Chapter 33
“Ruhel! That outfit looks great on you today!”
“…Yeah.”
Ruhel was also my half-brother, the one just older than Moren.
Compared to Gobard, Derian, and Brindel, he had little presence. Timid, quiet, and reserved, he had never had much connection with me.
As usual, he answered me a few times before pressing his lips shut again.
I wasn’t bothered. Speaking to Ruhel was merely a way to naturally observe the temple.
‘So this is how the seating has been arranged.’
At the very front, the best table was reserved for the Emperor and the Empresses. The Empresses had already arrived and were chatting with nobles, while the Emperor’s seat remained empty.
The table beside it was for the Bobonsher couple and their close relatives. They seemed so tense their throats were dry, drinking water repeatedly.
‘Behind them are us—Gobard’s siblings—and the dukes.’
Further back, nobles were seated in order of rank.
As I surveyed the temple, my eyes met Kinya’s at the table beside ours.
Kinya gave a prim little wave.
I returned it lightly and deliberately avoided looking at Derian, who was staring holes through me from Kinya’s side.
‘It looked like Kinya frowned and smacked the back of Derian’s head.’
Just before the wedding, the temple was lively and loud.
Well, that was only natural.
‘The union between the imperial family and Bobonsher, postponed for five years, is finally happening.’
“Will you be returning to your territory immediately after the wedding, Duke?”
Brindel’s gentle voice suddenly sounded beside me.
The Duke answered stiffly.
“Yes. There is much work awaiting me.”
‘Oh dear. He’s not even the one getting married, yet he’s that tense.’
No matter how worried he was about Agasa, the head of House Sanderlin could not be absent from the Crown Prince’s wedding.
So the Duke had no choice but to entrust Agasa’s matter entirely to Brillint.
‘Brillint will handle it well.’
And with my help in every way possible, the chances of failure were extremely low.
Fortunately, the Duke was not someone who showed much expression even in normal times.
At his dry response, Brindel looked concerned.
“If you focus only on work, your health will suffer, Duke. I heard you are taking Lady Sanderlin—who serves as Neroli’s maid—back with you. Has something happened in your territory?”
“That is not something Your Highness needs to worry about.”
At that moment, I lightly tapped the Duke’s shin under the table.
He flinched at the signal, and I smiled sweetly at Brindel.
“By the way, Brindel, how did you know?”
“Hmm?”
“That my maid decided to quit.”
Only then did the Duke seem to realize something was off, blinking rapidly.
I glanced at him before tilting my head innocently.
“Brillint only decided to leave recently.”
“Hehe, well?”
Brindel smiled kindly and whispered,
“I made a guess.”
“A guess?”
“Lady Sanderlin, your maid, used to enter the palace every single day, didn’t she? But these past few days, she hasn’t appeared at your residence.”
He took a sip of water and continued.
“And around the same time, Duke Sanderlin came up to the capital. So I made a deduction. Perhaps the Duke came to take his daughter back.”
“Oh, I see!”
I clapped lightly in admiration.
“Brindel, you’re so smart! Amazing!”
“It’s nothing, Neroli.”
‘This is why I can never let my guard down.’
Brindel.
With his naturally gentle aura and soft speech, he easily lowered people’s defenses.
‘And he is particularly ambitious.’
Look at him now.
Using this tiny opening to probe for information about me and House Sanderlin.
The Duke coughed softly, seemingly acknowledging his slip.
I shifted my focus and steered the conversation with Brindel instead.
‘The rigid Duke of Sanderlin and Brindel are not well matched.’
Ruhel, meanwhile, seemed utterly uninterested in the wedding, continuing to read his book.
As I casually glanced at the book’s cover, the rear entrance that had been busy receiving guests finally closed.
Then the grand front doors swung open, and the Emperor entered.
All the nobles seated at the tables rose at once in unison and bowed.
The Emperor ascended the platform and addressed the nobles in a relaxed voice.
“Today is a meaningful day when I gain a new family member. I sincerely thank you all for attending and gracing this occasion.”
As if rehearsed, the nobles answered in one voice.
“It is our honor, Your Majesty.”
Pleased, the Emperor nodded and took his seat.
The wedding preparations were complete.
Following the others, I sat down and murmured,
“It begins now.”
The Duke of Sanderlin nodded silently at my words.
Soon, all the lights in the temple—except those along the aisle—dimmed at once.
Then the clear voice of an imperial attendant rang out.
“The groom will enter!”
To the grand music of the orchestra, the rear doors opened, and Gobard entered in formal attire, expressionless.
He walked down the aisle to the front.
Shortly after, the bride, Ebwawa, appeared.
