My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 147
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 147
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The snow has melted away and spring has arrived, bringing new life in the form of light greenery.
A knock at the door wakes me from my slumber. "My lady, it's time to wake up."
"Mmm...." I wriggle in bed, unable to get up despite Phoebe's urging.
"You must get ready. It's your wedding ceremony today, remember?"
"Okay...."
I must have pushed myself too hard at the bridal shower last night. We were so busy catching up and talking about all sorts of things that I barely made it to bed at the crack of dawn.
"Are there going to be a lot of guests?" I ask as we stand in the dressing room.
"Of course. It's a wedding from the duchy, after all."
"Do you think the Crown Prince will come?"
"In my opinion, I don't think he will."
"Hm. I suppose he's busy." I glance at the dress she holds out to me, and without opposing, I slip it on. For once, I want to wear a dress of her choosing, just as she wished.
Meanwhile, Phoebe will be wearing a similar dress to mine. Normally, nobles and commoners are never supposed to dress alike, but I want to ignore that unwritten rule.
I smile when I see her dress. "You're beautiful, Phoebe. We look like sisters now."
She blushes. "Of course not, you're far more beautiful than I am."
"No need to bring yourself down. I’m joking, we don't have to be sisters."
"I just can't forgive you for such a blatant lie," she replies.
"Mother, Father." I finish dressing and go in search of my parents.
They're sitting in the dining room, getting a quick bite to eat.
"Oh, Skyla. You're glowing!"
"You're right, wife. Our daughter is the most beautiful thing in the world, Skyla. You are the self-luminous moon!"
"The moon doesn't self-luminate." I point out. But they just clasp their hands and laugh.
"You should eat something, too."
"Why? I'll eat at the reception anyway."
"Wouldn't it be rude if you got hungry and your stomach started grumbling during the wedding ceremony?"
"Oh." My father has a point. I decide to grab a quick snack with Phoebe.
Once we're all set, we head to the lakeside park where the ceremony was to take place.
"Welcome!" As I step out of the carriage with my parents, we're greeted by the Duke and Duchess of Soli, who arrived at the venue earlier.
"It's been a long time, Duke and Duchess of Kaerun."
"Duke and Duchess of Soli, how have you been?"
My parents and Lancer's parents greet each other happily. They're as close to one another as I am with Lancer.
"I never thought our family would be related." Duke Soli says to my father, sighing.
My father bursts out laughing. "It's to be expected. Our families are super close, after all."
"Though… I never dreamed those two would be in love."
"Really? Me and my wife have always known."
"Skyla!" Lancer runs towards me from behind. He's dressed in a neat suit for this special occasion, putting more care into his appearance than usual. He looks even more radiant today.
I blush as I gaze at him. I still feel embarrassed whenever I see this side of him. I want to compliment him on how handsome he looks today, but nothing can come out of my mouth.
"...That flower is pretty." I end up pointing to the flower on Lancer's chest. It's a bright pink dahlia.
"Oh, this? I have one for you, too." He pulls out the same flower, but a corsage for my wrist, and holds it out to me. "I thought it would look good on you."
"Where do they sell these?"
"They sell them in front of the park."
Well, it seems the vendors have learnt there's a wedding taking place here and have flocked.
Lancer carefully ties the flower to my wrist. "Tell me if it hurts."
"Try not to hurt me."
He ties the corsage with great care. It's both funny and cute that he has to control his strength because he's afraid it'll hurt me if he ties it too tight.
"Thank you. I really like it." I smile slightly and take his hand in mine, now with a flower around it.
With matching flowers like this, I feel we could seem like eternal lovers— let me correct that, we are lovers. To be eternal.
"You two are so cute!” A voice resounds behind us.
"Big Brother."
"Brother Hubert."
"But how could there be a marriage before mine?" He grumbles as he crosses his arms. Like the rest of the guests, he's dressed in an impeccably tailored suit.
"You look shiny," Lancer says.
"I'm not going to come all the way to a wedding and look like sh*t."
"Is this even your wedding?"
Hubert clicks his tongue and ignores him. He turns to me instead. "Skyla,I'm sure you know this, but… about the bouquet thrown by the bride…"
"What, do you wanna receive it?"
He sighs heavily and scratches the back of his head. "No, forget it. Lady Artberry is too busy becoming a knight to flirt with me."
"Hm. Being the husband of a knight wouldn't be so bad."
His eyes widen at my comment. "Don't give me hope! Lady Artberry is sincere towards her dréams more than anyone else, and I will be there to support and encourage her wholeheartedly!"
"The way you word it makes you sound like you're already in love with her."
"Haha, never mind…. Everyone around me is in love. My brother is in love, my sister from childhood is in love, they're all in love...."
"Father is in love with Mother, too," Lancer interrupts.
