Epilogue
I was about to collapse from exhaustion in the middle of the royal castle’s bustling dance hall.
“Well done.” Embert chuckled. “That was the last of the greetings.”
I let out a heavy sigh, my eyes watery. After addressing the debutantes, the king had officially announced my engagement to Embert. Then, the torture of receiving congratulations from every present noble had begun. At least Embert had been by my side. When the last conversation finally ended, my legs nearly gave out from beneath me. At last, Embert escorted me to where my friends had gathered.
“Good job, Ally,” Cita said, leading me to the sofa. “Sit here, okay?”
Meanwhile, Cia handed me a glass of juice.
“Thanks, everyone,” I said. “Wow, this is the most exhausted I’ve been all year.”
How does this feel more draining than clearing a dungeon? It’s kind of incredible.
Julietta began cooling me off with her folding fan. “And this year is about to end.” She giggled. “In other words, the most exhausting event came at the finale.”
As I nodded emphatically, Julietta’s adorable smile restored some of my energy.
“Exactly,” I said. “I have a newfound respect for the royal family.”
The thought of enduring this for the rest of my life made me want to cry a little. Strangely, however, talking to my friends helped me recover.
“That said…” Cita began. She and her sister looked between me and Julietta. “I wasn’t surprised by Ally’s dress because I expected it,” she continued, “but Julie’s dress did catch me off guard.”
Cia nodded. “Brothers sure do think alike, huh?”
I wore a silver ball gown with diamonds studding the neckline and hemming. When I’d first put the dress on, its radiance had astounded me. Plus, all my accessories were matching emeralds. Likewise, Julietta wore a green dress with matching amber accessories. In other words, both brothers had given their fiancées dresses and accessories that matched their hair and eye colors.
“Ally’s dress is the color of Embert’s hair,” Lauris said. “But Julie’s dress is the color of my eyes. They’re completely different, no matter how you look at them.”
No one responded to Lauris’s smug declaration.
Yep, brothers sure do think alike, we all thought.
At that moment, Fred approached us with a smirk on his face. “Prince Embert,” he said. “Are you so insecure about your engagement that you have to bring this much attention to it?”
Embert’s lips twisted into a wicked smile. “I’m not the least bit insecure. Rather, I merely wanted to show everyone how well my colors suit Ally.”
Another voice chimed in from a different direction.
“Then why don’t you let her try out my colors as well?” Giusto asked. “I’m sure they would suit her even better.”
The three princes had been bantering with each other in this fashion for the past three or four months.
“You guys sure do get along well,” I’d mentioned at one point.
“Come again?” Embert had responded with a sinister smile.
He’s probably just embarrassed.
As I disregarded the three princes’ argument, Oreste turned to look at me.
“How is Gaetano doing?” he asked.
“He’s fitting in perfectly,” I replied. “Janus and Father train him personally on occasion, so he’s having the time of his life.”
Following the events in the arena, Pieno had been executed. Given the severity of his actions, that had been the natural consequence. That black box had been a cursed artifact, not a magic artifact. According to Custode, it had made me feel sick due to its malevolent aura.
Later, Gaetano and Damiana were stripped of their royal status due to their father Pieno’s crimes. Evidently, Damiana had become a recluse after the fright Embert and Custode had given her. Shortly thereafter, Damiana had been sent to a nun’s convent with lenient rules, as she couldn’t find a decent man to marry her. However, Gaetano had chosen to leave Bragioga himself. Immediately, he’d arrived on our doorstep with a startling proposal.
“I have nothing left to offer you, but would you be my bride, Mary?” he’d asked.
Currently, Mary and Gaetano were living together in a detached villa on our manor’s grounds. Thanks to recommendations from Embert and my family, Gaetano had joined the chivalric order, where he’d quickly distinguished himself. Since Oreste trained with the knights, he and Gaetano occasionally sparred together. The two had become fast friends.
Giusto, who’d begun listening to our conversation at some point, sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. I’ve been worried about Gaetano, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask about him.”
And so, I talked about him a little more.
“Gaetano is very passionate,” I said with a soft laugh. “Occasionally, I see him in the manor with Mary, and he’s head over heels for her. It’s made Janus, of all people, start considering marriage, even though he had no interest in it before. My whole family has been speculating that Mary and Gaetano might have an adorable baby in the near future.”
“I see,” Giusto responded with a smile. “That’s truly wonderful to hear.”
Suddenly, something occurred to me.
“Why don’t you visit our manor soon?” I asked. “You too, Julie. I’ll make sure to let Gaetano know you’re both coming.”
Lauris, Oreste, and—for some reason—Fred expressed their interest in joining as well.
“In that case, why don’t we all have a tea party at my manor?” I suggested.
A moment later, music signaling the start of the dance began to play.
Embert held out his hand to me. “It’s tradition for all debutantes to dance.”
“Of course,” I replied, placing my hand on his without hesitation.
After helping me to my feet, Embert gracefully escorted me to the dance floor and pulled me into his arms. As the music continued, the debutantes danced with light steps. The fluttering of our colorful dresses took on a dreamlike quality. All the while, Embert’s silver hair and emerald eyes sparkled beneath the dazzling light of the chandelier.
I can’t believe I’m marrying such a beautiful man.
I felt as if I were in a dream. Men as gorgeous as Embert didn’t exist on Earth. He would probably be an international celebrity there. As I thought that while dancing, Embert looked at me slightly suspiciously, noticing something amiss with me.
“What are you thinking about while dancing with me?” he asked. “Depending on your answer, I might not forgive you.”