Greta didn’t say any more, but she was someone who possessed a whole range of facial expressions, and now her cheeks were puffed up in annoyance. For some reason, this childish act didn’t look that out of place on her.
“Well, when I’m alone with you, even now, Greta, it’s like back then, when we—”
“Daaaarling...?” Greta said pointedly.
“R-Right, that’s a secret from Cecily! I know, I know.”
Sewell nodded furiously, Greta’s hand around his neck. It must have been something truly embarrassing for Greta to be acting like that.
“Back to what I was saying, Cecily,” Sewell went on. “When I say ‘rival,’ I don’t mean another woman.”
“Huh? You didn’t?”
Cecily gulped. Meanwhile, Maria blotted Cecily’s lips with a piece of paper, and then her lips were done.
“You see, I owned this dog. Her name was Candy, and I cared for her every day. I loved her lots...but as a pet.”
“A dog?!” Cecily shrieked, her confusion reaching its peak. Her newly colored lips glistened. “Mom, you were so jealous of a dog that you made dad drink a love potion?”
“There is no distinction between human or animal in the game of love!”
Greta’s face was bright red. She had been her usual confident self until just a moment ago, but now she was embarrassed like a little girl.
Sewell went on with a big grin.
“But even before I drank that love potion, I liked her, this girl who lived in the same village as me. I often made the time to go and see her. I really admired her because she’d make potions and medicines for people, even if they’d been rude or cold to her. I thought it was really amazing.”
“Oh, darling, don’t romanticize the past! I was doing it for the money.”
“But what you made was always a fair sum. And you never took money from children. When I heard you say that, I thought you were fabulous and beautiful.”
“Wow...”
They had begun flirting again as usual, but Cecily was excited to hear these new stories about their youth.
“You’re all ready now, Lady Cecily.”
“Thank you, Maria!”
Excited, Cecily leapt up.
Maria straightened out the train of Cecily’s wedding dress. Seeing Cecily stand there in her wedding gown, Sewell couldn’t help but murmur.
“You look truly beautiful, Cecily.”
“She does. More beautiful than me...for today, at least,” Greta said with decorum.
“Thank you, mom and dad,” Cecily said with a smile.
Maria carefully handed the veil to Greta. It was the same veil Greta had worn when she’d married Sewell. There had been some adjustments to the lace as Maria fixed it up to be a little more modern.
Sewell started sobbing as he watched mother and daughter face one another. This was a meaningful moment, but Greta then spoke with extreme frankness.
“Cecily, this frail veil is not enough to protect you from disaster.”
Cecily was stunned for a moment by this blunt statement.
“Is that something you should be saying at a time like this?”
Her face, which was still facing down, twisted unhappily. She had been looking forward to the ceremony, but this was now threatening to ruin it.
Greta let out a cheeky chuckle. She placed the veil with unusual gentleness upon Cecily’s head.
“Which is why you need Zeke to protect you. And likewise, you need to protect him. That’s what marriage is.”
“Right.”
“There’ll be lots of laughs and lots of fights, so enjoy your life together with him, okay? My darling Cecily.”
“Thanks, mom.”
Cecily sniffed back the tears which threatened to ruin her makeup.
The pair smiled at one another through the veil.
“Okay, let’s go!” Cecily said with a big smile. She linked her arms through each of her parents’.
The doors to the chapel opened.
Some of the children who couldn’t wait any longer had already started singing a hymn. Their cheerful voices, which could be heard from outside, made Cecily smile.
After taking the bouquet from Greta’s hand, she walked through the doors and along the white carpet that had been rolled out in the aisle. The flower boys and girls cheerfully scattered pink petals before her as she walked.
“Cecily, you look so beautiful. I’m so happy for you!”
Charlotte, who was sitting in the seats in her own beautiful dress, called out, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. Alphonse was there beside her. As for Maria, she was also the master of ceremonies, so she was up at the altar, where she was clapping.
Aside from her friends from the royal capital, the room was full of familiar faces.
“Congrats, Cecily!”
“Look for me when you throw the bouquet!”
“Hey, that’s no fair! Cheater! Throw it to me, Cecily!”
“No, me! Pleaaase!”
It was a wedding full of cheer, without a single person managing to merely watch in silence. Cecily was unable to keep a straight face and refrain from replying, so she called out over the clamor.
“Thank you all so much for today!”
She was positively beaming as she waded through the sea of petals before her.
Cecily hadn’t even been engaged, yet here she was at her own wedding. Not only that, when the party was over, they needed to head back down the mountain, hop back into their carriages, and make their way back to the royal capital. It was to be a busy day.
Yes, maybe this went against all sense of reason. The princesses in Cecily’s beloved storybooks never hustled and bustled to pull together last-minute weddings.
But that’s fine. This is how Zeke and I do things.
They had never followed the traditional expectations of a relationship, not since the beginning. Trying something a bit reckless like this wasn’t bad. She was sure they would look back on this day, years or even decades from now, with a smile and say, “That was quite the silly thing we did, huh?”
It was the duty of the groom, already standing at the altar, to lift her veil.
Today Cecily was wearing high heels, so when she arrived at the altar, her face was much closer to his than usual. Cecily had to stifle a squeal of excitement at seeing him in his tuxedo.
He looks SO good...!
It was painful to keep a lid on her excitement, but she did her best.
Black hair slicked back. Sharp, hazel eyes. Zeke’s body was enveloped in his white tuxedo, but his well-defined musculature was obvious to anyone.
So dashing! You’re too dashing, Zeke!
Zeke had lifted the veil from Cecily’s face, and seeing him straight on was almost enough to make Cecily faint.
“Ahh...”
Cecily wanted to bite down on her lip to bring herself back to her senses, but Maria’s warning echoed in her mind. All she could do was let out a happy sigh.
However, Zeke had been quiet the whole time. She frowned in concern.
“Are you okay, Zeke?”
“Sorry, Cecily. You’re so beautiful that I was struck speechless.”
Zeke’s blushing cheeks showed that these words came from the heart. Cecily did a happy spin, filled with joy at Zeke’s unfettered compliment.
“We actually used a lace curtain as a basis for this dress. It might be a bit more cheap-looking compared to the ones you would see in the royal capital, but...”
Maria had helped a little, but it was Cecily who’d chiefly made the dress. She’d added ribbons and frills, and worked hard to make it as beautiful as she could.
The décolletage exposed Cecily’s unblemished skin, and the skirt of her dress fell to around her knees—the length was picked so that Cecily, who was unused to wearing heels, wouldn’t fall over. A golden anklet was wrapped around one of her well-defined ankles, and glittered in the light. Her shoulder-length hair had been put up in a half-up half-down style by Maria.
I hope my hair grows a bit longer for our wedding in the royal capital...
As Cecily twirled her hair around a finger, Zeke shook his head.