I am not a daughter of the vampire queen!

The interior of the grand shrine had been decorated more richly than normally. And yet, it could not be called extravagant. As per tradition, a colorful fabric had been hung on the walls. And along with them, golden flower ornamentation.

The pleasant atmosphere of this day was further enhanced by incense burning at periodic distances. Their pleasant smell filled the air, almost as if the world had become a paradise for a moment. Or at least that is what the people in attendance felt like.

The shrine, which normally would be almost completely devoid of life, except for a few priests, Was now filled with all sorts of people. Mostly dressed in luxurious attire befitting an upper-class societal gathering. Although many wore much simpler clothes, and some simply wore a uniform.

Most notably, though, they were of different races. While the vast majority were vampires, the amount of beast-man, succubi, humans, and even the elves could not be brushed off.

Also, the fact that succubi in attendance chose to wear clothes that covered their bodies Instead of their more traditional reveling, they spoke volumes about the respect they had for this day.

At the center of it all stood two girls. One was tall, while the other was more petite. One was an elf, and the other was a vampire, each of them dressed in beautifully decorated yet modest dresses that were traditionally worn at these sorts of events by their respective people.

The two look calm and collected on the surface. But on the inside, they were nervous. Both would consider today their day, but for the people that gathered at the shrine, perhaps excluding the girls own families, consider this day as belonging in its entirety to another.

And neither could really disagree with it. The short vampire, Nemi, had banged her head against a pillow (that her maid had readily put in between her head and a wall) when she caught herself referring to today as “my day”, It felt wrong and extremely selfish of her to consider this day as such.

And the elf, Olia, while not as extreme as Nemi, also considered it wrong for her to consider the day hers. Even though she had dreamed of this day for a long time and even though a lot was different from how she envisioned it, She was still reluctant to not consider this day to be hers.

The two girls were brought back to the present when the quiet discussions among the attendees had quieted down completely. And music began playing. Both felt their hearts skip a beat as they heard the melody—the one they wanted to hear for so long. As well as the person they wanted to see.

Led by a human nobleman, through the doors at the end of the shrine entered a silver-haired vampire lady dressed in a celebratory crimson-laced dress. The dress resembled the one that Nemi was wearing, but the one worn by the lady was clearly of higher quality.

Atop her head rested a delicate-looking crown, which only served as a cheery addition to her already majestic appearance. On her face, a dignified expression was plastered, but behind it, she was nervous. As her eyes clearly drifted from guest to guest.

The flowers she held were a beautiful bouquet of red and white flowers, which symbolized life and union in vampiric culture. It shook ever so slightly, but it was still noticeable for those who paid attention.

The two girls did notice, as did the man leading this lady and her mother accompanying her as well.

As they approached the altar in front, the man and woman gave the lady; Julia, a slight squeeze of her hand and an encouraging nod of their heads. Before they took a few steps away, they stood side by side, not so far apart. Each with a proud expression on their face.

Julia, taking a deep breath, approached the altar where Olia and Nemi were standing. The trio shared a brief smile with each other.

Soon, an elderly woman wearing a white robe decorated with a crimson stripe running on her back walked towards the altar along with a few younger women dressed in the same attire.

“We gathered here today, in front of the gods. So that these young may be united in sacred union.”

The woman began talking in a voice that was far stronger than her age might suggest; her voice echoed through the shrine, reaching all those present.

Julia fidgeted slightly as she listened to the priestess’s words. It was soon to be official. From this day on, she was going to be married, though she still felt strange that there were two girls marrying her.

The fact that no one else was bothered by it also hit her as one of the strangest aspects of vampiric culture. Not that there weren’t more strange things overall.

The priestess talked for several minutes; it almost looked like she didn’t even need to breathe since she didn’t even seem to stop talking to take a breath. It felt like it was going to be ages before she would get to the questions the trio wanted to hear.

“And so, I ask you, Miss Olia Visele. Are you going to marry her majesty, Julia Leranpe? To be her support in times of hardship as well as times of happiness? To be faithful to her till death do you part?”

“I do.”

Olia answered with a determined voice. Hearing her answer, the priestess turned to face Nemi next.

“I ask you as well, Miss Nemi Amir. Are you going to marry her majesty, Julia Leranpe? To be her support in times of hardship as well as times of happiness? To be faithful to her till death do you part?”

“Y-Yes, I will.”

Nemi stuttered a little, but her voice was likewise filled with determination. Giving her answer, she briefly glanced at the attending guests, her eyes landing on her parents. Both looked proud, which made Nemi angry. Why are you looking like that? Nemi scoffed mentally and instead glanced at Julia, which filled Nemi with happiness. As a soft blush flushed her cheeks, Nemi eagerly focused on Julia.

"And your majesty, do you accept these two ladies as your partners in the sanctity of marriage?”

When the priestess asked, Julia felt like all the eyes were focused on her. She hoped it was just her imagination, but it most likely wasn’t. Among all those stares she felt, she noticed her mother looking on while holding back tears. Next to her, she saw her father standing there, along with Julia’s stepmother and human sister. Each of them looked touched by the sight.

“Yes, I do.”

Julia, swallowing her own nervousness, answered the priestess. Attracting a sight of relive from Olia and Nemi. The priestess nodded once more and smiled kindly.

“Now you may seal your marriage with a kiss.”

As soon as the priestess finished talking, Nemi rather forcefully kissed Julia. Olia looked baffled for a bit, but once Nemi let go of Julia, Olia kissed her as well. Julia didn’t stop either of them or just enjoy the moment.

Once they were done kissing, their marriage was official. Julia pulled two pairs of red and white flowers from the bouquet and carefully put the flowers behind the ears of her wives. Kissing each of them again for good measure.

…

It was harder than Julia expected to keep each of the wives company. Why can’t they just be together? Julia wondered. Luckily, Loriam gave her a helping hand and took the two aside for a while.

Using this time she had, Julia went ahead and got herself a drink. Along with some deserts, which served well to improve her mood after all the running around she did.

“… I don’t understand how vampiric families work.”

“What is so not to understand?”

Julia overheard a discussion between her sisters not so far away.

“Well, I am her older sister, right? And you are her younger sister, right? But you are far older than I am.”

“…Well, that is just our family.”

Nika smiled at Ele and grabbed another drink for her. Only then did she notice Julia standing there. And with a smile, he walked towards her.

“So, you got your dream realized?”

“Since you didn’t kill them, then yes.”

Julia smiled back, and Nika laughed.

"It was not my fault when they wanted to use you.”

“Yea sure.”

After drinking her glass of wine in one go, Julia, Nika, and Ele had a surprisingly pleasant conversation. As much as it surprised Julia. Seeing Olia and Nemi also having a lively chat without any hint of animosity caught her off guard as well.

I guess this is my life now… Julia looked at the night sky and smiled in spite of herself.