People in this world are accustomed to holding weddings between 1 PM and 2 PM, and Princess Mona Cavendish's wedding was scheduled for 1:40 PM on the nineteenth of frost descent month.
Although the Peace Church was not closed for the wedding, the church was still extra decorated.
Yodel Palace had already dispatched eunuch attendants in advance to guide arriving guests to the wedding hall at the church entrance.
This was not the church's main hall, but a side hall used for daily sermons, as people believed that marriages blessed in the main hall of the cathedral would bring extra pressure to the newlyweds.
Even if it wasn't the main hall, the solemn and sacred atmosphere was not lacking at all; the hall, with its astonishing depth, was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, and the clean, reflective tiled floor and various religious oil paintings on the walls also gave the church a greater sense of holiness.
The hall was already well-arranged; in the originally solemn and sacred hall, a red carpet extended from the entrance to the pulpit, which was filled with flowers, and even the giant holy emblem behind the pulpit was decorated with flowers.
Colored ribbons adorned the stained-glass windows, and musicians in formal attire and children serving as flower girls had already arrived.
Xia De and Leia arrived relatively early, and when they entered the hall, there were not many guests seated on the long wooden benches.
Even with many people present, the hall remained quiet, with everyone subconsciously lowering their voices.
Xia De understood this behavior; even an Outsider like him knew that this was not a place for loud noise in such an environment.
Guest seating was not fixed; apart from royal family members and direct relatives of both parties who had to sit in the first three rows, friends like Xia De, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, could choose any seat in the back.
A long bench could seat two people, and Xia De and the Golden-haired girl sat in the fifth row, near the central aisle.
Xia De sat on the outside, and Leia sat on the inside.
After sitting down, he placed his hand on the right armrest, which seemed to have developed a patina, and then looked around curiously.
The church hall itself was so awe-inspiring, but with the wedding decorations, it gained a touch of festive cheer.
No acquaintances appeared around them for the moment, and guests continuously entered, led by the eunuch attendants, talking in hushed tones, occasionally greeting each other, but always controlling their volume.
Xia De could recognize most of them, and those gentlemen, either in black formal wear or red army uniforms, could also quietly greet Xia De, as if not at all surprised by the appearance of “Hamilton of Leijiede” here.
“Miss Jialinna’s carriage has already arrived outside the church; she should be here very soon.”
Count De’an, who worked for the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even shared this news with Xia De, and then said to Xia De’s female companion, “Dorothy”:
“Good afternoon, madam.”
But the Golden-haired girl's face was not looking so good at this moment, and after the count left, a look of dismay appeared on her face:
“Xia De, Jialinna isn’t going to sit next to me, is she?”
Next to Xia De was the aisle, and Miss Jialinna, as a person of high status but not a direct relative, could sit in the first three rows, but could also sit in other places; in a wedding setting, everyone could be more casual.
“I don’t know.”
Xia De replied, but in his heart, he was quite certain that the Great Witch would most likely do so.
“Dorothy” pursed her lips, tilted her head, and leaned on Xia De's shoulder, closing her eyes.
But she almost immediately sat up straight again, and when she opened her eyes, the cat lying lazily on Xia De's lap let out another meow:
“Meow!”
“Good afternoon, Xia De.”
Although she had been with Xia De all along, Dorothy still said with a smile.
She was in a good mood, at least much better than Leia’s:
“This is my first time being a bridesmaid for someone else, oh, Xia De, you don’t know how much I did this entire morning.
Even with the help of maids, being the chief bridesmaid is indeed hard work.”
Although she was complaining quietly, the smile on Dorothy’s lips showed that she was also infected by the atmosphere, blessing the couple about to be married.
Dorothy looked left and right, very interested in the church’s interior decorations:
“This is my first time entering the Peace Church.”
“Leia didn’t want to sit with Miss Jialinna, so she ran away?”
Xia De asked in a low voice, and Dorothy immediately shook her head:
“Of course not, how could she be afraid of Miss Jialinna? She was preparing to arrange for someone else to sit next to me in advance.”
“Who will sit next to you? Oh, good afternoon, Marquis Dirac!”
Xia De raised his voice slightly, greeting the old gentleman passing by, and the Golden-haired girl smiled and blinked, a very playful expression:
“You guess.”
Before Xia De and “Dorothy” entered, the hall was already playing famous Delarion wedding accompaniment pieces: “Summer Grass,” “To My Love,” and “Call from the Snowy Peak.”
The gentlemen of the band in formal attire continued to perform on one side of the church, seemingly tireless.
As time passed, more and more guests arrived, then took their seats and conversed in low voices.
This excited yet solemn atmosphere also infected Xia De; he greeted people, then discussed the hall's decorative style and the origin of the religious frescoes overhead with Dorothy.
As the two were talking, a somewhat loud speaking voice sounded from the entrance of the hall, and Xia De heard the word “princess.”
He turned his head and met Leia’s gaze directly:
“Hmm?”
Xia De looked at Leia at the door, then at Dorothy beside him; this feeling was truly wonderful.
The Red Butterfly Princess, at this moment, was wearing a plain long dress.
The dress was extremely simply decorated, without even lace patterns on the hem.
She did not wear a corset, but instead tied a golden ribbon as a belt.
Her long hair simply hung down her back, she wore two symmetrical silver bracelets on her hands, and silver high heels on her feet.
This “unremarkable” attire was very inconsistent with the princess’s status; if Leia were walking barefoot on the grass at this moment, with a wreath on her head, she would be indistinguishable from the “holy maidens” depicted in operas and knight novels.
