The entire ducal residence was opened for today. The building was more like a castle than a mansion, and the vast manor was open to the public. The guests who entered through the large, antique main gate looked around in amazement.
"This is the famous Heigenberg ducal residence."
"Wow... How antique."
The imperial palace was open to any noble with a pass, but the ducal residence was not. Therefore, the guests thoroughly explored everything they saw as If they were visiting a museum. Among them, the main auditorium where the ceremony was held was magnificent enough to resemble a small temple.
Overwhelmed by the scale and the splendor of each decoration, the guests sat quietly and whispered.
"There's an orchestra over there."
"There are so many different types of instruments. I wonder how rich the march is going to be."
Some of the guests recognized the faces of the orchestra members and whispered to each other.
"The violinist in the front is a friend I saw at Lopez House before. I remember him because he has a cute face."
"Oh my. Isn't that cellist the top graduate of Ende Academy of the Arts?"
Ding, ding, ding.
As the bell tower struck the hour, the orchestra began to play the wedding march. While the guests were amazed by the magnificently rich performance, the main characters appeared.
"...Ah."
The guests let out a faint exclamation. What appeared on the wedding road were a handsome man and a beautiful woman as beautiful as a painting. A beautiful man like a King and a minister in a famous painting walked leisurely escorting his bride. Those who looked back at the bride opened their eyes wide. Her platinum hair, covered with transparent veil-like butterfly wings, sparkled under the sunlight as if it had been sprinkled with ground opal, and the facial features that filled her small face were elegant and beautiful. The wedding dress that spread out below the straight neckline was dazzling as if hundreds of grain-sized diamonds had been sewn into it and scattered fragments of light. The necklace that decorated the bride's collarbone and the tiara that was placed over the veil also boasted unusual sizes and delicate craftsmanship.
No one could take their eyes off of them. The bride's beauty was beautiful, but it was dizzying to imagine how many cardinas were draped over her delicate body.
Evelyn dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Ah. Today is the best day."
Seeing the work that had been painstakingly done for days shining so beautifully on the bride's body, tears of joy flowed out of her eyes. Besides Evelyn, the craftsman in charge of Ariana's accessories, including the tiara, also covered his mouth with a face filled with emotion. As the two stood in front of the wedding arch, the officiant began to read the marriage vows.
"Does the groom swear to love and cherish the bride forever?"
Dante looked back at Ariana, a deep smile forming on his lips.
"Yes. With pleasure."
The officiant smiled happily and turned to the bride this time. The officiant's wrinkled eyes showed a little tension.
"Then, bride, do you swear to love and cherish your groom forever?"
Silence swept over the audience. No one knew what the beautiful bride before she had said at the wedding a month ago. After a very short silence, the bride finally opened her lips.
"Yes, I swear."
A quiet but clear answer was heard. The officiant nodded and raised his voice.
"I hereby declare that you two are now husband and wife."
Clap, clap, clap!
A loud applause filled the auditorium. A large hand turned Ariana's shoulder. Ariana stared at the head approaching her for a kiss of oath, momentarily devoid of reality.
"Don't forget, Ariana."
He whispered just before their lips touched.
"You walked in here on your own feet."
There was no time to answer. Ariana tightly closed her eyes as she felt her lips being swallowed. The second time was no different from the first. It was equally unfamiliar and equally mind-boggling.
Ding, ding!
The bells announcing the wedding rang out.
***
The ensuing banquet was elegant and splendid. The soprano in front of the orchestra began to sing a congratulatory song. At the beginning of winter, they finally realized.
"Oh, that singer is. the one who sang at the Madeleine Place last time..."
Those who had recognized Rosalind and were delighted soon opened their eyes wide. Rosalind's tone was just as beautiful as before, but the melody she sang was somehow strange.
The scale, made up of only whole notes, was hazy and strangely melancholic. It was a completely different atmosphere from traditional congratulatory songs, but no one was dissatisfied. The hazy music soon began to change its tempo.
"This is a completely new form."
Everyone who listened could tell. The person who had created this song had created a new realm of music. The sloppy swamp of depression and despair, the confusion of facing a new scene behind it, and finally the joy of accepting the change and enjoying it.
It seemed as if the story of the bride and groom, who had gone through many twists and turns, had been captured in its entirety. The guests were amazed at how one song could clearly express such a variety of emotional changes.
"But what kind of music is this?"
"I don't know. I'm hearing it for the first time..."
"Have you heard that story? Lady Ariana, no. Now a Duchess. I heard that she has a talent for composition."
"Hmm? Not flower arrangement or singing, but composition?"
Calligraphy, flower arrangement, and musical instrument playing were commonly encouraged hobbies for noble ladies, but composition was not. Composition was a field that required a wealth of artistic expertise.
How could a mere woman take up a field that required mastery of complex harmony as a hobby?
"Huh. She's a lady with quite a unique hobby."
"No, it's not just a hobby. Haven't you heard that the Duchess composed the 'Adulteress's Aria'?"
"I've heard that, but..."
"There's a rumor that she composed this music herself."
"Haha, you say some interesting things."
Some listened with interest, while others laughed.
'How could a woman who didn't even graduate from an art school produce such special music?'
'Do you all truly believe such nonsense?'
Hmm. They must be pretending to believe it because she wants to look good in front of the Duke and Duchess.
"How could a woman compose music? The Duchess has never even been to an art school."
The mustachioed man finally couldn't hold it in any longer and spoke up. One lady expressed her displeasure at his uncompromising tone.
"Is there a law that says it's impossible just because she's a woman? I heard that even women in the Kingdom of Ende can publish songs."
"The Kingdom of Ende is so... well, to put it nicely, it's a free-spirited place."
"But..."
The mustachioed man shrugged his shoulders and said.
"Don't get too excited, Lady. If the Duchess really had such outstanding skills that she could compose that song all by herself..."
The man chuckled, emphasizing the words 'compose' and 'herself'.
"She will personally present her work to the upcoming national foundation."
Despite the untimely quarrel, the reception went smoothly thereafter. While enjoying the dinner and fruit wine to their heart's content, one of the guests opened her eyes wide. She blinked her eyes several times with a handkerchief, doubting her eyesight, but the face in the distance did not change.
"Oh my God!"
"It's Elena Lopez."
"Oh my God, how dare she come here..."
"Did she get an invitation?"
"No way."
"Then who on earth dared bring that woman?"
Elena stepped forward amid the astonished mutterings.
"Sister."
Elena opened her lips, which she had painstakingly dyed rosy, and said.
"You are so pretty. Congratulations on your marriage. You must be happy."
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