Chapter 6.6

The wedding of Heizen and Rizle was held at Troskan Castle, strongly insisted upon by the Marquis of Thruella. The smooth progress of the wedding almost made people suspect that the previous delays were caused by the Marquis himself. 

“We must have the wedding before winter comes.”

This was the reasoning provided by the Marquis of Thruella, though everyone assumed there was a deeper motive.

Rizle didn’t particularly care where the wedding was held. She simply agreed with her father’s suggestion that summer was a good time for a cool location like Troskan Castle. Aside from that, she had no major complaints about the wedding preparations, except for one significant issue.

“Why can’t the groom see my dress before the wedding?”

She wanted to show Heizen her dress and ask his opinion on what suited her best, but everyone around her insisted it was forbidden. They claimed that if the groom saw the bride’s dress before the wedding, it would bring misfortune. Rizle dismissed this as a mere superstition and tried to secretly ask Heizen, but she failed. Surprisingly, he was someone who took such matters seriously.

“It’s fine, Heizen. Nothing bad will happen.”

Even when Rizle encouraged him to open his eyes, Heizen tightly shut them, covering his face with his large hand and shaking his head.

“I don’t want to blame myself for any misfortune that might occur in the future, thinking it’s because I saw you beforehand.”

Heizen’s stubbornness was hard to overcome, even for Rizle. In the end, she had no choice but to ask him to at least choose the color.

“White. A white dress would be nice.”

She expected him to be uncertain, but he replied without hesitation.

“I prefer white.”

He emphasized it three times. Although he was too afraid of potential misfortune to look at her, it seemed he had a clear image of her in his mind. Rizle decided to wear a white dress for the wedding.

On the wedding day, Rizle felt both excited and anxious. The white wedding dress appeared to be Heizen’s dream, but she worried about disappointing him when he finally saw her. Heizen always tried his best to fulfill her wishes, and she wanted to do the same for him. However, without his confirmation, she felt uncertain.

“Don’t worry, Miss. You are the most beautiful person in the world today!”

Mary tried to encourage her, but it didn’t help much. Mary always told her she looked beautiful no matter what she wore.

“Even if you have to force yourself, you must show a happy expression. Otherwise, your father, who is escorting you, might cancel the wedding, claiming he can’t give away his daughter.”

The Marchioness of Thruella chuckled as she said this.

“Doesn’t the Marchioness’s joke ease your nerves a little?”

Mary asked, but the Marchioness of Thruella turned serious.

“It’s not a joke.”

“…….”

“He’s capable of doing just that.”

Mary also knew that the Marchioness’s words might not be entirely untrue. She had only tried to pass it off as a joke, but hearing it directly from the Marchioness made it hard to respond.

“Anyway, I’m willing to bet my month’s salary that Count Warkliber will smile brightly the moment he sees you.”

Mary declared confidently.

“Isn’t that too much to wager?”

“That’s how confident I am.”

Although unsure if it was okay, Rizle still appreciated Mary’s effort to ease her nerves.

“From today, I won’t be able to call you ‘Miss’ anymore. You’ll be the Countess Warkliber.”

“Yes.”

Hearing the title “Countess” from Mary’s lips made the reality of marriage hit Rizle. Not only Mary but many others would now call her the Countess Warkliber. She was no longer the mischievous youngest daughter of the Marquis of Thruella but the Countess Warkliber. This made her feel as though she needed to live more seriously and carry herself with calm dignity.

“You need to mature now that you’re married. Understand?”

As if reading her thoughts, the Marchioness of Thruella spoke.

“You can’t act like a child anymore.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Rizle replied calmly, and the Marchioness’s eyes grew moist for a moment.

“In front of others, you mustn’t, but with your father and me, you can always be our little girl. We’ll always be on your side.”

Just as the Marquis of Thruella had once said, if Heizen Warkliber ever caused tears to fall from their daughter’s eyes or if a single line in her letters hinted at distress, the Marquis would rush to Castle of Boeur to resolve the matter. The Marchioness had no intention of stopping him. Instead, she would urge him to go immediately, claiming concern for Rizle.

“Even after you’re married and have children, you’ll always be our beloved daughter.”

The Marchioness of Thruella held her daughter’s hand tightly as she spoke.

Although her husband acted overly protective, pretending otherwise, she couldn’t help but feel that Heizen Warkliber was like a thief taking their daughter.

“Sniff.”

