“I saw her a few times while staying at the Grand Duke’s residence,” Leah replied.
“What about you, Eric?”
“I arrived by train this morning.
I only briefly greeted her earlier, while she was preparing for the wedding.”
It was true.
The procedures for a cadet to leave the academy were incredibly complicated.
He had left as swiftly as possible, but arriving on the morning of the wedding was the earliest he could manage.
“What did Chloe say?” Leah pressed.
“What do you mean, what did she say?” Eric huffed.
“I barely had a chance to exchange words with her.
I was whisked away after barely catching a glimpse of her face.”
He rushed to the temple where the wedding was held, but Eric could only exchange a glance with Chloe as she was just leaving the prayer room.
This was because he, too, was intercepted by the Grand Duke’s servants.
“You are Lord Amboise’s younger brother, correct?”
Even for the bride’s family, there was appropriate attire befitting the time and place.
The servants took away the uniform Eric had arrived in and styled his hair.
A woman named Julia pressed Eric’s cadet uniform, which had been wrinkled on the train, to a razor-sharp crease.
He almost asked if she had served in the military herself.
“Considering all that,” Leah commented, her gaze appreciative, “You cleaned up quite nicely, didn’t you?
You look rather dashing.”
Eric glared at Leah, who was openly admiring him, and admonished her.
“What ‘is’ all this?
Strangers simply dragged me off, washed me, and dressed me as they pleased; it was utterly absurd.”
“Why?
I like it,” Leah countered with a shrug.
“And Iris looks adorable, doesn’t she?”
Similarly dressed in a noticeably splendid dress and even wearing silk gloves, Leah lifted up the dozing Iris and smiled nonchalantly.
Even Eric, who was utterly oblivious to such niceties, could recognize at once that the dress Iris was wearing was crafted from a high-quality fabric that the Amboise household budget couldn’t even dream of affording.
Moreover, her hair was styled so exquisitely that the birthmark behind her ear—which others would invariably point out or inquire about whenever they saw Iris—didn’t even draw a second glance.
Even so, Eric still couldn’t hide his displeasure.
“Grinning simply because you’re wearing a fancy dress,” he hissed.
“Are you happy when people are chattering away about us like that behind our backs?”
Leah quietly looked at her hot-headed brother, then tightly gripped his arm and twisted it, a warning in her eyes.
Eric barely stifled a yelp.
“So, should I cry instead?” Leah asked, her voice dangerously low.
“Hey!” Eric yelped.
“Shut up and stay still.
When have you ever seen Chloe be wrong?”
“Yeah,” Eric retorted, wincing.
“She got a ton of questions wrong in Ethics class back in school.”
There was something Eric had forgotten: the fact that his sister hadn’t yet dug her fingernails into the arm she was pinching.
Eric couldn’t even scream, only twisting his body in agony before barely surviving the ordeal.
Leah whispered quietly.
“Chloe chose this.
Let’s just watch and see.”
Threatened with the very real risk of his arm being severed if he didn’t comply, Eric had no choice but to shut his mouth.
The people who had been chattering excitedly only settled into their seats after the bells announced the commencement of the wedding vow ceremony.
Even then, their murmurs persisted.
“As the proxy of the ‘Dragon Ibaneres’,” the priest intoned, “I stand before the blessed union of Curtis Sean Berk and Chloe Amboise.”
Even while the priest came out and performed the ritual of offering the scrolls from the ‘Sanctification’ and ‘Blood Oath’ ceremonies—rituals performed before the main event—to the dragon, lips continued to chatter ceaselessly.
“They did manage to assemble most of the formalities,” a guest whispered approvingly.
“Grand Duke Berk’s temperament wouldn’t allow for anything less,” another replied.
“If he missed even one detail, the King would surely hold him accountable.”
“Crown Prince Frederick is truly remarkable as well,” someone else chimed in.
“Even if he is the sole heir to the throne…”
They giggled and murmured at an even closer distance than usual, fearful of being overheard, ensuring their slander did not travel far.
However, it was clearly heard by the Royal Guards standing on both sides of the aisle as a matter of protocol, right next to the seats.
“Damn’, they certainly are chattering away,” Georges, the First Squad Leader standing at the very front, muttered under his breath.
Ezra, standing on the opposite side, twitched a corner of his mouth.
The Third Squad Leader, positioned behind Georges, spoke quietly.
“Hey,” the Third Squad Leader whispered, “I still can’t believe it.
Is this really happening?”
“I feel like I’m dreaming right now too,” another soldier chimed in.
“Someone pinch me—or better yet, stab me with a sword.”
“Both of you, silence yourselves,” Ezra snapped, his voice sharp.
Everyone fell silent at Ezra’s sharp command.
Their gazes remained fixed on the altar.
However, as the priest’s preliminary rituals and prayers dragged on, Georges, unable to endure the silence any longer, opened his mouth once more.
“Honestly,” Georges murmured, “I volunteered for the ceremonial guard just to see if it was truly real.”
