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“WOW… This is the Great Hall of the Royal Palace…”
“Amazing, it’s so sparkly.”
“Can I step on this carpet? Hey, are you sure it’s all right?”
My younger brothers were overexcited again. No wonder. Until today, they couldn’t have even imagined the Great Hall of a royal castle decorated for a ceremony.
Today, our wedding venue was the Royal Palace, and we would exchange our vows in front of the king and queen and all the high nobles.
High Mages are high-ranking aristocrats, but since they come from various backgrounds, the form of their wedding ceremony is not clearly defined. It was clear that if I was called upon to have a wedding ceremony on par with that of a high-ranking aristocrat, it would cause a great burden on my family.
The general consensus is that since the main purpose of a wedding is for the two involved to swear themselves to one another and celebrate their future, it is better for the couple and their families to celebrate comfortably. I agreed.
At first, we planned to hold a small wedding ceremony at the church in the city with just our families.
I don’t like flashy things to begin with, and Lady Seren’s background couldn’t be more different from mine. It hasn’t been long since she and Prince Helios broke off their engagement, either. So both of us thought it would be best to have a small, inconspicuous wedding.
The duke considered how my family would feel, having no concept of an aristocratic wedding. So, he initially arranged that the wedding would have a simple feel.
“Ah, you appear to have a visitor.”
The old gentleman drew my attention to the door, where there was a discreet knocking. When I nodded at him, he nodded crisply back and answered the door. The duke appeared, wearing a cheerful smile.
“Oh, here’s another fine set of gentlemen!”
“Your Grace!”
“Good morning!!!”
“…Morning.”
“Ah, hello. And good morning.”
“Good morning. How are you all?”
My younger brothers were oddly fascinated by the duke, who’d come all the way to our house the other day to say hello. It must have been interesting for them to observe the un-duke-like duke and hear his talk of all the countries they’d never seen.
“Gosh, I’m sorry! I should have come by to greet you!” Pa said.
“No, no, it must be difficult with all these unfamiliar preparations. I’m sorry it ended up like this.” The duke bowed his head apologetically as Pa panicked.
When the duke informed the king and queen that we planned on a quiet wedding at the church in town, they wouldn’t hear of it. They lamented that they would not be able to watch Lady Seren get married after thinking of her as their own daughter for so many years. According to Borden, who was present at the time, the queen was particularly adamant.
I knew Lady Seren was loved, but not to that extent. If I couldn’t make Lady Seren happy, I might be exiled. No, no, I knew too much confidential information. They couldn’t risk exiling me.
“Unfortunately, there is no saying no to the royal family,” Pa lamented.
“Well, I understand how they feel,” the duke said. “I just worry that it will be nerve-wracking for you all.”
“Yeah, my heart has been pounding since this morning.”
“My balls have shrunk back inside my body.”
“Personally, I’m looking forward to it!”
“I see, Michel. You’re tough.”
Michel didn’t seem to mind being praised by the duke. The two older boys looked like Pa and had masculine faces, but Michel had a delicate face like Ma. Since he was a lot younger, he still had a childlike innocence. However, perhaps because of his young age, he seemed to have the courage to be the least nervous in situations like this. I hadn’t known that about my youngest brother before now.
“Well, Viol and Seren are the main players today,” the duke said. “All you need to do is enjoy the ceremony and the feast. There’s no need to be nervous.”
“We can’t just focus on the food. I’ll be praying for the happiness of the young couple.”
When my younger brother, Maurice, spoke those words with a sassy grin, the duke widened his eyes and then burst out laughing, saying, “That’s right. Well, I’ll be off now. And please, do pray for the happiness of the bride and groom.”
With that, the duke dashed out, saying, “See you later.” We, who were left behind, looked at each other and laughed a little.
“I wonder if he thought we were nervous and came to see how we were doing.”
“I guess. He’s a decent fellow, isn’t he?”
When Michel said that, Pa nodded thoughtfully. The duke truly is a kind man.
The duke’s visit had helped to calm my family down. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.
“Ma’s taking a long time, though.”
“I hear women need more time to get ready than men,” I said. “Hair and makeup also take more time.”
After I answered my brother’s question, the old gentleman who’d dressed me appeared and gave me a lecture on how the ceremony would go. He laid out each stage and the specific actions to be taken. Naturally, my particular parts in the proceedings were hopelessly numerous.
Well, if I got lost, Lady Seren would help me. On the other hand, if Lady Seren got lost, I’d have to try to cover for her.
Just like we always did.
When I thought about it that way, I suddenly felt relieved.
I’d never experienced anything like this in my life, but with Lady Seren… Well, I was sure it would all work out.