~*~*~*~

As the large doors opened before her, the music of the pipe organs resonated in Lydia’s ears as they flowed towards her.

Finding Edgar’s figure at the end of the wedding aisle which was laid over with white cloth, Lydia felt her heartbeat soar.

The scenery that Lydia was seeing through her mother’s wedding veil, was enveloped by a gentle light, and felt somewhat dreamlike.

s.h.i.+ning through the stained gla.s.s, rainbow-coloured light fell onto the altar. Lydia felt as though her mother was watching her right by her side.

The dress which her father had splurged on to prepare, was comfortable to wear and light; the reserved ornaments brought out the delicate lace such that anyone who saw it would see Lydia as befitting the bride of the Earl family.

The bouquet was made of lilies and olives. The pearls dangling from her ears were also arranged with flowers, and when Lydia looked at herself in the mirror at home, she felt that she was able to like her dull reddish brown coloured hair and her witch-like golden green eyes.

And with that, Lydia rested her hand on her father’s arm and moved along the aisle one step at a time while being led by an adorable bridesmaid.

Lydia saw Lota and Paul’s smiling faces. Nico was also present. The Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Masefield, as well as the n.o.ble ladies who took care of Lydia as she prepared for the wedding were all present, and they filled the seats for the bride’s side with brilliance.

At the same time as she felt happy, Lydia also pulled herself together and checked the corner of the benches.

There were five grannies who sat side by side with each other.

They were the spinstress fairies, who probably couldn’t be seen by human eyes.

There was also another one who sat a little apart from them. The problematic sixth fairy.

Fairies would usually not enter churches, but those five grannies who were formally invited were probably special. But for the sixth fairy, the church should be an unpleasant place. Yet perhaps it was her fixated hatred towards the Earl family that made the sixth fairy take her seat on the bench.

I wonder how Edgar intends to make the fairy keep quiet.

Early this morning, on the message card delivered from the Earl household, was a handwritten message from Edgar saying that there was nothing to worry about.

Because they were unable to meet each other before the ceremony on the wedding day, Lydia remained clueless as to the details. Even so, Lydia was able to tell herself that things will turn out fine.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, a sixpence in your shoe.

Lydia had all the good luck charms that were needed in order to become a happy bride.

The blue ribbon which was tied directly to her wrist inside her gloves, may not have the magical blessings from the fairies, but Edgar had cast magic on it.

Because sincere feelings truly exist between the both of them …

When her father stopped around the middle of the wedding aisle, Lydia stopped as well. As she lifted her gaze, she saw Edgar standing right in front of her.

Looking at her, he smiled.

Even though it was through the veil, Edgar, whom she gazed upon at a close distance, was simply too dazzling.

Donning a pure white morning coat, with a light violet coloured ascot tie that matched the colour of his eyes, Edgar also had b.u.t.tonholes of the same flowers as those in Lydia’s bouquet.

Edgar’s white attire and flowers matched his brilliant blonde hair so well that he was too dazzling. The sighs that could be overheard had come from the attendees who were looking at Edgar.

As I thought, no matter what kind of dress I wear, Edgar is the one who stands out more.

Even as she thought that, he was the only one who looked at Lydia and let out a sigh.

“Ahh, you’re so beautiful.”

No matter how others saw her, if Edgar said so, Lydia was able to be confident with herself.

And so, Lydia, who was the daughter of the Carlton family, will become part of the Ashenbert family from now on.

Her hand which had rested on her father’s arm, was now rested on Edgar’s arm. Lydia started to walk onwards once more.

With Edgar by her side, her nervousness until then had subsided, but when she stood in front of the priest, Lydia suddenly got worried.

What should I do if the fairy speaks out and makes a mess out of the wedding? I wonder if everything will really be alright.

While she was thinking about that, the wedding ceremony began.

After talking about matrimony, the priest looked out over the attendees.

Here. This is where the problem is.

The priest will probably say it. The line “if anyone objects to the union of these two people, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

If the fairy speaks out there, the ceremony will be suspended.

Edgar, how do you intend to stop the fairy?

Lydia waited as she stiffened her entire body.

But the priest did not speak those problematic words.

Instead, what entered Lydia’s ears were the songs of hymns.

In the midst of the sounds of the pipe organ resonating with the chorus, Lydia looked at Edgar, surprised.

When Edgar noticed her, he winked at her lightly.

Is this, Edgar’s strategy?

Before long the songs ended and even as the recitation of the Bible began, the priest did not appear to return to the sequence he skipped.

The fairy kept silent.

Edgar had probably asked the priest to remove the step of asking for objections. I wonder if the fairy will realize and fly into a rage.

As Lydia troubled over it, the ceremony continued to progress smoothly.

The attendees’ seats remained silent. It did not feel like the fairy was about to do anything awful.

Is that so? Did the fairy not realize? Is the fairy just going to continue to wait for the priest to speak those words?

As she thought about it calmly, Lydia felt that there was a good chance of that happening.

Fairies are generally inflexible beings. They will follow established routines stubbornly.

To that sixth spinstress fairy, if her disrupting the Earl family’s wedding and being unable to get in the way because of the magical protection from the five fairies were all established routines, then similarly, it was also an established routine for her to follow the priest’s words and raise her objection during the wedding.

This was a blind spot for Lydia.

Because she was preoccupied by the fact that that was a fairy which uses magic, she could only think of countering it with magic.

To begin with, Lydia can’t even think of something as sacrilegious as changing the procedures of a sacred ceremony.

Lydia did not expect that a priest, being a servant of G.o.d, would agree to skip an important portion of a ceremony.

“…in sickness and in health…”

But it was Edgar who made the priest do that.

I wonder if he threatened the priest. Or did he bribe the priest?

“…to love her and to honour her …”

As she listened to the priest’s words which pa.s.sed by quickly, Lydia was seriously troubled over whether she should be happy or be shocked.

But she had been protected so far by such an Edgar. It’s because Edgar was such a person, that he was able to bring Lydia back from the Hebrides.

Even from now onwards, no matter what Edgar did, no matter what choices he made, as long as he was doing it in order to protect what was important to him as the Blue Knight Earl, then it was Lydia’s role to accept him.