The Two Marriage Ceremonies (4)

I entered the carriage and headed for the temple. The temple where we would hold our wedding ceremony was in the outskirts of the Capital, and was a place that affluent commoners and lower-ranking nobles would use to hold their ceremonies. So, when a marquis family (it was quite a crowd because each of my ten siblings brought their attendants with them) came all dressed-up and fancy, it was quite a sight, so a lot of people apparently came to see what was going on.

Since Cermiane didn’t have any parents, his direct superior from the Knight Order and his wife came as his deputy parents, along with the Chief Commander of the Knights and his wife. It seemed that the Chief Commander paying attention to Cermiane was true. The Chief Commander was an earl in addition to holding one of the Empire’s important posts, so he was not a man Father could treat lightly. We respectfully greeted them. He looked like an extremely strong person, and for some reason, he seemed overjoyed by the fact that Cermiane was getting married.

For the ceremony, Cermiane would enter the venue first. Then I would enter, being escorted by Father. Compared to the bride’s side, which was fully packed, the groom’s side only consisted of two couples, so it looked a bit lonely. Walking down the aisle, between these two groups, when I reached the foot of the altar, Cermiane was there, waiting.

The Knight Order’s ceremonial outfit. But, it was a different color than the one he borrowed from the territory. If I remembered correctly, that one was green, but what Cermiane was currently wearing was blue. Did the colors signify different things? The one he borrowed at the territory was owned by a knight who retired, so maybe the colors changed in the past few years. Cermiane also seemed to have groomed his appearance today, with his clearly combed black-tea hair, suntanned, yet cleanly shaven face, and he seemed to have put on a bit of make-up, which made his eyes even more stunning than usual — he was five-times more beautiful than he was during our trip to the Capital.

Since he was already so beautiful naturally, being five times more gorgeous caused a bit of a stir. So much so that when he turned around to look at me, cries rose from the bride’s side of the audience. Please restrain yourselves, dear sisters. I also became a little bit nervous. As I walked elegantly as I could to Cermiane’s side, he gently smiled and took my hand from Father’s.

With Cermiane guiding me, we reached the altar. The not-drunk priest sprinkled us with holy water and drew a circle with balm once we lowered our heads. Then, after he drew the holy seal in the air, he began to recite the prayers:

“In the name of the Almighty who protects us from the heavens, this wedding is blessed. The origin of this wedding was when a man and woman, both created by the Holy One, was granted his blessing to become one. The Almighty told His people to become life-long partners, to produce off-spring, and to fill the earth. He told them to join their blood, and join their families together for the prosperity of mankind. O Cermiane Emilian and Ralphene Caliente, under the Almighty’s blessing, you will tie the knot, become a newly-wed husband and wife, and follow the Holy One’s orders.”

The priest picked up the tray that held our rings, and held it out towards us.

“While pledging to the Almighty, exchange your rings.”

First, Cermiane picked up his ring and took my left hand.

“I swear my eternal love and respect to Ralphene under the Almighty. I offer my everything to the Almighty and to my wife.”

He slid the ring onto my left ring finger.

Next, I picked up my ring and slid it onto Cermiane’s left ring finger.

“Under the Almighty, I swear my eternal love, respect, and chastity to Cermiane. I offer my everything to the Almighty and to my husband.”

At that moment, Cermiane and I’s marriage was officially complete.

While I was relieved I didn’t mess up any of my lines, Cermiane was smiling and tearing up. He hugged my waist closer and lifted up my veil. Oh yeah, I forgot! There was one more step we had to do. By the time I realized this, his face was millimeters away from mine, and I felt a soft sensation on my lips.

A sea of applause arose when we completed our kiss of oath. It seemed that I was the only one feeling embarrassed about kissing in front of everyone; Cermiane kissed me two more times on the lips and then rained a flurry of kisses on my cheeks, ears, and all around my face. Hey, that’s enough now.

We head towards the exit with Cermiane escorting me. When the doors opened, a big crowd was waiting for some reason. Apparently, when a wedding ceremony was held at this temple, it was the norm for the residents living nearby to gather and congratulate the couple. Including the initial onlookers, they all jostled each other around to get a glimpse of Cermiane and me. When we made our appearance, cheers arose.

“Congratulations!”

“We wish for your happiness!”

Including my family, the crowd congratulated us and threw flower petals in the air. Well, since we were nearing winter, there wasn’t that much variety in the flowers though. Still, the cheers and the colorful petals lifted my spirits. The familiar scene of  locals congratulating our marriage comforted the commoner inside me.

After the ceremony ended and we went back to the Caliente residence, it was time for the banquet. I was forced to change into another dress. By the way, I was forced to change into three separate dresses during the course of this banquet. Here, around a hundred nobles who were close with our family attended.