walked in silence at first.
Not uncomfortable exactly… but not natural either. Like two people learning a new gravity.
"So," Elena said, too casually, "husband."
Leon nearly tripped.
She caught his arm immediately, steadying him. To anyone watching, it looked practiced—intimate.
"You okay?" she asked, voice warm.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "Just wasn't ready for that word."
She smiled, small and teasing. "Better get used to it."
Ahead, a group of Earth survivors passed them. Their eyes widened when they recognized Leon and Elena from the ceremony.
"That's them," someone whispered. "The married ones."
Elena's grip tightened.
Right. The act.
She leaned into Leon slightly, resting her head against his shoulder as they walked. "You didn't sleep well," she said softly, for the audience. "You were thinking too much."
Leon understood instantly.
He placed a hand over hers. "You're one to talk. You kept pulling the blanket."
She laughed—light, genuine enough that a few onlookers smiled.
To the city, they looked like a young couple adjusting to married life.
Only they knew how thin the line was.
As they crossed a plaza, an elven woman arranging mana-flowers paused and inclined her head respectfully. "May your bond remain steady," she said.
"Thank you," Elena replied before Leon could, her voice calm and confident.
Too confident.
When they were out of earshot, Leon murmured, "You're good at this."
Elena didn't look at him. "I have to be."
They stopped near a fountain where mana-water flowed upward before cascading back down in shimmering arcs.
For a moment, no one was close enough to hear.
Elena released his hand.
The space between them felt… louder than before.
"This is just in public," she said quietly. "Right?"
Leon stared into the water, watching their reflections overlap and distort.
"At first," he said.
She looked up sharply. "At first?"
He met her gaze. No jokes. No performance.
"We lied once to survive," he continued. "Now the world thinks we're real. If we keep treating it like a mask… it'll crack."
Elena's expression softened, complicated.
"…And if we don't?"
"Then someday," Leon said, "we wake up and realize it stopped being an act."
The fountain hummed between them.
Elena took a breath, then reached out again—this time slower, deliberate.
She laced her fingers with his.
"In front of others," she said, "we'll be a loving couple."
Leon nodded. "And when it's just us?"
She squeezed his hand once. "We figure it out."
They started walking again, side by side.
The sun climbed higher.
Behind them, the city adjusted records, reassigned routes, and quietly rewrote expectations.
Leon and Elena didn't notice.
But somewhere deep in Aurelion's systems—
Their names were no longer listed separately.