SGC 17

CHAPTER 17

Translator: Rae

***

“Before the vows, the couple shall exchange the tokens of their betrothal.”

As the archbishop announced the procedure, priests approached and presented ring boxes atop velvet cushions.

Edmund took out the silver-white ring set inside and gently drew Rozella’s hand toward him. The ring slid deep onto her slender ring finger, glittering under the brilliant lights.

His calloused fingertips lingered briefly over her ring. The sensation made Rozella moisten her lips.

"It's your turn, Roze." 

At his gentle whisper, Rozella softly took his left hand. It was far larger than hers, rough to the touch, yet the fingers were long and beautifully shaped.

As she slid an identical silver-white ring onto his knotted ring finger, an unfamiliar surge of emotion rippled through her chest like a wave.

“In the presence of God, the two of you shall now speak your sacred vows.”

Edmund parted his closed lips and spoke his marriage vow without hesitation. There was not the slightest trace of doubt in his determined voice.

“I, Edmund Hayden, do solemnly swear under God’s protection. I take Rozella Everett as my wife, devote to her a faithful love, and I will share in all joys and trials as her partner in life.”

As though only the two of them remained in this space, Edmund fixed his intense gaze upon her.

“I will safeguard my wife’s honor and protect her in every moment with unwavering devotion.”

His low, resonant voice flowed unhesitatingly into her ears.

“Until d*ath parts us, I swear an eternal bond of life.”

Unable to look away from him, Rozella unconsciously moistened her lower lip. Reflected in his clear, unwavering eyes, her own face looked hazy, as though she was trapped in a dream.

Though it was her turn, Rozella could not speak for several seconds, then slowly took a deep breath.

“I, Rozella Everett, do solemnly swear under God’s protection. I take Edmund Hayden as my husband, devote to him a pure love, and I will stand with him through calm and storm alike as his partner in life.” 

Edmund watched her lips with softly gleaming green eyes. Rozella opened her parched throat and pronounced each word carefully.

“I will uphold my husband’s honor and follow him in every moment with unwavering devotion, until d*ath parts us.”

After steadying her breath, Rozella lifted her long lashes. The instant her eyes met Edmund’s, a strange sensation surged within her, as though this vow were a brand seared into her.

“…I swear an eternal bond of life.”

As the final line of the vows was completed, the archbishop nodded with satisfaction and struck the dais twice.

“The couple shall seal their sacred vows with a kiss.”

It was the final step of the banquet. Edmund took a few steps forward and reached out his hand. The hand that gently cupped her cheek left not the slightest hesitation.

Tilting his head, Edmund met her eyes directly just before their lips touched. In that moment, his darkened pupils looked like an endless abyss, just as they had at the graduation ball where they first reunited.

Rozella’s golden eyes wavered helplessly before squeezing shut. Her ears felt like burning violently. At the same time, the hand that had seemed loosely relaxed tightened into her veil, and at last, their lips met.

Dong. Dong. Dong.

The bells rang out, announcing the end of the banquet. With their clear resonance, Rozella felt their lips press together more deeply.

It was a restrained kiss, yet still enough to steal her breath away.

It was the first kiss she shared with him, one that stirred a deep place within her she had never known, and one she could no longer overlook.

The hall of the ducal residence where the reception was held felt heavy, more like a funeral instead of a celebration.

The guests emptied their wine glasses in silence, while elderly elders clutched the pendants hanging at their chests and made the sign of the cross.

Yet in this deeply sunken atmosphere, at least one man was busy stirring things up, as though fanning flames in a burning house.

Delroy Gautier, the eldest son of the cadet Gautier family, a vassal of the Haydens, was the only one genuinely enjoying the banquet today.

After forcibly clinking glasses with a displeased elder and laughing it off, Delroy soon moved on with a light step.

His glib footsteps came to a stop at the table of the new duke, Edmund Hayden.

“You really landed a solid blow on the old men, my Lord.”

Edmund, taking a wine glass from an attendant, quietly turned his head.

The main character of today, who had dropped a bomb on the entire family yet remained calm on his own, greeted his own with a familiar smile.

“At least you look like you’re enjoying yourself, Delroy.”

As the attendant quietly stepped away, Delroy swirled his wine glass and grinned.

“How could I not? When such a surprise event shows up in an otherwise boring life.”

