72 - Getting Married Today

“You know what this means,” Page said. “It could be…”

“Dorothy,” Eliza finished.

Eliza could imagine Dorothy wielding a blade like this; a bloodthirsty Hero wielding a blood-red serrated sword.

“We’ve found several other pieces of evidence,” Page said. “Dorothy hasn’t attacked yet, but she may be gathering troops. I got my soldiers together and found monster corpses beyond the desert regions, which is also where we found this dagger. We couldn’t confirm she’s alive, but between this and the corpses, there’s plenty of proof to suggest she is.”

Eliza uneasily picked up the dragon-scale dagger.

“I’ve yet to tell Merle,” Page said. “I don’t think it’s time just yet.”

“Agreed,” Eliza said. “Let’s keep this matter secret.”

“I’m still sending my troops out on covert missions,” Page said. “I’ll inform you if anything happens again.”

“And if I come across anything, I’ll inform you as well,” Eliza said.

“Oh, it’s a New Era,” Page said. “I want to get rid of anything threatening it.”

“… And so we will,” Eliza said.

Her brow wrinkled as she gripped the dagger. She put it in her pocket, grabbed her horse’s reins, and left the demon castle.

She still had a job to do.

Merle found herself living out one of her dreams.

As she looked out the window in one of the rooms at the capital’s church, she put her hand over the glass to check if she was awake, the reflection she saw in the glass was real. Her hands felt cold in these thin white gloves. Merle was embarrassed but happy to see herself like this, tears were threatening to spill from her eyes.

“We’ll both be in wedding dresses.”

She was a small-town girl you’d find anywhere, she was a Former Demon King who tried to conquer the world, and now she’s a bride about to walk down the aisle.

“Ms. Merle, Lucille is ready,” a young altar girl calls out.

Lucille stands at the open door, dressed in a pure white wedding gown, her cheeks red as she shyly looks down.

“Lucille, you look so beautiful,” Merle said, unable to think of anything else to say to her bride as she fell in love with her all over again.

Her cheeks even redder, Lucille slowly looks up at her and shyly says the same.

A bell echoes throughout the city. On that day, there was no construction noise and all manner of people had changed from work clothes to formal wear before gathering at the church. Inside and before a giant stained glass window, Ramiel asked the two brides:

“Do you swear to take each other as your brides, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer and for poorer, to respect each other, to comfort each other, to help each other for the rest of your lives?”

“I do,” the two brides replied.

As they faced each other, they raised the veils from each other’s faces and looked right into the other’s eyes. The-far off future they’d talked about, the world they’d dreamed of, it was now becoming a reality right before their eyes.

A tear falls down Lucille’s cheeks.

They close their eyes and kiss.

The two walk outside of the church on a red carpet. As the dressed-up humans, demons, and monsters saw the brides, they grabbed petals from their baskets and sent them flying into the air. The two brides walked hand in hand as the petals danced around them.

With flower petals and cheers in their wake, the two board a white carriage pulled by a white horse. They keep holding the other’s hands as the door was closed behind them, the carriage slowly rolls off.

The spectators cheered as they threw out the remaining petals in their wake.

With an embarrassed expression, Lucille kisses Merle again. “Merle, what are we going to do now?” she asked as she pulls away.

“What indeed…?” Merle mutters.

The carriage gently rocks as it carries the two brides away; still holding hands, Lucille looks at Merle and smiles.

End