Princess Shu

Fortunately, Valia did not seem to notice Schuden’s flinching, but that didn’t stop her from opening her eyes wide in amazement.

 Was it such a surprise to hear that she was pretty?

As Valia showed such an unusual reaction to what Killian said without much thought, he felt awkward and did not know what to say. He heard that one went through various emotional changes on the day of the wedding, but he had no idea that it applied for men as well. That’s right, Schuden thought this was all because of the wedding.

Then, Valia said a few words to him.

“You’re handsome too, Your Excellency.”

It was rare for him to receive such an honest and straightforward compliment, so Schuden had nothing to say. She was by far the first person who made him speechless. Whether she knew this or not, his bride in front of him just smiled.

‘…I have thought as such since before.’

Schuden thought that Valia had such a sweet smile and that it was exceptionally refreshing. But it did not mean that she was not pretty when she did not smile. No one could deny that she was a beautiful bride today. The word ‘pretty’ that Schuden unintentionally uttered was also half true. He had already forgotten that he had recently evaluated Valia as ‘somehow pretty’.

“It’s already late. Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

Save for rain, snow, or hail, as long as it wasn’t a very hot or cold day, most weddings were held in the manor’s garden. The weather was clear and warm today so the ceremonial hall was set up in Garth’s garden. Normally, Valia would have looked around the huge mansion, but now, she was so nervous she couldn’t think about anything else. As she was headed to the garden with Schuden, Valia let out a sigh and said.

“I’m so nervous.”

“No need to be nervous.”

“I’m worried I might make a mistake. I should do well.”

A surprisingly reliable answer came back to her rhetorical monologue.

“Then I will make up for your mistakes, that’s what a husband is for.”

Valia let out a soft laugh. She was still shaking but the hand that was holding hers felt more reliable. Before that, she thought if she made a mistake during the wedding she would just let it go. It was a thought that would make Schuden raise his eyebrows if he heard of it but Valia had that thought as if it was nothing. She made up her mind again and then she blinked her eyes.

It was the garden.

The bright sunlight poured in and the sound announcing the entrance of the bride and groom could be heard. The murmuring had stopped and the eyes of the people who were freely moving about turned to the front of the podium. It was a wedding custom to never look back no matter how curious they were. It was fortunate for Valia. If so many guests were looking at her all at once, her legs would have gone weak.

Schuden and Valia stood in front of the long red road. A loud voice rang out.

“The entrance of the groom and the bride!”

An elegant tune played, the couple held hands and walked down the road side by side. Each step was a trembling one, but their firm hand holding gave her great support. The tension slowly subsided. There was not much time left until the ceremony.

In the guest’s seat, the ladies had their eyes wide open.

“Oh my gosh. That’s Marchioness Joanne’s dress.”

“It really is. I thought she was going to show off a new dress…”

They were wondering what had happened, but soon they were fascinated by the beauty of the wedding dress. All the decorations on the dress, which seemed to have been made with great care by the designer, were woven carefully. The designer did not say she poured her heart and soul into it for nothing.

“But still…it was quite beautiful.”

“I know, right? I think this is the first time I have seen such beautiful lace. The lady of House of Garth was adorned elegantly, she deserves to dress up gorgeously to the extent that she was comparable with Her Imperial Majesty the Empress.”

“But still, she’s the bride of the Marquess Garth. How can she not show a new dress?”

“That’s right. This has never happened before. And it is not like House of Garth is just an ordinary family. Tsk tsk.”

As Valia had expected, not everyone responded favorably to her wedding dress. However, the unique and sophisticated decoration where the neck and arms were all wrapped in lace was definitely a refreshing shock. The ladies who were sensitive to fashion and had good eyes paid attention to that part. Fortunately, Valia could not hear the guests. There were only whispers in her ears. Thus, she could concentrate just on walking. 

The road ended before she realized it. At the end of the road, there was a podium where the wedding officiant would stand. The groom and the bride stopped in front of the podium and waited for the wedding officiant to come out.

“The entrance of the wedding officiant!”

A roar echoed through the garden, like the announcement of the entrance of the groom and the bride. But there was something different from before.

“Strange… Why isn’t the wedding officiant coming out?”

The wedding officiant did not come out. Calm music continued to be played but it could not hide the murmurs that had spread. As the wedding officiant did not appear for a longer period of time, the whispering noise gradually grew louder. The High Priest’s assistant priest, who was seated in the frontmost of the distinguished guest’s seat, frowned.

“High Priest, why isn’t the wedding officiant coming out?”

“It looks like something happened to the wedding officiant.”

“Maybe the Holy Nation made a mistake and didn’t send a priest to officiate?”

“Are you saying they misunderstood the date?”

“That could be it… But I think they may have misunderstood your attendance in this wedding as a wedding officiant.”