Wearing a splendid white wedding dress.
Yet instead of excitement or nervous joy, her face was filled with regret.
‘Oh my. It seems Ebwawa’s heart has completely left this marriage.’
Exactly as I intended.
In contrast to the gloomy bride, I found myself quietly anticipating what was about to unfold.
The ceremony was exactly as dull as expected.
The cardinal of the Dalia religion—brought in for formality—recited blessings in a monotonous voice.
“O God Dalia, before you these two swear to begin a new life. As husband and wife, to cherish one another, to love…”
I half-listened while chatting with Brindel.
“That cardinal—he’s new, isn’t he? Don’t we usually invite a specific cardinal for imperial weddings?”
“We do. But it seems His Majesty disliked the idea of using the same cardinal as other noble weddings. So he brought in someone else.”
They say he’s Cardinal Senfran.
I nodded appropriately.
Then I casually changed the subject.
“Still, it’s wonderful that His Highness the Crown Prince is gaining such a powerful maternal family in Bobonsher, isn’t it?”
“Yes, indeed.”
Brindel agreed softly, but sensitive Nesgal appeared and clicked his tongue.
[How unsightly—to envy your own brother’s marriage instead of congratulating him.]
Nesgal flicked Brindel’s smiling lips lightly with his tail in disapproval.
I let out a small laugh.
‘Well, I’m not sincerely congratulating Gobard either.’
[Hmph! My master is never unsightly! Whatever you do is justified and righteous! Do not think otherwise!]
A blatantly biased statement.
As I leisurely enjoyed the spirits’ affection, Marin and Modwei appeared.
The moment Modwei appeared, he headbutted Nesgal.
[Hehe! Don’t get close without me!]
[Oh dear! Do not interrupt my precious alone time with the master, Modwei!]
[Hmph~ Since when do we ever get alone time~?]
‘Welcome back, Marin, Modwei. Did everything go well?’
[Yes! While we distracted the other humans, the pink-eyed human came and knocked them all out! It ended even faster because Marin helped!]
[Well~ they’ll probably wake up soon~. But the pink-eyed human safely took her younger sister away~.]
[Good, good. Everything has proceeded as you wished, Master.]
Listening to their chatter, I tapped the table lightly with my index finger.
‘So Brillint safely secured Agasa.’
I glanced at Duke Sanderlin.
Unlike me, he had no way to receive real-time updates, and his expression showed no sign of easing.
‘He doesn’t need to be so anxious. He’ll know soon enough.’
As I thought that, the cardinal finished his blessing.
“Please give the couple your applause.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause filled the temple.
I smiled brightly and joined in.
All that remained was the exchange of rings.
An attendant carried a silver tray with the rings and approached Ebwawa.
First the bride to the groom, then the groom to the bride.
Once they exchanged rings, the ceremony would be complete.
When the rings resting on red silk were revealed, murmurs spread among the guests.
“Oh my, a pink diamond.”
“So that was the wedding ring?”
“Lady Ebwawa boasted about it endlessly.”
“I still find it strange. The pink diamond ring sold at auction was only one—made for a woman. Usually you don’t buy just one as a wedding set.”
“Shh! Isn’t it fine as long as it looks good? See, there’s a groom’s ring too. No need to dig too deeply.”
Knowing the whole truth, I smiled faintly at their whispers.
‘The Emperor managed to secure another pink diamond after all.’
It would indeed be strange for only the bride to have one.
It seemed the Emperor had somehow procured Gobard’s ring before the deadline.
The expressions on the bride and groom’s faces as they looked at the pink diamond were rather satisfying.
“The bride will first pledge her devotion to the groom.”
Following the cardinal’s instruction, Ebwawa reluctantly picked up the ring.
She glanced up at Gobard’s cold face and, unwillingly, slid the ring onto his left fourth finger.
“Now the groom will pledge his fidelity to the bride.”
But Gobard simply stared at the pink diamond.
“Groom.”
“……”
“Groom?”
When Gobard did not move, the Emperor, seated before me, clicked his tongue softly.
“Tsk. Useless fool.”
The Third Consort seated to the Emperor’s left discreetly covered her mouth with her fan—no doubt to hide a smile.
“Ahem, Groom!”
Only when the cardinal raised his voice did Gobard snap back to himself.
He looked between Ebwawa and the pink diamond ring with a conflicted expression.
‘The original owner of that ring must keep flashing in his mind.’
But he could not hesitate forever.
As if resigned, he picked up the ring and took Ebwawa’s hand.
Just as Gobard was about to slide the ring onto her finger—
Bang!
The rear doors of the temple burst open with a thunderous crash.
