LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 246
Ed tilted his head, looking at Elena.
“At this late hour, you’re asking for my help?”
Finally, Elena spoke with a troubled expression.
“Actually, Sephilia asked me to give the wedding speech. But I just can’t seem to get it right…”
As she said this, Elena handed over a bundle of papers.
Ed took the papers she offered and checked the contents.
There were countless drafts of the wedding speech that Elena had written and abandoned.
“Tomorrow is the national wedding, and as you can see, I still haven’t finished the speech. I have so much I want to say, but since it’s the Empire’s grandest ceremony, I have to be careful… But since it’s Sephilia’s only wedding, I want to be more casual… And in the midst of all that, I also have to praise the imperial dignity… Trying to balance all that makes my head feel like it’s going to explode, so I came to you. You’re good at this kind of thing.”
Ed nodded and flipped through the bundle of papers.
It was clear how much Elena had struggled while pondering the speech.
After all, it was Sephilia’s wedding, who was almost like a little sister to her, and it seemed she wanted to do well, which tangled her thoughts.
“Hmm… Why don’t we just include everything? I think I could change it like this.”
Fortunately, Ed was an expert in this area.
Persuading others with words.
This was also why he was able to gain a good reputation upon entering the Academy.
Thus, Ed crafted a wedding speech that maintained the Empire’s formalities while praising the imperial dignity, and also appropriately mixed in Elena’s personal story that she wanted to convey to the princess.
It was a well-crafted, storytelling wedding speech that had everything.
“Thank you…! This is exactly what I wanted!”
Elena looked over the wedding speech with a proud expression.
The speech, which began with serious grammar, gradually transformed into an emotional story filled with Elena’s feelings as it reached the end.
The flow was so natural that anyone who heard it would slowly be drawn in.
Elena let out a sigh of relief and said, “Hoo… With this, the speech is done… By the way, Ed, aren’t you nervous?”
“………”
…Nervous, you say?
Ed shook his head.
If he were the type to get nervous over such trivial matters, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
“Well, I’m not particularly nervous. The procedure is complicated, but it’s not that difficult… It’s just a wedding.”
“…Huh. Just a wedding? I doubt anyone else could take the national wedding so nonchalantly. …Is that just because it’s you?”
“………”
“…Still, you’re a little concerned, right? You don’t look too well.”
…Not looking well, you say?
Ed turned his gaze to the mirror hanging on the wall.
Reflected in the mirror was a stiffened face, as if something was weighing heavily on it.
It was then that Ed became aware of his own state.
‘Yeah, I’m looking a bit rough. I suppose I’ve been worried a lot.’
In recent days, Ed’s mind had been tangled with various thoughts.
However, at the center of those thoughts was the princess.
He found himself developing feelings for her, but he couldn’t figure out how to treat her.
Because he had insisted that he wouldn’t harbor feelings for the princess, as that would go against his promises to the other heroines.
‘I’d be breaking a promise…’
So, Ed was stuck, unable to decide.
A national wedding is just a matter of going through the procedures, but he couldn’t figure out how to spend the wedding night afterward.
If he embraced the princess, he would be breaking the promises he made to the other heroines.
But if he didn’t, her hurt expression lingered in his mind.
Of course, he had set the tone from the beginning by stating that it was a business marriage.
Yet recently, the atmosphere between the princess and himself felt more like a couple who had just started dating, crossing beyond business.
“Just do what your heart desires.”
Then, Elena made a significant remark.
Her expression was as if she understood his situation completely.
Elena said, “Actually, I’ve heard some things from Sephilia, so I have a rough idea of what’s going on. The relationship between you and Sephilia has crossed beyond the bounds of a contract marriage.”
“………”
“Sephilia seems quite… anxious. After giving so much happiness to her, she fears you might abandon her. It’s just like you said… she’s worried if you’ll revert back to a mere contractual relationship.”
Ed clenched his fists.
In truth, he had thought about reverting his relationship with the princess several times.
By his original plan, the princess was supposed to be used as a tool to manage the Fix family.
And most importantly, this would mean breaking the promises he made to the heroines.
“The princess would… be happy even without me.”
Thus, Ed conveyed to Elena the temporary conclusion he had reached.
His belief that the princess would be happy even if he weren’t there.
“The princess’s unhappiness stems from her lack of interest in the world. Even if someone else were to weaken the Curse of Mana, she would fall in love with that person. So the only way for the princess to be happy is for you to defeat the Lord of Hell and then send her back to her original world.”
…No matter how he thought about it, it felt right.
It was a path where the heroines would not get hurt and where the princess could eventually find happiness.
Of course, if he took this path, it meant the princess would become a mere tool for managing the Fix family, enduring unhappy days, but it was something that had to be done for everyone’s happiness.
