IDIBC Chapter 52

The Engagement Ceremony

I looked back and forth between the door that had closed coldly against me and the man standing beside me with an indifferent expression.

I still found it hard to understand why Ricardo had made such a troublesome decision. The man who had been so cold and utterly merciless, firmly insisting that there would be no engagement.

“Happy ending…”

I muttered quietly about that ending that could never come between us. So this was my final destination. The best conclusion he and I could create.

“Go.”

“Yes.”

I steadily stepped forward toward a path that might be the worst beginning. The door that seemed to lead to a new world opened, and the light pouring in from the massive window large enough to fill an entire wall dazzled my vision.

The first thing to do upon entering the temple was to place one’s hand on the temple scripture and show respect to the god. Since Resotia worshipped the same god as Dermeier, I knew about the ceremony, but it was my first time visiting a temple to pray as if offering a ritual.

“Place your hand on the scripture and pray in the name of the god.”

Following the command of the priest belonging to the family, I slowly placed my hand on the scripture. My heart suddenly trembled at the feeling that I was somehow committing sacrilege. Could I dare invoke the name of the god when I was going against divine will? Goosebumps rose at the cold surface of the soft goat leather touching my hand.

“El.”

“Now.”

As soon as I uttered one character of the god’s name, Ricardo recited its meaning in a low voice. It was the first time I learned the meaning.

“Li.”

“Here.”

Only when Ricardo overlapped his hand on mine, which rested on the scripture, did I realize my hand was trembling. The moment I tilted my head to one side because it was hard to keep my eyes open due to the sunlight pouring behind his head, I saw the vivid color reflected in his pupils.

Violet?

“Ade.”

“Living.”

“Now here… living?”

“That’s right.”

He quickly concealed the color in his eyes and pulled my hand away from the scripture as if removing it. He placed my hand on his waist and lightly pressed his body close while whispering in my ear.

“That’s the ending I want. Lienne.”

“Ending…?”

“Yes, it’s a bit funny that the utility of god is merely in the name.”

Like that day in Resotia when he had stepped on my eggs, Ricardo smiled distantly. Soft yet chilling. Seemingly warm at first glance, yet indescribably sharp.

“An ending where everyone is comfortable and safe, an end that’s sufficient with just that. The kind of end you spoke of is also the happy ending I desire. Though it’s something I only recently realized.”

“…”

“Does this mean your goal and mine have become the same?”

At that moment, I stupidly nodded like a believer moved by a new religion. He laughed softly and led me.

We were soon guided to a small chapel at the very back of the temple.

The door leading inside opened, and I saw the familiar faces waiting for us one by one.

The Duke and Duchess, the Crown Prince and Princess, the young Duke of Chaplin and Paquin, and my family.

Walking down the long pure white path laid out for the ceremony, I had to concentrate all my attention on my toes to keep from fainting.

The engagement ceremony, which had a limited number of attendees, felt even more sacred. Even the servants hushed their footsteps for the solemn ceremony. The lack of crowds made it feel more real, and somehow evoked an even sadder sentiment.

The ceremony proceeded smoothly in a peaceful atmosphere.

Normally, a Rochester engagement should have been graced by Hadeima’s Grand Priest and high priests, but no one from the Grand Temple attended.

Ricardo remained composed throughout, as if he had held engagement ceremonies three or four times before. Occasionally, whenever my trembling grew, he would tighten his arm to pull me toward him.

The man I glanced up at shone so beautifully that I was seized by the feeling of witnessing Ayphnetis transform from human to god before my eyes.

Every time I stole a glance at Ricardo, even when he wore a bored expression, he would invariably look at me and smile. Bearing the burden of a heart that repeatedly plummeted and soared without missing a beat was solely my responsibility.

When the prescribed order ended, we stood facing each other on both sides after receiving the priest’s prayer.

With the Grand Priest absent, the beginning and end of the engagement ceremony belonged to the Duke.

Though it was an engagement that did not receive god’s blessing, those present acknowledged Ricardo and me. Even if it was a decidedly political acknowledgment that did not gauge the future between Rochester and Fennel.

