Wedding (1)

Thud!

A violent noise rang out from the dressing room.

It was the sound of a chair toppling after it struck Alicia’s knees.

The sound of the fallen chair being set upright followed.

But then, the chair toppled again after being hit by something, rattling loudly.

“Should I say it was a lie? A prank.”

From beyond the door, Alicia spoke in a voice thick with impatience.

Reichardt had returned to Baden.

He had no choice; things had reached a point where he could no longer postpone his work.

The tasks he had already been handling, and new tasks tied to the Grand Duchy of Tessen, were waiting for him.

More than anything, he had to prepare for the wedding.

On the surface, it was only Reichardt who had returned to Baden.

It was said that Alicia had vanished after leaving a promise that she would come for the wedding.

But no one believed it.

“They won’t believe it.”

Reichardt’s voice outside the door sounded indifferent.

“Why not?!”

A pained voice rang out from inside the dressing room.

“Because they’d rather believe a crown prince is being born.”

Reichardt answered with the look of someone wondering why she was asking the obvious.

These days, he had been receiving unpleasant visitors often.

The Emperor, the Empress, the Duke of Lirin, Princess Louise, and the High Priest and the Great Temple.

Reichardt’s guests were, in truth, all Alicia’s guests.

To people, Reichardt was considered about the only person who knew where Alicia was.

Lately, Alicia had been under pursuit.

The Emperor and the High Priest had been tracking her, treating the entire Empire as her possible escape range.

Bang!

The dressing room door flew open roughly.

“I was grateful you taught me one thing, so I told you one thing too…!”

Alicia said with a face about to burst.

“You’re pretty.”

Reichardt, who had been sitting on a chair, rose as he spoke.

He swept Alicia’s messy hair aside with his hand.

“Thank you.”

Alicia strode out of the dressing room wearing a pure white dress.

Judging by her face and attire alone, she looked refined, like a lady from a famous painting.

The bride’s wedding dress glittered differently depending on the angle of the light.

Alicia tilted her head as she examined herself in front of the mirror.

With brows slightly raised, she inspected the dress from top to bottom.

“Not bad.”

It was a bland reaction for how carefully she had checked it.

“You’re pretty.”

Reichardt said it sincerely.

“You already said I was pretty earlier.”

Alicia replied while checking how the hem moved.

“You were pretty earlier, and you’re pretty now.”

Reichardt reached out and tousled the hair he had just smoothed for her.

“What are you doing?”

Alicia grumbled, pulling her head away to the side.

“Try the next one.”

At Reichardt’s words, Alicia’s shoulders lifted high, then dropped with a thud.

Haa.

The way she sighed looked like a child handed a miserable homework assignment.

Reichardt understood her reaction.

“Hurry.”

He caught Alicia as she tried to slump and hauled her into the dressing room.

“Change and come out.”

They said that for a wedding, you needed at least four dresses.

And in case something happened, you needed two more as spares.

Reichardt couldn’t understand it.

He didn’t know whether weddings were originally like that, or if only royal weddings were this way.

Either way, Alicia had been given the task of choosing six dresses.

‘Can’t you try them on and decide, Rei?’

When he delivered the news, Alicia had asked with a serious face.

‘Would that be acceptable.’

Reichardt answered her question with a question, then abducted Alicia back to the Grand Duke’s residence.

The people of the Grand Duke’s residence seemed to guess Alicia was here, but they pretended not to know.

Thump, thump-thump-thump!

The tremor from inside the dressing room was intense.

It almost sounded like something collapsing.

It was the sound of Alicia sprinting around to take the dress off.

“…….”

Alicia, battling the dress, looked more worn out than when she fought monsters.

“Ugh, seriously…”

Her strained groaning sounded pitiful.

Reichardt didn’t cluelessly ask what was wrong like before.

Instead, he simply drew lines through items he had completed on his to-do list.

While Reichardt was marking important names on the wedding guest list—

The dressing room door opened.

