Chapter 7

Young and dignified, the women are captivated by them.

Rane also glanced at them once, but they do not seem to be very friendly. They might not have a good impression of this village, or of Ada for that matter.

It might be understandable that even the Royal Mages, who are supposed to be of high standing, have to use magic just to move the villagers for the wedding of the Sword Saint and the Holy Maiden.

Rane averted her gaze from them.

She lowered her eyes and stared at her own toes.

Is this marriage truly blessed? Will Ada be happy? She pondered these questions absentmindedly.

Following the mages' instructions, they gathered in the center of the square.

They were warned that they might feel unwell due to magic-induced dizziness before the mages cast their spell. Hearing this, her childhood friends, who were experiencing magic for the first time, looked anxious.

Only Ada's parents seemed to have experienced this a few times and looked at ease.

The incantation began, and a magic circle floated up beneath their feet.

(The space feels distorted...)

After a floating sensation, there was a rapid feeling of falling.

(I'm falling!)

Rane closed her eyes instinctively, bracing for impact.

But nothing like what she imagined happened. When she opened her eyes again, a large cityscape spread out before her.

Her childhood friends let out exclamations of amazement.

Everyone was visiting the capital for the first time.

Even the nearby towns were so vast that one could get lost, but the capital was on a scale that couldn't be compared.

Rane, too, widened her eyes and gazed at the surrounding scenery.

(There are so many people... and the buildings are so large and magnificent.)

The castle towering in the depths of the capital must be the royal palace.

Rane looked up at the castle, which was as large as the mountain visible from the village.

The Holy Maiden lives in that castle. For Rane, who had only known the small, remote village, it was a different world. Ada was going to marry someone like that.

It wouldn't be surprising if Ada forgot about Rane in such a large city and in such a grand royal palace.

A bitter feeling, akin to resignation, spread in her heart.

Rane's existence had already been completely erased from Ada's mind, without even needing to propose the dissolution of their engagement.

Feeling a gaze, she turned around to see Ada's parents looking at her with satisfied expressions.

They must have realized that Rane understood the gap between herself and Ada and accepted it as inevitable.

To begin with, did the Holy Maiden and Ada really invite their childhood friends to the wedding?

Perhaps they had forgotten about them and the village.

Could it be that Ada's parents deliberately brought them to the capital to make them realize that Ada was now a different being from them?

She even considered such a possibility.

As if to confirm this, neither of them came to meet the village's childhood friends.

They were busy with preparations for the next day.

So they were led to an inn in the capital.

They would stay here tonight and head to the royal palace where the wedding would take place the next day.

(The wedding in that large castle...)

The inn they were led to was also very clean and large, and the childhood friends, overwhelmed, remained silent. After being shown to individual rooms and placing their luggage, Rane finally let out a deep breath.

Tomorrow's wedding would surely be attended by many people to celebrate the marriage of the Holy Maiden and the Sword Saint. There would be many dignitaries and nobles, and people like them would not even be in the couple's line of sight.

Rane sat on the fluffy bed and closed her eyes.

Tomorrow.

She would witness everything and then part ways.

She would forget about Ada, including the fact that she had loved him.