CHAPTER 224: CHAPTER 184: THE WEDDING (PART 3)

Like light, yet not dazzling.

Just like the Sun provides a reassuring presence.

"Oh no, much more handsome than I imagined." She softly murmured in her heart, but the corners of her lips couldn’t help but rise slowly.

With the cleric’s gesture, the two of them stepped towards each other, and finally, met in the center of the hall, standing before one another.

At this moment, all music and blessings seemed to pause between them, as if the entire hall contained only the two of them.

The ceremony, at last, was about to begin.

Upon the cleric’s indication, Louis Calvin and Emily Edmund walked side by side to the center of the hall.

Their footsteps mirrored as reflections, each step in perfect rhythm with the music, solemn and serene.

When the two finally met at the center of the hall, standing face to face, it was as if everything around suddenly fell into silence.

Whether it was the music, the incense, the guests, or the circulating colored lights overhead, it all seemed to be paused by some invisible force.

Only the two of them remained.

The cleric raised the Dragon Patterned Staff, an ancient and solemn voice resonated in the high hall:

"Under the witness of the Dragon Ancestor, before everyone present, the couple shall make three vows—"

The first vow, the family vow.

"Do you vow to uphold the honor of the bloodline, support your spouse, and strive for the prosperity of the family?"

Louis extended his right hand, holding Emily’s veiled hand. The warmth in his palm was comforting, yet not hesitant.

He looked into her eyes, his voice steady, "I do."

There was no hesitation, no delay, even though his heart did not stir with many emotions.

He did not dislike her, but neither could he claim familiarity.

Emily Edmund, a name of political significance, but merely their second meeting on an emotional level.

A political marriage.

He was already clear about the essence of this marriage.

Yet, he still pronounced the vow with firmness.

Emily looked at him, taking a gentle breath.

"I do."

Her voice trembled slightly, yet was unambiguous. She had prepared for this day for a long time.

From the moment she knew she would marry into Red Tide Territory, she understood she would not be sent there merely as a "daughter" or "noble lady," but as a "wife" and "future lady of the lord."

She could not show weakness.

Yet the pride in her parents’ eyes, her godmother’s hushed advice, and the etiquette and imaginations of the future that she had pondered day and night,

all seemed to surge from her heart at this moment, almost drowning her.

She lowered her head, hiding the glisten in her eyes.

The second vow, the empire vow.

"Do you vow to be loyal to the Empire, uphold the law, and never betray?"

"I do." Louis replied without hesitation.

"I do." Emily clutched the edge of her ceremonial dress. She knew this vow was the continuing bond with her family and the second threshold into this new world.

The third vow, the faith vow.

"Do you vow to take the Dragon Ancestor as your guide, to walk together in light and in hardship?"

"I do."

"I do."

Tears shimmered in Emily’s eyes, glistening faintly beneath the veil, but she did not shy away.

And so, the three vows were made.

The cleric solemnly declared:

"In the name of the Dragon Ancestor, your destinies shall intertwine from this day forth; the chains of bloodline and faith now bind you closely together."

Applause rose, and colorful flowers fluttered down like snow.

The Dragon Patterned Staff gently tapped between the two, and the Holy Emblem’s glow of platinum and crimson gold flickered slightly, like a blessing bestowed by an ancient Divine Being.

Emily trembled slightly, feeling that warmth fall between her brows, yet it seemed to imprint deep within her fate.

In the front row, Duchess Irina discreetly wiped away tears, and as her fingertips brushed past the gleam in her eyes, she quickly regained the composure expected of noblewomen.

She looked at her daughter’s seemingly grown-up silhouette, yet a strange sense of weightlessness surged in her heart.

It wasn’t sadness but the fulfillment of a mother hawk as she pushed her fledgling with newly grown wings toward the sky.

Duke Edmund sat quietly by her side, his expression as calm as ever.

Even in the face of such a situation, he remained the composed and unmoved high-ranking imperial official.

But at the moment when Emily formally took her vows, a fleeting tenderness flickered in his eyes.

On the other side, Pal Calvin leaned against his chair, his expression dark.

Clenching his rear teeth, he struggled to maintain the noble smile, though it seemed more like a sneer.

"Nothing more than a political marriage, she won’t truly love him," he sneered softly, half mocking, yet half resentful.

He could not accept that this once overlooked brother had now married the most dazzling woman in the entire Northern Territory.

"Truly a flower planted on cow dung," he consoled himself.

As the marriage vows were concluded, the ceremony moved into the celebration phase.

First was the Holy Emblem coronation.

The cleric placed the double-ring Holy Emblem, symbolizing the union of husband and wife, over the shoulders of the couple, engraved with dragon wings and the Sun, signifying faith and future.

Louis knelt on one knee, received the emblem, then stood to fasten it on Emily personally.

At that moment, Emily’s eyes widened. His touch was gentle, fingertips brushing past the strands of hair at her neck. That subtle tenderness made her heartbeat skip.

He... was meticulous in every detail.

Then came the ritual offering of wine, where both held the silver cup, presenting wine brewed from their hometowns to each other.

Louis poured her wine brewed from Red Tide Territory, its color clear, yet tasting as fiery as a cold night’s wind.

He watched Emily drink and smiled slightly, "If you’re not used to it, you can switch to water."

"I quite like it," Emily said softly, a tightness in her throat.

She was earnest.