Wasn’t the original plan headed in this direction from the beginning?
“You really don’t think about your feelings at all.”
But then, Elena looked at Ed with a chuckle.
Her expression seemed to say ‘Oh, this foolish apprentice.’
“……… Ed, listen closely. You’re not taking care of your own feelings at all. You’re worried from beginning to end whether the feelings of the people around you will be hurt.”
“………?”
“You don’t know. Recently, your expression has been a complete mess. It looked like someone was chasing after you, like you were being hunted… the expression of someone being pursued.”
………Was that truly the expression he had?
However, Ed nodded.
It made sense; recently, he had been working like a madman in preparation for the Lord of Hell’s descent.
“And even if the kids are not saying anything, everyone is worried about you. You might act fine, but everyone can tell.”
However, he didn’t know that he had failed at managing his expression to the point where others were worried.
He thought he was maintaining a poker face.
Just yesterday, he was having light-hearted banter with Enya, wasn’t he?
“…Yeah, I guess so. It must be complicated in your head. You’re busy, the national wedding is approaching, and you have to make decisions about your relationship with Sephilia quickly… No matter how much of a genius you are, carrying that heavy burden alone is bound to be overwhelming. You can’t do everything on your own.”
“………”
“Just speak your honest desires. Don’t worry about hurting others. Just express your true feelings. What do you want to do with Sephilia?”
Ed thought about the princess.
The emotionless imperial princess, Sephilia Yulises Kaindell von Orserk.
Yet, that cold facade was merely a mask for maintaining the Empire.
Inside, she was just a plain girl wanting to be loved and longing to love.
Perhaps because of that, it was lovely to see her becoming more ordinary as she spent time with him.
Laughing out loud while watching a show from another world.
Sincerely enjoying delicious food.
When she, usually so cold, gradually softened in front of him, asking for love with a flushed face.
That innocent and pure side of her made him want to keep her by his side.
“I want to keep her close. I want to watch the princess happy for a long time.”
Thus, Ed conveyed his honest feelings to someone he could lean on.
To Elena, who was once a colleague and is now also his teacher.
“…Okay. Then it’s settled. Do what you want. I’ve already gotten the consent of your girlfriends.”
“………?”
…Consent from my girlfriends?
As Ed looked at Elena with wide eyes, she continued.
“Yeah, you look like you need an explanation. Um… to get to the point, if you embrace Sephilia, your girlfriends won’t blame you. They only want your happiness.”
“………”
“Actually, after I heard some things from Sephilia about you… I’ve been thinking about it alone. What’s the path for Sephilia to become happy? No matter how I think about it, there’s no way other than you two being together, but you’re subtly pushing Sephilia away.”
“………”
“So, I thought I should persuade your girlfriends to accept Sephilia. …So I revealed part of the secret of Orserk to your girlfriends. What kind of life Sephilia has lived and what kind of misfortunes she will have to face in the future… and how much responsibility you feel toward the Orserk family.”
“………”
“And after I told them all that, do you know what they said? They said it’s okay if you can be happy. They feel like they have already been saved by you. If you can save Sephilia and be happy, then that’s fine.”
“………”
“So just live your destiny. To me, you’re someone who needs to include all your remaining companions in this land. So embrace Sephilia too.”
“………”
“And to say that the princess would have been happy if it weren’t for you? Ha… You really don’t know yourself at all. Do you think it’s easy for anyone to find someone like you?”
“………Huh?”
“Being handsome is the best. Let’s be honest: why do your girlfriends accept you if you play the field? It’s because looking at your face automatically makes their anger go away!”
“No, that’s not…”
“Do you think Sephilia genuinely enjoyed watching shows from another world? No! She doesn’t have that much fun with me! It’s just because you, being handsome, are there watching with her that it’s enjoyable.”
“No…”
“Plus, I’ve never seen Sephilia look so scared. What would happen if you changed your attitude, claiming it was a contractual marriage… She’s so anxious…”
“………”
“So if you think of Sephilia, just do what your heart desires. Then, you can joyfully read the speech you revised.”
Elena’s advice to do what he felt.
Following this counsel, Ed began to cast aside the thoughts that were blocking his heart.
The figures of the heroines that would be hurt due to his choices, and the image of the princess who could be happy even without him.
Once he wiped away those negative thoughts, his mind cleared, and pure desire began to surge within him.
The desire to see Sephilia, who would be happy, up close more than anyone else.
“Alright, now your expression looks a lot better.”
Elena smiled as she looked at Ed’s returning color.
***
The next day.
The national wedding, the Empire’s largest event, was held.
Amidst the royals and famous figures from around the world celebrating Ed and the princess’s union.
The princess was sitting on the throne with a highly tense expression.