Unlike the “ground collapsing” noises, Alicia stepped out lightly in an elegant, dazzling dress.

The calm-toned dress, embroidered with lavish detail, was the most ornate yet most dignified of everything she had tried so far.

“You’re pretty.”

Reichardt said as he looked at Alicia.

“If they’re all pretty, what am I supposed to do?”

Alicia turned her back to the mirror.

The back of the dress dipped deeply in a teardrop pattern, exposing her back completely.

Reichardt’s face flinched for an instant.

Alicia saw every bit of that change.

With a look that said she liked it most, Alicia examined herself in the mirror.

“…….”

Reichardt’s expression grew more and more serious.

His anxiety was so obvious she couldn’t pretend not to notice.

“You said I was pretty.”

Alicia tossed the words out.

“You are. You’re pretty. …Are you going to wear that?”

Reichardt answered earnestly with a stiff face.

At the question tacked on at the end, Alicia nodded.

“Yes.”

She wasn’t doing it just to be spiteful.

The dress was simply too beautiful.

Reichardt nodded as well.

Still wearing a face that looked like he was debating whether he was even allowed to see it, he stared at the teardrop-cut back and said,

“How about putting a diamond ornament there?”

“Diamonds as ornaments?”

Alicia replied with a face that said what a waste.

Reichardt’s expression didn’t waver.

“Tessen has more diamonds than it knows what to do with.”

At the man’s words—almost arrogant—Alicia just nodded.

Refusing would have felt rude.

“I’ll show you the diamond chain as soon as it’s made.”

Reichardt said something frightening while scribbling briskly on paper.

Alicia was flustered that he could casually announce he was making a chain out of diamonds.

But she didn’t have the slightest opening to refuse.

“Yes.”

Alicia politely gathered her hands together.

“I organized the friends who’ll attend the wedding for you. Look it over and let’s make the final list. Inviting and welcoming Alicia’s friends to Baden is something Alicia has to do.”

Reichardt handed her the list he had prepared.

“I don’t have friends.”

At the word “friends,” Alicia said sulkily.

“I know. I made some for you. Cross out anyone you think is absolutely impossible.”

Because Reichardt spoke so gently, Alicia felt even worse.

Still, thinking of the effort the person who made it had put in, she examined the list.

Fine, fine, fine.

Alicia nodded with satisfaction at the surprisingly acceptable list.

Reichardt watched Alicia read it with nerves on edge.

It was a list he had agonized over for two nights.

“Splendidly done, Your Highness.”

Alicia smiled and offered praise.

“You are generous, Lady Alicia. The candidate wedding venues have been narrowed down. It will be one of the three: the newly renovated Grand Theater, the Great Hall, or the chapel.”

“Not the chapel?”

“The Imperial Chapel is small compared to the scale of the imperial palace, so many oppose it. The High Priest, in particular, is fiercely against it. Her Majesty recommends the Grand Theater, and His Majesty is recommending the Great Hall.”

Nothing about palace affairs was ever decided easily.

“Promise. It’s the first word in the Lin Text written on the marriage vow: ‘promise.’ I like the chapel, Rei.”

Alicia declared her will while being handed a weapon she could use.

“I’ll try.”

Reichardt studied Alicia for a moment—Alicia saying something enormous as if it were nothing—then nodded.

After that, many more words were exchanged about the wedding.

Preparing for it was not easy.

Anne left Rain for the first time in her life and came to the imperial capital, Baden.

Baden wasn’t made of gold the way the rumors claimed.

But everywhere her eyes reached, lavish scenery spread out.

When she entered Queen Street, a street that lived up to the rumors appeared.

“Medena.”

After getting down from the carriage, Anne checked the name of the meeting place against the street sign and blinked.

The refined street signage was hard to read.

Either the shop lettering was overly ornate, or it was so simplified she couldn’t decipher it.

Anne looked around for a moment, then spoke to a passing lady.

“Excuse me, do you know where this is?”

