Chapter 882: Wedding in Progress

Duchess Galina looked in a pretty good mood. She glanced at Retsia, who was dressed as a bridesmaid. Although she didn't know what had just happened, seeing the seating arrangement near Xia De, she also guessed what Retsia was doing.

"Good afternoon, little Retsia."

She maintained an elegant smile, and the bright red long dress set off her beauty exceptionally well today. Retsia, who was wearing a bridesmaid dress, also maintained the elegance of a royal lady:

"Good afternoon, Aunt Galina."

In the church auditorium where the wedding was about to be held, both of them restrained their emotions. On the surface, everything was very in line with etiquette. Retsia soon walked toward the door again. She should be with the bride today.

Duchess Galina turned her head to watch Retsia leave here, then glanced around. She did not go to find other seats reserved for royal family members in the first three rows, but sat next to Miss Sylvia on the other side of the aisle after greeting Xia De.

In this way, the two great witches from the 【Witch Council】 sat together.

Tifa naturally had no seat. After confirming that Duchess Galina had found a seat, she left the auditorium temporarily to wait outside. There was still some time before the wedding started. In the slightly brisk tune of "Midsummer Grass", Xia De originally wanted to continue chatting with Dorothy, but did not expect Dorothy to talk to that Princess Margaret.

The princess of Karsenrik also learned Delarion language, so she knew the Tobesk female writer who had become famous recently. They talked happily, and Dorothy even pulled Xia De into the conversation.

Although in Huntington City, Xia De had already contacted this princess, he still had to pretend to know the other party for the first time, and according to social etiquette, praised the beauty of her dress today. Princess Margaret first thanked Xia De for the gift yesterday, and then praised Xia De and Dorothy, even mentioning that Xia De's formal dress looked quite good.

She blinked suddenly and said jokingly:

"At the farewell banquet in Huntington City, I saw another Delarion gentleman wearing formal dress of similar fabric and craftsmanship. It seems this is the fashion in Tobesk this winter."

She probably didn't realize what this "coincidence" represented, but Xia De's cold sweat almost flowed down. The formal dress he wore when attending the farewell banquet last Saturday and was struck by lightning, and the formal dress today, were both customized by Retsia for him.

Fortunately, the topic quickly skipped from here, and Dorothy cleverly talked about literary topics with this foreign lady.

To prevent himself from revealing any flaws again, Xia De took the initiative to withdraw from the conversation between the two ladies. But sitting there in a daze was not a good idea, so taking advantage of the fact that guests were still entering the venue one after another, he stood up and came to the other side of the aisle, and said to Miss Sylvia:

"Lady, may I ask if you are Miss Emma Sylvia?"

"Sir, do you know me?"

Miss Sylvia asked hesitantly, with an expression of hating social interaction on her face, while Duchess Galina beside her revealed a smile.

"Yes, I have read your thesis. You once left a photo when you attended the Yalta Mathematical Peak Conference two years ago."

Xia De said according to the planned words. This was a method prepared by the witches to allow Xia De to reasonably know Miss Sylvia:

"I have always admired your academic achievements, and I have always been reading your thesis. I didn't expect you to come to Tobesk with Princess Margaret."

"This is Knight Hamilton of Lei Jiede."

Duchess Galina introduced. Xia De reached out to shake hands with Miss Sylvia, but the latter hesitated and refused to reach out, so it was Duchess Galina who smoothed things over:

"Knight, this Miss Sylvia from Karsenrik is Princess Margaret's mathematics teacher. If you have any questions you want to ask, you can wait until the banquet in the evening."

"Yes, I do have some questions I want to ask."

Xia De said softly, and then bid farewell to the two ladies and returned to his seat.

"Mr. Hamilton, the teacher has always been indifferent to men, not because she has an opinion on you."

Princess Margaret, who saw the scene just now, explained softly, and Xia De nodded.

The scene just now was purely performed for the princess to see. After the short conversation just now, Xia De had a reason to continue knowing Miss Sylvia, Duchess Galina had a reason to invite this lady to visit her manor, and Princess Margaret also dispelled the suspicion that Xia De suddenly had a connection with Miss Sylvia.