Just imagining how Ed felt about this marriage made her heart race with anxiety.
‘What if… after this marriage, he simply goes back to how things were… Ed Fix’s purpose was to marry me, after all…’
The anxiety filling Sephilia’s mind was the thought that ‘once this marriage is completed, Ed Fix’s efforts would come to an end.’
Because Ed’s goal was to use her as a tool for managing the Fix family.
The moment the marriage took place, the function of that tool would be fulfilled, so there would be no need for him to invest in her anymore.
‘…I don’t know how sincere he is. A couple of weeks ago everything seemed fine, but lately, he seems to be trying to push me away… Was he just pretending to have feelings for me so that I wouldn’t think he wouldn’t marry me? Was I really just a tool to him?’
Various negative thoughts bubbled up.
She thought she had shown her more feminine sides and revealed her true self a lot.
Even then, if her purpose was solely to act as a tool for managing the Fix family, it would be too sorrowful.
Ultimately, she was being judged as nothing more than a being who was less than a mana-curse, and her worth as a woman was being disregarded.
“Groom! Enter!”
At that moment, the ceremony began.
Ed, dressed in conquests, entered the expansive Imperial Palace with his retainers.
The princess watched him from her elevated seat, which required climbing 157 steps to reach.
Finally, Ed stopped right in front of the stairs and knelt to begin the ceremony.
“I, the first head of the Fix family, request the hand of the princess of the great holy Empire, Orserk.”
In tradition, whether the groom or bride, the head of the family must propose to the royal family.
However, Ed, as both the groom and first head, directly made the proposal.
The Emperor, seated even higher than the princess, rose and proclaimed in a low, dignified voice, “I grant you permission.”
Then he handed over a treasure from Orserk to his attendant.
– Thud… thud… thud…
As the wedding exchanging family treasures proceeded, the princess’s gaze was solely focused on Ed’s expression.
She wanted to decipher what feelings were behind this marriage.
‘He isn’t… nervous at all. As expected, Ed Fix is…’
However, his expression was entirely calm.
As if handling a bothersome task, his face displayed no emotion.
That was likely because this marriage had no special significance for him.
It was merely a bothersome task to obtain a capable tool for him.
‘I need to prepare my heart…’
Suddenly, the princess recalled the events from four days prior.
Playfully asking what he would do on their wedding night, Ed had mumbled an answer after a long silence.
In the end, he hadn’t given her a clear answer, only stating that he would be busy preparing for the marriage and wouldn’t be able to see her for a while.
It was as if he had resolved to push her away, his face devoid of any emotion.
Just like how he looked now during the wedding.
‘Right… It was a contract from the beginning… After the wedding, Ed Fix will accomplish his goal… and from now on, there might not be any reason for him to invest in me…’
Thus, the princess prepared her heart.
However, thinking that the happiest days of her last 18 years had merely been a play, her heart felt like it was being torn apart.
As everything always did, the glow was fading from her eyes.
– Thud… thud…
At that moment, after completing several wedding rituals, Ed finally began to ascend the stairs.
He was climbing to the elevated spot equal to the royal family to pledge eternity with his bride.
‘Rather… I shall not meet his gaze.’
Yet, seeing Ed’s emotionless expression, the princess was crushing her heart.
With each step he took closer, it was obvious that her heart would feel heavy.
She gradually deadened her heart and prepared for the pain.
– Swift.
Thus, the princess raised herself, eyes downcast, and walked to her designated spot, awaiting Ed.
Finally, when Ed stood right in front of her…
“You are beautiful.”
Ed’s gentle voice rang in the princess’s ears.
However, at the unexpected words, Sephilia’s eyes widened, lifting her gaze to meet Ed’s.
A bright smile, one she had never seen before, was directed at her.
“However, Your Highness, you appear much more beautiful in a natural state than when you’re rigid.”
“………”
The smile of Ed thawed her frozen heart.
Light began to return to the colorless, deadened eyes of the princess.
And watching this with delight was Elena, who then cleared her throat and proceeded with the marriage vows.
“Now, we will begin the marriage vows of the bride and groom.”
Elena began her questioning according to the royal wedding procedures, mainly asking about the virtues the husband and wife should uphold.
However, as always, the last question, whether they would love each other for their entire lives, was a cliché yet essential question.
“Yes.”
To that question, Ed promptly answered with a voice filled with sincerity.
He gave a warm smile, as if to reassure the princess who was afraid of being abandoned.
‘Ah… He… cares for me…’
Thus, Sephilia could finally realize that this marriage was not just a mechanical process to fulfill a contract.
She too had finally been accepted by Ed.
“…Yes.”
So, Sephilia responded with tears welling in her eyes, but her smile was brighter than ever.
That she would love Ed for a lifetime.