Chapter 30

Today, this beautiful day, for whom does it exist?

In the carriage heading to the wedding of Tiara Roses and Aquasteed, Aishira recalled yesterday’s events.

It was the words Aka said to her, “Please don’t get too close to my friend’s husband!”

—Did I think of Prince Aquasteed in that way?

Her chest felt as if it had been pierced with pain.

“I didn’t have any romantic feelings for Prince Aquasteed.”

Without addressing anyone in particular, Aishira spoke the words.

She felt an impulse that she had to say it. A whirlpool seemed to form in her chest, and a fierce sensation overwhelmed Aishira.

She wasn’t in love, she repeated to herself, as if trying to convince herself.

“Prince Aquasteed is very excellent, strong, calm, dignified, kind, and mature... He was a dazzling figure, so different from me who dives into the sea every day.”

Shaking the coral hair ornament in her hair, Aishira leaned against the carriage wall.

What she recalled were Aka’s harsh words, the friendly Tiara Roses, and then—Aquasteed.

“Because I don’t match Prince Aquasteed. It would be presumptuous to have feelings like love. Besides, marriage is for the family. That’s why I told my father that I would leave the engagement to him.”

—I’m not thinking about a love marriage.

Usually, she wouldn’t feel this way, so why is her heart so tumultuous now? Aishira clenched her fists tightly, enduring the burning sensation in her chest.

“It must be because Lady Aka said such things...”

—It must be because I feel guilty towards Lady Tiara Roses.

That’s why her chest feels so constricted.

Aishira’s feelings for Aquasteed are not love.

However, the color of the ribbon she tied today was still dark blue—...

◇◇◇

In the grand cathedral of Marine Forest, the wedding of Tiara Roses and Aquasteed is about to take place solemnly.

“...What should I do? Am I really not strange?”

“You are the most beautiful in the world, so please have confidence.”

At the entrance of the cathedral, Tiara Roses was nervously checking with Filine for the last time.

Dressed in a pure white wedding dress, she was trying to calm her pounding heart.

Filine, standing confidently, repeatedly praised her, “You are beautiful.” She thought it was a waste to give such a beautiful woman to Aquasteed.

Tiara Roses’ wedding dress had a cute empire line design. The hem was adorned with lace, making her look like a moon fairy, Filine thought.

The flowers given by the forest fairies were woven into the dress, and the long lace was made to dance by the blessing of the sky fairies.

The bouquet made of white flowers had a dark blue ribbon wrapped around it.

And in her ears—matching earrings with the ones given by Aka to Aquasteed. Her honey-pink hair was styled in a half-updo.

“Thank you, Filine. I’m so happy.”

“Yes. It’s time to enter.”

“...Yes.”

The doors of the cathedral slowly opened.

—I was really scared if I could really get married.

What if, at the last moment, Aqua-sama chose Lady Aishira? I kept thinking about it for a long time.

But now, there’s no more worry.

Because the wedding that is about to take place is between Tiara Roses and Aquasteed.

The grand cathedral of the great country of Marine Forest has stained glass windows made of coral and glass on the roof. The sunlight and moonlight are all transformed into blessing light by the stained glass.

On both sides of the entrance, statues of fairies are placed, emphasizing that this is a country of fairies. There is a legend that the bride and groom of this country are blessed by fairies when they get married.

“...Aqua-sama”

In front of Tiara Roses, Aquasteed stood in a tuxedo.

The tuxedo was mainly white with dark blue accents. Seeing Tiara Roses, Aquasteed smiled happily.

At the entrance, the guests welcomed Tiara Roses.

They quietly took their seats, eagerly awaiting the bride’s entrance. Filine, who had rushed to the front of the entrance, was already crying while looking at Tiara Roses.

She was happy to be blessed by Filine, whom she thought of as a sister, even as she laughed at her quickness.

This grand cathedral has two entrances.

One is the door of happiness through which Tiara Roses entered.

