Chapter 48

Ortimiti and Iena's wedding took place without waiting for a full year to pass.

Cynthia, who had given birth safely, attended the ceremony with Lias.

Iena wore a simple white silk dress and a long veil adorned with crystals and pearls. The veil was embroidered with flowers symbolizing Fandrag, and 8-year-old Eidan and 4-year-old Marivel held the long veil as they walked together on the long red carpet.

The venue was enveloped in a warm atmosphere as the beautiful white dress was followed by the adorable children.

The solemn ceremony was held in the cathedral, after which the two main characters paraded through the town and headed to the castle for the party.

During this time, Cynthia was in the waiting room, feeding the children light snacks.

Ortimiti and Iena, considering the children, planned the reception as a daytime party.

Although it must have been difficult to hold the ceremony from morning, it was a thoughtful gesture.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, they relaxed. Lias went to check the security of the venue.

"You both did a great job."

When Cynthia spoke, the two of them finally seemed to relax.

"That tiara, it had a gemstone that matched Uncle Titi's eye color!"

Marivel seemed deeply impressed by the bride she saw for the first time. She had been staring with her mouth open throughout the ceremony.

"A garnet."

"Did you see it, big brother?"

"I did. It was a big gemstone."

"It wasn't just the garnet. The whole thing was sparkling!"

"Huh? I didn't see that."

Eidan seemed less interested in the gemstones. He had a serious face, tense from performing his role. Marivel puffed out her cheeks.

"Ugh...!"

Iena's tiara had a garnet at the center, surrounded by diamonds. Marivel had been looking at it closely.

"Mom, Marivel wants to be a princess!"

"Sure. Iena looked beautiful, didn't she?"

"—She's already like a princess."

Ignoring Eidan's comment, Marivel clung to Cynthia's knee.

"Mom, how can I become a princess?"

"Hmm... What do you mean by 'princess'?"

"What do you want to do as a princess?"

When asked, Marivel thought for a moment and tried to explain.

"Wear a white dress, wear a sparkling tiara, and then..."

"That's not a princess, Marivel, that's a bride."

"Ugh, big brother, don't say that!"

Eidan was drinking tea, shrugging his shoulders.

"Marivel, study hard to become a beautiful princess. Look at how graceful Iena was, right?"

Cynthia tried to give practical advice, but Marivel wasn't fooled. She seemed very dissatisfied and turned away.

At that moment, Lias entered.

"Daddy!"

Marivel ran to Lias, opening her arms wide.

Lias picked her up and walked over.

"Welcome back."

"I've just returned. —Aren't you tired?"

"Yes."

"Daddy, Marivel wants to be a bride!"

Lias paused for exactly three seconds.

"Ah, I meant a princess."

"Seeing Iena made her think that."

"Bride..."

Lias seemed to be more shocked by the word "bride." He tried to walk again but muttered the word repeatedly.

"Daddy, how can I become a princess?"

"That's... difficult."

Lias's response made Marivel angry.

"Tell me!"

She stood on the carpet as if jumping down, her face contorting.

Her mouth formed a pout, her eyebrows furrowed, and she glared at the floor.

"Uh, uh... uh..."

It was half a fake cry, so Cynthia didn't pay much attention to this kind of appeal. Lias, on the other hand, always panicked and tried to cheer her up.

"Marivel... do you want to be a princess? Well... no, Marivel is already a princess, right?"

"No, I'm not! —Uh..."

Lias took out a cloth as if to wipe away tears.

—They haven't come out yet. She's trying to squeeze them out.

"Father, Marivel just likes Iena's dress and tiara."

Eidan put down his cup and walked over to Marivel.

"Marivel, it's okay. When you grow up, you can wear a white dress and a tiara and get married."

Lias was about to say something, but Cynthia stopped him.

"Can't I do it now?"

"When you get married, you'll have to leave us, you know?"

"No way."

Marivel thought for a moment.

"Then, Marivel will be big brother's princess!"

"Sure, sure, you're already a princess, right?"

Eidan patted Marivel's head to calm her down.

At the reception party, children were allowed to attend, as they had been informed beforehand.

This was because of Eidan and Marivel.

Of course, there were no children who hadn't learned table manners, but the youngest was about Marivel's age, 4 years old. The most common age was around Eidan's age.

During the reception, the children played in the open garden with their nannies.

Among the children, Eidan and Marivel stood out in terms of status. After all, they were children with the right to inherit the throne. The children, who had been instructed by their parents, lined up in front of Eidan.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Frank Mueller."

"I'm Regnard Sieg."

Even after the introductions, the children didn't leave.

"I heard you have earth magic. Are you going to enter the academy soon?"

"I also handle earth magic. I'm not as good as you... but, can you teach me?"

Eidan had experienced this several times. He had attended tea parties with children, accompanied by Cynthia, and had been told to make friends with children of his own age.

Today, he recognized a few faces, but he didn't have any close friends.

"Today, my sister is here. So... sorry."

Saying this, Eidan used Marivel as an excuse to leave the crowd.

However, this time, girls gathered around Marivel.

"Marivel, your ribbon is so cute. Where did you get it?"

"Your dress is also very beautiful!"

Marivel, undaunted, started playing with the children.

Eidan was about to leave for the quiet venue when he was grabbed from behind.

"Where are you going?"

It was a girl he had seen a few times before, from some earl's family.

"Hey, Prince, you don't like it, do you!"

Another girl grabbed Eidan's other hand.

"What are you saying? He doesn't dislike it. We're friends!"

"You're just pestering him!"

"No, I'm not! My mother said that the Duke was also a close friend. Maybe we can get engaged!"

This was news to Eidan. He was surprised and looked at the girl.

"Liar!"

"It's not a lie!"

"Hey, calm down, both of you."

"Which one does Prince want to get engaged to?"

"Wh-what...?"

Why did it come to this?

"Engagement is a bit early."

"Then, let's reserve the engagement!"

"Me too!"

Eidan was exasperated and looked around. Marivel was looking up at him curiously.

"Cut it out."

"You too!"

The two girls became more excited and started lightly pushing each other.

"Ouch...!"

One of them fell on her bottom and started to cry.

Finally, an adult, who had heard the commotion, came to mediate.

Cynthia had also come out.

"Is everything okay, Eidan?"

After hearing what happened from the attendant, she spoke softly.

After hearing the story, Cynthia was exasperated.

It turned out that the mother of the girl who had fought over Eidan was none other than Reila Gyudus. She had tried to become Lias's mistress during Cynthia's pregnancy and had ended up marrying an older earl. However, she had a child relatively quickly.

If she was now trying to get her daughter engaged to Eidan, she had quite a nerve.

Cynthia would never allow it.

"I... don't want to go to the academy anymore. I can't make friends..."

"Eventually, you'll find someone you get along with, I'm sure."

Cynthia said this, but in truth, she didn't have any close friends herself. She had acquaintances in society, but when asked if she was close to them, she felt they were just being polite, so she couldn't call them friends.

"Aila's school is good."

"Oh, really?"

Through his interactions with Aila, Eidan seemed to have found a friend among the commoners.

However, as a noble with magic, it wasn't that simple. Eidan seemed to understand this, even if he sounded resigned.

"Try to graduate as quickly as possible. I'll make sure that girl is banned from coming."

Cynthia was even considering a no-contact order.

It might be childish, but she didn't like that mother and daughter. She felt that getting involved with them would only lead to trouble.

No, simply put, she disliked them.

"Can you do that?"

Cynthia smiled at the tired-looking Eidan.

"Of course. You know your mother and father are very strong, right?"