Blanche looked after Allen for a moment before turning to Leon. “What were you referring to? You two only fought once, didn't you?” She didn't receive an answer, which made her narrow her eyes. “Didn't you?”

Leonard shrugged at that. “That day was the first time. But you know that I'm a sarcastic person. I didn't just stay quiet when he annoyed me. Do you know how many times that man wanted to complain to you during some balls? Just because you had stood next to Theodore or talked to him for a bit too long. It was frustrating.”

The concubine's lips formed a smile, even though she tried her best to hide it. “Don't tell me you stepped in to save me each time? Didn't you tell me that it had only been a one-time thing because you didn't want Theo to interrupt his dance to help me? How interesting. Maybe the sarcastic advisor did have some sympathy for me. Even when I was a little brat.”

Leon averted his eyes for a moment before meeting her gaze again. “Did you say ‘was’? Are you sure that you aren't still a bit of a brat?” His smile was wide enough to prove that he was joking again.

“Don't avoid the topic.” Blanche grinned at him and tapped his arm. “Come on. Tell me. How often did you play the hero and help me? How often did you keep Lord Duremont from avenging his sister?”

Leon snorted as he led her forward again. “About once during every ball. He was easy to deal with though. A few jokes were enough, and he was more angry with me, so he forgot about you. But Duke Duremont was more problematic. You can't imagine how often I needed to discuss with him. Even after you started to be more...calm in public, he wasn't too happy about you being with Theodore. So, he always wanted to rush in to remind our emperor that he should stay away from you in public. That would have caused an upsetting dispute, so I stepped in. I didn't only need to negotiate with the former empress, you know? It was pretty annoying to have to deal with that entire family. From now on, that is over though. I'm very content with that.”

Blanche couldn't help but beam at that. From this moment onward, she didn't need to feel bad about cuddling with Theodore in public. She hadn't cared much ever since her lover had divorced Seraphina, but now she had the legal obligation to hold his arm during events. It was wonderful and just another excuse for them to share affectionate gestures. But aside from that, the fact that Leonard had often helped her in secret made her smile too. “You seem to be my hero, Leon. I'm glad to hear that you kept us out of trouble. You earned yourself a vacation with this. We can discuss that later. But you definitely deserve a reward. After all, you acted like a knight in shining armor. I thought that you had a neutral opinion of me back then. Don't tell me that that was a lie?” She hadn't intended to tease him so much, but when she had the option, it was too good to pass up on it.

Leon playfully turned his head away from her. “I really distrusted you for a while. After all, you suddenly appeared in the palace and won over Theodore in five minutes. I was skeptical. But then I saw how you interact with each other and guessed that you two were addicted to one another. So, it was obvious that your presence would remain in the palace for much longer. And after talking to you, I concluded that you weren't too bad. At least I didn't hate you like I hated the former empress. Upon seeing her for the first time, I disliked her. Due to my old...profession, I would say that I'm good at judging people, so she definitely had something odd to herself. As if she would do anything to reach her goal, only to regret it afterward when the consequences would be known to her. I'm glad she left the country.” That was quite accurate.

Blanche had to admit that she was glad too. Like this, she wouldn't have to be on edge the whole time while fearing that Seraphina might remember something. But of course, she couldn't say that. So, she focused on the other half. “That means that you liked me? That's sweet of you. I was also happy to meet you. Because you always supported Theodore, I already liked you as soon as we met. After you stopped threatening me, of course. But who could have imagined that you would lead me to the altar?”

Leonard lifted his gaze to the end of the hallway, where the entrance to the main room was. “Well, theoretically, I'm not leading you alone. Owen and Noah will be there too. But they will stop at the door to avoid following us all the way to the altar.”

The concubine stopped when she remembered that and turned around. “That's right. You two did it again. I told you not to trail after us in silence. You can join the conversation too.”

Noah, who wore a bright smile as always, bowed to her when he heard that. “We are aware, Lady Blanche. We merely wanted to stay quiet to avoid distracting you. You were very focused on pondering something before meeting Lord Duremont.”

Owen seemed like the complete opposite of the other man with his stoic expression. “We did not wish to interrupt your conversation. After all, it is important for you to focus on the ceremony now.”

Noah added something as soon as his colleague finished. “And we didn't want you to get distracted and step on your dress. So, we had to walk with some distance from you.”

Blanche skeptically looked down at the train of her white gown. “It doesn't really blend in with the red carpet. I think you would have been fine with walking, looking down and talking, but well.” She showed them a bright smile. “I'm very happy that you accompanied me.”

