“But y’know, seeing Leia in that dress made me wanna wear an Elshaidian wedding dress, oh yes.”
Lingsha seemingly had a thing for wedding dresses now.
I bet Renese wedding dresses are totally different.
“You hear that, Johann? I guess when you two get married, you’ll—”
“I repeat, Princess, this conversation is going off the rails! You two are the stars of the day, so please, pay me no heed.”
“No, Johann, it’s very important. You and Lin are my two best friends.”
I meant that. They were both very precious to me. My wedding day was the happiest day of my life, but if I could make a selfish wish, I wanted it to be the happiest day of their lives too.
“Is that so? Well, if you insist, then I, Johann Olbrun, shall prepare the finest wedding dress for you, Lady Lin.”
“Johann…was that a proposal?”
“Er?! Ah?! Th-that wasn’t what I meant!”
“Okay, then what did you mean?”
“N-not what you think! I was just…you see, I was—”
“Johann…know when you’ve been beat, man,” Eric grinned.
“Y-Your Highness?!”
As I listened to their repartee, I became full of inexplicable joy.
Johann sighed in defeat, took a determined breath, and said, “Lady Lin, I adore you with all my heart. And soon, I will have something very important to ask you. Please, let’s leave it at that for today.”
“Haha! Well said, Johann. You’ve gotten so valiant, oh yes.”
“Hmm…I somehow feel I played right into the prince and princess’s hands, but I’ll overlook it…” Johann said, his eyes conflicted. Then he straightened his posture and addressed me. “Prince Eric, Princess Leia, if I may be so bold, your Johann and Lingsha…shall be bodyguards of the crown prince and crown princess with pride. Though I am unworthy of such an honor, I shall pour myself into this work, body and soul. Here’s to hopefully many long years of service.”
Johann’s gaze was sober as he made his promise. His commitment as captain of the guard rang proud with ceremony. From this day forward, he and Lingsha would be bodyguards to the crown prince and crown princess.
“Of course. I’d have nobody else be our bodyguards,” Eric said.
“Yes, I am every bit as honored as you,” I echoed.
“Thank you. I am overjoyed. I shall protect the both of you with my life.”
“Same goes for Lingsha, oh yes. Eric, Leia, nobody’s hurting you on my watch.”
Our two most trusted friends declared their commitment to us with smiles. With both of them by our side, I knew that no matter what difficulties came our way, we would be safe.
“Leia, His Majesty is here.”
“All right.”
After we’d made our rounds at the reception, His Majesty the King made his entrance. The crowd fell silent as he entered regally, all eyes falling on him…
Then the king walked up onto the stage and looked at us. He was about to give us a few words of congratulation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming today. Eric, Leia, congratulations to you both. It was a beautiful ceremony. Today marks the first day of your new life together. May you both have a long and happy marriage.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The king nodded and continued, “Eric and Leia were once a crown prince and his bodyguard. Leia has always been a strong support for Eric, as a saint and as his bodyguard. But now that has changed. Now they are officially husband and wife. It is my hope that they tread life’s paths side by side from now on and support each other.”
The king was always there, watching over us. I savored each and every one of his words.
“Now, Eric, you are the crown prince. If you have dreams for the future of Elshaid, then I hope that you carry them out. This is my heartfelt wish as the king.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“And a word for you, Leia. I know you very well. You’ve been doing the Lord’s work as a saint, but now you must also serve this country as crown princess. Please, take good care of Eric.”
“I will, Your Majesty.”
“Good. Thank you.”
Satisfied, the king took his seat and smiled. Now it was finally time for Eric and me to address the crowd. We ascended to the stage.
“First off, I’d like to thank all of you,” Eric began. “We wouldn’t all be here on this special day if not for you. Thank you. Thank you for helping me begin a new life with the woman I love. I swear to all of you as crown prince that Leia and I will make this kingdom an even better place. I humbly request for your continued faith in me.”
Eric bowed with reverence for everyone in the crowd. The hall burst into applause. It seemed the crowd was quite inspired.
It sounds like the entire kingdom is celebrating us.
The reception hall shook with all the cheers. As I listened, I felt something well up inside of me.
“And now some words from Crown Princess Leia Elshaid.”
This would be my first speech as crown princess. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but with Eric beside me, there was nothing to fear.
“Thank you all, truly, for coming out today to celebrate our special day. I have devoted my life thus far to protecting the honor and glory of Elshaid as a saint. But now my life’s mission will be to support Crown Prince Eric, not as a saint but as his crown princess. I still have much to learn, so I hope that you will all be patient with me.”
When I finished, another loud burst of applause resounded. It reminded me of the moment when Eric announced our engagement—with one major difference.
“All hail Crown Princess Leia! All hail Saint Leia!”
Linboldt’s loud cries rang out over the applause. The nobles who had opposed our marriage when we announced it on Foundation Day now loudly celebrated it.
They accept me—that realization makes me so happy.
I waved to the cheering crowd.
“Leia, there’s something I must tell you again.”
“Yes? What is it.”
“Thank you for marrying me. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Me too…”
I was so happy I wanted to cry. But I couldn’t let myself cry.
After all, this was only the beginning.
The party went on well into the night…
Never before had I ever laughed or smiled so hard as I did that day. Never before had I enjoyed myself so much.
I’ll never forget this day as long as I live. I just know it.
In time, the jubilant party finally came to a close.
And we sent our guests home with smiles on our faces.