Chapter 49: Live To Sienna Pt.49
Stepping on the red carpet, she walked inside. As expected, the seat for Carl, the groom, was empty.
It was a certain thing, for sure. Now that he was officially wounded near the border of Castro, he was threading to his death. Moreover, it was a wedding that Carl apparently did not recognize.
A wedding that can only be held without him. Even though she had already experienced it, when she checked Carl’s quarters, she felt as if a cold breeze was hitting the pit of her stomach.
The ceremony proceeded quickly. In the Laifsden Empire’s case, one of the nobility representatives read a poem of blessing on behalf of the aristocracy, for they did not mandate a state religion. It may seem like a splendid royal wedding to the eyes of a stranger, but in fact, it was a half-baked wedding with nothing in place.
Of course, it was a wedding made for them. Nevertheless, her partner was not accompanying her while they gave a blessing through a poetry reading of the noble emperor, not what representatives mainly had to do. The seat delegated to celebrate people from another country was empty. It was an urgent marriage, so they didn’t have time to tell other countries the news. Even if they were to release a statement, the foreign visitors wouldn’t have been able to make it on time.
Still, there was something different about it. Roy was the priest who held the mission in his lonesome.
He had dressed in unusual clothing: a white gown and a funny big hat with gold thread and a symbol of the goddess. Roy is now the representative of the Holy Empire.
When Sienna smiled at Roy, he bowed to her.
“You must get on your knees.”
The maid whispered, who helped the ceremony proceed. Before Sienna’s gaze from the stairs, Empress Arya was looking down at her. Sienna didn’t like the way she had to look up at her.
“You have to kneel.”
Then Sienna bent her knees as the maid whispered again. This was originally an act where the emperor would confer a knighthood onto someone. Arya stood before him on behalf of the emperor.
“You know, Sienna Waters…”
None of Arya’s words were entering her ear. After hearing her long officiating, the delegation’s gift-giving ceremony began.
Although they considered this as the typical way in which they held the traditional ceremony, the position of the delegation was still empty. Thus, the failure to skip this segment was only done to cause trouble.
‘Clearly, Arya led it.’
The woman had hurt Sienna mentally as she has done before and tries to reach out to her as if this woman were the only person she could trust.
“I’d like to salute the delegation.”
“…”
The guest room grew quiet. Somewhere in the background, some people could not hold back their laughter, ‘scoffing.’ Sienna’s face turned red with impudence, even though she had already expected this.
Jamie’s image came into her eyes. He was gnashing his teeth. It was clear that the blood that stood on his lip was his way of bearing this insult. Jamie would never have thought about how Sienna’s wedding would go.
If her brother had known, he would have stopped Sienna from attending the wedding without caring about the honor of the imperial family. When Sienna saw Jamie, who could barely endure the insult, she regretted having told him the situation in advance. She felt uneasy about his unexpected behavior, but she then heard a familiar voice.
“Excuse me!”
It was a small voice, but it caught people’s attention. It was Roy. He raised his hand with a stiff face.
“My name is Roy Whist. May I offer a blessing for Sienna saint who was named the daughter of the goddess on behalf of the Holy Empire?”
He spoke in a soft voice as his servants guided him to Sienna’s side. A playful smile then hung over his mouth.
Not everyone here is an atheist just because Laifsden has no exclusive state religion. Inside the wedding hall, some believed in the goddess of the earth. The Holy Empire was not a negligible country. The landmass was small, but it had held significant influence among its neighboring countries.
People seemed curious about the identity of the envoys from such a divine empire. The room grew agitated with the anticipation of seeing Roy as he descended from the podium and stood, facing Sienna. Then he whispered to Sienna.
“I don’t look good with my legs shaking, aren’t I?”
“Not at all. It seems to me that you’re the prince on the white horse who came to save the damsel in distress.”
Roy drew the sign on Sienna’s horse with a smile and began praying to the goddess. His fingertips stayed on her forehead and shoulder as the fire broke out. Those who watched them were so dazzling that they could not see clearly for a while, even though they closed their eyes. Roy whispered in Sienna’s ear.
“In fact, it’s gorgeous, but it doesn’t work well. It only works to make brilliant lights, so we use them for events in the Holy Empire. The priest who taught me this said it was a prayer that made it look like something magnificent was happening, and he loved it.”
“Thank you.”
Roy put his lips on Sienna’s forehead.
“May the Goddess always bless you wherever you may go…”
*
After a long, tiring ceremony, Sienna moved into the Crowned Princess’s room.
A corset made of whalebone was tightening her ribs and waist, while a massive, loose dress wound the ankles of her dress. Several maids lifted Sienna’s skirt as if to carry a load, so she could walk into the room.
There was a red cushion in the middle of her bedroom. She meant to sit on it and wait until her husband, Carl, to come.
‘I’m not being punished; it’s not like I can’t have a husbandless wedding, and I’m not allowed to do it either. I don’t have any compassion left anyways.’
“You can’t take off your clothes alone. It’s not something you can take off by yourself anyways.”
“Can you bring me a glass of water before you go?”
Her question put the maid in a quandary.
“I can bring it to you, but…”
Sienna realized what she was saying. She can give herself water, but she was worried if what she could do after drinking the water. She couldn’t take it off alone or move around with it easily without someone’s aid. Besides, it’s not like her husband could come over tonight.
“It’s alright. I’ll just stay like this.”
“Then we’ll step back. I hope you have a good night.”
They walked out of the room.
“What’s that ‘good night’ farewell greeting for?”
How could one have a good night when they were treated this way? She then heaved a deep sigh. Thereafter, an expensive whalebone corset poked at her ribs.
Still, she felt comfortable without the maids. She turned her head back and saw that the hem of her skirt covered the room.
‘Filling this spacious room with a skirt already made it dirty.’
Sienna wanted to take off this skirt for a moment, thinking that she would have swept the floor with it if she hadn’t done it otherwise. Now, she didn’t know what was missing. She thought she’d lie down and try to get some sleep instead, but she had to rest with her back full because of a corset tightening her back.
“I must discover who in the world invented these wretched corsets and go to their grave to find out more about it!”
Sienna burst into laughter when she thought about how having to take off her corset had anything to do with her revenge against Arya.
“Haha. Ow! Oh, I shouldn’t be laughing, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Ow!”
Her hard corset had then continued to prick her chest and waist every time she laughed. Thus, Sienna continued her bizarre behavior wherein she looked irritated while laughing at the same time. As she moved about, she found a decent posture.
She began to doze off with her arms folded and her head bowed. She would definitely suffer from a sore throat tomorrow, but she hadn’t gotten enough time for sleep. Sienna, who had been dozing off for such a long time, suddenly opened her eyes to something.
“Mommy!”
She screamed at the teddy bear, which was closer than she thought.
“I was surprised. Why are you screaming?”
It was from Carl. He was standing on her dress and looking down at Sienna. She spoke nervously, sweeping down her chest.
“So why are you standing so close to me like that? You almost sank my heart.”
“The clamor.”
Sienna said as she shoved him off her, for he was stepping on her skirt.