WE began to cook the day before the wedding. Charlotte, Sir Aiskoletta, Marina, and Fredrica even assisted us.
“Thank you so much for coming, Marina, Fredrica.”
“You helped us with our weddings too, Mell!”
“We hope we can repay the favor.”
“I really appreciate it!”
We cooked, cooked, and cooked some more, but the end was never in sight. It was strange—it wasn’t like we were cooking for a huge crowd in the first place.
Marina and Fredrica’s husbands came to pick them up once the sun began to set.
“I’m so excited for the big day tomorrow!”
Marina waved goodbye enthusiastically. Fredrica gave a ladylike bow before leaving with Garr.
Now it was down to the final sprint.
We were mostly finished by the time evening came. That just left the finishing touches for tomorrow.
Sir Aiskoletta made us lunch and dinner when he had breaks in the work, allowing us to spend the entire day on our cooking.
“Thank you, Sir Aiskoletta, Charlotte.”
“You are welcome!”
“It was no trouble at all.”
We discussed our anticipation for the next day. Then I took a hot bath and went to bed.
The sky was perfectly clear and blue on the day of our wedding. But there wasn’t time to sit and gaze at it. First thing in the morning, I was overwhelmed with preparations. I had a fried egg on toast for breakfast, along with soup made by Sir Aiskoletta and raspberries picked by Charlotte.
Then I put the finishing touches on our food, cleaned up the garden where we would hold the ceremony, brushed Amelia and Rih, dunked Album in warm water to scrub him clean…
But that was when a beautician arrived to help me get ready.
The smell of all my cooking had absorbed into my hair and clothes, so I had to start with another bath. I thought I’d gotten myself clean last night, but now I was the one being scrubbed in warm water. The beautician combed scented oil into my hair, rubbed beauty lotion into my skin, and cleaned up my nails.
Two hours later, I was finally ready to take out the wedding dress Zara made for me.
“This is such a lovely dress you have here.”
“Thank you…!”
He’d worked really hard on it, and it absolutely showed. The dress was completely white from head to toe, almost like the word “cleanliness” itself had taken a physical form.
The sleeves puffed out like clouds and the hem and edges were decorated with exquisite lace. A velvet bow was tied around my waist and the bottom half of my dress billowed around me.
Zara had used silver thread to embroider the skirt with my favorite flowers. I must have mentioned them at some point, since he clearly remembered. The entire dress was a work of love.
I wore my hair in a mature style—braids pinned up to the top of my head like a crown. Then I covered it with the veil Zara had made, with the little flowers embroidered into this piece as well.
“The matching flowers are lovely too.”
The beautician was right. Komerv, Sir Aiskoletta, and Charlotte had even made me accessories to wear with my dress. The first piece was a garland of small white flowers that matched my veil. They also sewed the same flowers together to make me earrings and a necklace. Komerv had enchanted them so that they would never die or wilt.
The beautician carefully dressed me in each piece. Finally, everything was complete.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw a joyous bride staring back at me.
I’d come to the royal capital out of near desperation once my engagement came to an end. I never even dreamed that I would one day be married.
Zara arrived wearing the white formalwear of the Royal Order.
“You’re so beautiful, Melly.”
“Thank you, Zara. You look very handsome too.”
“Thank you.”
I tensed my muscles to stop myself from crying. I couldn’t ruin the lovely makeup the beautician worked so hard on.
“Everyone’s here already.”
“Then it’s time to start the ceremony, isn’t it?”
When we stepped outside, everyone greeted us with smiles and congratulations.
I was so happy, I ended up crying anyway. Zara wiped my tears away with a handkerchief to protect my makeup.
Captain Ludtink looked like he wanted to scold me, but Marina punched him in the shoulder. Her strength was as impressive as always.
Vice Captain Velrey wore a navy dress the color of the night sky. It was beautiful and looked so nice on her. When we made eye contact, she smiled kindly at me.
Garr and Fredrica were snuggled up against each other, smiling and waving at me. I hoped to learn things from the lovely older couple as time went by. Sly was eagerly waving both hands at me too.
Ulgus was cradling Album, who wore a big bow around his neck. He was crying even harder than I was. I couldn’t help but crack a smile, wondering when the two of them had grown so close.
Liselotte wore a lovely red-orange dress the color of a sunset. Lord Lichtenberger had on a tailcoat and a white tie. Even Liselotte’s mother was in attendance today. She’d returned to their home not too long ago and remained in the royal capital ever since. Liselotte and Lord Lichtenberger both looked a bit happier than usual.
Charlotte was wearing the canary yellow dress I originally bought for myself. Words couldn’t capture just how adorable she looked. Behind her, Umataro had a bow in the same color tied around his horn. Maybe that was just the best place to tie it.
Sir Aiskoletta had his usual suit of armor on with a bright red cape. He was also wearing a white tie just like Lord Lichtenberger. I’d never seen a tie worn with full body armor before, but strangely, it looked quite nice on him. Well, that was probably just because he was Sir Aiskoletta.
Amelia and Rih watched over us with gentle looks on their faces. A warm feeling grew in my chest. It felt like they were wishing us well.
Blanche was wagging her tail, squinting softly at the two of us too.
As long as I kept looking at them all, I couldn’t seem to stop the tears.
Zara decided to greet them in my place, since I was crying so hard.