The other is the door of determination through which Aquasteed entered at the same time.

The blue virgin road, representing the paths they have walked, intersects in the center of the room and becomes one path.

The intersected virgin road then turns into a white carpet with a gradient, symbolizing the wish for their future life to be colored by their two colors.

Tiara Roses and Aquasteed slowly walked towards the center.

Amidst the blessings for the happy couple, a young lady was crying somewhere.

Yes, it was Aishira.

“Why? ...My chest hurts so much.”

A small voice that no one could hear escaped from Aishira’s lips. Her orange eyes, fixed on the two, welled up, and a large tear rolled down.

Even though she wasn’t in love with Aquasteed, why did her chest hurt so much? She asked herself.

—Did I really admire Prince Aquasteed?

Wasn’t my feeling until now respect?

I always thought it was. But Aka’s words kept swirling in Aishira’s mind, refusing to let go.

“...Prince Aquasteed”

Unconsciously, she started to rise, and Aishira took a step forward—when her hand was grabbed.

“—!”

“I won’t let you.”

With a calm voice, Aka stopped Aishira, who was about to stand up.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she immediately sat back down, realizing what she was about to do. Fortunately, Aishira didn’t stand up, as she had only slightly risen.

“What was I...!”

Realizing what she was about to do, Aishira’s body trembled.

If Aka hadn’t stopped her, she would have walked out onto the virgin road.

“Lady Aishira, you... You really liked Aqua-sama, didn’t you?”

“No, I...! How could I... But, this pain in my chest—Is it... love? Is it... love?”

Aishira’s heart beat faster than a drum.

Could she have already had love, something she had never known before? Unlike the confused Aishira, Aka remained calm.

—This event finally happened.

I thought the possibility was low, but it wasn’t zero. Moreover, Aishira had been wearing a dark blue ribbon since yesterday.

In the sequel game, an event occurs where the target character marries another character.

However, the heroine can interrupt the wedding if she wears a ribbon that matches the character.

Since Tiara Roses is an irregular character, it was uncertain if the game event would happen. But considering the possibility, Aka attended the wedding using every means possible.

“I honestly love the event where the heroine interrupts the wedding. It’s thrilling, isn’t it? The groom, who is with the bride, chooses you. —But, I”

As music played in the cathedral, Aka spoke.

The guests were focused on the bride and groom, so no one noticed the conversation between Aka and Aishira.

“More than that—I can’t allow the wedding of my best friend, who is smiling happily, to be ruined.”

“What a coincidence, I agree with you.”

“...Fairy King Keith!?”

Chuckling, Keith appeared in front of Aka and Aishira.

Looking around to see if anyone had noticed, Aka was relieved that no one seemed to care. Keith had used his skill to transfer at the moment when people’s attention was diverted, but Aka didn’t realize it.

“Aishira, if you try to do something to those two, I won’t forgive you.”

“...! I, I wouldn’t dare. As the Fairy King wishes.”

Aishira understood that Tiara Roses was favored by the Forest Fairy King.

Loved by Aquasteed and favored by Keith, Tiara Roses had no room for her to intrude.

—I can’t stand by Prince Aquasteed.

Perhaps because she realized this, tears flowed uncontrollably from Aishira’s eyes. But she didn’t make a sound, just crying silently.

“I’m sorry, Lady Tiara Roses, I can’t sincerely bless you...”

“It’s okay. When a girl is heartbroken, it’s fine to cry.”

“Lady Aka...”

Handing a handkerchief to Aishira, Aka turned her gaze to the couple in the middle of the ceremony.

Aishira’s crying wasn’t a high priority for Aka. She thought Aishira would stop crying eventually and decided to enjoy the beautiful ceremony.

“I came here to see Tiara-sama’s moment of happiness.”

“What a coincidence. I also came to bless Tiara.”

When Aka smiled and stated her purpose, Keith agreed.

◇◇◇

The harp played a beautiful melody as Tiara Roses and Aquasteed reached the intersection of the virgin road.