The knights both reacted in their usual manner. Owen stayed calm while Noah's smile widened. The latter one replied in a cheerful tone. “We are glad to be allowed to accompany you on this special day. We will make sure to watch the ceremony from afar. By the way, you are a wonderful bride, Lady Blanche. His Majesty will cry out of happiness.”

Leonard opened his mouth to reply, but Owen was faster. “I can assure you that he already did so multiple times. It would be odd for him not to do it again.”

Blanche couldn't help but chuckle at that. Owen definitely wasn't open about his emotions in any way. Even after watching him for a while, she couldn't read him, but he sometimes joked, and hearing that was pleasant. She had to admit that he was right too. Theodore had cried a few times today already upon thinking about their wedding, and she had joined in each time. Poor Owen. He heard way too many of the couple's conversations. If a person was tortured by their sweet exchanges each day, it was him. It was surprising that neither he nor Noah complained.

Blanche gave the group a bright smile. “I thank all of you for putting up with Theo and me. We will definitely only get worse from now on, so be prepared. Today will be awful for you. We will probably cry the whole time.” Blanche turned around to straighten her dress a bit before she moved forward again.

She beamed at Leon's playful complaints but focused her attention on the door in front of them. She would step into the room through this massive white door, and then she would be greeted by the huge altar room. Surely, all guests were already there and waited for the bride to arrive. She would now enter and then proceed to walk to her lover, who would greet her with a smile.

Only that thought caused her whole body to tingle. She was so nervous that she could actually shiver, and a part of her wanted to hide. She was even more distressed than she had been during the carriage ride here.

But more than that, she was eager.

Blanche couldn't wait to move forward to become the wife of the man she had loved for six years now, if one counted both lifetimes. Here in this life, she had only been with him for two and a half years, but they both knew that their love couldn't be contained by time. And now they would finally add the cherry on top of their relationship.

Blanche was so very happy that she would have jumped into the air if her dress had allowed it. But all she did was beam as they arrived at the door. Her stomach was churning, and she felt like her legs would give in, but she couldn't stop grinning. She and Theodore would marry. A lifelong dream of becoming her prince's wife would finally come true in a more beautiful way than she could ever have imagined.

A voice stopped her before she could think about entering. “My Lady!” Darlene rushed to her mistress and panted a bit before handing over the bouquet. “First, you don't wait for me when I bring your present back, and now you almost forget your flowers. Don't lose your head on the day of your wedding. You need to recite the vows, remember?”

The concubine could never forget. She had memorized them for the past month and had poured her heart and soul into them. “I will make sure to voice them correctly. Thank you for the reminder.” She took her bouquet and smelled the roses for a moment. Their fragrance was as wonderful as their appearance.

Today, truly everything seemed perfect.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the smell for a moment before she smiled at her maids. “You will follow me until the altar though, right? You will stand next to the platform during the ceremony, won't you?”

Stella happily nodded at her. “Of course, My Lady. We won't embarrass you. We will be as dignified as possible. I promise that I will take care of my juniors.” That comment earned her some teasing by the two others, but their mistress couldn't listen for too long.

Blanche turned her gaze to the door and took a deep breath. Her heart was beating so quickly that it felt like her blood was rushing through her whole body with more force than ever. Being so nervous might not be good, but what was she supposed to do? She would marry Theodore. That thought made her hands shake, and she tightened her hold on the flowers and Leon's arm.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Leonard gently patted her arm and gave her a calming smile. “Everything will be fine. You will finally become his wife. This is the day the both of you waited for ever since you met. Go get your husband now, and show everyone who doubts your relationship how much you love him in the process. You will impress all of them, so don't worry. Keep your head up high and let your happiness show. Everyone here will support you. Are you ready?”

She almost teared up at that and barely managed to mutter a reply. “Thank you, Leon. I'm ready.”

The secretary still smiled as brightly as the sun as he gestured to one of the servants.

That person ran off to one of the smaller side entrances to inform another servant that they could begin. Seconds later, the orchestra within the room started playing the wedding waltz.

Blanche pressed her lips into a line to keep herself from crying, but it was hard. Her lips formed a smile without her trying to do it. So, she just beamed as Leon slowly led her forward.

The double door was opened at a painstaking leisure pace and revealed the altar room.

For a temple, all of this looked rather luxurious, but since it was the biggest one in Artias, that might be understandable. The walls and the floor were white with grand colored windows and huge chandeliers lighting up the whole room with an almost ethereal glow. The high ceiling was covered in drawings with soft colors that complimented the ones from the windows. The interior was mostly designed with light wood, like the benches for the countless guests were.