The conclusion of the engagement ceremony conducted by the Duke ended with signing a contract stating that each family would not betray the other’s trust.

The role of witness to that contract was given to the young lord of the Chaplin family.

As if trying to make up for his previous mistake at the palace, Walter did not shift his gaze toward me even once.

After Walter carefully stored away the contract bearing Ricardo’s and my signatures, the Duke stepped forward.

“I hereby declare that the engagement between Rochester of the Dermeier Empire and the Fennel family of the Principality of Resotia has been established.”

The bell in the chapel rang twelve times at regular intervals, not too loudly.

A few days before the engagement ceremony, Madam Fennel expressed her desire to attend the ceremony even if it meant overexerting herself. Since it was the first time she had shown the will to do anything, I was quite surprised and concerned.

Could she really maintain her composure when she found it difficult even to stand briefly in places with many people?

However, instead of dissuading her, I prepared a hat with a large brim. One with a large white veil that would more than cover her entire face.

Though she trembled slightly throughout the ceremony, Madam Fennel stayed until the end.

When the ceremony ended, she came to me with staggering steps that I firmly supported, and slowly lifted her veil.

At that sight, I finally burst into tears.

Her face, deathly pale, was covered in sweat. What was as easy as breathing for others—I knew better than anyone what Madam Fennel had endured for my sake.

“I’m… sorry.”

She kissed both my cheeks in turn and offered words of apology instead of blessing.

It was also the first sincerity conveyed to me by a woman who had been afraid to step outside for ten years, to me who shared not a drop of blood with her.

So I could feel this kind of emotion. Just from living under the same roof, eating and sleeping together, sharing time.

‘Mother…’

I swallowed the word I could never utter and tried to hold back my tears. I couldn’t continue showing such an unseemly appearance over a mere few months of fake engagement.

Madam Fennel’s one sincere apology firmly anchored my heart that had been floating like dust.

Pull yourself together, Lienne Rowe Fennel.

You must steel your heart so that this engagement, undertaken to protect your family, doesn’t get swept away and tossed about by other things.

It was enough that I alone was thrown into danger because of emotions that swept through like a storm.

I urged myself on until Madam Fennel’s figure, hidden again behind the veil, disappeared. I told myself not to lose focus until my family safely boarded a ship to another country.

****

Since Jonathan returned home with their mother out of concern for her, Sabrina attended the reception as my only family and guest.

The reception was more crowded than the engagement ceremony.

According to Countess Corhena, most were people from vassal families of Rochester. Though their heavy expressions didn’t suit an occasion that should be celebrated, the banquet hall itself was decorated with dignity.

Sabrina and I were in a room on the second floor of the banquet hall to change into attire suitable for the reception.

“My goodness, to think you’re really engaged to our young Duke. I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

Once we sent everyone attending to us out and were left alone, Sabrina dropped her haughty expression and made a fuss.

“I can’t believe I’m even in a place like this. I thought I’d never set foot in such a prestigious banquet hall in my lifetime.”

Her freely saying what I wanted to say actually made my heart grow calmer.

“I know. But will Madam Fennel be all right?”

“Don’t worry. She even asked me something in the carriage.”

“What did she say?”

“She told me not to act rashly and cause you trouble.”

Pfft, I laughed.

“She even shut Jonathan’s mouth when he tried to add something.”

When she pouted, her youthful face from childhood was fully revealed. After making a sulky expression for a moment, Sabrina soon smiled gently and approached me delicately as if walking in a dream.

“But, Lienne. You’re really beautiful today.”

I stared at her in surprise. In all the long years of living with Sabrina, I never imagined I would receive the assessment of being beautiful from her lips.

“You were always annoyingly pretty, but today it’s a bit excessive.”

Normally, I should have already blurted out in embarrassment not to talk nonsense. But the criticism I used to make as naturally as breathing didn’t come out easily.

“It’s really sad that you have to take off the dress you’re wearing now. I should draw you now and preserve it as a painting.”