“If so, this is a disaster! Go ahead and send an urgent message to the Holy Nation.”

“Yes, High Priest.”

The regular priest ran out. The High Priest was nervous, he had a rough idea of what was going on. They seemed to have mistaken his attendance as a wedding officiant. It was very rare for a High Priest to attend a wedding so it was understandable why they were mistaken.

‘What should I do?’

It was not very rare for a wedding to be delayed. However, Marquess Garth was not a very patient man. Moreover, he had pushed Valia as the bride, saying that it was God’s will. At this rate, Marquess Garth might insist that God was trying to prevent this marriage, seeing how it was on the verge of getting canceled.

Due to Shaun and Robin’s ironclad defense, the High Priest could only meet Valia a few times. Even so, Schuden’s knights were always with her. He wanted to have a more honest talk with her, such as how the Marquess had treated her, and fathom the Marquess’ intentions, but Shaun never allowed them to meet.

[You can step on my dead body if you really want to have a private conversation with her.]

[That’s right! We will protect her even at the risk of our lives!]

It was a resolute voice that would make people misunderstand that the High Priest was tormenting the Marchioness-to-be. With even the knight’s resolution to die, the High Priest could never meet Valia privately.

Eventually, the High Priest alone was thrown into a state of confusion. Seeing how he accepted the marriage, it seemed that he liked her. But seeing that he did not take her to his manor immediately, it did not seem like he was really into her.

He was a little surprised to hear that the wedding date was moved up. But he guessed that Schuden was probably trying to take his bride away because he distrusted himself as the High Priest. 

‘This is really difficult.’

The most urgent thing now was that there was no wedding officiant. Currently, there was a high-ranking priest who assisted the High Priest, a number of regular priests, and also High Priest Philemon himself, but they were unable to officiate.

The reason was simple.

Only the priest whose name was engraved on the wedding stamp could officiate.

A wedding stamp was a kind of carving and certificate to prove the wedding. The names of the bride and groom, the name of the priest who officiated, and the wedding date were engraved on a wide panel. After applying ink to it and stamping it on paper, one sheet each was given to the groom, bride, and the temple. It was a different concept from the legal marriage certificate presented to the Empire. Rather, this was a marriage certificate presented to God.

‘It seems that something has happened.’

Schuden’s expression turned cold. Judging from the circumstances, it seemed that something had happened to the wedding officiant. When he looked again, the faces of his aides, including the general butler, had turned pale. Since the ceremony had just begun, they must have been unable to tell him. Moreover, there were no other nobles besides Schuden in Garth’s manor.

A wedding without an officiant could not be called a wedding. Such weddings were not recognized by the temple. For the people who lived somewhere difficult to summon a priest, they would get holy water from the temple, put it on the best tableware, and perform the officiating. But that was the case with very poor commoners. For a noble─for the Marquess Garth at that─to have such a wedding, it would be better not having one at all.

Actually, it did not really matter. Schuden was fine no matter what other people said. There would be no one who would dare act disrespectfully in front of him. If there was even one such person, he just needed to get rid of them as usual. Other than that, everything was fine with him. Because he did not care about people talking behind his back, as long as it did not reach him.

‘But.’

Would the woman standing next to him be okay? Schuden slightly moved his head over to look at Valia. Just like her first impression; she looked determined, she did not show any noticeable reaction. Her pink lips were tightly shut, but that was all.

And her silvery-gray eyes.

Her eyes that were just silently only looking at the podium kept getting his attention. He did not know the reason why. Schuden had never tried to get a clear reason for how he was feeling in the first place.

The ramblings in the guest’s seats had changed to whispering. Schuden’s sense of hearing was very good, so he could catch everything the guests were saying even in the midst of confusion. Contrary to his expressionless face, his mind raced quickly.

The first thing that came to his mind was to postpone the wedding.

And there was no other solution than that. He did not mind the cost of rescheduling the wedding, but the problem was Valia’s position on the matter. The people were already fiercely rambling about the wedding. If Killian had postponed the wedding, Valia would be the main topic of their gossip in the future.

Then, there was one other way.

Schuden looked into the air once. Following his principle, he did not ponder for a long time. Schuden gave a bit of strength to the hand he was holding. Valia turned her gaze to him. Schuden asked her.

“Valia, do you have any intention of breaking up with me?”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t want to rush you, but we don’t have time. Yes or no?”

It was a sudden and flustered question, but the answer was surprisingly simple.

“N, no.”

“That’s great.”

For a very brief moment, there was a ghost of a smile on Schuden’s face. His red eyes, which had always harbored the relaxation that only the strong could have, were relaxed even in this situation.

He whispered into Valia’s ears.

“Neither do I.”

“…Pardon?”