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“I was quite nervous, you know.”
I sighed a little, making sure to keep my eyes fixed only on Seren. She looked up at me, narrowing her eyes a little and smiling.
After the announcement, we watched the king and queen perform the quadrille from our spot on the dais, and then we were free to dance together. Dancing was a nice distraction from the ongoing curious looks we were getting from all around.
I did get to exchange a few words with Prince Helios first, but it felt like everyone was staring at us instead of watching the king and queen and their quadrille. That was very uncomfortable. But I suppose I can’t blame them.
Prince Helios, of course, smiled warmly and even offered us his congratulations. Indeed, there was no way for me to figure out how he might really have been feeling about everything. I took my cue from Seren, who bowed deeply and said a simple thank you.
Prince Helios smiled sadly and said just one more thing, “Please, be happy together.”
That was enough for the nobles at the venue.
Their gazes, narrowed and focused on us, instantly softened. I realized that Prince Helios had done this on purpose—he had come over to speak to us specifically to mollify the crowd. Though he was much younger than me in years, I found a newfound respect for him when I realized that.
“Prince Helios… No doubt he’ll be a fine king one day,” I muttered without thinking. Seren blinked at me in surprise before she broke into a smile.
“Yes, I think so, too.”
“We owe a great deal to him… To the prince, and the king and queen.”
“One day, we’ll see that we repay them for their kindness.”
“Right. If we work together, I bet we can achieve some decent results.”
Seren and I exchanged smiles. Our path to becoming a married couple was only made possible through the help of others. The king and queen, Prince Helios, and Seren’s family. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
“But you know, Lord Viol, I think your dancing has gotten even better.”
That realization seemed to have come to her in the moment, leading to an unexpected compliment.
“Yes. Count Blaze has been training me regularly for the past six months. Usually, I’d like to use the entire dance floor, but tonight, I fear a few too many people are watching.”
Since this was a ball to celebrate our marriage, I couldn’t use my usual stealth magic and go incognito. With so many people around, I felt like I couldn’t even enjoy conversing with Seren in our normal manner, either.
Missing out on the chance for a whirling dance with her was a little disappointing, but I suppose it couldn’t be helped on tonight of all nights. Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities to dance with my lovely wife at balls in the future.
I looked down and found her smiling back up at me happily. Seeing that smile made me feel truly satisfied.
From now on, I no longer had to worry about things like stifling balls and failing to converse. When I returned home, I would have that beautiful smile all to myself, and we could talk as much as we wanted. Being dissatisfied now, in light of that, seemed rather childish.
“Seren!”
“Lady Seren!”
As soon as the dance ended, rather familiar-looking women surrounded Seren.
If I remembered correctly, these were ladies I’d recalled seeing flock around Seren at the previous ball. Among them were Ladies Linde and Ladia, who worked with Seren at the salon as well.
“Marriage, all of a sudden?!”
“Tonight was the first we heard of it!”
“Now you have to tell us everything.”
Ah, well, that makes sense, I thought to myself, wryly smiling as I watched my wife being ushered away. Then Lady Ladia turned and gave me a sharp glare.
“And, of course, we’ll want to hear from you too, Archmage Viol.”
From me, too?
I’d like to flee, but the tight smiles flashed in my direction by the ladies indicated I couldn’t escape so easily. I had no choice but to trail along after them to a long table that seemed to be filled with Seren’s school peers, judging by their young ages. Terribly awkward, of course.
I sat down obediently, and that’s when I felt a set of eyes piercing into me. Lifting my head, I saw a young man glaring at me and looking rather pale in the face.
He had familiar brown hair and a face that looked oddly familiar, too.
Oh, right, this is Borden’s younger brother. The red-headed bratty youth who usually accompanied their group was apparently not in attendance tonight.
But… Why was this young man looking at me with such resentment? Had I done anything to invoke the wrath of Borden or his younger brother?
I mean… I accept that I’ve caused a lot of fuss and trouble for Borden, but…
“So, Seren, getting married without telling us first… Isn’t that a bit rich?”
“Right. I mean, I didn’t even hear any rumors.”
