Chapter 4 – It’s My Wedding
“Your Highness, Young Master, please be ready.”
“Alright.”
Alfred nodded lightly and took the basket from the hand of the maid holding it.
Behind Alfred’s back, I stretched my chin around and made eye contact with Theodor, his eyes burned like charcoal.
‘Wh, what’s wrong with him?’
“The ceremony begins.”
At the servant’s signal, Theodor lifted his head proudly, one eyebrow cocked, raised his arms, and issued his marching orders.
“Follow only Theodor, Stepmother!”
Then he went and stood in front of Crown Prince Alfred.
Michael was embarrassed and quickly approached him and bowed, saying,
“Your Grace, the Crown Prince must stand at the front.”
As he politely put his hands together and spoke, Theodor’s eyebrows rose.
I had to interfere.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Grace.”
Green and red eyes looked at me in tandem. The two little kids’ eyes were so intense they twinkled like green and red light bulbs at Christmas.
I shuddered a little as I was mesmerized by those green and red lights.
Stepping up, I could see Michael showing his displeasure by snorting like a bull.
I didn’t care.
There was no need to care about the greedy old man.
Anyway, the star of this wedding was me, Sinclair.
And if the devil destined to destroy the Empire and the male lead who tried to save the Empire get along and build memories, wouldn’t the original story change a little?
I bent my knees slightly, and squinting a little I looked straight at those green and red eyes.
“Since you are already one family, could you stand side by side? It would be a blessing more powerful than any other if the two of you could light the way for me.”
Then Michael stepped in and yelled.
“What are you talking about?! According to tradition, until reaching the chapel where the ceremony is held, the Crown Prince leads, followed by His Grace the Grand Prince, after that, I, the father. Finally, you must follow obediently accompanied by a maid of honor!”
Michael. He was a greedy extra who died at the hands of his son and a tyrannical father to Sinclair in the novel. But I was not his daughter, so I wasn’t intimidated.
“This is my marriage, father! Now that my status will be higher than that of my father, it is right to stand behind me.”
Michael’s face turned white. The corners of his lips trembled angrily.
‘You can handle such embarrassment yourself.’
I smiled sweetly, passed Michael, and reached out my hands to the two boys, one at a time.
The children happily held a basket of flowers in one hand and held out the other to me.
Escorted by two men, I walked toward the door of the bridal room.
As we reached the door, I put my hands together in front of me.
Naturally, Theodor and Alfred stood side by side in front of me.
A long corridor stretched from the front door to the chapel.
I couldn’t close my mouth at the sight.
It was grand and resplendent. But as appropriate for a chapel in a tragedy novel, it was quite bizarre.
The golden pillars were made of human figures. Maybe Gods? They were naked, crying, laughing, roaring, or furious, supporting the ceiling in glorious nakedness.
Their grotesque expressions were frightening.
‘What if they throw out the ceiling and jump at me like a Transformer?’
Then the sweet smell of flowers tickled my nose.
On either side of the corridor, a large white peony about 10 centimeters wide and pink, purple, and light blue hydrangeas, and green four-leaf clovers abundantly formed a path of flowers.
And on the floor, expensive Lycianthus petals and blossoms were scattered so thickly the white satin carpet could not be seen.
My fright subsided.
‘This is the first flower garden in the life of Kang Joo-hee.’
Dong, Dong, Dong.
The bell announcing the wedding ceremony rang.
Theodor turned and looked up at me. The corners of his lips hung over his ears.
That smile seemed to say, ‘Nice to meet you. I’ll kill you slowly.’
That’s right. I tread lightly on these splendid flowers and toward my death.
‘Damn it, I’m stuck in a dead flag!’
And then.
A pure white curtain waved at me and seduced me.
‘Run away through the open window and live in hiding.’
It seemed like a good idea. I could run to the main chapel, steal the priest’s clothes, and if I sold the jewelry in the dress, I could take a boat to the south…
Then I saw several knights with long spears standing like decorations in the hallway.
‘I’ll die before I can get out.’
I suppressed my desire to run away.
Solemn music flowed from the chapel in the distance.
“We must leave.”
I sighed unaware. Alfred, not knowing my heart, looked back and smiled.
I wanted to cry, but I smiled back at him. Seeing this, Theodor winked at me and took a step ahead.
Then Alfred followed behind him, trying not to fall behind.
The young children took the lead, holding their baskets of white rose petals.
Relax your shoulders and breathe. I started walking down the hall toward the showdown.
The solemn music suddenly turned into soft and romantic music.
“Sinclair Vonzeyer, the future Madam of the Vonzeyer family, enter!”
The nobles sitting in the guest seats all turned around, and when they saw me standing alone behind the flower boys, they began whispering.
