By Zephyria 
As soon as I returned to the Ruby Palace, attendants swarmed me as if they had been waiting. All five of them chattered away, each a full span shorter than me.
They wailed in unison, asking where I had been, with tomorrow being the wedding day, and I was utterly exhausted. I was dragged along in the direction they guided me, quickly washed with water as instructed, and emerged wearing a thin linen robe.
Next, the attendants gestured towards a bathtub filled with a generous amount of milky white liquid, urging me to get in.
“⋯What is all this?”
“You just need to put on your robe and sit in here. Lean your head back here…”
“Haha, what a strange prank. You’re not going to feed it to me by hand, are you?”
“Huh? Absolutely not!”
“Hmm?”
“Yes?”
“No, really… you bathe with this? Why?”
“Because it makes your skin soft and radiant.”
I didn’t like playing with food. I chuckled and shook my head.
“No, I’m fine…”
“You cannot! His Majesty the Emperor is doing the same thing right now. You went out for four hours the day before your wedding, and if His Majesty, the Crown Prince, refuses even basic skincare, how will you face him tomorrow?”
“…So I just get in?”
“Yes.”
It was my first time soaking in milk. The savory scent tickled my nose.
As instructed, I submerged myself up to my shoulders, leaning my head back. The liquid, only slightly heavier than water, supported my body. The robe clung to me, feeling like the gauze wrapped around a wound.
The attendants applied a paste of honey and suspicious pollen to my face. When they told me to close my eyes, I did, and when they asked me to turn my head, I complied.
Even with my eyes closed, I could tell what they were doing to my body. While one attendant used my face as a canvas, smearing something on it with a brush, others attended to my hands and feet, filing my nails into a uniform shape.
After a flurry of activity, I was rinsed with water again and told to change into a new linen robe, which I did.
This time, flower petals floated in the bathtub. The attendants, their faces flushed, excitedly added salt to the bathwater. They had removed the gamey smell with milk and applied honey, and now they were pickling me?
I couldn’t help but ask, out of sheer disbelief and curiosity.
“You’re not planning to roast me, are you?”
They all burst into laughter, thinking it was a joke. I laughed along, but I remained suspicious.
Next, my face was covered with a mud-like substance, leaving only my eyes and nostrils exposed, and something sticky was smeared on my hair and tied up. Curious, I picked up a mirror and was utterly shocked. I was told to not laugh, not speak, and breathe quietly, so I obediently followed.
Is Ruben really doing this too?
My appearance was astonishingly bizarre. Now I understood why the bride and groom weren’t shown to each other before the wedding. What newlywed couple would want to see each other in such a ghastly state? I suspected an Orc from the Shatun Desert might have a better-looking face.
After that, I was repeatedly washed, applied, washed, applied, washed, and applied.
I was told not to eat dinner tonight, so I nodded in agreement. Still, they gave me a few nuts and cookie pieces as a meal in between, which I ate obediently. I was so flustered and busy that I didn’t even have the chance to resist.
Finally, after my hair was done, it was eight in the evening. The attendants, who made me drink a whole cup of clear tea, bowed respectfully and gave me their command—or rather, advice.
“You may sleep now, Your Majesty.”
“…Huh? Now?”
“You have to wake up very early tomorrow. We will be back at four in the morning.”
“Mmm…”
“Please! Do not do anything else and go to sleep immediately, or your skin will be damaged. Please.”
Is my skin going to be ruined if I don’t sleep for a day or two? I had already emerged transformed. Would skin that could withstand lava be ruined by a few hours of sleep? I looked dazedly into the mirror and saw a man who, in over twenty years of living as Michael Ernhardt, I had never seen before: a man with impossibly smooth skin.
My face is this radiant, and I have to go to bed without showing it to Ruben?
Feeling a pang of disappointment, I paced the room, but I didn’t want to ruin such an important day with unnecessary actions. Before nine o’clock, I lay down obediently on the bed and closed my eyes.
❖ ❖ ❖
July 1st, morning.
The day that felt like it would never come had arrived. Without time to dwell on my thoughts, I was led by the attendants who came to fetch me before dawn, washed again with flower water, wrapped tightly in thick cloth, and placed in a carriage.
I was worried about my hair still being wet, but as the attendants who accompanied me in the carriage began to wrap and apply things to my damp hair, I let them be. Before tending to me, what had they done with their lives? They all seemed to know the next step just by looking at each other’s eyes. They were like masters who had reached a high realm.
As if possessed, I arrived at the shrine and entered through the back door of the temporary building I had seen yesterday.
The temporary building was sectioned into a ‘□’ shape. The back area was for dressing, styling hair, and applying makeup, while the front area was for receiving guests. Here, I put on the wedding attire provided, adorned myself with jewelry, and had my makeup done.
Although I had tried on the various jewels that dangled from my body one by one, I had never worn them all at once. With them all attached, the weight of the jewels alone felt comparable to a greatsword.
Because I was unusually tall, they seemed to have trouble handling me, so I asked if there was anything I could do to help. They told me to close my eyes obediently, so I did.
The attendants couldn’t hide their excitement.
