Volume 2 Chapter 3 The Former Mean Villainess Gets Married
"Can you tie it?"
"...Yes."
"It seems like it's taking some time."
"...To be honest, my fingers are trembling."
Today is the day of my wedding with Rolus.
In this world, weddings are divided into a prayer ceremony at the temple and a party.
To put it simply, the prayer part is akin to a wedding ceremony in Japan, while the party resembles a reception.
However, while the families are busy preparing for the party, the bride and groom go to pray alone, so there's no priest to exchange vows, rings, or share a kiss.
Unfortunately.
I had a bit of a longing for that moment when the veil is lifted for a vow kiss.
I thought about that while waiting for my preparations to be complete.
We both wear simple white outfits for the prayer, and the groom finishes buttoning his shirt with the bride, while the bride ties the ribbon on her dress with the groom, marking the end of our preparations.
So, we're almost ready, but Rolus is fumbling.
"What's wrong? Are you nervous?"
"Something like that."
What's there to be nervous about at this stage?
As I turned to look, Rolus swiftly vanished from my sight.
He slipped into my blind spot.
"I can tie it now, so please face forward."
"Why?"
"I-I want to concentrate!"
Judging that I couldn't see anything just by turning my face, I turned my whole body, and there stood a blushing Rolus.
"W-What's going on? Are you, Rolus, embarrassed!?"
"No, um... well... yes."
"W-Where's the element of embarrassment coming from!?"
We're just 2 people in a room finishing the last preparations!
"I-I'm so sorry."
"Y-You don't have to apologize."
"...I accidentally stared directly at the lady's nape."
Is that really the reason?
Indeed, my hair is up, and the ribbon at the back was designed to sit around my neck, considering that Rolus, who is taller than me, would be the one tying it.
If he were to tie it, my nape would be right in front of him.
By the way, it seems the ribbon can be placed anywhere between the neck and the waist.
I thought maybe I should have placed the ribbon around my waist, but then Rolus would have to kneel to tie it, and I can't help but feel that would make me blush.
No, if both of us are blushing this much, I'm really glad there's no ritual like a vow kiss.
I almost died.
"Did you manage to tie it?"
"Yes. Thank you for waiting... Lady, you look very beautiful."
"My nape?"
"N-no, everything."
"Thank you. You look quite handsome too. I thought you were so scrawny back when we first met, I could mistake you for a bean sprout."
I thought I should have just given him a compliment, but as I glanced up at Rolus, I noticed he was still blushing despite my teasing.
"That wasn't even something to blush about!"
"Lady, you should be more aware of your own cuteness..."
"Oh... only you, Father, or Elder Brother would say something like that. Well, I'm ready now, let's go."
It was just buttoning up and tying the ribbon, but somehow it took a while.
As I muttered this while opening the door, Mother was waiting for us.
"Finally ready! I was wondering what took you so long, and why are both of you so red? What were you doing?"
"Well, Rolus was blushing from looking at my nape."
"Oh dear..."
"Your nape? Well, I can understand that, but what are you going to do if you blush over something like that? It's your job to untie that ribbon, you know?"
Mother said this and then quickly walked away.
I stepped forward to follow her.
Rolus let out a tiny, tiny "eep."
I'm really glad there's no vow kiss, Rolus.
"Now, there's a carriage waiting for us just outside the back gate, so let's ride that."
"Alright. I'm off now, Mother."
"Take care. Stay strong, Rolus."
"Yes. I shall return."
We are currently at the main estate of the Alfano family.
Originally, we had planned to hold the party at our new home, but since Sven is coming, we decided to use the Alfano estate as the venue.
It would have been too cramped for a prince of the realm to visit our new place.
At the back gate of the Alfano estate, a carriage is waiting.
It is a splendid carriage drawn by a white horse.
After greeting the coachman, I step into the carriage with Rolus's escort.
It seems that my stepmother, Miss Camelia, has already informed the coachman of our destination, as the carriage began to move as soon as we boarded.
"...The temple dedicated to the earth god, that's what they said."
"Yes."
This time, the temple we are visiting for prayer was chosen by my teacher through stone divination.
They said we should go to a temple where a god compatible with both Rolus and me is enshrined.
And the result of that divination revealed that the earth god was indeed compatible with us.
On the beautiful magic circle drawn by my teacher, the iolite sparkled, and my teacher remarked, "It seems the earth god is eagerly waiting for us."
They smiled, saying that since it was so clear, there was no need for hesitation.
I heard that sometimes, the compatibility of a couple about to marry may not be as clear.
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