When Rizle, moved by her mother’s words, was about to cry, the Marchioness of Thruella sternly said,

“Stop. Don’t cry. Your makeup will smudge.”

“Sniff.”

Rizle glared resentfully at her mother, who had moved her to tears but now forbade her from crying.

The time had come. Rizle adjusted her makeup and dress one last time before heading to the ceremony. Thanks to Mary’s efforts to lighten the mood, Rizle’s nerves had somewhat calmed, but they returned as she approached the venue.

At the entrance, the Marquis, who had been waiting, burst into tears the moment he saw his daughter. Without a word, the Marchioness handed him a handkerchief, as if she had anticipated this. He wiped his tears with it but started crying again as soon as he looked at Rizle’s face. No matter how much he wiped, the tears wouldn’t stop.

“Everyone else is smiling and congratulating us. Why are you like this?”

The Marchioness scolded him, saying he was the only one crying and should stop, but he couldn’t.

Surprisingly, there was another person crying. When Rizle, arm in arm with her father, stood before Heizen, he, too, began to shed tears.

‘He’s crying instead of smiling. Mary is going to lose her month’s salary.’

Rizle thought to herself as she gently wiped Heizen’s tears with the veil on her head.

“Ahem.”

The Marchioness of Thruella cleared her throat uncomfortably from behind. Her gaze seemed to say, “Don’t use the veil to wipe tears.” Rizle put the veil back down and stood beside Heizen.

“Heizen, why are you crying so much?”

Rizle whispered to Heizen, who, like her father, seemed to have a faucet turned on in his eyes, as tears continued to flow.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that you look so beautiful in white.”

The thought of her looking stunning in the white dress overwhelmed him. Memories of the past flashed through Heizen’s mind—the years when he couldn’t tell her how much he liked white on her. Though it wasn’t the same dress, the sight of Rizle in white, marrying him, was almost unbelievable.

Since being with her, every day felt like a series of surprises.

“I never knew you could cry. It’s unexpected.”

“I didn’t know either. As far as I can remember, I’ve never cried before.”

“Liar. How could someone like that cry so easily now?”

Rizle looked at him suspiciously and smirked.

“Anyway, smile. If you don’t, my maid will lose a lot of money.”

Rizle glanced back to see Mary looking distressed. With everyone crying, it seemed the wedding might turn into a sea of tears.

Why was everyone crying on such a happy day? Rizle felt it was unfair that she couldn’t cry because her mother, the Marchioness, had scolded her to stop. Yet, with everyone else crying, she felt a bit resentful.

“If you keep crying like this, I might start crying too.”

“It’s not allowed.”

“Why is it allowed for you but not for me, Heizen?”

Rizle frowned and glared at Heizen. He always acted as if he would do anything for her, but upon reflection, there were far too many things he said she couldn’t do.

“If you keep saying no, I’m going to rebel.”

“It’s not allowed.”

“You said no again!”

The two of them whispered and bickered.

“Ahem, ahem!”

Their voices must have been too loud because the Marchioness of Thruella cleared her throat repeatedly. Rizle quickly shut her mouth.

“If you cry, it will break my heart. And…”

“And?”

“If you cry, the Marquis of Thruella, who’s glaring at me like he wants to kill me, will actually kill me.”

Rizle instinctively nodded.

“All right. I don’t want to lose my husband on the first day of marriage, so I’ll smile. But you have to smile too, Heizen.”

“Understood.”

Heizen held her hand and took a deep breath. Then, he forced the corners of his mouth upward, making himself smile. The result was a crying man who was also smiling.

It was a strange expression. It couldn’t be called handsome, but Rizle found herself smiling fondly. Her soon-to-be husband, Heizen Warkliber, looked so foolish that it was endearing.

“Heizen.”

“I’m smiling.”

Thinking she was about to scold him, Heizen murmured nervously. He tried even harder to lift the corners of his mouth, though it felt like his face might start twitching. Still, he endured it, having practiced for this day.

“I love you.”

“……Hic.”

Heizen’s lips trembled slightly. He resented Rizle for making him cry while telling him to smile.

When the wedding of Count Warkliber concluded, rumors spread that the cherished youngest daughter of the Marquis of Thruella had married a man who was just as doting as her father. When asked what people remembered most from the wedding, they answered:

That the Black Rock of a man who burst into tears the moment he saw the bride.

『A Proposal That Was Completely News to Me』 Ends