Ch#32
In contrast to the massive coverage in the newspapers, the scale of the wedding was not large. This was because invitations had been sent to only three hundred guests, strictly selected by the ducal house.
Rosalyn could tell immediately what “strictly selected” meant the moment she saw the guest list. The names of the empire’s highest-ranking nobles had been fastidiously chosen. There were even eight people who bore the imperial surname.
Rosalyn tried to feel gratified that such illustrious people had come to witness her marriage, and that her father and siblings were mingled among them.
Some of the guests even sought out the bride. The Count and Countess Benford were among them, arriving to offer their greetings along with their two daughters, who were serving as flower girls. The Count held his young youngest son in his arms, while the Countess was preoccupied with adjusting her daughters’ finery and giving them words of encouragement.
A devoted husband and lovely children. Watching Victoria surrounded by them, Rosalyn offered a sincere prayer. May our married life be like theirs. May such a happy future come to me as well.
When the bustling family of five departed and only the sisters remained, a new guest visited the waiting room.
“Hello, Duchess.”
A beaming, youthful face. It was Josephine Hayes.
“Princess Josephine. Thank you for coming.”
“Congratulations on your wedding, Miss Fairfield. Is it still alright to call you by that name? I imagine it must feel a bit bittersweet to lose your original surname.”
There was no trace of malice in Josephine’s friendly tone. On the contrary, she was flushed with pure excitement and delight.
Rosalyn had felt a fondness for the princess since they first spoke at the Dowager Duchess’s tea party. Having just come of age, Josephine was around the same age as her younger sister.
“This is my second older brother.”
“I am Russell Hayes. Congratulations on your marriage, Duchess.”
“Thank you for coming, Lord Russell.”
Rosalyn bowed her head slightly in greeting to the second son of Duke Mendel.
“I have come with my sister to deliver my father’s congratulations. I have already conveyed them to the Duke of Windberg, but I must offer them to the Duchess as well. I pray for the happiness of you both and the prosperity of the Glenn family.”
“Thank you. Please tell Duke Mendel that I am truly grateful.”
“Forgive him, Miss Fairfield. My brother Russell is wonderful, but the problem is he’s far too formal. Sometimes he’s like an old man.”
When Josephine chimed in, Russell only smiled without offering a rebuttal. He dotes on his sister, Rosalyn noted, before turning her attention back to the princess.
“It hasn’t been long since you returned to Mendel, yet you’ve traveled such a long way again just for the wedding.”
“It didn’t feel far at all. I’ve been waiting for today, you know. I plan to head to Isen as soon as this wedding is over.”
Josephine paused for a moment, then spoke as if she couldn’t bear to keep it in any longer.
“I’m going to university.”
Rosalyn couldn’t help but be surprised.
“A princess, at university?”
“Actually, I made a deal with my father. In exchange for attending the Duke of Windberg’s ball, if I didn’t receive a proposal from the Duke, he would pay a donation to the university and let me enroll. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I heard you two were engaged. Though I’m sure my father’s stomach was turning a bit.”
Having said it all in one breath, Josephine lowered her voice with a mischievous expression.
“My father’s part is a secret.”
“Something you’ve already blurted out isn’t a secret, Jo.”
“Miss Fairfield is a lady. I’m sure she’ll keep it a secret.”
Russell looked troubled. Seeing him struggle with his irrepressible youngest sister felt familiar to Rosalyn.
“My apologies, Duchess. My sister is quite immature.”
“Not at all, Lord Russell. It’s wonderful that you’re becoming a university student, Miss Josephine.”
“I’m set to enroll in September. I want to study history. I plan to study all the way to my doctorate and become a scholar.”
“Then what about marriage?”
When Andreana asked, Josephine tilted her head.
“Is marriage a necessity?”
The two young ladies of similar age looked at each other. Rosalyn watched them from behind her veil.
“I have no desire to marry. I don’t want to spend my life in a husband’s mansion, doing nothing but waiting for the social season. That would be far too tedious, wouldn’t it?”
At this, Russell Hayes’s face finally turned serious. It was a highly inappropriate thing to say in front of a bride on her wedding day. However, Rosalyn was more concerned with the embarrassment the brother must be feeling than the princess’s rudeness, so she tried to find the right words to smooth things over.