The lady in a yellow bonnet glanced at the note Anne held out and slightly furrowed her brow.

Then she pointed with her finger, directly behind Anne.

“…….”

Anne turned her gaze to follow the finger.

[Medena]

The meeting place, Medena, was right behind her.

It was hard to recognize because it was written in a flowing hand, but once she realized, she could tell it was the name.

Anne swallowed her embarrassment and tried to offer thanks.

“Th-thank you—”

But the lady in the yellow bonnet who had been standing beside her was already far away.

“People in Baden must be busy.”

Anne forced herself to shake off the awkwardness and stepped inside Medena.

The salon glittered from the entrance.

Once she passed through a space styled like the entrance to a grand mansion and went deeper inside, an even more astonishing scene unfolded.

One entire wall was gold.

On an elegant console table, ribbons and lace in every color were displayed.

Anne had never seen a ribbon-and-lace display so dazzling.

The console that made it impossible to look away didn’t feel like a mere display at all—each piece looked like a work of art.

“Kh!”

While Anne was captivated by the enchanting console, an unpleasant sound rang out behind her.

It might not have been directed at her, but Anne felt stung anyway and straightened up from where she had been leaning toward the console.

“Dalisa, what is it?”

A soft voice asked, sounding puzzled.

“Look over there. Goodness— I didn’t think there was still someone wearing that lace.”

Dalisa giggled as she spoke to the person who had called her.

Her voice was quite loud.

Anne realized everyone in the salon was watching her.

In the glances sliding past, she could feel the contempt.

Already intimidated from the moment she hadn’t been able to find the place despite it being right behind her, Anne shrank even further.

Because she had been treated like a punching bag her whole life after being born into House Brennel, noble ladies were difficult for her.

That belittling, mocking tone shocked Anne more than any physical violence ever had.

She regretted that Lindsay and Lise couldn’t come with her.

“What’s wrong, Dalisa? Ten years ago, that was the latest fashion!”

A woman said, laughing as if to scold Dalisa.

To Anne, those words hurt even more.

Whispers rose here and there.

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before.”

“Now that you mention it… her face just screams country bumpkin.”

The murmured words raked across Anne.

“I hate the countryside.”

“Who likes the countryside? Still, everyone’s being too cruel.”

Anne couldn’t decide whether she should go outside and wait, or whether she was allowed to stay here.

“Viscount Brennel!”

At that moment, a sweet voice spread through the salon.

Anne turned toward where the voice came from.

Not just Anne—everyone in the salon threw their gaze that way.

For a moment, they all fell into confusion.

The owner of the voice wore a bonnet with an especially wide brim pulled low.

Because of the lace layered over it, her face was hard to see.

The vivid blue bonnet, the jewel-studded lace laid over it to keep it in place, and the fresh blue dress as well—

Each item looked like it cost thousands of gold coins.

“…Alicia?”

Anne murmured, almost whispering.

“Yes, it’s me. There’s a reason for this, so please understand. Thank you for coming, Anne.”

Alicia clasped Anne’s hand and showed her delight.

“…….”

“…….”

Some of the ladies in the salon quickly left their seats.

Some tried to focus on browsing items while reading the room.

And some continued whispering.

“Viscount Brennel? Isn’t that house basically destitute after their only pride—the Aengkeo Orchard—burned down?”

“But the one next to her…”

Anne’s face, just about to speak to Alicia, wavered precariously.

“I’m even more grateful you called me. This place is…”

Anne spoke gently, even as her expression dimmed.

As Anne was about to suggest leaving, Alicia lightly touched her and turned away.

Anne hesitated, about to follow.

“Um, excuse me.”

Alicia walked not toward the entrance, but straight toward the ladies who were loudly gossiping inside the salon.

Anne wanted to tell her not to.

But Alicia’s collision with the ladies came first.

“What’s the matter? My lady, I can’t see your face, so there’s simply no way to tell who you are.”

Dalisa said, speaking in a tone meant to lightly press down the person approaching.