I listened to the bells chime as I waited with bated breath for the large door in front of me to open. On the other side was the royal chapel. Really, I had no business going near the place. But, because I was getting married at the same time that Miss Maria would marry His Majesty, and because of the King’s consideration for me, the ceremony was being held here.
Normally, only nobles were allowed inside. Today, we had the archbishop, guests from other countries, nobles with ties to the royal family, our companions from our journey, and Sir Celes’s parents attending. His parents and I were the only commoners there, and the thought of being so ordinary in comparison terrified me.
Now wasn’t the time to think of things like that, though. Miss Maria was with me, and I was heading towards Sir Celes. Being lowborn or ordinary didn’t matter. There were people who wanted me for being myself, and I could walk with my head held high because of them.
As we stepped inside the chapel, everyone turned to look at Miss Maria and me. Some were smiling, some were crying, some were just observing... There were lots of different people; out of all of them, the ones giving us the gentlest looks were, of course, Sir Celes and His Majesty.
The King wore his crown and an outfit to match Miss Maria. Sir Celes had officially quit the Knights a few days ago, so instead of his uniform, he was in a white outfit. Since I wasn’t used to seeing him out of uniform, I was captivated by his handsomeness. Of course he looked good in anything!
But I had no time to stare. The music started the moment Miss Maria and I entered, and the ceremony began. Step by step, I approached the person I loved most in the world.
Lots of things had happened up until that point. My mother had died; I had gone into debt; I had started working at the castle; I’d met Sir Celes; monsters had attacked; I had joined the journey of purification.
All of my past experiences flashed before my eyes as I walked.
I was happy when I became friends with Miss Maria; worried when we all got separated; overjoyed to learn that Sir Celes loved me too; relieved when we purified the last Cristallo Sacro; and scared when I was alone again.
And I was here now because of all of those experiences.
I had always thought I was alone, but there were always people by my side. The reason I had been scared was because I had never looked around. There were people who would have helped if I had only asked, but I just tried to do everything by myself. I’d forced myself not to cry, thinking it would do nothing, and just did my best to survive.
I wanted to treasure the people who treasured me, too. I didn’t have my magic soap bubbles anymore. Instead, I was just powerless Lucia, but there were things that even I could do. I decided I would do my best to live hand in hand with my beloved. If thinking of others would become my power, that must be the strongest magic there was.
“Lucia,” Sir Celes smiled as brightly as the sun as he took my hand.
I was sure I must have been the happiest person in the world as he did.