This was all Miss Sylvia's plan, originally intended to be used at the banquet at Lake View Manor in the evening, but the current occasion was more suitable. As soon as Xia De stood up, the two witches cooperated tacitly.

Not long after Xia De sat down, the last batch of guests also arrived at the wedding scene. And the last batch of guests was King Larus and Wang Hou Diana. Their arrival not only made other guests stand up one after another, but even Duke Eisenberg and his wife, who were sitting on the right side of the first row, stood up to greet them—according to tradition, the right side of the first three rows was all male family members, and the left side of the first three rows was all female family members.

When passing by Xia De, the King and Wang Hou even stopped to talk to Princess Margaret and invited the princess to sit in the front row, but were rejected by the princess:

"This is a big day for the Cavendish family. As an outsider, how can I disturb you?"

She answered generously, and the sentences and titles were quite appropriate, which made the people around nod repeatedly.

Of course, the King also saw Xia De, but only nodded slightly to him. This did not prevent Xia De from seeing the approving look in the eyes of this King who was slightly shorter than him. The King was very happy that Xia De could faithfully complete his task.

The Wang Hou and King also sat down, and the guests' voices lowered slightly, because the wedding had entered the final preparation stage.

At 1:45 PM, the old priest wearing a white robe and a huge white dove holy emblem hanging on his chest walked out from the corridor behind the auditorium, tidied his hat and came to the preaching platform, and placed the "Code of Peace" of the Peace Church he was holding into the flower cluster.

The wedding of the princess of this country is qualified to have the diocesan bishop as the officiant, but I don't know why they finally invited the oldest priest in the local diocese of the Peace Church. This priest is three years older than Priest Augustus.

"Attending a wedding always makes people so excited."

At this time, most of the conversations had ended. Dorothy said to Xia De in a low voice. The blonde girl was infected by the atmosphere at this moment. She put her handbag on her lap, her eyes shining as she looked at the preaching platform ahead and the priest who was making final preparations:

"Xia De, your faith is Mr. Dawn, right?"

Dorothy asked again suddenly. Xia De nodded. Little Mia's daily nap time had already arrived. This cat was now lying on Xia De's lap sleeping.

The blonde girl muttered:

"I believe in Lady Creation, Retsia believes in Father of Peace..."

【Do you know what she is thinking?】

The voice in his ear chuckled.

"Of course I know."

Xia De replied in his heart.

At 1:48 PM, when the white-haired old priest was officially ready, he suddenly coughed, so the band playing the third-to-last bar of "To My Love" in the corner of the church suddenly changed the tune, and then smoothly began to play "Wedding March".

The guests all turned to look at the door with smiles. After a while, outside the double doors that were originally empty in the auditorium, two boys who looked only seven or eight years old, wearing red coats and black small leather shoes, each carrying a flower basket full of petals, walked in somewhat shyly, and then sprinkled red, pink, and white petals on the red carpet at the door.

"Started, started."

Dorothy said excitedly.

When the two little flower children had sprinkled two or three handfuls of petals, the groom Randolph Eisenberg, wearing a red military uniform, stepping on brown leather boots, and wearing a high-top black bearskin hat, finally appeared at the door.

He had a smile on his face, but one could still see some panic, and even his limbs were a bit stiff, but he still forced himself to pretend to be calm. The golden ribbon on his shoulder pulled toward his chest. Besides the corsage necessary for the wedding, there were also two small medals on his chest.

While everyone stood up, accompanied by "Wedding March", Randolph Eisenberg officially stepped onto the red carpet, accompanied by the chief groomsman wearing a black formal suit.

Probably the two boys found from the church choir were throwing petals in front, while Mr. Eisenberg walked neither fast nor slow, giving people a chance to send their respective blessings.

Mr. Randolph Eisenberg was wearing a hat, so Xia De could not roughly estimate his height, but he would not be taller than Xia De. His skin was not very smooth, and the distance between his eyes was a bit small, but overall, he was a very firm gentleman.

Amidst the music and applause, he took the chief groomsman and finally reached the front row at the end of the red carpet, then opened his arms and hugged Duke Eisenberg's wife, who seemed to be crying, before walking onto the high platform ahead and standing on the left hand side of the old priest.

"It's really beautiful."

Xia De heard Dorothy sigh softly.

