5 chapters
Finally, the much anticipated day of the wedding between Princess Meira Ilven of Abetha and Prince Lenard Cromwell of Griven had arrived.
Once again, the Royal Palace of Abetha was bustling with the wedding preparations which had started a week before.
All the side palaces were at capacity with the influx of esteemed guests, and even the personal manors of the noble families within the capital were even opened to give room to some of the guests with lesser standing.
In fact, given the status of the couple to be wed, the celebration should have been luxurious but not grand; afterall, though both of them were royalty, neither the bride nor the groom were first in line to the throne of their respective kingdoms.
However, the initial lineup of wedding guests not only involved the royals and high nobles of the Kingdom of Griven, even the King and Queen of Megaris had personally graced the occasion, causing more foreign dignitaries and important people to accept the wedding invitation, their leaders personally attending instead of simply sending envoys with wedding gifts.
It was a hard-to-come-by situation where royalty from three strong kingdoms were attending. Some of the rich merchants with reputations even fought tooth and nail to get a chance to enter the wedding hall inside the royal palace.
This kind of atmosphere was not only felt within the palace proper. Even the residents of the city were in a festive mood. Though Princess Meira was never nice to Seren, she was beloved by the people, the youngest princess birthed by the Queen, and was renowned for her beauty and grace in high society.
It should also be noted that because of the flood of guests and their subordinates from outside the capital, many of the inns and entertainment establishments were bustling with activities, causing the streets of the capital to be especially lively.
The day before the wedding, the Royal Palace of Abetha personally welcomed the arrival of the Queen of Griven. Queen Julien Cromwell wanted to come weeks prior to help out with the arrangements for Prince Lenard's wedding, but due to conflict of schedule, she had to send her first son, Arlan, ahead of time to prepare in her stead.
Fortunately, she was able to come just in time before the wedding, and during the welcome banquet held in her honor that night, Queen Julien mostly spoke with Queen Niobe about the wedding to be held the next day.
The princess's wedding was arranged in the grand hall of the main palace. Just an hour after the sun had risen, the earliest guests had started to arrive at the grand hall. As time passed by, more and more guests came, and soon, lines of luxurious carriages flooded the entrance to the palace.
Thanks to Queen Niobe's foresight, the knights of Abetha in their blue ceremonial uniforms escorted each newly arrived personages to their respective seats, effectively enforcing order and discipline despite the various complicated relationships amongst everyone inside the grand hall.
When most of the invited guests were seated, a handsome man escorting a veiled woman entered through the aisle in the middle, causing a sudden hush to spread inside the grand wedding hall.
'Oh, that young couple is wearing crowns on their heads.'
'Is that the King and Queen of Megaris?'
'What a mysterious couple.'
The guests rose from their seats and paid their respects to these foreign monarchs, as per custom. Some of the guests who had never met Drayce and Seren were full of curiosity, while a number of those who have, most notably the members of the royal court and their relatives, stared at them with wariness.
'I wonder what the Queen was thinking to invite the witch back to the kingdom. I hope she won't be insane enough to ruin her sister's wedding ceremony.'
'This foreign king, if not for him, our king would not have lost face in front of the court back then. It's not like Megaris is the only ally Abetha can get to end the war.'
However, of the wives and daughters of local nobles in attendance, what they wished to see was how their cursed princess was doing while living with the Devil King himself.
King Drayce Ivanov of Megaris was clad in his black signature attire, a seemingly simple but dignified dark clothes lined with gold at the helm, wearing a large crown over his black hair and a royal cape over his broad shoulders.
Though his face was like an artist's masterpiece, his appearance causing many ladies to blush behind their fans, his expression was cold as ice, his red eyes hard like rubies, beautiful but lacking emotion, as if the people around him were not worthy enough to grace his sights.
Even though they were a distance from him, some of the more sensitive people shivered, feeling like they were facing a monster hiding in a human skin. This was especially so for the relatives of the Queen, who were throwing hostile gazes towards the veiled woman holding onto his arm.
Oblivious to the reaction of the people around her, Seren walked by her husband's side with her head raised. It was a first for her-- to be able to walk proudly under the eyes of the people who despised her in the past.
For her current self, even thousands of their stares meant nothing compared to the doting look of man tenderly holding her, and it was his opinion that mattered the most.
The newly crowned Queen of Megaris, Seren Ivanov, a queen shrouded in mystery and ill repute. This was the first time people from outside the kingdom had witnessed her appear in public after her coronation, as she was rumored to be so elusive, even the wives of the officials and noble ladies of Megaris had hardly seen her shadow.
At this moment, the young woman was wearing an exquisite light violet gown with a flaring skirt of a darker hue, the color complementing her beautiful purple eyes that resembled amethyst gemstones. The white stones embedded in the Queen's tiara on her head reflected that purple color as well, the beautiful accessory on her reddish brown hair making her look like a lavender flower fairy.
Though her face was covered with a veil and snake-like scales were visible on her skin, the way she moved with elegance made many people forget those flaws.
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