With an exaggerated tilt of his head, Delroy swept his gaze around the hall and pressed a hand to his chest in satisfaction.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a banquet like this. An ironic banquet where everyone is miserable and gloomy except for the main character alone, you don’t even see tragedies like this in opera.”

“Just speak normally. Your formal speech is unpleasant no matter when I hear it.”

As Edmund casually delivered the barb while tilting his glass to his lips, Delroy shrugged with an unconcerned expression.

“As you command, my Lord.”

Downing the red wine in one gulp, Delroy set the glass down with a tap and brought up the question he was most curious about.

“So then, since when have you been planning something this insane?”

Edmund showed no particular reaction when faced with the eager question. He merely looked down at the hand holding his glass and smiled faintly.

“Compared to your usual behavior, doesn’t this barely even qualify as insanity?”

At the utterly nonchalant reply, Delroy raised both arms as if incredulous.

“No, that’s different. I’ve always been a madman, but you haven’t. That’s why this is an incomparable situation.”

While keeping his glib acting, Delroy continued while deliberately putting on a serious expression.

“Ed, be honest with me. Did you hit your head somewhere while playing commander in the duchy?”

The Edmund Hayden that Delroy Gautier knew was perfect in the best sense, and dull in the worst.

Perhaps due to his strict father and frail mother, he had been a model son who had never once strayed from family rules, and since birth had never deviated from the image of the flawless heir the family desired.

Of course, even Edmund had committed one crime in his perfect life. Four years ago, he had abruptly enlisted as an officer and left for the northern borderlands, after which there had been no word from him for quite some time.

Then one year, news arrived that a unit of the kingdom’s army had crushed a large band of pirates who had invaded the water territory. That was the first news Edmund made known, albeit indirectly.

Delroy did not even know whether Edmund was alive or d*ad until he read the commander’s name in the newspaper article. After that, however, Edmund began appearing on the front page whenever there was the slightest opportunity.

Leaving the family’s domain only to elevate the family name elsewhere still felt like a deviation befitting a well-grown young master.

Though he was the complete opposite of Delroy, who had been the family’s black sheep all his life, the two were nonetheless close cousins. That was why Delroy believed he understood Edmund fairly well.

“As far as I know, this isn’t the kind of crime you’d commit.”

Delroy narrowed his eyes like a professor confronted with a mysterious conundrum.

Quite literally, this marriage was a decision that drove the family’s honor into the ground. Moreover, it was an act of betrayal against both father and mother at once.

“They say soldiers lose their minds without realizing it when they go off to war. Did that happen to you as well?”

"Think as you please." 

The answer remained calm throughout, but Delroy did not back down and continued to glare at his cousin.

Of course, Delroy did not truly consider this an unforgivable betrayal or an absolute taboo. All of this was merely the sort of talk the family’s elders muttered endlessly.

He was simply curious about why this perfect young master had done such a thing. And the suspected cause, naturally, led back to a single woman.

In fact, Delroy had quite a lot to say about her as well. Sharpening his gaze in an instant, Delroy slammed his hand down on the table.

“Do you know this? Everyone’s making a fuss about whose daughter your bride is, but I’m different. I remember exactly who your bride is, and just how vicious a woman she is.”

Delroy vividly remembered the few days he had visited the ducal villa as a child. He also remembered that the scruffy yet pretty girl who had hovered around Edmund back then was now today’s duchess.

Recalling the humiliation of that day, Delroy glared at Edmund with deliberate intensity.

“Yes, that’s right. I was exactly fourteen. That cheeky little brat who stole everything from my underwear to my shoes and stuffed them into a feed trough. Do you really think I’d forget who that was?”

As if recalling the same memory, Edmund twisted his lips into a faint, crooked smile.

"Think again. It was your fault.”

Edmund was right. Delroy had actually provoked her first.

At the time, Delroy had entered adolescence, twisted and resentful, a boy full of dissatisfaction with a life trapped in predetermined confines.

The family elders were obsessed in comparing Edmund and Delroy every day, so it was only natural that he felt irritated toward a cousin who seemed upright like a saint.

So he had only played a few pranks. Though, hitting Edmund’s leg with a cricket ball did go beyond what could be called harmless fun.

Winning riding competitions through dirty scheme, repeatedly scheming so Edmund would be late to lessons and get scolded…

And yet, while the one being targeted endured it all like a fool without protest, the maid’s daughter who had stayed hidden like a mouse suddenly took revenge on Delroy.

***

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