With the continued playing of the wedding march, three pairs of groomsmen and bridesmaids also appeared at the door and stepped onto the red carpet amidst the music. Their walking speed and posture were obviously much more normal. Xia De only knew one of the three groomsmen, who was a noble who had once played Rod cards with him. The three bridesmaids were all sisters of Mona Cavendish, including sixteen-year-old Ajelina Cavendish. They were all wearing plain long dresses similar to Retsia, but the style of the long dress was simpler than the chief bridesmaid.

The people who stood up did not pay too much attention to them, because behind the groomsmen and bridesmaids, the male ring children, each holding a ring box, walked in shyly, followed by four little girls wearing white robes, dressed like little angels, carrying flower baskets and walking in.

At this moment, the gas lamps temporarily hung outside the window were all turned on, and the light shone through the magnificent colored glass of the church, illuminating the door of the auditorium with seven-colored light.

With a dull explosion, petals and ribbons flew over the red carpet. While "Wedding March" was playing, two musicians wearing red coats at the door raised golden horns at the same time, blowing out a loud sound.

In the sound of the horn, the bride Mona Cavendish, wearing a white wedding dress, a silver-white crown, a pearl necklace on her chest, diamond earrings, and a bouquet of white lilies in her hand, finally appeared.

That crown even looked more gorgeous than Sister Daifulin's eye mask, and that pearl necklace made her skin look so fair.

Her face was full of happy smiles, and the white wedding dress with layers of skirt made her the most beautiful lady at this moment. Mona Cavendish and Retsia did not look alike, but her nose was very similar to Ajelina's, and her eyes were like the eldest prince Xia De saw at the train station yesterday.

That red long hair is the symbol of the Cavendish royal family. At this time, the long hair was woven into small braids, and then woven into a complex style at the back of the head.

People clapped their palms, with chief bridesmaid Retsia leading the way in front, and the bride walked onto the red carpet while laughing. The long, exaggerated skirt behind the dress was carried by eight little girls who were also wearing white robes and had golden hair.

The pre-laid steam pipes sprayed streams of tiny steam mist from the small holes in the ground onto the red carpet at this moment. The soft light at noon was projected from the colored glass windows higher in the auditorium. In those little halos, in the music of "Wedding March", in the envious and blessed eyes, Mona Cavendish crossed the long red carpet, crossed everyone who sent her blessings, and finally reached the front row of seats.

She hugged her mother Wang Hou Diana, and then looked at her father, the current King of the Kingdom of Delarion, Larus III.

Unlike the Wang Hou who was wiping tears with a handkerchief, the King's expression was very calm:

"Mona, remember to be happy."

He said softly, just a simple sentence, and the bride shed tears.

The King held the bride's hand, sent her to the high platform behind the preaching platform, and then turned and left. And Retsia stood behind the bride.

"Oh, this is really..."

Dorothy bit her lip slightly, her eyes a bit dazed. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the cat held by Xia De "meowed" softly. Little Mia seemed afraid of disturbing this sacred moment, and deliberately lowered her voice.

"Retsia?"

Xia De asked softly during the sound of the chair moving, "Dorothy" wiped her eyes and did not pay attention to Xia De.

"God bless this pair of newlyweds who have been praised and blessed by relatives and friends, and combined under the holy emblem!"

The old priest announced loudly. On his right was Mona Cavendish holding a bouquet, and on his left was Randolph Eisenberg wearing a military uniform.

With the announcement of the priest, the sound of "Wedding March" gradually lowered, but did not disappear completely:

"In the name of my Lord - Father of Peace, give you blessings. Bless your marriage, may you become servants of God, and in the teachings and grace of peace, obtain eternal happiness in the mortal world."

The priest took a deep breath and looked at the guests who had already sat down:

"May I ask, is there anyone who opposes the marriage of this pair of newlyweds?"

Of course, no one would speak at this moment, otherwise the other party would definitely not be able to walk out of the Peace Church alive.

But the old priest waited for ten seconds, and then said loudly with a smile:

"No one opposes this marriage, may God bless everyone, the Father will witness everything here and all the vows, praise the Father of Peace! Praise War and Peace!"

