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I woke up to the sound of the maids’ frantic voices.
Still disoriented, I tried to roll over and go back to sleep but then a maid yanked the blanket off.
“I apologize for the rudeness, Milady, but we need to start the preparation!”
Preparation? For what?
Somehow, it took all of the four maids’ efforts to pull me off the bed and place me in the bathtub. While my consciousness was adjusting, I could clearly hear the hustle and bustle of the people from the window on the second floor.
Oh, right. I’m getting married today.
Married is not the correct term, but I really can’t call it engagement either since the ceremony honestly resembles a wedding. This is probably the only part of this world that I cannot grasp. I mean...why do you need to repeat the same ceremony twice?
No matter how much I grumble, I can’t really do anything since this was how they do things.
In any case, I’ll just enjoy being thoroughly pampered - something that I had never experienced in my previous life.
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“Milady, you look so beautiful!”
“You look like a fairy!”
The maids gushed after seeing the final outcome. Of course I’d be full of compliments - I was basically tortured for the sake of beauty. You’d think they’d treat the future empress with care when they scrubbed my skin raw and painfully yanked my hair to style it.
Though I must say I do look good.
As was chosen by my mother, I wore a dress of pale pink. Contrary to the ladies where they need to follow a series of rules, young girls of nobility had more freedom in terms of picking and styling dresses. Since I was still considered a child, I was allowed to wear sheer lace to cover my arms and decolletage. I had the standard corset but it was styled in a way that you could not see the ties. The petticoat was opted out, for once, since the skirt was thick enough on its own.
My long hair was transformed into a messy French braid with flowers attached to the knots. The maids left the top front of my hair unstyled since a crown will be bestowed later after the ceremony.
Overall, I was satisfied with the outcome despite my earlier pain. If there was a Kami out there, thank you for transmigrating me into such a beautiful girl!
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
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Since it was a private ceremony, only direct family members were present in the church. There was no ‘wedding march’ since it was still the engagement ceremony.
To be honest I was expecting it to be lively, but the truth is, it was a rather dry event.
I also felt that we were overdressed as we stood in front of the priest and signed our names in the contract. With the priest giving us the final blessing, the ceremony was over.
Previously, I did question why the author never delved into the engagement ceremony, but now I really hate her for not writing anything about this ‘cause this is pretty boring. I started to lose hope when the Empress approached us.
“We still have time before the banquet. Why don’t you spend the free time together?”
Again, this was basically an order. Having no choice, I curtseyed to my family before taking the Prince’s offered arm.
“But mother I wanna join them-!” A voice protested.
The voice actually belonged to Penelope Katarina Elise de Kertesz Deschner, the Princess of Stagglen and Caelum’s younger sister.
The princess is an adorable nine year old with chestnut brown hair and cornflower blue eyes. In the novel, she was described as a cheeky troublemaker who loved Amelia like she was her biological older sister. She was also the only one who believed that Amelia was innocent when the accusations arose.
“Poppy, this is not the time and place. You will have an opportunity to spend time with your brother and sister, but that is not today.” The Emperor scolded lightly.
Seeing as the princess was genuinely upset, I stepped closer to the princess and curtseyed.
“Please do not be upset, Your Highness. I’m not busy tomorrow, perhaps you would like it if I visit you? There is something that I want to show you.”
At my words, her eyes sparkled and she inappropriately squealed before realizing her place.
“Thank you, big sister. I can call you that, right? I’m looking forward to your visit.” She cheekily replied before giving me the customary farewell curtsey.
With that, I returned to Caelum and started our excursion.
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Like before, the start of our walk was spent in a quiet manner. Frankly, I was disappointed since I never heard a word of praise from this guy.
Aside from my family, their Majesties as well joined in their appreciation of how I looked. Heck, even the Princess exclaimed ‘Fairy!’ as soon as she saw me. All I got when I stood in front of the Prince was an intense stare before diverting his attention to the priest. I’m not a vain girl, per se, but come on...I just want to receive a single compliment from my husband.
“You look...good...today.”
Startled, I turned to look at Caelum but he stubbornly turned his head away from my view. Though the words were callous, his ears were again red, which just added to his adorableness. Seriously, the main hero is so cute...I felt like I’ve already forgiven him for earlier.
“Thank you, Your Highness. You look handsome as always.”
It was true. Today, the Prince wore his imperial clothes - which just looked like a more stylish version of a military uniform, but only navy blue in color, with the additional presence of a sash and a short fur cape. Royals often wore red, navy blue, or in some cases - black, in formal ceremonies so the color choice is rather limited, but the regal effect is still in full power.
At my comment, the Prince’s face turned even redder and he yanked my hand off in embarrassment.
“Y-You’re so shameless!”
Riiight. The prince at this age is too innocent and pure-hearted. I’m sorry, but your wife is kind of a pervert, you know. I decided to tease him some more.
“What part of that is shameless? I just expressed that His Highness is always handsome no matter what he wears. In fact, I think he’d still look great wearing rags or completely naked.”
“S-Stop!”
This time he actually covered his ears and crouched down. I had to laugh in a rather loud and unlady-like manner. Seeing as he looks like he’s about to cry, I snickered and held out a hand.
“I apologize. I didn't mean to make fun of his Highness. Will you please forgive me?”
Grumbling, he nodded his head and took the offered hand. My, the hero’s very forgiving today.
“You can stop speaking formally since you are my w-wife now, after all. You’re allowed to call my name.”
“But Caelum is too long, can I call you Cae as well? In turn, you can call me Mia - it’s what my family calls me.”
“Alright.”
“Hey, do you think I can call you Cae-Cae? It sounds cute.”
“...Don’t push it.”
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