The print was tiny because it was an addendum, so I squinted, but Kiers handed the book back to me as though he had no need to look at it himself.
“While there is no age limit specified for an immediate family member acting as witness, they must at least be capable of reciting the Marriage Oath.”
“…Pardon?”
“It seems you were unaware of the witness’s most crucial duty. Surely someone attending such a grave ceremony as a witness would not be there merely to toss flower petals.”
What? Wh-when did this get put in? I bit the inside of my cheek, my mind suddenly going blank. No wonder that beast had strolled over looking so smug.
In truth, this entire witness scheme had come from dredging up whatever I could recall from the novel. There had been a passage about his grand wedding in the original story where the bride’s witness had been late, leaving the Grand Duke even more on edge than Cecil herself, so I had figured I would put it to use.
“…Ah.”
A moment ago I was brimming with confidence, but now, plunged into gloom, I stared blankly at Rose’s hair. Even a cursory glance showed that the oath was hardly just a sentence or two. In small print, it stretched on for over half a page; even if I had brought Father or my eldest sister, they wouldn’t have been able to serve as witnesses either.
As despair washed over me, his voice only grew calmer and breezier.
“For this reason, I merely intended to bypass the tedious formalities. In such ‘unavoidable circumstances,’ we can send the papers to be settled by signature instead. Provided you agree, of course.”
“…Ex-excuse me.”
“If you object, you are welcome to have your father or one of your other siblings memorize it. As you can see, it begins right here: Marriage Oath, Chapter One.”
“…‘As a witness to this solemn union, I shall pledge before the deity Theia every rite to be performed hereafter.’”
Huh? What was that?
“‘Chapter Two: The bride and groom stand here before us with the permission of both their families.’”
Surely that wasn’t an inner voice echoing from the depths of my soul, was it?
Since the voice had unmistakably rung out from my chest, the mistake was understandable. Yet my jaw was hanging slack, my tongue frozen still.
“R-Rose?”
“Rose knows that! The Marriage Oath!”
Buried in my embrace, Rose brushed aside her messy hair and lifted her head, eyes sparkling. The red ribbon still dangling askew felt bizarrely surreal against the backdrop of this whole situation.
“…Yesterday when we went to buy cake, you told me to look really, really closely! So I did!”
“Uh-huh. I did… I did say that, but all of it…?”
“Because Rose listens to Bella! You said I had to help you! So I looked really, really hard!”
Holding my breath, I barely managed to rein in my emotions before turning around. My treasure, my hundred-carat diamond, my super-smart, best-in-the-world baby kitten—I could shower her with adoration later. For now, there was something I absolutely had to say to this spiteful Grand Duke.
“Excuse me… did you hear that?”
◇ ◆ ◇
The silence that swept through the hall now was entirely different in nature from the chills that fell whenever the Grand Duke showed his true colors. After all, the one who had brought about this hush was an incomparably tiny, darling, and clever child.
Gather round, everyone, come look at our Rose! I set Rose down so everyone could see her and let a sweet smile curve my eyes.
“Rose, could you say it one more time? Chapter One: ‘As a witness…’”
“‘As a witness to this solemn union, I shall pledge before the deity Theia every rite to be performed hereafter!’”
Right. Yes, that. I didn’t know for sure, but it had to be correct. If it weren’t, there was no way that cold, unfeeling man would be standing there struck dumb. Ah, what a breath of fresh air. I could die happy right this minute! Just watching that smug little smirk vanish from his face washed away three days of travel fatigue. I suppose I can hold a pretty mean grudge myself.
Putting aside the thrill of victory for a moment, I met my precious Rose’s eyes. ‘Did I do good?’ The youngest’s innocent smile, looking up in anticipation of praise, lit up the entire hall.
“That’s my Rose.”
“…For someone who claims as much, you looked plenty stunned yourself just now.”
“Meee? Surely not!”
At his still-suspicious tone, I brazenly whipped my head around to face him. He really had an uncanny intuition!
Before he could nitpick any further, I lowered my eyes with prim modesty.
“I have never once doubted our Rose. And you have no idea how hard she practiced, saying she wanted so badly to help at her sister’s wedding.”
Our youngest had pulled this off for me; as her sister, I couldn’t very well let that effort go to waste.
“Your Grace heard her yourself, reciting it without a hitch. I am sure she will perform flawlessly at the wedding as well. As an official ‘honored guest of the bride,’ of course.”
“…”
“What is it? Is there perhaps another issue?”
Well? You were so eloquent a moment ago. Tilting my head pointedly, I took a step closer to Kiers. Look at me go. I had no idea where this courage had come from, but right now I felt ready to conquer the world. I lifted my chin high, right beneath his.
