“Don’t stare at me,” Lucas snapped. “Hurry up and make preparations.”
“Okey-doke,” the butler said, leaving with his usual cheeky grin as he followed his master’s orders. He opened up the curtains, letting in a stream of bright light.
No doubt Lucas had seen that dream because of the sunny skies. But that wasn’t all. As Leik skillfully helped Lucas prepare and dress for the day, the baron posed a question. “How’s Iris doing?”
“Madam has been busy with the maids since the morning,” the butler replied. “Ladies require more time to get prepared.”
“I see.”
“I suppose this shall be the last time I’ll come and wake you up like this, my lord. In the future, I shall leave it to Kiki.”
When Lucas whirled around, Leik smiled, his silver hair gliding across his shoulders.
“You’ll have your first night together after your wedding, my lord,” he said.
“Just leave,” Lucas ordered.
The butler left with a meaningful smile dancing on his lips. Lucas dropped his gaze to the white sheets and let out a small sigh.
“I should take responsibility and tie up loose ends soon…”
✦ ✦ ✦
🌻 🌻 🌻
IN this kingdom, the customs for weddings were to first visit a church for the couple to exchange vows before a government office accepted the required forms and considered a man and woman to be married officially. Since Lucas and Iris had a mariage blanc, their forms had already been filed.
The two would become an officially wedded couple only after exchanging vows and hosting a ceremony at a church.
It was a bright morning, and spring was in full bloom. The skies of Solalitika were sunny, with the morning dew glittering over the damp greenery. Lucas and Iris’s carriage rolled up at the church in the Solalitikan district. White marble and light-pink flowers decorated the brilliant, white stone building that jutted out toward the ocean, showering the happy couple with its blessings.
The glimmering emerald sea could be seen from the window, and in the center of the building was a wedding aisle, the same color as the sea, stretched out in the direction of the ocean. The aisle, resembling the sea and the voyages that one would need to sail throughout one’s life, was already packed with wedding guests. Lucas glanced at his nervous wife.
“You all right, Iris?” he asked.
“I am,” she replied.
He took his nervous beloved’s hand and escorted her under the anxious gazes of the guests. Lucas slowly walked down the wedding aisle. The hems of Iris’s dress and veil were long, creating a white waterway behind her. In the depths of the church was a statue of a Solalitikan deity, its gaze blessing the happy couple. They stood in front of the officiant, and Lucas and Iris faced each other. Each signed their name on a document approved by the kingdom, placed their hands on top of each other, and exchanged their vows.
It felt like a dream to Lucas. He still couldn’t process reality. Iris, cast under the warm glow of the church’s stained glass, was breathtakingly beautiful.
She was wearing a stunningly white dress made from high-quality silk and a jacquard loom imported from the Orient. They made a dress from scratch based on the wedding gown of Louisa Karelia, Iris’s mother. A few details were tailored to give off an air of elegance suited to Iris’s tastes.
She resembled a blooming white rose, her beauty so otherworldly that it felt like she jumped out of a mystical world. The veil, reflecting the light that came through the stained-glass windows, gave off a rainbow shimmer. Her clear skin, dusted with a special kind of glittering, opalescent powder, made her look lovely and pale. It was as though she was glowing from the inside out.
Iris had personally requested that her hair be let down, her dark, glossy tresses gliding down her shoulders and back. Not even the merchants had ever seen a bride dressed so lavishly with shimmering decorations within the kingdom. The royalty and nobility were restricted by traditional regulations, preventing them from using luxurious materials to their heart’s content.
I had so much fun dressing Iris up, Lucas thought, internally tormented by a myriad of worries that flashed across his mind. I’m more than satisfied with how she looks. He took pride in how he was able to make a noblewoman from a fallen house, who constantly berated herself for being drab and invisible like air, glitter brighter than the sun. He wanted everyone to know just how stunning and gorgeous his wife was, but simultaneously, he felt the greedy desire to monopolize her and hide her from view. Lucas was acutely aware of how contradictory his feelings were, but they undoubtedly clashed in his heart.
He faced his wife, ready to kiss her and seal their vows. When he lifted her veil, Iris gently smiled at him. He was tempted to immediately lock her away, shielding her from everyone else’s view, and he fought against the impulse. Lucas knew that it was imperative for everyone to take in her beauty and have them all see that she would officially become his wife.
In truth, this wedding had been bumped up six months and was hastily thrown together due in no small part to the king’s younger brother. The cunning royal always troubled Lucas.
It all started a couple of months ago…