The wedding tradition of Delarion is quite complex. The normal process requires the choir to appear at this time, singing the hymns of the Peace Church, such as "White Shepherd" or "Song of Peace", but royal weddings have always been simplified—to prevent accidents, so the children of the choir did not appear, but the priest loudly read the sentences selected from the fifth chapter and third section of the "Code of Peace", about the marriage view of the Peace Church, during which the band played "Song of Peace".

After all this ended, the priest conducted the most critical link. People watched the groom and bride behind the preaching platform with bated breath:

"In the name of God, ask you under the holy emblem—"

"Dorothy" quietly held Xia De's hand, Little Mia curiously climbed onto Xia De's shoulder, staring with big eyes over the crowd in front and looking at the priest.

"Randolph Johnson Eisenberg, are you willing to let this lady become your wife, even if she is old and her youth is gone."

The priest asked.

The young Mr. Eisenberg's eyes subconsciously looked at the King sitting below, and then opened his mouth quickly:

"Yes, I am willing, may the Father witness, I am willing."

His hand was placed on the holy book held by the priest. The priest revealed a smile, turned the direction of standing again and asked:

"Mona Fran Cavendish, are you willing to become this gentleman's wife, regardless of poverty or wealth, life or death?"

"Yes, I am willing."

She had tears in the corners of her eyes, her face was just a smile, and she reached out and pressed on the holy book.

Xia De seemed to hear Wang Hou Diana in the front row finally crying, his hand was firmly pinched by "Dorothy". "Retsia" behind the bride was smiling and looking at her sister at this time, and among the bridesmaids behind the chief bridesmaid, Ajelina's face was very normal.

Very curious about the expressions of the witches at this time, Xia De carefully turned his head slightly, and looked at the other side of the aisle with his peripheral vision.

Miss Sylvia raised her head and looked at the bride and groom who were swearing ahead, as if doing some academic research. And Duchess Galina happened to look at Xia De at this moment, and the red-haired witch glared at him completely unreasonably.

"Hmm? Did I do something wrong?"

Xia De thought in his heart, and then heard the priest announce loudly in the last most impassioned bar of "Wedding March":

"My Lord Father of Peace, witness this marriage is valid, you have made vows to each other, witnessed by God. Please exchange rings, may God bless, your marriage has begun, this is a new beginning, a new family, a new continuation!"

The ring child sent the rings. The priest moved aside. Amidst the applause of the people, Mona Eisenberg and Randolph Eisenberg looked at each other, and then put the rings on each other.

The noon sun was just right, and the atmosphere in the auditorium of the church was intense. Applause appeared in pieces, and everyone had a smile on their face.

Thus, amidst the climax of "Wedding March", Mr. Eisenberg hugged his bride and kissed her.

Afterward, there were the priest's speech and the gift-giving of the church, as well as the short speeches of the parents of both parties, but Xia De could no longer listen to these.

"Dorothy" turned her head sharply and hugged his neck, then kissed him. Of course, this was not a deep kiss, just a light touch. Not many people noticed this scene, and even Princess Margaret, who was sitting on the other side of Dorothy and concentrating on looking at the stage, did not notice.

But Xia De could be sure that the two witches must have noticed. At least, Duchess Galina definitely saw this scene. Xia De felt that the other party's eyes seemed to have become substantive and were "strafing" himself.

The priest's blessing still sounded in front, and "Dorothy" turned her head and continued to look at the people on the stage after kissing Xia De, as if nothing had happened.

Xia De did not dare to look at the direction of the witches at all, and could only lower his head and touch his lips, and then saw the cat lying on his lap twisting its neck and raising its head with an awkward posture, looking at him with big amber eyes:

"Meow!"

Xia De thought he understood Mia's words, so he reached out and scratched its little head. The cat narrowed its eyes and revealed an enjoyable look, and lay down peacefully again, with two fluffy white front paws padding its little head.

"Marriage..."

Xia De thought in the last most impassioned bar of the wedding march, and heard the people around start clapping again, so he also clapped his hands.

Just, when looking up at Randolph Eisenberg and Mona Eisenberg, who were holding hands and showing happy expressions, Xia De still pursed his lips, thinking about the meaning of love and marriage.

"May God bless them."

He said in a low voice, but this voice was drowned in the sound of applause around him.

7017k ===== CHAPTER 883 =====