🌸 Chapter 7 🌸

The wedding route had been changed at the last minute to hide Ares’s identity, but the servants of the Habinent family followed the new instructions perfectly.

The wedding hall was arranged almost like a modern hotel wedding hall. At first, most of the nobles looked confused. But soon, they secretly liked the setup because there were tables and chairs where they could sit and rest.

“The Duke surprises us in many ways. Bringing that woman into the family was already strange enough, but this unusual wedding ceremony is something else. And he isn’t even greeting the guests before the ceremony begins. He really is impossible to understand.”

Countess Jeanne whispered to the woman sitting beside her.

Duchess Nerita, who had been quietly drinking tea, spoke up.

“That woman? You should be careful with your words. From today, she will be the lady of the Habinent family. You know what kind of family the Habinents are.”

The Nerita family was also one of the five sacred families of the empire, just like the Habinent family.

Duchess Nerita was the real person in control of the family because the Duke of Nerita had been badly injured during the war two years ago.

Hearing the words of such a powerful person, Countess Jeanne became nervous and lowered her head.

“I was careless again… I’m sorry, Duchess. I will be more careful from now on.”

“Oh, come on! Why is everyone so serious on such a happy day?”

The Duke of Nerita, who was sitting beside his wife, laughed loudly and tried to lighten the mood.

“Honestly, I don’t know how thankful I am for these chairs. Ever since my body was injured during the war between the continents, standing for a long time has been difficult for me.”

“To be honest, I hope there will be more parties like this!”

Since the Duke of Nerita had stopped attending social events after his injury, everyone could only remain silent and listen to him.

“Young people really are thoughtful. And I suppose people these days are clever too.”

Duchess Nerita was the only noble who openly liked Herina.

She remembered the intelligence hidden behind Herina’s innocent-looking face and smiled as if she found the whole thing amusing.

She knew very well that such an idea could never have come from the conservative Duke.

How could I hate a girl who does something this cute?

“What matters is where she came from. She is more valuable than anyone else here.”

At that moment, a loud announcement rang through the hall.

“The Duke and Duchess of Habinent are entering!”

The noise died down.

Grand music began to play, and beautiful fireworks exploded.

Even the weather seemed to celebrate the Duke and Duchess becoming a married couple. The sky was perfectly clear, and there was not even a little wind.

“The bride and groom are entering together?”

The guests were stunned by yet another unusual decision.

They hurriedly stood up and began clapping.

But the applause did not last long.

The beautiful bride was certainly enough to attract attention.

However, the truly shocking sight was the groom standing beside her while wearing a veil.

“T-The Duke… The Duke of Habinent is wearing a veil…”

“The veil isn’t even the only thing! The Duchess is wearing the Duke’s coronet!”

At a wedding belonging to one of the most traditional and respected families, the head of the family was dressed like this.

Some members of the more traditional families even held their heads as if they were about to collapse.

“What’s the big deal?”

Herina watched them and gave a small laugh.

But Ares, standing beside her, had trouble staying calm.

He could not stop thinking that he had personally ruined the reputation that the Habinent family had built over generations.

“Ares, are you scared?”

“Scared…? What kind of careless way of speaking is that?”

Ares barely managed to hide his shocked expression.

Herina continued smiling.

“Don’t be scared. I told you. All we need is a good reason.”

“And do you really think such a great family will collapse because of one strange wedding?”

“Your future self is much more powerful than you think.”

Only after Herina and Ares reached the end of the long carpet stretching across the hall did the music stop.

They greeted each other and then turned toward the guests.

Even this arrangement was something the nobles had never seen before.

They could not even sit down yet. They simply stood there and watched the two of them.

“Everyone who has been invited to this celebration, please take your seats.”

When the host made the announcement, the nobles slowly sat down with confused expressions.

Once the noise in the hall became quiet, Ares finally spoke.

“Thank you all for coming here even though you are busy.”

“I understand that some of you may be confused by this unfamiliar ceremony.”

“But this wedding is also a small version of the life that my wife and I wish to live together.”

“We wanted to consider our honored guests who might become tired during a long ceremony and remove unnecessary formalities.”

“So we created this place as the first decision we could make entirely by ourselves.”

Everyone stared at the Duke wearing the veil, wondering what he was trying to say.

“We will also not read the traditional marriage declaration.”

“Instead, we exchanged something meaningful to show that we will share each other’s responsibilities, feelings, and burdens from now on.”

“My wife and I will depend on each other and support each other.”

“And we will make all our decisions together without allowing either side to have all the power.”

Ares paused for a moment.

The Duke’s coronet on the top of Herina’s head sparkled brightly under the sunlight.

“We will act in a way that is worthy of our positions and that we will never be ashamed of.”

“Please become witnesses to our promise.”

The nobles clapped, still looking confused.

They expected the ceremony to continue normally.

But Ares’s next words were something no one had expected.

“I believe that everyone who came here today will also support our wishes.”

“So, in the names of everyone who attended today, we plan to make a donation for the people of the empire.”

“There will not be as many fancy attractions as there are at other celebrations.”

“But we hope to make your visit today even more meaningful.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Normally, especially at a wedding, the bride and groom would walk around after the ceremony and greet all the guests.

But Ares could not do that now.

So they had removed that part of the ceremony completely.

“How can people be this thoughtful?”

“This really shows why they are one of the five sacred families that support the empire!”

Just when it seemed that someone might object, a loud round of applause came from the back of the hall.

Someone stood up.

Herina’s eyes widened when she recognized him.

“Your Highness…”

The second prince, who was supposed to be abroad, had secretly attended the wedding.

Of course, they had sent him an invitation.

But they never expected him to actually come.

Both Herina and Ares were unable to hide their surprise.

“I, of course, and everyone here, are honored to take part in your meaningful decision.”

The nobles recognized the prince and quickly stood up to show their respect.

The prince simply nodded and spoke confidently.

Thanks to the prince’s support, the nobles did not protest.

Instead, they returned home with a strange feeling of pride.

“Actually, their pride might have come from the expensive gifts they received…”

The Habinent family had quickly prepared a booklet where each guest could choose the return gift they wanted.

They even promised to send the chosen gifts directly to their homes.

So there was little reason for anyone to complain.

And staying at the wedding any longer would only have made everyone tired anyway.

After all the events were finally over, Herina returned to the mansion and immediately threw off her shoes.

Ares also removed the veil and sat down on a chair.

“I don’t even know how the day passed so quickly.”

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t get rid of the feeling that I did enough crazy things today to last me a lifetime.”