Episode 17

“Bride and groom, let them stand before the sacred altar.”

The priest in charge of the wedding said. He was a priest who lived in the Cartier family and prayed for the family members.

The principle of the Shinto wedding ceremony was for the bride and groom to enter at the same time. Elisha entered with a bouquet of lily of the valley holding Lucerne's hand.

'It's dazzling.'

That was the thought that came to my mind when I first entered the temple.

The wedding venue was very fancy. A golden chandelier was hanging, and the place was decorated with seasonal flowers.

The carpet on the floor was red. It was a carpet with intricate patterns embroidered on the edge with silver thread and sprinkled with diamond powder here and there.

'This is a simple wedding.'

The altar, which was used as a place for officiating, was adorned with precious holy objects.

'It's an incredible amount of wealth.'

This room alone could be said to be the treasure house of a small kingdom.

On the other hand, Elisha's outfit was very simple and elegant. An ankle-length white satin dress. And she had a lace hair band on her crown.

Let's enter the wedding hall. I could see the people of the Cartier family sitting in the front seats. Gajoo and Jacob couple. There was also a second grandson, Marco and his wife. The priest who was officiating the ceremony was wiping the sweat from his brow as if nervously in front of the Cartier family.

'It's a face everyone knows.'

Previously, he crawled in front of them as the humblest servant. As their blood and flesh wives, they will come forward……. I couldn't imagine.

'Jacob, Carola.'

In particular, her hands trembled when she saw Carola and Jacob, who had cut Elisha's previous life to bits and pieces, and Jacob, sitting side by side.

'Crazy bitch, you have to be right to come to your senses, right?'

'Carola is sad. I'm taking good care of you, but you always look at us with disrespectful eyes. Don't you know your subject?'

When her demons abused her, her words came to mind. Suddenly, her hands and feet went cold. Elisha almost broke her leg.

Power went into Elisha's hand holding Lucerne's hand. At least, I am not standing alone in front of them.

“Relax and walk.”

Lucerne whispered.

“This is engraved by me.”

He whispered in Elisha's ear in Lucerne. His long fingers were caressing the teeth marks on the back of Elisha's neck, on her pattern.

“It's not him, so calm down. Because it's mine.”

Oddly enough, Elisha felt her mind clearing up. She thought at the same time. The figure of Lucerne whispering to her will look as if she is whispering to her.

The gaze of the family head who saw this was heavily entrenched in Elisha. It was a gaze that made her body flinch. He gave people chills just by being there. He was an old man who was both unpleasant and fearful.

'Still……. He has a strong presence.'

He has a large body and a proud and stubborn mouth that cannot be believed to be a sick old man. Looking at it now, among his grandchildren, Lucerne seemed to resemble the family head the most. The family head was looking at Elisha with these eyes.

'What the hell is that, Lucerne bought it at the absurd price of 30,000 gold coins.'

That gaze made Elisha's head cold again.

'I have to do well.'

If you show ugliness today, Lucerne will become an idiot who spent 30,000 gold coins for a stupid woman. By Cartier's standards, that was treason.

*​ *​ *​

Finally, Elisha arrived in front of her priest.

“I will pray before the Lord.”

It was a solemn wedding ceremony without congratulatory songs or congratulatory messages from her family. When the priest holds the hands of the two and prays for about 10 minutes, the wedding is over. In the Empire, only priests were qualified to approve marriages.

Before long, the ring was put on Elisha's hand.

It was a black diamond ring the size of which she had never seen before. It was such a weight that her hands became heavy. Elisha looked at the ring and hid her hand. It was a Lucerne-like choice.

*​ *​ *​

The event was immediately followed by a reception. Elisha changed her dress during a short break.

She was this time in a crimson dress with mermaid lines that showed off the curves of her body. Since she was wearing a gorgeous and shiny dress, Elisha's appearance was ecstatic and bright, unlike her before. Her family glanced at her Elisha.

'She is a beauty. Lucerne liked a woman like that.'

It was these eyes.

*​ *​ *​

The place of the reception was the hall right next to the chapel. The reception area was even more splendid, but what caught my eye was the items decorated separately on one side of the table.

'This…….'

Elisha scanned them.

'The corpse of an adult in a frame, and the neck of a dragon. It's a painting by an expensive artist.'

Those were great things. Taking this apart…….

“What are you looking at?”

Then someone approached Elisha. Elisha looked away from her. She was Marco's wife, Arien. She was very thin and modest in her body.