“Why aren’t you saying… mm.”
A faint scent that had gone unnoticed from a distance suddenly drifted past the tip of my nose. Like the scent of a breeze, a lingering trace of cool, masculine musk spread softly around him. He really was a man—no, a human being. It was hard to put into words, but at the very least, it wasn’t a scent that belonged to a beast.
“Ah…”
Why was he smiling all of a sudden? Startled by the curve returning to his rigid lips, I quickly stepped back. When I get flustered, my voice tends to rise an octave.
“Ha! Surely you aren’t going to claim you didn’t hear our Rose recite the oath?”
“Your Grace, I heard with my own two ears that the young lady did not make a single mistake.”
Oh, Count Hellas! I knew you’d step in! The Count, who had been standing silently behind Kiers, finally made his presence known. As the Grand Duke’s gaze fell quietly upon him, the others joined in as well.
“It appeared so to me as well, Your Grace.”
At Sir Lear’s hasty interjection, the twins bowed their heads as if they had been waiting for the cue.
“Indeed. It was flawless.”
“Truly remarkable composure.”
Goodness, no need to lay it on so thick. Part puffed up with pride, part flustered, I pressed my lips together as though the compliments were meant for me. As the crowd circled and chimed in all at once, Rose’s shoulders flinched at the sudden commotion.
“…Bella.”
Oh, my poor kitten. With Rose squeezing her eyes shut, frightened by all the gazes on her, an urgency seized me. Lingering like this would do no good. While the man was miraculously keeping his mouth shut, I had to run.
“Well then, I shall take my leave and head up to my room! I only hope Your Grace takes the sanctity of this marriage to heart as deeply as I do.”
“…”
Please don’t stop me!
Polishing off a flawless curtsy, I hastily took Rose’s hand and slipped out of the hall. With every step, I could feel the knights’ longing gazes lingering on Rose, but steering clear of this man took precedence right now.
Still, you never knew who was watching. This entire castle served as Kiers’s eyes and ears. Even after stepping out through the doors, I deliberately kept my chin held high. Striding down the corridor toward my room with my neck stiff to the point of aching, I collapsed the moment the door clicked shut behind me. It felt more accurate to say all the strength had drained right out of me.
“Aaargh, my puppy, my kitten, my precious baby! Look at Bella!”
“Eungh, Bella.”
I scooped Rose into a tight embrace. Feeling squished, she wriggled her head out through an opening and shook out her rumpled hair.
“Bella, did I do good?”
“Of course! That goes without saying. Wait, hold on a second.”
A sudden thought struck me, and I finally eased Rose away to hold her by both arms. Wide-eyed and blinking without a clue what was going on, this was unmistakably our youngest. But how…?
“Rose, how did you memorize all that? You actually remembered it?”
“Huh? Memorize what?”
“The Marriage Oath from earlier! You didn’t have that much time before we had cake!”
No matter how much I turned it over, it defied belief. It wasn’t as if I didn’t know the girl. I had raised her with my own two hands, fed her, clothed her, tucked her into bed! I was still reeling, wondering what my gentle, sweet little Rose had just recited back there.
“How on earth did you…”
“I just… you said I had to look really close if I wanted to help you… so I looked and looked, and then I just remembered it… D-did I do something bad?”
“No, you didn’t do anything bad. Not at all, but…”
Sweetheart, your sister looked at it over and over too. I just couldn't remember a word. That’s not the point right now!
A spark flashed in my mind, and I hastily pulled the legal code back out of the envelope. After flipping back toward the Marriage Oath section, I paused and stared down at Rose.
“…Um, do you happen to remember what Chapter Seven says?”
“Chapter Seven? ‘The husband shall remain faithful to the wife, and the wife to the husband, neither forsaking courtesy toward the other’—that one?”
“Ah…”
Well, yes, that was right, but… this was a bit too much.
“…Wait a moment. What about this?”
A growing sense of bizarreness creeping over me, I flipped open to a random page and shoved it in front of Rose. Surely it couldn’t be that, could it? Even so, I couldn't stop here.
“Rose, can you memorize this one too?”
“This? Is this really important to you, too?”
“Yes. It’s super, super important.”
Fines and penalties for financial fraud, huh. Well, if I ever happen to commit fraud in this life, it might come in handy. I vigorously nodded first. Naturally, what was truly important was something else entirely, but saying so was the only way to hold Rose’s interest.
“Mmh.”
Rose poked out her plump little lips and peered quietly into the book. She blinked, conscious of me watching, and tilted her head as if it made no sense at all.