There were so many people here, and all of them had stood up to greet the newly arrived bride. There had to have been hundreds. Of course, the emperor had invited all nobles from the whole nation.

Blanche swallowed at that and gave her best to straighten her posture despite feeling so many eyes on her. She kept her eyes ahead and followed the way she would take to reach her destination.

In the middle of the room, a long red carpet led from the main entrance up a few stairsteps to the altar, which was positioned on top of a white platform with countless pillars surrounding it. There, a white marble table with decorations and a basin with holy water stood. One of the high priests was waiting next to it along with three servants that carried the items that would be required for the ceremony. But Blanche couldn't bring herself to pay attention to that.

She could only look at Theodore.

Theodore was already standing at his designated spot next to the altar. He wore the most ceremonious uniform he had, the one that he had put on for his coronation as well. There were so many medals on his sash that one could barely see the fabric anymore. The only things that were missing were his crown and his cape. He had already announced that he wouldn't wear those since he wanted to marry her as himself and not as the emperor.

And now that moment had truly come.

Blanche could barely think clearly when her eyes met her lover's. The expression on his face burned itself into her mind immediately. His smile was so beautiful that she would have fainted if pure nervousness hadn't kept her awake. Her heart was only pounding louder as she took in how radiant her lover's beam was. She could already guess that he was fighting against the tears from afar, making her want to rush to his side immediately. But she couldn't do that.

It was good that Leonard led her and set their pace, or she might have moved too quickly out of anticipation. The concubine felt that a smile was etched into her face as they walked forward. She was still so nervous that she could have thrown up, and her knees felt like pudding by now. But she forced herself to move as gracefully as possible. She kept her gaze on her lover, which made it easy to ignore the hundreds of pairs of eyes that were directed at her.

The closer she came to the altar, the more of Theodore's emotions she could see, and that was enough to make her tear up. He looked so happy. He was overjoyed and full of emotions, so he could barely keep his composure. He didn't take his eyes off her for one second, just like she kept watching him.

Blanche only looked away when she reached the stairs and Leonard let go of her to step to the side of the platform. She focused all her attention on walking up without tripping despite her shaky legs and breathed out in relief when she had succeeded. Then she lifted her gaze to her lover and gave him a bright smile while trying to hold the tears back.

She had to hold on a bit longer. She could cry after the ceremony.

Theodore held his hand toward her as soon as she was within his reach. When she put her hand in his, he pulled her closer to him and planted a kiss on the backside of her hand. He gazed at her with teary eyes and whispered in a shaky voice. “I love you so much.”

The concubine's heart skipped a beat. “I love you too. More than anything else.” She tried to speak steadily, but her voice almost broke near the end. Still, she finished. She also accepted a second kiss, even though she knew that the bride and groom normally only touched after the priest told them to progress with the ceremony. But right now, she had to be content with Theodore not smothering her in kisses, even if she wouldn't complain about that either.

She stared at her lover's face and took in his expression while beaming with happiness herself. The longer she looked into his eyes, the more she thought that he would actually kiss her lips now.

But then she noticed the high priest. The man with long white robes with a golden cross had watched the two of them for a moment and purposefully given them time to collect themselves before he started. The elderly priest had warmth in his eyes as he contently scanned the couple. It seemed like he was happy to see two people that loved each other. Either their short interaction had shown him that, or the emperor's instructions had been very clear.

That this was true love should be obvious by now. After all, this ceremony would be completely different from the one that normally happened between noble couples. Theodore had announced that already, and still, it felt strange. His wedding with Seraphina had consisted of them stiffly standing next to each other and telling the priest that they wished to be wed.

Now everything had been done to show the difference between that arranged wedding and the one that happened out of love. The only thing that wouldn't be much different was the greeting.

The priest waited for all the guests to sit down before he began. “We have all gathered here to witness the union between His Majesty, Theodore Estien, the honorable emperor of Artias and Lady Blanche, his partner and most trusted confidant. I, as a witness of the gods, will lead this couple through the ceremony so that they may fall in the protective arms of our creators.”

Saying all of that was rather useless when marriages had little to do with religion in Artias. Surely, the ceremony would be held in a temple, but that was it. Even people with different beliefs could marry in temples, and the marriage life, as well as a divorce, was just based on legal matters.

That neither Blanche nor Theodore were religious only made this talk about gods less important, but no one would point that out. They were already breaking all customs with this ceremony and this marriage in general. The beginning could stay normal at least, even if announcing that the concubine had been the emperor's lover for a long time had been a bit strange.

Now it was time for the priest to do the biggest amount of talking as he would praise the ruler and Artias before going on about the future. It was already predictable what he would say, and still, Blanche listened carefully.

