“Alix, don’t worry too much. I’ll assist Mother well.”

Mélisande spoke calmly. She had been the one who insisted on going in her place. Antoine had politely declined to accompany her, citing a busy schedule with the Privy Council.

But in her view, it was clearly not because of Privy Council work—it was because he didn’t want to leave the hysterical Caleb behind. If that’s the case, why not return the marquis title and go live on some island together? Ah, but even if he returned the marquis title, there’s no one else to be marquis. Unless she married and had children. She reached a desperate conclusion again.

Father too. He should have had at least one more son before passing away. Since the old imperial law restricted women’s succession, she couldn’t become marquis instead. She clicked her tongue inwardly. The conclusion was again her marriage and childbirth.

“Mademoiselle?”

At the maid’s careful call, she quickly emerged from her thoughts. While designating several outfits to the maid asking what to dress Mélisande in, she habitually brought up the topic again.

“Mélisande, as I’ve always said, Mélisande, you’re……”

“The legitimate Marchioness of Levizet, so I should conduct myself with dignity, right?”

Though it must be tiresome, the kind Mélisande answered faithfully. The maids looked at her like she was a cult leader brainwashing an innocent lamb, but what could she do? She was at least making choices for everyone’s sake. Well, probably for almost everyone?

***

Mademoiselle Lambize’s wedding held at Duke Lorge’s capital mansion was somewhat small in scale for the ceremony of the daughter of the empire’s second-in-command naval officer.

There was probably judgment that it would be somewhat inappropriate to proceed luxuriously with the union between military families during wartime. Moreover, since the groom, who was an officer, would soon have to leave for the northern front, there was also a sense of rushing through it.

Still, it was relatively modest but didn’t lack dignity.

The banquet hall of the Lorge family where the ceremony and reception would be held wasn’t as luxurious as the imperial palace to the point of being unable to look away, but it was sufficiently elegant and beautiful. Those with discerning eyes would have noticed that the fresh flowers decorating the banquet hall were precious varieties that could only be seen in imperial greenhouses.

Though the number of guests was small due to most of the military generals who were acquaintances of both families being on the battlefield, the presence of the crown prince and crown princess at the ceremony maintained dignity. By now, the crown prince couple would be sitting in the guest seats. Thinking various thoughts, she spoke to the bride.

“Let me say once again, congratulations on your marriage, Mademoiselle Lambize.”

Elizabeth Lambize smiled gently. She had a modest and quiet personality and didn’t engage in social activities as actively as her younger sister Sophie. However, since she would become the wife of Lord Lorge, who was expected to become an influential power in the military, her influence in society couldn’t be ignored.

“This is the last time I’ll be called ‘Mademoiselle Lambize.’ How regrettable.”

“Now it’s time to pass that title to me.”

Sophie, who handed the bride a peony bouquet, joked. The women surrounding Elizabeth laughed merrily. According to imperial etiquette, the title with the family name after ‘Mademoiselle’ could only be received by the family head’s eldest legitimate daughter. It was the same context as her being the only ‘Mademoiselle Levizet.’ However, when the eldest daughter married and changed her surname, that name would pass to the second daughter.

So in ten minutes, Sophie would become ‘Mademoiselle Lambize,’ and Elizabeth would officially become ‘Madame Elizabeth of Lorge.’ Soon she would become ‘Duchess Elizabeth Lorge.’ Soon word came for the bride and bridesmaids to stand by, and Sophie and she lined up behind the bride.

To have a legitimate marriage in the Lamuah Empire, three elements were needed. The first was the groom and bride. This was so obvious it needed no explanation.

The second was a priest. Whether it was a lower-ranking cleric that country folk sought or a high-ranking cleric of bishop level or above who presided over great nobles’ marriages, for the marriage to become a ‘proper union made before God,’ a priest treated as God’s representative had to guarantee the wedding.

And the third was witnesses. If the priest was God’s representative, witnesses were spokespersons for the entire civilized society built by humanity. In other words, as representatives of humanity, they testified based on the civilization and laws humans had built that these two people had legally become husband and wife.

Actually, with just these three elements, the form of marriage didn’t matter much. Whether in the imperial palace, in a temple, or even impromptu on the street or in a shabby inn. However, this made the ‘sacred union made before God and humans’ unable to be broken carelessly.

Since there was no major restriction on the number of wedding witnesses, usually all the bridesmaids served as witnesses. The current crown prince’s wedding had as many as twenty witnesses. In Mélisande and Antoine’s case, only Caleb served as the witness.