"Shut up, you ugly little brother! You should go live at the Kaerun Duchy, eat three times a day, and be happy!" Hubert huffs, stomping off towards the makeshift refreshment table.
In the distance, I can see him grabbing a glass of red liquid and gulping it down. I'm concerned.
"Isn't that wine? What if he gets drunk?" I ask.
"No, it's grape juice."
"Really?"
"Yeah. My parents banned alcohol at this wedding because Brother Hubert would drink wine at every other party," Lancer says. "And Rachel's not supposed to drink anyway."
"Right."
Wine was an absolute no-no for Rachel, who was pregnant. It was considerate on Soli Duchy’s part, since weddings are a time when the mood is ripe and the bride and groom are encouraged to drink.
"Princess! Princess!" A familiar voice calls out from a distance. There can be only one person in the entire empire who sounds like that. "You don't know how much I've missed you, Princess!"
It's Viscount Artisina. "How are you? You're even more beautiful today, and by you, I'm not including Lord Lancer."
"Don't look at other people's women, Viscount.” Lancer says, trying to keep a smile on his face.
"Kidding, kidding!" He simply bursts out laughing. Without his usual robes, the Viscount is dressed in a rather modest suit, but a red magic stone still jingled in one of his ears.
The sight of that earring makes me wonder… "Viscount, why do you always wear that earring?"
"Oh, this?" He fiddles with it, embarrassed. "This… is an enchanted stone that hides my presence from 'Her.' It's important to me."
Her? I tilt my head.
"Ah, I suppose I should deliver this first." He smiles, changing the topic. "The Crown Prince has asked me to deliver this to you, as he's unable to attend the wedding of the Duke of Kaerun's butler and the Duke of Soli's maid today due to some circumstances."
He gestures to the large bag in his hand. He then shifts in his step and whispers in my ear. "By the way, 'She’ is my arranged marriage."
"Ah."
"From what I hear, 'She’ is desperate to find me."
Aha. Understanding, I stop prying him. He really does want to get away from his arranged marriage at all costs.
"And now the wedding shall begin." At the officiant's words, everyone takes their seats. I sit at the front, holding hands with Lancer.
Then Rachel, in a pure white dress, and Austin, in a swallow-tailed tuxedo, walk down the aisle.
Rachel is already nearly four months pregnant, and her belly is showing. Her dress has been specially commissioned to tailor a dress that suits her.
As she walks down the aisle, she spots me and smiles.
I paid for the entire wedding as a gift to Rachel and Austin, two people I care deeply about. Of course, the money I received from Lady Aronia was enough to pay for everything.
"Do you take this day to cherish each other as your own and to love each other forever?" The officiant is the Duke of Kaerun's librarian, and he speaks in his quiet voice.
"What is he saying?"
"I can't hear a word."
"Is this a library or what? Why is it so quiet?"
Murmurs can be heard among the guests. Finally, someone asks Lancer to cast a spell to raise the librarian's voice."...If anyone has any objections to the vows of this marriage, please state them now."
"None." The Duke of Kaerun's Knights answer in unison. Especially the leader, Louis, who glares at everyone as if to say, ‘If you oppose this marriage, you will all die.’
Rachel and Austin share a kiss, holding each other's hands in a pledge of love. It's a beautiful scene. At this moment, they have only each other in their world.
"Bouquet! Toss the bouquet!"
"Let's find the next bride!"
The guests playfully shout at Rachel. With a bright smile, she throws the bouquet as hard as she can.
The bouquet falls towards me. So she does intend to give it to me, after all.
Smiling broadly, I sit back and open my hands to catch the bouquet.
But the bouquet changes its trajectory and flies past my head, landing with a thud behind me.
"...." Everyone swallows.
The recipient of the bouquet is none other than….
"Uh… what?"
Viscount Artisina.
The bouquet has fallen into his lap, who happens to sit at the front of the wedding.
The Viscount, puzzled, picks it up. It's a confirmed kill.
"Uh, forgive me for not knowing the customs of this country, but do I get a prize for this?"
"No, it means you're getting married next."
His face drains of colour.
"Oh, no, no, no, no!" His cries are soon drowned out by the laughter of the guests.
"It's a shame Skyla didn't get a bouquet." After the ceremony, Rachel comes to visit me and Lancer at the reception, looking disappointed.
Austin follows up. "I didn't realise you weren't going to get the bouquet. My wife… I mean, Rachel threw it in your direction."
"That's okay, Lancer was going to marry Skyla anyway, even if she didn't get the bouquet."
I turn my head towards him. I don't know why I looked at him at that moment. I just know I want to hear his reply.
Lancer nods vigorously as he takes my hand, the one with the corsage of dahlia. "That's right, Skyla will soon be my bride."
At that sweet confession, I burst into laughter once more.
—END OF MAIN STORY—