“Today, we shall begin a new chapter within our nation's history. It will be one of peace and prosperity and allow our nations to bloom even more. His Majesty already used his power to create a wonderful country for us and improved the lives of all citizens in Artias within the past seven years. We all know that he is one of the most competent rulers that our nation has ever seen. He avoided countless crises and used the court system to bring justice to the ones that harmed Artias. He brought economic developments and created new trading routes. That we became more prosperous is not only thanks to his management of the affairs within our country. He also improved our relationship with many of the neighboring nations. Along with keeping our friendship with all of our allies steady, he also made a friend out of Northern Ocrea and avoided a war thanks to his diplomatic skills.”

If everything went like what Blanche had been warned about, it would continue a bit longer like this. After all, the temple always wanted to make sure that the emperor knew about their full support, especially since Theodore mostly didn't care for them. So, the priests would talk about how perfect he was for minutes to gain his favor. During weddings, the biggest part of the introduction would be used to praise the emperor. That was what everyone expected.

So, it was surprising to hear that the priest moved on to the next topic rather quickly. “We wish for him to reign for the next decades as well. From now, on he will be accompanied by Lady Blanche. She shall be a loyal companion that will support him and ease his mind in times of worry. An empress that will be by his side and be his strength and mercy whenever it becomes necessary as they both wear the crown and protect the nation. Thus, we wish for their union to be blessed by all of Artias' gods and hope that our creators will bestow their favor on this couple so that they may be bound by law and belief. Their unison shall bring Artias even more wisdom, peace and wealth for the next decades. It shall guide our nation into a wonderful future in which our citizens can live freely. And even more than that, it shall bring happiness to those two as it allows the fated partners that were, are and will be bound by eternal love to become one.” He extended his arms and gave the couple a soft smile.

Blanche almost choked on her own tongue as she heard this version. She didn't know too much about royal weddings, but she had forced herself to read a bit before coming up with her vows. So she knew that some things here had been very strange.

Firstly, it was much shorter than normal. Secondly, it also wasn't usual to call the emperor's wife his companion or strength. The ruler would be called his wife's strength, and she would be named his mercy. If the empress was referred to as both, it would hint that they were equal, which had never been the case in the history of Artias. But of course, saying that the royal couple should wear the crown together instead of saying that the empress should help the emperor carry the crown underlined the full intention here.

And apparently, calling her his equal partner hadn't been enough for Theodore. He also had to insist on pointing out their love for one another. Normally, that word wasn't used during royal weddings at all. But there would have to be first for everything.

When Blanche turned to her lover, she already had tears in her eyes and tried to blink them away. He had made the most unromantic parts romantic, and she was quite thankful.

Theodore, who still held her hand, mirrored her motion. He was still beaming with tears in his eyes, but he was a bit calmer than before as he whispered to her. “I made the unimportant part a bit less boring. Since they shouldn't just praise the emperor for half an hour, I told him to let it be. I hope you don't mind. This way, we have more time for our vows.” He squeezed her hand as if he wanted to underline how happy he was to be here.

Blanche could only nod while trying to calm herself. She couldn't cry during the next part. She would have to speak after all, and doing that while she was sobbing was impossible. Blanche could only hope that Theodore's words wouldn't make her tear up, but she didn't believe that for one second.

The priest waited for a little moment until he was sure that they were done before he spoke up again. “Without further ado, we shall begin the ceremony then. We all will gladly be witnesses to this beautiful union now.” He paused for a few seconds, and when he continued, he almost sounded a bit more serious. “There are three crucial parts that belong to the harmonious relationship between the emperor and his empress. They shoulder the burdens of our nation and represent Artias, so they shall be on each other's side. They will be one another's savior and bring light whenever the darkness of problems may seem overwhelming. Thus, it is clear that the most important part is their unyielding loyalty. From now on, the both of you, Theodore Estien and Lady Blanche, will have the unwavering strength of Artias. You will stand strong against every danger and threat and do whatever it takes to protect our nation. During that time, your full commitment to the other will be necessary. Are you willing to promise that you will always back your other half and support them with all you have to the gods and all the gathered witnesses?”

This definitely hadn't been in the previous royal weddings. All of this was much more personal and pointed out how the both of them would be there for one another when the royal couple usually was rather distanced. That this wasn't a normal union for political reasons became clearer with each second.

Even though the question had been surprising, the answer was clear from the very beginning. Theodore and Blanche spoke up at the same time. “Yes.” There was nothing but conviction in their voices, which made the priest smile even brighter.