“Excuse me.”
Fortunately, Edith entered at that moment.
“The ceremony is about to begin.”
The Hayes siblings were able to make a graceful exit following the attendant’s words. She’ll probably get scolded by her brother once they’re out, Rosalyn thought with a faint smile as she adjusted the veil covering her face.
‘Is marriage a necessity?’
Soon, her own wedding would begin.
“Good luck, Sister.”
Andreana left after offering her encouragement, leaving only Edith in the waiting room. Once all the guests were seated and the venue was settled, Edith would escort the bride out. Viscount Andover would be waiting for his daughter at the entrance of the temple, and the Duke of Windberg would receive his bride inside.
Recalling all the procedures, Rosalyn looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a stranger, her face hidden behind the white veil. In the windowless waiting room, only her attendant was with her.
And the roses. Hundreds of roses placed everywhere in vases.
‘Everyone is calling you the Bride of Roses, Sister.’
Rosalyn became acutely aware of the flowers surrounding her. Only then did the scent they emitted feel a bit sickening. It was likely because the space was cramped. The ceremony hall would be spacious, so the scent of the flowers would surely be more pleasant there.
‘I do not like roses.’
Even though it was her wedding day, Rosalyn had not yet seen the groom. She had only heard from Andreana that he looked exceptionally handsome in his ducal formal wear, just as he had appeared in the newspaper photographs.
She tried not to think about whether it was because of the tradition that they couldn’t meet before the ceremony, or because he wished it so. If he had wanted to see the bride, he would have come to the waiting room long ago. She knew the Duke was not a man bound by tradition.
Gerard was not the type to faithfully follow rules. If anything, he leaned toward cynicism. It was ironic that the head of a high noble family with a thousand-year history possessed a rebellious side. It was as contradictory as him becoming the head of the family despite being born the third son.
Gerard Glenn possessed such incongruities. Those points of friction confused Rosalyn. It felt similar to the moment she realized that words she had taken as jokes were, in hindsight, cynical remarks.
Her shoulders suddenly felt cold, and an intense loneliness washed over her. Cowering inwardly, she began to chew over his words, actions, and expressions.
‘If it truly doesn’t improve, we’ll think about it then.’
What had his expression been when he said that?
‘I can certainly see that we need a lot of practice.’
Had that remark been closer to a joke or cynicism?
Rosalyn nibbled her lip slightly beneath her veil. She clasped her cold fingers together, trying to shake off the anxiety. She couldn’t understand why her heart was wavering so much. Why, at this point, everything seemed like a bad omen.
As a fiancé, was he different from before? As a husband, how much more would he change?
“My Lady. It is time to head out.”
Edith spoke, having checked the time. This thorough attendant had changed the way she addressed Rosalyn immediately after she signed the marriage contract. At that moment, she had already legally become Gerard Glenn’s wife, the Duchess of Windberg.
Rosalyn stood up without a word. She took a quiet, deep breath beneath the veil that draped down to her shoulders.
It was something that couldn’t be undone now anyway. It was only natural to feel anxious in the face of the massive change that was marriage. Having composed herself, she gathered her voluminous dress and calmly walked out of the waiting room.
Gerard was surprised by how small a role the groom played in a wedding.
There was very little for him to do while the ceremony was underway. All he had to do was receive the bride from the hands of Viscount Andover and escort her to the front of the officiant.
After reciting the marriage vows read by Bishop Seamus and placing the wedding rings on each other’s fingers, the Bishop declared that the marriage between the two was established. It was the moment when religious validity was added to the legal effect.
The most important task he had to perform during the ceremony was the final step. The scene where the groom lifted the bride’s veil and kissed her was the highlight of the wedding. Claiming the bride’s lips as if flaunting before hundreds of people was, so to speak, a preview of the wedding night. It was a ridiculous tradition, but he couldn’t fail to deliver what the guests expected most.
So, Gerard kissed the woman for all to see. After their dry lips met, he pulled away after about two seconds, long enough for the guests to get a good look.
It was a truly simple task. One that required no effort other than holding his breath for a moment.
