Ascension Of The Villain-Chapter 283: How to Propose Without Giving Her a Heart Attack (Fail)

The words still blazed softly across the water—"Will you do the honor of marrying your idiot, my lady?"

The fading sun had dipped just below the horizon, casting the sky in delicate hues of peach and rose, as if the world had conspired to blush at Vyan's question. The lake mirrored that softness, glowing warmly under the last golden streaks of daylight.

And then, like something plucked straight from a fairytale dream, thousands of sky lanterns drifted into view—glowing like fireflies too shy to flutter. Each lantern carried a quiet promise, a gentle hope, a whisper of eternity. They hovered above the lake, reflected below it, wrapping the world in golden light.

Iyana was breathless.

Her heart trembled. Her throat tightened. Her soul stood still.

She felt the gentle shift of weight on the boat and instinctively turned her head—only to find Vyan kneeling beside her, the soft lantern glow catching in his wine-red eyes. A small velvet box sat open in his hand, and nestled within it was a sharply cut violet diamond ring, glittering with such beauty that it seemed as if someone had carved her very essence into gemstone.

Tears welled up in her eyes before she even realized it. Her lips parted to speak, but no sound came. Emotion clogged her throat. She could only stare, stunned and trembling.

Vyan looked up at her with that lopsided, mischievous grin that had often annoyed her senseless—and now, meant everything.

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"So happy you can't speak?" he teased softly.

Her hands flew to his shoulder, and she gave him a solid smack through her tears. "You idiot!" she choked out. "I thought you— I thought you fell into the water! I thought you drowned!"

He tilted his head, amused. "Even if I did, do you think I'm the kind of guy who can drown? Come on, I'm a mage, my lady. Water spirits and I might not be friendly, but we are on speaking terms."

Another hit.

"Ow! That's the second one! How many times are you going to hit me? I'm literally proposing to you right now. This is supposed to be the part where you cry happy tears, throw your arms around me, scream 'yes' a million times, and kiss me—not physically assault me."

Smack.

He let out a long-suffering sigh. "Look, I'm willing to endure a lifetime of your abuse, but at least agree to marry me first."

Iyana sniffled, but said nothing. Just stared, teary-eyed.

Vyan huffed, straightening a little but still kneeling, that usual spark of sarcasm in his voice. "Come on. I'm kneeling all dramatically here, in the middle of a flaming proposal on a love-lit lake. I might've forgotten all the cheesy poetic lines I prepared. But you already know—I'm completely obsessed with you. I worship the very ground you walk on. So marry me, please. I'm a great deal. I may be obnoxious and have a very punchable face and an overly sharp tongue, but hey—you've already survived me for this long. Might as well make it legal, no?"

She wiped a tear and narrowed her eyes. "So you do know your flaws."

"Of course. I'm incredibly self-aware. What do you take me for?"

"A man I love who's too cocky for his own good."

He smiled boyishly. "That's great. So marry me? Please? I'll cook for you. I'll raise our kids while you go off to work. I'll pack your lunch. I'll even iron your uniform if that's what it takes."

"Asking you to do any of that is just begging for a disaster." She giggled, shaking her head. "You've been giving me heart attacks since day one, Vyan. Dating you has been like surviving a storm."

"I… have no defense for that." He sighed in mock defeat.

And then, slowly, she knelt down in front of him.

Softly, sweetly, with laughter still mingling with tears, she whispered, "It's okay. As we've already established… you're an idiot. My idiot. And to keep you mine forever, I'll marry you. In every lifetime, you're stuck with me. So you better not regret this."

Vyan grinned widely, filled with unfiltered happiness. "As long as you hold on to that promise."

"I will," she said, cupping his cheek gently. "I'll do my best."

And then, she kissed him. Long and tender. A kiss made of sunsets and sky lanterns, of heartbeats and home.

He slipped the ring onto her finger with the characteristic delicacy that he only had for her. She stared at it—the violet diamond, deep and rich, the exact shade of her eyes. Of course, he had it customized. Of course,e he had planned it long ago. This wasn't a rushed decision made on a whim. He had chosen this. Chosen her. Even with the date of his supposed death looming nearby… he chose forever. With her.

And in that moment, Iyana wept. Because she understood:

This wasn't just a proposal.

It was a promise.

That even if the world burned down around them—

He would always find a way to love her.

Vyan reached up, brushing away the tears on her cheeks with a gentleness that nearly undid her all over again.

"Why are you crying again, hmm?" he asked softly, his thumb lingering near the curve of her cheek. His voice was velvet—playful, concerned, and impossibly loving all at once.

Iyana's breath hitched. "How… how am I so lucky to have you?" Her voice cracked, raw and trembling with wonder. "Do I even deserve all this?"

He didn't answer with words right away. He simply pulled her into his arms, holding her as if she were the most sacred thing in the world. As if she were made of light and breath and everything worth protecting.

"You do." His voice was a murmur in her hair. "You deserve so much more. You deserve to be the happiest woman in this world."

Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, clinging to him as though her soul had no anchor without him.

"But I already feel like it," she whispered against his chest.

His arms curled even tighter, his lips brushing the top of her head. "This?" he said with a soft chuckle. "This is nothing, my love. I intend to give you so much happiness you'll start counting your lucky stars, but they'll never run out. You'll lose track halfway and just end up kissing me instead."

Iyana let out a teary laugh. "Then perhaps I owe the Goddess a prayer or two. For sending me a dangerously smug idiot with a big heart that only beats fast for me."

He smiled. "If you're serious about thanking the Goddess… should we visit the church?"

She pulled back slightly to look at him. "Church? That came out of nowhere."

Vyan scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, looking almost boyish despite the confident tilt of his lips. "Well… I was thinking. If we're going to get married anyway… might as well do it as soon as possible, right?"

Her eyes widened. "Wait—what?"

His smile turned roguish, all mischief and charm. "Let's get married. Right now. Tonight."