Aquasteed extended his left arm, and Tiara Roses, blushing, gently placed her hand on it.

Traditionally, the right hand is reserved for holding a sword to protect the beloved, so the bride walks on the groom’s left side. This is similar to the custom in Japan, probably because this is a game.

Walking the virgin road from blue to pure white, the priest began the blessing.

The wedding ceremony here is slightly different from those in Japan.

This is a game called “Lapis Lazuli Ring,” and although the country is different, the wedding customs are the same.

The groom prepares a ring and infuses it with a vow of magic. This is the wedding ceremony in this world.

Vows of words are unnecessary.

Instead, a deeper bond is infused into the ring.

“Tiara... This ring is infused with all my magic. Will you accept it?”

“Of course, Aqua-sama...”

Aquasteed’s sweet smile and words.

Gently extending her left hand, the wedding ring was placed on it.

It was a beautiful eternity ring with a light pink diamond in the center. Surrounding it, dark blue to light blue gems were arranged in a gradient.

“Now, you’re mine— I won’t let you go.”

“...!”

After receiving the ring, the bride’s vow is to kiss the groom’s forehead, infusing it with her magic.

The groom gives a magic-infused ring, and the bride imprints her existence on the groom. By infusing her magic, she vows to stay by his side for life.

“I won’t let you go... okay?”

“...Yes. Like this?”

“Yes...”

Aquasteed knelt in front of Tiara Roses and gently kissed her forehead.

The kiss, infused with magic, emitted a faint light. With a sigh of relief, Tiara Roses smiled.

The ring and the magic vow.

After both are completed, the final sweet kiss...

“Tiara...”

“...Hmm”

Slowly lifting the veil, Aquasteed gently kissed Tiara Roses.

Kissing her sweetly, a sigh escaped from Tiara Roses. As if he didn’t want to let go, Aquasteed’s tongue traced her lips.

She trembled, and he chuckled, pulling away from her lips.

“I love you. I’ll cherish you and make you happy for the rest of my life.”

“Yes. I love you too...”

The moment they exchanged words of love, a bright light enveloped the cathedral, and the audience burst into applause.

“...!?”

Everyone was surprised and confused by the sudden light. Aquasteed immediately pulled Tiara Roses into his arms, hiding her behind his back.

But he soon realized that the light wasn’t an attack.

—It’s like stars are falling.

“Next king and queen. I bless your healthy happiness and the peace of this country!”

“Keith!”

“Fairy King!”

The source of the sparkling light was Keith’s blessing.

When Aquasteed called out “Fairy King,” the guests recognized Keith as the Fairy King.

Tiara Roses was blessed by the Forest Fairy King and would later become the queen of the country, as Keith had said.

“Congratulations, Prince Aquasteed!”

“Congratulations, Lady Tiara Roses!!”

“Being blessed by the Forest Fairy King is very auspicious.”

“Amazing, amazing!”

Suddenly, the guests burst into applause and congratulations.

They scattered flower petals, blessing the couple.

“The flower petals are beautiful.”

With a snap of his fingers, Keith made the flower petals from the guests’ flower showers glow. The sparkling petals danced in the cathedral, lighting up the room with a blessing light.

“...”

“Are you crying? Tiara.”

“No, I... I’m so happy, the tears won’t stop.”

Blessed by many people, Tiara Roses and Aquasteed’s marriage was completed.

Winning the game’s heroine, Tiara Roses had found happiness. Looking at him embracing her, Tiara Roses smiled through her tears.

Now, the game is over.

From here, the real world begins.

No more being swayed by the game—...

This concludes Chapter 2!

Chapter 3 will follow, so I would be grateful if you could continue to follow along.

*The start date will be announced in an activity report when it’s decided.

I was able to write this far thanks to everyone who has always read it.

Your warm comments have always been a great encouragement.

No matter how many times I say thank you, it’s not enough!

Thank you.