Chapter 336 - Worth the Wait

It was a Friday, technically, a normal working day. However, today was deemed special, and most of the departments at the City Hall were closed saved for the mayor's office. This unusual holiday spurred curiosity among the workers, most especially when they found out that the Homura House was involved once again.

That's right. Again.

This was the second time in a span of a week that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building made special arrangements to accommodate a behest from the Homura House. Last week, they had asked the office to suddenly be opened on a Saturday. Then, yesterday, they suddenly received messages that they were not needed to come to work for today.

Curious, very curious. However, since it was the Homura House involved, nobody dared to poke their nose around – not even the paparazzi. To them, the Cedar Palace was a force they couldn't and wouldn't dare offend. Stalking the imperial family was easier than dealing with the Homura House.

For the people in the Cedar Palace, on the other hand, the curiosity and secretly wagging tongues of the people were of no importance. They were all occupied with the preparations of the festivities of the day and had no time to pay heed with anything else. Led by Yayoi, they all religiously worked to prepare the hall for the Young Master Gin's wedding reception.

That's right. To everyone in the Cedar palace, despite being the Returner to Ancestry Stribog, Kazehaya Gin would be their forever beloved carefree Young Master – and they were all genuinely happy that he no longer had a cursed existence and could be together with Emi.

In all honesty, there wasn't a soul in the Cedar Palace who didn't know the real score between the Koutaishidenka and the Makura. They had always known that Homura Ryuu was never interested in Emi, just as they had always known that Gin was hopelessly in love with her just as she was in love with him. Only Emi's attendants who aimed to hog the privileges of the Makura refused to see the truth. Now, they were reduced to lowly servants, and Emi and Gin were finally together.

This was why the celebrations today were doubled. It's for his marriage and for his freedom from his initially thought tragic fate. Even the Kazehaya House who had settled in Hakone had taken the special trip to come to Tokyo to ȧssist. Of course, it was their young master's event after all. Also, this would also be the first time the Master and his son would be celebrating something together. It was truly a blessed event.

"I'm nervous. Why didn't you tell me it's this nerve-wracking? How were you able to handle this?" Gin complained as he stood in the Mayor's office, waiting for his bride to appear.

"Experience," the Koutaishidenka answered matter-of-factly, making Gin's jaw drop as he stared at him in shock.

Ah…

Ryuu had married his niece many times over, so he wasn't such a nervous wreck when he got married last week.

"I was still nervous, though," Ryuu added, his cold blue eyes warming over by several degrees as he thought about his wife.

"Don't you dare do low-key PDA on my wedding, Kresnik," Gin grumbled, making the others laugh and shake their heads at him.

"Alinea fetched your wife so they'll be here surely. You just have to be patient, little brother," Alistair said softly with a smile, making the officials – most especially the mayor stare at him in awe.

It was the first time anybody had ever seen the elusive Kazehaya Sora, Kazehaya Gin's older twin brother. They had known and heard about his existence, but the man had always holed up in the Kazehaya House in Hakone due to his weak condition.

Of course, this was the imposed memory of Dolya to the people, but they had no idea about that. For them, Kazehaya Sora truly existed, and that they now had the honor of seeing him in person.

Upon seeing the mirror image of Kazehaya Gin earlier, they had been shocked. However, although identical in features, their coloring differed, and so, it was very easy to tell them apart. In addition, the older twin was more refined and dignified than the very blithe Gin. Too bad, he was sickly, the people thought. Kazehaya Sora seemed to be the better heir. True, Kazehaya Gin was undoubtedly a genius, but the older twin looked the same.

Besides, Kazehaya Gin seemed to listen to his older brother well – and acted respectfully compared to Homura Ryuu. The Koutaishidenka as well seemed to treat the older Kazehaya respectfully. It was why they were in awe upon seeing Kazehaya Sora's ability to deal with the two powerful men like children.

"They're just probably fixing last minute things. They're women," Ryuu reminded Gin as he patted his shoulder in ȧssurance.

"Fine," Gin resigned himself into waiting. But he didn't have to wait too long.

Alistair's amethyst gaze turned towards the door long before they heard footsteps. "They're here," he announced softly just as the door to the Mayor's Office opened.

"Ali, where's grand – I mean Emi," Ivan asked.  

The Emperor of Kres trained hard last night not to call anyone grandpa or grandma anymore to avoid people being suspicious. He still tripped but at least had the presence of mind to correct himself in time.

Alinea put on a mischievous grin as she stared at her obviously nervous uncle. "She didn't run away, okay?"

"I didn't think she'll run away, okay?" Gin retorted, making everyone chuckle.

The mayor and the other officials dared to smile as well. Even if the Homura House was formidable, they were not unreasonable people, most especially Kazehaya Gin. He wouldn't punish anyone for laughing at him.

With this thought in mind, the mayor and the others finally realized that in a way, they were lucky that it was Kazehaya Gin they were dealing with and not Kazehaya Sora who had a stoic expression on his face most of the time. Between the twins, the younger one Gin looked like someone who was more approachable and forgiving.

Today, the mayor and the others would bear witness to the marriage registration of Homura International's CEO to Homura Emi, the Koutaishidenka's adopted sister. Technically, the two were legally first-degree cousins, but the marriage between cousins in Japan was legal though rare, and they were not related by blood in any way so it was fine. Besides, nobilities like the Homuras and the Kazehayas, marriage within the family was kind of expected.

"Well, here's your bride then," Alinea announced with a huge grin as she stepped aside to let Emi in.

As soon as Alinea moved, a petite girl that looked beautiful like a doll stepped in wearing a long, white mermaid dress which skirt progressed from white into light pink, then darker rose, to full violet, and then to dark blue at the edge.  It was an elegant ombre dress that made Emi's beauty more pronounced.

The bride didn't seem to be conscious of the others in the room. Her shy smile and chocolate gaze were only for the nervous groom who looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting…"

"It's fine. It's worth the wait."