Princess Shu

Schuden knelt down toward the podium while holding Valia’s hand. Seeing him suddenly kneel like that, Valia read the air and followed suit. The general butler who fully knew what Schuden wanted even without it being said, called on the servants with a formidable sense.

“Get rid of the podium, hurry up!”

“Yes, sir!”

The servants, perfectly in harmony, quickly removed the podium. With the podium removed, their wedding stamp was revealed. Shock began to spread across the guests’ faces. They only had one thought in their minds.

“I, Schuden Garth, take Valia Dean to be my wedded wife, and this is my vow.”

Valia’s gaze was frozen.

“I will be with her for all the days of my life, for I speak directly to the heavens, not through witness.”

Her breath.

“I will love only her throughout my life. If I break my vow, I will pay it back with my life.”

The look in her eyes.

It felt like Schuden had put everything to a halt. 

Murmurs spread throughout the guests. It was almost noisy now. Even in the midst of the confusion, Valia could not take her eyes off Schuden.

[The difference is that the couple themselves become the witness to tell the heavens.]

Shaun’s words and memories of her past came to her mind at the same time. Yeri and the Crown Prince’s wedding. A crowd that was so big it was as if nobles from all over the continent had gathered. Valia as a bridesmaid, standing in the back with the other ladies-in-waiting who were chattering next to her. 

[Oh my God! I have never seen a wedding like this before!]

[I heard you attended Marquess Garth’s wedding back then. There were rumors that the wedding was flashy too. Was it really different from Their Imperial Highnesses’ wedding?]

[It was flashy but it was just a normal wedding. It was just like an old-fashioned noble’s wedding. The most interesting thing back then was His Excellency’s face.]

Yes, Schuden Garth in the past obviously 

‘Did not have a second wedding…’

That was right. This was the first wedding for both of them. The moment she realized that, her heart felt like it was going to explode.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The spoken vow was irreversible.

Schuden leaned slowly toward the wedding stamp. He bent his back. His forehead touched the floor. And the moment when he raised himself up again, time passed slowly as if it had stopped for a while. The commotion coming from the guest’s area, spreading like a drop of ink in water, had now turned into a great roar. Their voices pierced the ears. But even in such a noisy environment, there was a strange sense of peacefulness.

His red eyes.

Valia stared at him as if she was possessed. Her head was dizzy. Schuden’s reddish-blonde hair, beautiful profile, and closed lips seemed like it was completely subdivided and tightly put together again. In that amazing harmony, Valia could only read one message.

The same vow.

Valia slowly moved her head. Both her name and Schuden Garth’s name were clear on the wedding stamp. Oath, vow, time, and…

“I, Valia Dean, take Schuden Garth to be my wedded husband, and this is my vow.”

All kinds of thoughts were racing in her head, she could not think of anything else. 

“I will be with him for all the days of my life…for I speak directly to the heavens, not through witness.”

Her voice was not very loud, yet it resounded very clearly in Schuden’s ear.

“I will love only him…”

Even though she was looking at the wedding stamp, she could still feel it; Schuden staring at her, his eyes filled with passion as hot as the burning sun. 

Somehow, she choked up. Sparing a moment to take her breath, She continued slowly.

“Throughout my life. If I break my vow…I will pay it back with my life.”

Valia bowed down towards the wedding stamp. And, as Schuden did, she slowly got up. A momentary silence occurred. Valia was looking at the wedding stamp but Schuden was still looking at her. With the vividness of it all ever present, she could not avoid it anymore. Valia swallowed in her dry throat. She slowly moved her head towards Schuden. A momentary silence passed. Two eyes intertwined in the air. They thought that each other’s gaze seemed somehow complicated.

And they could not figure out why. 

“…Valia.”

Schuden held out his hand with a slightly hoarse voice. Valia did not have time to think long, she just grabbed his hand right away. Schuden’s tough hand tightly held hers. 

When Schuden showed signs of getting up, the bridesmaids standing next to the bride rushed up and helped Valia.

“The bride and groom will now greet the guests!”

The bustling guests suddenly became quiet. Schuden and Valia turned side by side toward the guest seat. Countless ladies and gentlemen were looking at the young couple.

Though the commotion had stopped, the silent clamor could not be eliminated. Shock, envy, admiration, or surprise; a whirlpool of various emotions filled the elegant eyes of the nobles. That’s right, this was a unique wedding ceremony that had not been held by even the Emperor and the Empress.

Even Schuden, who understood the lifestyle of nobles better than anyone else, had no idea how long today’s wedding would be discussed in high society in the future. Around five years? Or maybe three years? While he had such thoughts in his head, Schuden steadily bowed his head, with Valia following after him. 