According to local wedding customs, bridesmaids' attire and jewelry must be simple (although the price of this outfit and jewelry was more than Xia De could earn in a month); bridesmaids must not steal the bride's spotlight on the happiest day of her life, but rather should make the bride appear even more pretty, which is why she was dressed this way.
Leia, as a bridesmaid, appearing in the hall in advance was certainly not to find Xia De.
Behind her, Princess Margaret Anjou and her accompanying female officials followed, clearly they were also here to attend the wedding.
This princess from the southern kingdom was wearing a gradient blue long dress today.
The upper half was roughly white with a faint blue dye, and from the waist down, the blue became increasingly pronounced until it was entirely blue at the hem.
Leia’s dress was not only plain but also extremely thin, suitable for Summer but not for winter, while Princess Margaret’s long dress was not only complex in color but also divided into at least three layers.
She had light makeup on her face, and her eyebrows were exceptionally pretty between her light blue eyes and her fair forehead hidden by stray hair.
When Leia and Princess Margaret stood together, although the two princesses were beautiful in different ways, due to the contrast of their clothes, Leia was uncharacteristically inconspicuous.
People near the entrance had already noticed the appearance of the two princesses and rose to greet them, some even using carson rick.
Princess Margaret had only just arrived in Tobesk yesterday, likely having received an invitation at Yodel Palace yesterday, and the visiting delegation led by the princess itself had social needs to connect with nobles, so her appearance at this time was not surprising to anyone.
As Leia led Princess Margaret and her entourage into the hall, people rose row by row to greet them.
Of course, they did not stand up straight, but rather lifted their buttocks from their seats and bowed slightly.
This was, after all, a wedding, and even if they wanted to display their nation’s etiquette in front of a foreign princess, they still had to consider the Cavendish’s face.
These scenes made Xia De increasingly excited; he really liked such peaceful and beautiful times.
But soon, Leia, with the faintly smiling Princess Margaret, came to Xia De’s side.
Xia De and Dorothy also rose like the others, but did not expect Leia to stop.
She introduced them as if Xia De was a complete stranger:
“Miss Margaret, this is Sir Hamilton of Leijiede; you met him yesterday at the train station.”
Xia De vaguely understood what Leia probably wanted to do, while Leia had a cold expression, completely different from the enthusiasm she showed during their last meeting, which was when they discussed “Red Butterfly Day” in the carriage on Saturday afternoon.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness.”
But he still did not forget to respectfully greet Margaret Anjou, who also smiled and nodded.
So Leia said:
“Margaret, what do you think of the seat here?”
She pointed to the seat inside Dorothy’s, and Princess Margaret smiled and nodded:
“Very good.”
So Leia asked Dorothy again:
“Madam, do you mind if Princess Margaret sits here?”
“Oh, of course not, it’s my honor.
But won’t the princess sit in the first three rows?”
Dorothy asked somewhat surprised, rising with Xia De to make way for Princess Margaret and her accompanying female official to sit down.
“Margaret believes it’s better not to disturb today’s newlyweds.”
Leia said softly, her gaze meeting Dorothy’s, their connected souls feeling each other’s joy.
“Madam, you are truly pretty, and a very good match for the knight.”
As Princess Margaret took her seat, Leia smiled and said to Dorothy, who was standing beside her.
As soon as she finished speaking, the orange cat Xia De was holding meowed, and Xia De looked at Dorothy in surprise; “Dorothy” replied:
“Your Highness, thank you for your compliment; you are also as pretty as the most delicate flower today.”
As she finished speaking, the squinting cat meowed again, and then Xia De heard Leia say with a smile:
“Thank you.”
All three sentences were spoken by Leia, and this “boring” behavior made both girls laugh happily at this moment.
Under normal circumstances, their soul exchange would consume mental power and spirit, but on the special “Red Butterfly Day,” this consumption was reduced to the lowest — Xia De learned this on that stormy night.
Today, Leia merely praised herself; that night, she had exchanged with Dorothy more than ten times.
“Is this the time to be thinking about these things?”
“She” softly reminded him, and Xia De immediately dispelled the memories.
Thus, Princess Margaret Anjou’s seat was right next to Dorothy, with Xia De on Dorothy’s outer side, and then the aisle covered with a red carpet.
After finding a seat for Princess Margaret, Leia did not leave immediately, but waited a moment.
Xia De was initially puzzled why she was still there, but at this moment, the badge on his chest became intensely hot.
Xia De turned again to look at the entrance, and Miss Sylvia, in a red dress, had also appeared.
The young Great Witch was also quite pretty today; she should have come as part of Princess Margaret’s entourage, but for some reason, she was a step late.
After walking over, she found that the entire row of seats on this side of the aisle was already full.
Dorothy wanted to get up and offer her seat to this pretty Carson Rick lady, but Miss Sylvia shook her head and sat on the other side of the aisle, separated from Xia De by the red carpet.
The Witch subtly nodded to Xia De, and Xia De returned the gesture.
But then, he felt the badge on his chest grow even hotter.
As expected, Miss Jialinna entered the hall with Tifa.
She immediately saw Leia, dressed in a bridesmaid's dress, standing on the red carpet in the aisle, and then saw that all the seats next to Xia De were already taken.
---Extracurricular---
PS: An additional 5K update in the afternoon, the original chapter remains unchanged, meaning 8K in the afternoon.