Oh dear. While I was distracted by Borden’s scowling brother, the ladies had already begun to shower Seren with probing questions.
“I’m sorry, but due to my father’s trade business, the time between us deciding to get married and actually having the ceremony was short,” Seren responded apologetically, but of course, it was just an excuse. The truth was we had done everything we could to prevent rumors from spreading.
When we had consulted Seren’s father about the whole issue, he had lectured us, saying it had only been just over six short months since Seren and Prince Helios’s engagement was called off. If we followed the usual procedure of allowing rumors to spread, things might be blown out of proportion. But if the wedding were already a done deal, carried out with the full support and participation of the king and queen, then nobody could turn up their noses.
That was the advice we received, so we kept everything under wraps…until tonight.
All of this fuss arose because I couldn’t wait to usher Seren down the aisle.
Never had I imagined that I would receive the full support of not only Seren’s family, but of the whole royal family. I did feel bad, of course, that Seren had to keep such a happy secret from her closest friends for so long.
“But what a surprise. You’re suddenly married! You can hardly blame us for being shocked.”
“Ever since you became a High Mage, you’ve certainly spoken highly of Lord Viol, Seren. But I never expected that you two were going to get married.”
Lady Ladia and Lady Linde were teasing Seren with big smiles.
“And a royal wedding in front of the king and queen, too… How fantastic!”
“Yes. Especially since she doesn’t officially belong to the duke’s family register anymore.”
“The royal wedding surprised us too,” Seren said. “We originally planned to have a small ceremony at a quaint church in town, so it was a great blessing that the king and queen offered to perform a royal ceremony for us.”
As Seren spoke, eavesdroppers spoke in hushed whispers nearby. Bored, I used wind magic to gather some gossip from the venue while Seren answered her friends’ questions.
“The royal family brought the idea to you…?”
“I wonder why.”
“Well, High Mages are considered high-ranking nobles, so it’s not all that strange.”
“But marriages between High Mages have happened before, right?”
“But she’s a duke’s daughter, and he’s an Archmage presiding over all the High Mages. No doubt that played a big part in it.”
I could hear people saying things like that, amongst other expressions of confusion and surprise.
Seren’s father was right on the money. Having the wedding officially sanctioned by the royal family was a big factor in keeping any potential backlash subdued.
I was impressed by Seren’s father’s social savvy. Goodness knows I’d never grow to master it. Seren truly was blessed to have such wonderful people in her corner. No doubt, the bonds and trust she’d forged with others since her childhood had paid off for her in early adulthood.
Along with feeling grateful to those around me, I also felt respect for my partner.
“Even so, Archmage Viol…”
“Yes?”
I was startled to be suddenly spoken to. When I looked up, Lady Ladia and Lady Linde were looking straight at me.
“I’ve been quiet about this for a while now, but there’s something I’ve been dying to ask you.”
“Well, whatever could that be?”
“Weren’t you in a bit of a hurry? You need to give some consideration to Lady Seren’s position, you know.”
“Right. It sort of sounds like you were a bit reckless.”
The two of them were admonishing me… But I suppose I deserved it. After all… I HAD been in a hurry.
“Yes, I apologize. I certainly lacked due consideration. Seren was drawing such attention in the Mage’s Tower and was always inundated with requests to dance during balls. I’m afraid I got a little anxious.”
The honest answer from me drew a series of gasps and coos.
Seren blushed and looked down, and I could hear people saying things like, “Did you ever imagine THAT Lord Viol would say a thing like that?” but I wasn’t trying to look cool here, so I just shrugged.
“Hahaha. Well, if you’re going to be so earnest about it, it takes away all the fun of teasing you.”
“Right? But it’s obvious how devoted he is to Lady Seren.”
“Yes. No one is finer than Seren, as a High Mage or as a wife,” I agreed. “I swear I will cherish her for the rest of my life.”
“L-Lord Viol, please…”
Seren’s eyes begged me to spare her, so I had no choice but to hold my tongue from then on.
“Who knew he was so passionate?!”
Lady Ladia and Lady Linde laughed together. But they stopped badgering me after that, so it seemed I’d managed to satisfy their expectations.