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The engagement ceremony was prepared by the Imperial Family.
The Imperial Palace opened its grand banquet hall for the engagement of Emblem and Gray. That alone meant the ceremony was being held under the Emperor's auspices.
On the way to the palace, I encountered countless people.
'Emblem and Gray's engagement, huh. Even I wouldn't want to miss such a spectacle.'
Those who caught sight of me, their eyes shining, never missed a chance to strike up a conversation as I passed.
"Dame Cherrya! Congratulations."
"Hahaha, so now we won't be seeing you duel with Sir Enoch anymore, will we?"
"From now on, if the two of you fight, should we call it Emblem and Gray's duel, or just a lovers' quarrel?"
Every playful remark carried a hidden edge. With the history between Emblem and Gray, they were really probing what this engagement was supposed to mean.
"Ah, yes, yes. Please enjoy yourselves."
Brushing off their words halfheartedly, I quickened my pace.
Along the way, I had to pick up young ladies who burst into tears and collapsed as they looked at me with desperate eyes, and even toss aside a few who tried to rush at me, declaring they couldn't just let me go like this. Because of all that, I arrived later than I had expected at the ceremony hall.
"Oh my, my lady. Why are you in uniform instead of a dress?"
As I arrived, Jessia, who had been tidying the bride's waiting room, approached me with a question.
"Just bear with it until the ceremony starts. I'll change later… or not."
In truth, I hadn't even brought a dress. The idea of wearing something gaudy and glittering in front of everyone was unbearable. I would have rather bitten my tongue and died.
"Goodness, there's so much to prepare before the ceremony! You should've just worn it from the start!"
"How could I get all that done in such an uncomfortable dress?"
"Well, that's true, but still…"
Jessia let out a heavy sigh and continued.
"Honestly, the Duke of Gray's household is something else. They left every little detail of the engagement to us. At the very least, Lord Edward should have come, don't you think?"
"What does it matter? Thanks to that, we get to do whatever we like with someone else's money. If Duke Gray were here, he'd probably be horrified."
The lavish decorations that smothered the engagement hall in sparkling splendor were the result of money being poured in with the awareness that the entire empire, and even the continent, would be watching.
Of course, nearly all of that money came from the Gray family.
After the Emperor collapsed, Jade Gray was too busy supporting the Crown Prince politically against the Empress and the Second Prince. Aunt Diana, who had just regained her status, had gone off to Kratyn Forest to follow Enoch.
Uncle Edward was technically still around, but ever since Aunt Diana's return, he had stuck to her side like glue.
When Aunt Diana announced she was leaving to be with Enoch, Uncle Edward spent several nights weeping, until he burned himself out with fever and collapsed. He was now bedridden, so much so that attending this engagement was out of the question.
"Dad said opportunities to drain the Gray family's fortune don't come often."
"That's true, but… what if the Gray household sends us the bill afterward? That would be terrifying…"
Even Jessia, who had insisted that our lady's engagement should outshine even imperial ceremonies, was starting to falter. Dad had been spending the Gray family's money with reckless abandon.
The result was this bridal waiting room, decorated entirely with the rarest of flowers, so lavishly arranged it felt as though one's soul might float away.
"The Gray family has their pride. They'd never say a word about it. More importantly, I…"
Clutching the white bouquet placed in front of me, I let out a deep sigh.
Now that I was here, it finally sank in, I really was going to be engaged to that bastard, Enoch Gray.
"Jessia, have all the guests arrived?"
"Yes. Since His Eminence the Archbishop must remain by His Majesty's side, he sent a bishop in his stead. Will that be all right?"
"Even better. Whenever I'm in front of the Archbishop, it feels like I'm completely stripped bare. I can't stand that discomfort."
I sat down on the chair prepared in the bride's waiting room and glanced over the guest list Jessia handed me. It included the gifts they had sent for the engagement.
Since I would need to thank them at the party following the ceremony, I at least had to memorize the list roughly.
"There are some people waiting outside who want to greet you before the engagement begins. Should I let them in?"
"Don't bother."
"What?"
"How could I let people see me sitting in the middle of this ridiculous waiting room? Send them away."
"But…"
"No buts. Send them off."
At my firm answer, Jessia kept glancing back at me with regret before finally stepping out of the bridal waiting room.
A small commotion broke out outside. If I sharpened my senses, I could easily pick up what was being said, but I deliberately shut my ears and closed my eyes.
In this mood, even if Enoch returned safely from Kratyn Forest, I felt like I'd just kill him and send him right back.
"Do I really have to get engaged to him?"
My mind understood it, but my heart still refused to accept that I would be bound to Enoch Gray. The rival I had fought and brawled with my whole life, my enemy, was now supposed to be my fiancé.
Could there be a title that suited him less?
"When he shows up, I'll kill him, Enoch Gray."
I tossed aside the guest list, tempted to hurl the bouquet as well. That's when Jessia returned, having finished dealing with the guests outside. Seeing my face, she sighed and said.
"On such a happy day, at least try to smile, Lady Cherrya."
Then, as if time was pressing, she added.
"When will you change into your dress?"
I glanced at her sideways before replying,
"I'm not changing. What's wrong with this?"
"What's wrong with it?!"
Sensing that I was going to stick with my uniform to the end, Jessia snapped.
"What noble lady shows up to her own engagement in a knight's uniform? With a sword, no less!"
"As the commander of the Emblem Knights, this is the highest form of respect I can show."
"And why must you show that kind of respect at your own engagement ceremony?!"
Jessia's face flushed red in outrage, and she even jabbed a finger at me.
"Do you even realize what the union of Emblem and Gray means? The entire continent has been waiting for this engagement!"
"Of course I know. Everyone does. The Emblem Knights and the Gray Knights have fought like mortal enemies for generations. Now, the heirs of both houses are joining together, of course everyone's curious and flocking here to watch."
"…Lady Cherrya!"
Jessia looked ready to faint from exasperation.
"Enoch Gray has been missing in Kratyn Forest for a whole week. If luck's on our side, maybe the engagement will be canceled. Then I'll gladly give up the honor of being the first lady in the Empire to attend her engagement in uniform."
In truth, the fact that Enoch hadn't gone missing was top secret. Jessia only knew that he had not yet returned from Kratyn Forest.
"Wait, do you know something? Is the rumor true that Sir Enoch has actually gone missing? Tell me!"
Even while preparing for today's ceremony, she had been worrying that this whole engagement was just a smokescreen by House Gray to cover up Enoch's disappearance.
That Emblem was being used by Gray.
Considering that Duke Gray, Aunt Diana, and Uncle Edward had all been unable to play much of a role in preparing this engagement, Jessia's suspicions were only natural.
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