Chapter 33
“Luhel! You look great today!”
“…Mm.”
Luhel was also one of my half-brothers, just above Moren in the sibling order.
Unlike Gobard, Derian, or Brindel, he didn’t have a strong presence. He was timid and quiet, so we didn’t interact much.
Even now, Luhel only answered me a few times before sealing his lips shut again.
Not that it mattered. Talking to Luhel was just a natural way to observe the temple surroundings without raising suspicion.
‘So that’s how they arranged the seats.’
At the very front, the best table belonged to the Emperor and the Empresses. The Empresses were already present, chatting with nobles, while the Emperor’s seat remained empty.
The next table was for the Bobonshire couple and their close relatives. They seemed thirsty and kept drinking water.
‘Then in the next row, there are Gobard’s siblings and the Dukes, like us.’
After that, nobles were seated in order of rank.
As I casually scanned the temple, I met Kinia’s eyes at the neighboring table.
She waved lightly with a cheeky expression.
I also waved back lightly, but deliberately avoided looking at Derian, who was staring holes into me from beside her.
‘It looked like Kinia frowned and smacked the back of Derian’s head.’
Just before the wedding, the temple was filled with excitement.
Well, it made sense.
‘The union between the imperial family and Bobonshire, delayed for five years, is finally happening.’
“Your Grace, will you return to your estate right after the wedding?”
Suddenly, Brindel’s voice came from beside me.
To his gentle question, the Duke replied stiffly.
“Yes. There is much to do in the territory.”
‘Well, he’s not even the groom, yet he’s so tense.’
Even if he was worried about Agasa, there was no way the head of House Sandelin could skip the Crown Prince’s wedding.
So, the Duke had no choice but to entrust Agasa’s matters to Brillint.
‘Brillint will handle things well enough.’
Besides, I was helping in every way possible, so failure was unlikely.
Luckily, the Duke was always stoic and unreadable.
But his hollow answer made Brindel look concerned.
“Overworking yourself will harm your health, Your Grace. I heard that the Lady Sandelin, Neroli’s maid, is accompanying you. Did something happen in the estate?”
“There’s nothing for Your Highness to be concerned about.”
At that moment, I nudged the Duke’s shin under the table.
He flinched at the kick, and I smiled sweetly at Brindel.
“But Brindel, how did you know?”
“Hm?”
“That my maid was quitting her job.”
Noticing something odd at my question, the Duke blinked and came to his senses.
I tilted my head as I glanced at him.
“Brillint only decided to quit very recently, you know?”
“Hehe, well…”
Brindel whispered kindly.
“I just guessed.”
“Guessed?”
“Lady Sandelin, your maid, used to come to the palace every day, right? But for the past few days, she’s been absent from your palace.”
He took a sip of water from the table and continued.
“Coincidentally, around that time, Duke Sandelin came to the capital. So I made a little deduction—maybe he came to take his daughter back.”
“Oh, I see!”
I clapped my hands in admiration.
“Brindel, you’re so smart! Amazing!”
“It’s nothing, Neroli.”
‘This is why I can never let my guard down.’
Brindel.
He had that signature gentle aura and soft-spoken tone that disarmed people quickly.
‘And he’s unusually power-hungry for someone like that.’
Even now—look at him.
He’s using this small moment to probe into the relationship between me and the Sandelin Duke.
The Duke must’ve realized his mistake, because he let out a small cough.
I turned away from him and continued chatting with Brindel.
‘The uptight Duke and Brindel don’t get along well anyway.’
Luhel seemed disinterested in the wedding and continued reading his book.
Naturally, my eyes went to the cover of Luhel’s book—then the rear entrance where guests had been bustling earlier closed.
And the front doors swung wide open as the Emperor entered.
All nobles at the tables stood at once and bowed respectfully.
The Emperor walked to the podium and spoke leisurely to the nobles.
“Today is a meaningful day, for I gain a new member in my family. I sincerely thank you all for attending and making this event shine.”
As if rehearsed, all the nobles responded in unison.
“It is an honor, Your Majesty.”
Pleased by this, the Emperor nodded and sat at his seat.
Preparations for the wedding were now complete.
Following the other nobles, I took my seat and murmured.
“It’s starting now.”
The Duke of Sandelin silently nodded at my words.
Soon, all the lights in the temple except those illuminating the virgin road went out.
Then came the crisp voice of a royal attendant.
“Groom, enter!”
With majestic music playing, the back doors opened, and Gobard walked in, expressionless, wearing formal robes.
As he reached the front via the virgin road, the bride, Ebwa, appeared.