“This is a gift from the grandchildren to celebrate the family head's birthday not too long ago. Is it strange?”

“…… I think it's great. It is full of precious things. In particular, it must have been difficult to obtain the bone fragments of the saint and prophet, Listralpo.”

The saint's corpse was one of the most expensive items sold at the temple. It is said that the body fragments of saints who died a natural death bring divine protection, and every time a saint died, a noisy auction was held in the temple. Elisha thought she was the ugliest business in the temple.

“Ho-ho, that's a gift from my husband. Are you more discerning than you look?”

Arien's expression was as if she didn't know where she'd seen such a valuable item. Elisha knew Arien.

In the previous life, when Jacob and Marco had trouble in the family succession war, Marco kidnapped Elisha, known as her close henchman, and detained him for several days in order to threaten Jacob.

At that time, Marco beat Elisha and treated her harshly. Arienne ordered her to starve Elisha, insulted her with words every day, and stood by her side. To Elisha, she was the same as a nasty person.

Elisha looked around her room. There was no one in her previous life who had not insulted and bullied Elisha. Except for Lucerne, it was a feast full of enemies.

But in the middle of the room, delicacies were prepared and she was wearing a shiny dress.

'What is this?'

A sneer came out. At that time, the housekeeper called Elisha. Lucerne stood side by side with the family head and was talking about something.

“Come here.”

Elisha approached the householder and bent her knees to greet her. He looked at Elisha, slowly moving her wrinkled face.

“Yes, no matter what kind of whims Lucerne played. Since you've already moved the boy's insistence on not getting married, you've made a contribution and entered the family.”

Jealousy spread across Carola and Arien's faces. The head of state called the couple as one. If her wife buys favor, she increases her husband's chance of succeeding to the head of the family.

'It's funny thinking of your wife like a watch part that can be replaced at any time.'

Seeing them, Elisha sneered. Lucerne caressed Elisha's back.

“She's a pretty fun woman,” She says. She's interesting too.”

The family head had an expression that he couldn't understand Lucerne's intentions.

*​ *​ *​

The banquet went smoothly, as always. The courtship of the family governor candidates who want to buy the favor of the family head. Lucerne, the only one that was premiered in it. And wives who seek to empower their husbands' actions.

'Why do you keep staring at me?'

Elisha cared that Carola continued to look at her without blinking her eyes throughout her banquet. Elisha frowned inwardly.

It was then.

Carola suddenly behaves strangely.

“Black…….”

Carola covered her mouth and burst into tears. She and she all let out a proud whimper.

'What are you doing, Carola?'

Jacob hurriedly approached and asked in a loud voice.

“What's wrong, Carola?”

“Really, Carola is so happy……. As you know. The ones who have 'taken care of' Elisha so far are my husband and I. Elisha, who has been sheltered 'below' by us, has thus met her wonderful husband. It's so touching……. So, without knowing it, tears…….”

“…….”

The housekeeper's brow furrowed. However, despite her stupid-looking behavior, the headmistress actually didn't think badly of Carola, who had a good head. As if to see what he could do, he began observing Elisha and her carola.

“Thank you for the congratulations.”

Elisha answered calmly and aloof.

“It is the people of this mansion who have provided me with a safe place to stay. Thanks to you, I even got married, which is a blessing from everyone. My husband paid my ransom and everything went well, so let's leave only good feelings in the future.”

The gaiju's eyes became strange. Since she was a child who used to do laundry, she imagined a rainbow, but surprisingly, Elisha's words were witty.

The head of the household knew that Carola's words were far-fetched. It would be a normal person to get angry when the people who arrested me, made me do laundry, and abused me say things like this.

However, Elisha calmly handed it over, emphasizing that 'there is no longer any mutual debt'. She wanted to put an end to her past as a laundry maid. Besides, she was implying that by saying, 'She has been safe,' she was worthy of her bride.

“However……. Carola.”

Caroline licked her lips.

“Are there any problems?”

Elisha asked softly.

“She wants Elisha to be a beloved bride. Seriously.”

Elisha realized that Lucerne was looking at her intriguingly. Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on her.

“Lucerne…….”

Carola enjoyed the gaze and quietly opened her mouth. In particular, it was more fun for her because there weren't many things that attracted Lucerne's attention.

“What is a general?”

“So, she wonders if Elisha is misunderstanding the reason Lucerne is marrying Elisha…….”