Predictably, Michael, who was following me, stood elegantly next to me and murmured in a small voice like a ventriloquist.
“Behave meekly and formally.”
‘For whom is the formality?’
“Enter the bride!”
The music gradually changed to a splendid marching song, and the two flower boys spread their petals and marched forward.
Michael held out his arm to me, but I pushed it aside to enter the room alone.
The guests’ whispers were now a buzz.
It was a small revenge against a father who abused his daughter.
And it was also an unspoken declaration that things wouldn’t go his way in the future.
Perhaps this wasn’t a sight that Sinclair wanted to show to her father and his family.
Didn’t she try to kill herself by drinking poison in the bridal room on her wedding day?
Unlike the original, I possessed her body now, and I walked forward on the Virgin Road, stepping on the blessing petals strewn by Alfred, once my comfort, and the leaves of flowers thrown by the devil who would grant me a bloody death in the future.
tl-n: ‘virgin road’ it’s Japanese-English slang for the wedding aisle the bride walks through.
However, it seemed that the rivalry between the two of them wasn’t over.
When Alfred sprayed a bit, Theodor sprayed a little more petals towards the guest.
And then the other sprayed more and more!
Spraying more, and more, and more, and more!
And more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more.
And they kept sprinkling more, and more, and more!!
And suddenly Alfred stood tall.
And I stopped, too.
The guests, with their heads bowed down, looked at the Crown Prince curiously.
‘What’s going on?’
I glanced gracefully at Alfred’s basket.
Unsurprisingly, Alfred’s flower basket was empty after their spraying competition.
Theodor, who was ahead, turned around when Alfred didn’t move. He tilted his head and walked over to see what was going on.
Theodor, sporting a victor’s smile, extended his basket towards Alfred.
Alfred seemed to hesitate for a moment, then finally grasped a handful of petals and put them in his basket.
Then Theodor proffered the basket again as if encouraging him to take more.
Alfred picked up another fistful of petals and placed them in his basket.
Theodor checked Alfred’s basket, nodded, and went in front of him.
And then, full of spirit, sprayed petals in front of him.
Behind him, Alfred sprinkled the flowers one tempo late.
When Theodor sprayed on the left, Alfred adjusted the amount and sprayed on the right.
Left, right, left, right.
By the time their collaboration was in sync, the march was over. At last, we reached the end of the chapel aisle.
Alfred calmly returned to his seat.
However, Theodor took the basket and headed toward the altar rather than his guest seat.
‘Why are you doing that?’
Theodor approached the man standing like a wooden statue before the altar.
Then he took something out of his pocket and sprayed it into the air.
Petals.
The amount was quite large, perhaps saved especially for this moment.
White rose petals fluttered in the air like butterflies, falling from Gerard’s ebony hair, from his hard shoulders, and his long eyelashes.
‘Oh, my God! How can a man be so beautiful?!’
Theodor looked at me and bowed slightly before taking his seat.
Was it a gift for me?
Theodor was a kid who knew how to stage an event.
Gerard gently brushed off the petals that had fallen on his head with his white-gloved hand.
Then he noticed my stare and looked at me.
His emerald-green eyes resembling Alfred’s shone like the sunlit South Pacific sea near a coral island.
Ba-Dump!
My heart sank, and I bowed my head quickly.
He approached me and held out his long, firm, gloved hand.
I was beguiled. A formal outfit on a solid body with an intellectual aura.
As expected, men should wear uniforms.
Then suddenly,
“Let’s get this over with.”
His low and dry voice woke me up.
That’s right. It wasn’t the right moment for me to be dazzled.
I agreed with him. I had to end this performance quickly.
After everyone’s eyes had shifted from me, I had to forge a plan to save my precious life, so it was correct to end quickly.
However, the petals adorning his ear kept catching my eye; I reached out my hand then dropped it gently.
I think I saw his eyes widen for a second, but I was probably mistaken.
“Does the groom, Archduke Gerard Vonzeyer, swear to cherish and love the bride, Miss Sinclair Owen, for the rest of her life?”
“Yes, I swear.”
Gerard’s voice was quite sweet enough to be that of a ballad singer with low and mid-pitched tones.
It felt like my whole body was melting.
I looked up at his side profile for a moment. The raised nose felt unrealistic.
‘How could this be a human face? It’s a statue.’
If it weren’t for the dead flag of my brutal murder by my stepson, perhaps I would happily say yes to this handsome and highly ranked Grand Duke in this hierarchical society.
“Bride, Miss Sinclair Owen!”
I must have been staring at Gerard too hard. At the high priest’s call, I shifted my attention again and looked at him.
“Do you swear to cherish and love your bridegroom, Archduke Gerard Vonzeyer, for the rest of your life?”
“…”
I had a decision to make.