Wearing a dazzling white wedding gown, Ebwa’s face was full of regret—when she should have been flushed with excitement and nervousness.
‘Yikes, Ebwa seems completely checked out of this wedding.’
Just as I planned.
While the bride looked gloomy, I—seated among the guests—felt a flicker of anticipation for what was to come.
***
The ceremony was just as boring as expected.
The cardinal from the Dalia Church, brought only for formality, recited blessings in a monotonous tone that filled the hall endlessly.
“Oh holy Dalia, before you, these two swear a new life. As spouses, they shall cherish and love each other…”
I let it wash over me and whispered to Brindel.
“I’ve never seen that cardinal before. Don’t we usually call a specific cardinal for weddings like this?”
“Yes, but His Majesty probably didn’t like having the same cardinal used for nobles. So he brought someone else.”
Apparently, it was Cardinal Senfran.
I nodded casually at Brindel’s explanation and changed the topic.
“By the way, it’s great for the Crown Prince to have such a powerful ally like Bobonshire, right?”
“Indeed.”
Brindel answered gently, but Neskal, sensitive to emotions, slithered in and clicked his tongue.
[Tsk tsk. Can’t even congratulate your own brother’s wedding without being jealous? How disgraceful.]
Displeased, Neskal flicked his tail at Brindel’s smiling lips.
I smirked at the action.
‘Well, I’m not purely celebrating Gobard’s wedding either.’
[Hey! My master is never disgraceful! Whatever the master does is just and right! Don’t you dare insult them!]
Utterly biased devotion.
As I enjoyed the spirit’s affection, Marin and Modway appeared.
Modway immediately headbutted Neskal.
[Hehe! Don’t get too close without me!]
[Geez! Don’t interrupt my precious alone time with the master, Modway!]
[Hmph~ There’s no such thing as “alone time” in our group~]
‘Welcome, Marin and Modway. Did it go well?’
[Yup! Just as we were scrambling the enemies’ minds, the pink-eyed human showed up and knocked them all out! It ended faster thanks to Marin helping!]
[Well~ They’ll probably wake up soon~. But the pink-eyed one took his sister away safely~]
[Wonderful. Everything’s going just as the master wanted.]
As the spirits chattered, I tapped my finger on the table.
‘Good. Brillint safely rescued Agasa.’
I glanced subtly at Duke Sandelin.
Unlike me, he couldn’t communicate in real-time, so he still looked tense.
‘He’ll find out soon enough.’
While I thought this, the cardinal finished his blessing.
“Let us applaud the couple.”
Clap clap clap.
Applause filled the temple.
I too clapped brightly with a smile.
Now, only the ring exchange remained.
An attendant approached Ebwa with a silver tray holding the rings.
The bride first placed the ring on the groom’s finger, followed by the groom doing the same.
Once that was done, the wedding would be over.
The guests stirred when they saw the rings resting on red silk atop the silver tray.
“Oh my, pink diamonds.”
“So that really was the wedding ring, huh?”
“Didn’t Ebwa go around bragging about it?”
“But I still find it strange. The pink diamond ring at auction was a single women’s ring. No one usually buys just one for a wedding, right?”
“Shh! Let it go. It’s a lovely sight, isn’t it? There’s a groom’s ring now too. Don’t dig too deep.”
Knowing the full story, I chuckled quietly to myself.
‘The Emperor actually managed to get another pink diamond.’
It would have been odd if only the bride had one.
The Emperor must’ve barely secured Gobard’s ring in time.
And the expressions on the bride and groom’s faces as they looked at those infamous pink diamonds—were priceless.
“The bride shall now vow her devotion to the groom.”
At the cardinal’s prompt, Ebwa reluctantly picked up the ring.
She glanced up at Gobard’s cold face, then forced the ring onto his fourth finger.
“Now, the groom shall vow his faithfulness to the bride.”
Even as the cardinal spoke, Gobard just stared silently at the pink diamond.
“Groom.”
“……”
“Groom?”
Gobard didn’t move, and the Emperor clicked his tongue from my table.
“Tsk tsk. Useless fool.”
The third empress beside him quietly covered her smile with her fan.
No doubt trying to stifle laughter.
“Ahem, Groom!”
“Ah…”
Only after the cardinal raised his voice did Gobard come to his senses.
He looked between Ebwa and the pink diamond with a troubled expression.
‘He must be haunted by the ring’s original owner.’
But he couldn’t hesitate forever.
As if giving up, he picked up the ring and took Ebwa’s hand.
Just as he was about to slide it onto her finger—
BANG!
The rear doors of the temple burst open with a deafening crash.