Anyway, as one of the bride’s bridesmaids today, serving as one of the witnesses, she also felt some burden. She just had to answer at the right time, but thinking that she had to guarantee this wedding as a representative of humanity, that grand title was somewhat difficult.

To kill her slightly tense nerves, she began thinking of other things. Who was supposed to stand as the groom’s groomsmen? Probably one knight who was the groom’s aide and Marquis Pengson, Sophie’s fiancé?

When the number of male and female attendants matched, there was a custom for the attendants to dance together following the bride and groom at the reception, so she had to see who she would dance with. Sophie would naturally dance with her fiancé, and she would dance with that aide. But who was that aide? She couldn’t remember.

“You may enter now.”

At the head maid’s whisper, she quickly came to her senses. The band began playing a slow march, and following that melody, Elizabeth walked down the bride’s path with downcast eyes, gliding smoothly. Concentrating on the hem of her white dress, she slowly followed behind, holding a bouquet of orange blossoms symbolizing the bride’s joy.

Soon Elizabeth reached the archbishop standing on the platform set up at the end of the bride’s path and knelt there with the groom. Following them, the bridesmaids bowed their heads to show respect to God. Today’s archbishop stood here not as just a kind-hearted bald gentleman, but as God’s representative.

“Son of Lorge, Joseph Charles Isidore. Do you swear to take the daughter of Lambize, Elizabeth Anne Therese, as your wife, to share all moments of life in faith and love?”

“I swear.”

“Daughter of Lambize, Elizabeth Anne Therese. Do you swear to take the son of Lorge, Joseph Charles Isidore, as your husband, to share all moments of life in faith and love?”

“I swear.”

Her neck became stiff from the long wedding sermon that followed the bride and groom’s vows. Only after the archbishop had long recited arguments about how blessed it was to form a family based on respect and love and blessing the family that would prosper thereby could she tell that the long sermon was finally ending.

“……Thus, the groom and bride have left their parents and united to become one flesh, and I declare that what God has joined together, man must not dare to separate.”

Finally, the archbishop’s words that had felt eternal stopped. Actually, she felt more joy at being able to raise her stiff neck soon than at the fact that the bride and groom had officially been united before God, which made her feel somewhat self-loathing, but she soon rationalized it.

Why, the golden rose crown she was wearing on her head was so heavy. If she had kept her head down a little longer, her neck bones might have broken.

“Witnesses, listen.”

The archbishop continued.

“As representatives of humanity who have enjoyed and conquered the created world made by God to build civilization, do the witnesses standing here solemnly testify that the union of the bride and groom was made in God’s name?”

The bridesmaids lined up from the left began answering one by one. Sophie started.

“Sophie Victoire Anne, daughter of Lambize, solemnly testifies.”

“Alix Armengarde Eleonor, daughter of Levizet, solemnly testifies.”

She passed safely. The groom’s groomsman on the right opened his mouth.

“Alan Jean Philippe, son of Pengson, solemnly testifies.”

These were names she knew up to here. Then was the last witness that unknown aide? She waited for the last witness’s words.

“Lysander Anastasius Theobald, son of Nicerion, solemnly testifies.”

Ah. The aide of Nicerion. She thought blankly and then came to her senses.

Wait, what? Nicerion? Lysander Nicerion? The Northern Grand Duke?

Wait! Why are you appearing here again?

***

The journey from the imperial capital Fadesa to the Levizet marquis territory located in the empire’s southeast was quite far.

Though Madame Eleonor hadn’t come out of her cabin or opened her door to Mélisande on the boat going down the Sirelir River, the empire’s lifeline, she couldn’t avoid riding in the same carriage going down.

As if giving hints to her unwelcome traveling companion, Madame Eleonor kept her mouth shut like a clam and only examined ledgers. Four days since leaving the palace. Even now with Levizet territory in sight, when she might say at least a word. Mélisande carefully broke the silence.

“Um, Mother.”

“Who is your mother?”

Eleonor cut off her words with one stroke. The cold treatment from the former ‘She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Madame,’ who had served as the empress’s head maid at court and had caught several maids, was cold and murderous enough to make most young women immediately tear up.

Madame Eleonor, who expected her to immediately shrink back in intimidation, raised her eyebrows when Mélisande was smiling brightly contrary to expectations.

“That’s right, actually you’re so beautiful that I hesitate to call you Mother. Mother, you could be believed to be Alix’s sister. How are you so young and beautiful?”

It was a strangely off-focus yet bright manner of speaking. Madame Eleonor made a sound of disbelief.

“Know your place.”

“Yes! I know my place very well.”