She was nervous, it was the first time she had so many eyes on her. But nevertheless, her attitude was flawless.

“The bride and groom will now bow to each other.”

After facing each other, the newlywed couple took a couple of steps back and bowed to each other. It was a courtesy to the one who just became their spouse as of today. They bowed down at a similar depth and got up at a similar speed. 

Their eyes met. Valia was somehow embarrassed by the red eyes that were fixed only at her. She looked down and avoided his gaze. But for whatever little effort Valia had made, it was all for naught.

“The bride and groom will now seal the marriage with the kiss of vow!”

At that moment, Valia was frozen. The kiss of vow. It was also clearly stated in the marriage procedures explanation book handed over by the general butler. In fact, Valia could not sleep well because of this part. What kind of sentiment would there be just by touching lips for a moment? But the person she would be kissing was Schuden, the man who put such wild imagination in her mind with his languid, decadent red eyes. Even his lips that touched the back of her hands felt so strange. 

And now, he would do it on her lips!

“Valia.”

A gentle low-pitched voice called out her name. Valia raised her head. She was the only one who was nervous. Meanwhile, he did not even show any signs of agitation. He had an extremely aristocratic and upright appearance. Valia hid the tension that she showed for a brief moment. She raised her chin to the point where she looked haughty. Of course, her hands were shaking.

‘She’s nervous.’

Schuden was originally sensitive to others’ movements. In addition, if he had only one other person to care about now, it was the bride in front of him. Her hands that were holding each other alone were slightly shaking.

‘But then again, the atmosphere is like this.’

The kiss of vow was the epitome of a wedding. However, the nobles sitting in the guest seat seemed too distracted to cheer. There were only slight differences in their reactions but most of them were frozen from shock. 

They would only pull themselves together if I pour a bucket of cold water on them.

While thinking cynically, Schuden took a step closer to his bride.

“…”

Her long eyelashes trembled. For the first time, the pale face that had been resolute throughout this whole experience showed tension. But even that lasted for a brief moment before disappearing altogether. Whenever Valia did this, Schuden was always amazed. She was better at hiding emotions than the noblewomen in the capital.

‘I’m sure she was born with it.’

Considering Valia’s origin, it was reasonable for Schuden to arrive at that conclusion. She even said that she was not often invited to tea parties. Perhaps because his bride kept trying to hide her feelings, Schuden wanted to see Valia express her feelings. It was for that reason that he took a step closer.

As if to repay Schuden’s efforts, Valia’s silvery-gray eyes began to shake as if an earthquake had occurred. Just as when she was about to take a step backward, she grasped the situation at hand and stayed still. 

She could not make eye contact with him, and so she chose to shut her eyes tight and completely close her lips. It was a surprisingly refreshing reaction, one that could make people misunderstand that she was being tortured with water. Schuden smiled, he did not know the exact reason why. 

He grabbed her chin and slightly bent his back forward.

Their lips touched.

It was not a deep kiss. Nevertheless, exclamations of ‘Oh!’ erupted from the guest seat. A momentary stay, Schuden removed his lips off hers without further intrusion.

Valia had her eyes closed, she was not able to see Schuden while he kissed her. Still, she felt the vivid sensation of his lips pressing against hers. It neither smelled like sweet chocolate nor did she feel like a bell had rung in her ears, as she had read in the novel. And yet, her heart was pounding. It was fortunate that the kiss of vow was only done once, not thrice. If their thin skin touched again, he could hear her helpless heartbeat racing.

As he lifted himself away from her, and as his shadow dispersed away from her body, Valia slowly opened her eyes. 

“With this, you are hereby husband and wife!”

A strong voice announced that the wedding was over.

“The bride and groom will now exit the area!”

Schuden reached out to Valia. She laid her hand on him without difficulty. Schuden grabbed her hand. He could just snatch her hand and walk away, but Schuden was always waiting for her. Valia almost thought of herself as pathetic for being touched by such small considerations but she convinced herself that it was because Schuden was good-looking.

Schuden whispered softly.

“Let’s go.”

Valia nodded. They stepped back to the road they had walked in. The guests were mesmerized by the unexpected second wedding. But, as they were well-educated nobles, they left behind quiet yet regular applause. Schuden and Valia walked out. 

The eyes of the nobles flashed as they watched the couple gradually getting further away.

The Gel Empire’s high society would be busy for a while. Standing in the center, of course, was Marchioness Garth─a common thought of the nobles who attended this ceremony.