“You too?
I thought I was the only one…” another whispered back.
“Hey, come to think of it, Ezra, are you okay?
Your parents and Chloe…”
“I said silence!” Ezra hissed, cutting him off.
“We’re in the middle of a ceremony.”
Ezra cut him off even more fiercely than before.
Georges, feeling awkward, pursed his lips.
But only for a moment.
As soon as he made eye contact with Grand Marshal Victor of the Royal Army, standing right below the altar, he snapped them shut.
It was no secret among them that about three days ago, the King had summoned Grand Marshal Victor and thoroughly reprimanded him, demanding, “Why did you go all the way to the Navy to draft an aide, and are you out of your mind to assign a female aide to Grand Duke Berk?!”
Grand Marshal Victor, of course, felt it was entirely unfair.
He had barely managed to secure an aide when no one else was available, only to be cursed at by the King because the two of them had fallen for each other.
Perhaps because of that, Grand Marshal Victor’s glare was exceptionally fierce.
Getting on his bad side at a time like this would spell serious trouble.
Regardless, the priest stepped down from the altar.
Grand Marshal Victor sighed and went up to the altar as if taking over a post.
Crown Prince Frederick, who had been sitting in the royal seats, also stood up and took his place below the altar.
Now that the procedure of declaring to the deity was complete, it was time for the wedding vow ceremony to begin.
The court orchestra, which had been silent during the ritual, began to play.
Ezra turned around and shouted loudly.
“Everyone, forward!”
The guards lined up in front of the wedding hall entrance marched in with disciplined precision and joined the squad leaders.
Along with that, all the guests stood up and turned around as if on cue.
It was to witness the entrance of the main characters.
“Present, arms!” Ezra commanded.
The ceremonial swords were much longer and straighter than those the guards usually carried.
As the guards raised their swords in unison, a truly magnificent scene unfolded.
Even the guests who found this wedding entirely unwelcome offered light gasps of admiration.
Furthermore, everyone was reminded once again that Grand Duke Berk was a war hero.
Naturally, expectations swelled.
Wasn’t the man about to appear from back there unrivaled in the capital for his magnificence?
“Oof, he’s so handsome even just in his uniform,” her friend sighed back.
“I came today just to catch a glimpse of His Highness the Grand Duke.”
What a waste… Several young ladies were already sighing with regret.
It was already known that the woman to be the bride was not renowned for her beauty.
However, it was the wedding of the Grand Duchess Berk.
Surely she would be dressed to befit the title.
There were plenty of ladies whose eyes shone with subtle anticipation.
“I heard Crown Prince Frederick opened the Royal Treasury?” a woman inquired.
“Why, rumor has it that Queen Mildred’s ‘toilette room’, which had been closed, was also opened,” her companion replied.
“It’s only been a week.
How much could they have prepared?”
“Still, the Grand Duke is wealthy,” another interjected.
“Besides, since the woman is so sorely lacking in grace, they have to at least dress her handsomely.”
“That is true,” her neighbor agreed.
“I wonder if it will be like pearls before swine?”
Amidst the insidious sneers and dismissive hand gestures, there was a clear, unspoken expectation.
How wonderful would they look?
What kind of magnificent dress would she be wearing?
How luxurious would the jewelry be?
The doors opened.
The two protagonists of the widespread rumors entered the hall without delay.
People held their breath.
Amidst the silence, Ezra looked straight at the hall’s entrance.
As dazzlingly beautiful as ever, Grand Duke Curtis Berk.
And standing next to him was his close friend.
Ezra’s tension instantly released.
He had continued to doubt the reality of their marriage until he arrived at the wedding, but seeing the two standing side by side in the hall, it struck him as surprisingly familiar.
Except for the fact that they were linking arms.
But thinking about it, it was natural for them to stand side by side.
They were a superior and their aide.
Wasn’t the two of them standing together a common sight, even just on the Royal Guard parade ground?
‘It’s the same look I always see, except for the linked arms.’ Thinking that, he felt ridiculous for his nervousness and relaxed completely.
‘Phew’.
What was I thinking?
Ezra squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, and began to shout commands loudly.
“The holy matrimony of Brigadier General Curtis Siarnach en Ivanes Berk and Warrant Officer Chloe Amboise…?”
‘Wait a minute.’ He stopped speaking and belatedly realized something was profoundly strange.
‘The same look I always see?’
‘It shouldn’t be the same look I always see!’
His command abruptly cut off.
He couldn’t think of the next words.
“The h-holy matrimony…”
For a Royal Guard to make such a mistake during the sword salute at the Grand Duke’s wedding was unheard of.
Normally, everyone would have been appalled.
However, no one blamed Ezra or cast a reproachful look his way.
To be precise, no one noticed Ezra’s mistake.
And for good reason.
“What in the world…”
The appearance of today’s bride and groom, Grand Duke Berk and Warrant Officer Chloe Amboise, was difficult to describe as befitting the main characters of a wedding, no matter how hard one tried.