“Will there ever be another masterpiece like this in my life?”
“If His Majesty the Emperor saw you now, he wouldn’t be able to look because of the brilliance. Perhaps you should get him some sunglasses later.”
“Isn’t it too heavy?”
“Huh? It’s fine.”
“It must be. You’re carrying all the beauty in the world; how could it not be heavy?”
I burst into laughter at their absurdity, but then they told me not to laugh, so I obeyed again.
After finishing my preparations, I went to the front area of the temporary building and sat down in my designated spot.
In Sierren, both the groom and bride had separate reception rooms with only one chair before the ceremony to receive guests. Due to the large number of people and the busyness, there were few opportunities to see relatives up close unless the bride and groom stayed in one place.
I, too, with the heavy burden of jewels on my shoulders, sat in my designated spot, flanked by flowers.
The first to visit me were, naturally, my blood relatives.
“You’re really getting married… You’re getting married.”
“Thank you for preparing such a wonderful venue, Mother.”
My mother collapsed as if to embrace me, but the attendants standing on either side intervened, allowing me only to hold her hand. They said my robe was pure white and nothing should stain it, so I chuckled and affectionately stroked my mother’s hand.
My grandparents and maternal relatives also held my hand one by one. They all looked at my face for a long time, making my cheeks flush.
While everyone was lost in fond memories, their eyes moist, my maternal aunt was different. She scrutinized me with burning eyes, as if she could split me in half. I was so puzzled by her intense gaze that I asked,
“Is something on me?”
“How could there be? I was just looking because you’re so handsome. Truly, I thought it was the best combination that could be made from William and Seiren. And you even resemble him a little…”
“…Haha, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
My maternal relatives seemed to be reminded of my uncle whenever they saw me. I figured it was mostly because we were both knights, so I just shrugged.
As soon as my grandparents, who had been wiping away tears of emotion, left, the Maelo Sanson family entered.
Maelo Sanson was a figure who had greatly influenced my settling into this land. I still couldn’t forget the thrill of being taught by a Hwagyeong martial artist. It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen him since my return, but it felt particularly poignant to greet him on such a special day.
He was originally a man of dignified appearance. Today, he had slicked his dark blonde hair back neatly with oil and wore a dark navy royal guard uniform that fit snugly around his neck. The silver buttons on his uniform harmonized beautifully with his gray eyes, making him look quite dashing.
I knew he would dress smartly since he was officiating the wedding, but he was a man who had worn loose short-sleeved shirts and dark pants that tightened at the ankles like a uniform throughout the Academy. Dressed in well-fitting attire, he looked like a completely different person.
A noblewoman, escorted by Maelo Sanson, entered, followed by five figures who stood tall and bowed in unison. I accepted their greetings with a slight bow and a smile.
“I had no idea you could dress so elegantly all this time.”
“Ahem. Who else but me would officiate your wedding? What else could I do?”
“It is an honor to see you, Your Majesty. He spoke so highly of you that it feels like I’ve known you for a long time.”
“Haha, thank you for coming to congratulate me, Marchioness Sanson.”
Maelo’s children all shared his amiable eyes. They chattered, “If you ever need a third child, just say the word,” and “You’re too handsome to be my father’s lost son,” which I brushed off with laughter.
Calypse Agrigent and Walter Orgen had arrived wearing handkerchiefs that matched in color. Wanting to tease them, I smiled and joked,
“Now, from fifty meters away, I can tell you’re a couple.”
“Of course! We’re getting married in about three months too. Thank you, Michael.”
“…Ahem. Congratulations, Your Majesty. I heard through the grapevine that you’ve been very busy.”
“Haha, not much has happened lately. And my name has been used quite a bit.”
“Connections are only useful when used appropriately. If you boast about them when they’re not needed, it’s just empty pride.”
That was true.
Calypse Agrigent presented me with a thick book as a wedding gift. An attendant took the gift on my behalf and quickly placed it in a precious box in a corner of the reception room. I repeatedly thanked him for coming to congratulate me.
Angela Sting, who had taught me magic, also arrived with a group of wizards to offer her congratulations.
“Thanks to you, I received a lot of help during critical moments. I should have visited you first.”
“I was already delighted to receive the wedding invitation…? I heard you’ve been very active… Thanks to what Lord Ernhardt awakened, our Faculty of Magic has changed quite a bit…?”
“Changed? How so?”
“We now have sparring sessions with the Swordsmanship Department as a regular curriculum… Thanks to that, the field of combat magic has significantly advanced, which is a great achievement… I wanted to express my gratitude, so I was looking for an opportunity… I’m so glad to see you on such a happy occasion…”
Her wistful smile and drawn-out voice brought back old memories.
Professor of World History, Briana Casablanca, who taught me about the Yuil Mountains and the Shatun Desert; Professor of Horsemanship, Biban Otif, who taught Benjamin riding; Professor of Monsterology, Steven McCliffe; Cedric, who was in charge of Alchemy and Camping Class; and Blanc Cooper, who taught Theology, all made an appearance.
The passage of time was more clearly etched on the faces of ordinary people who did not train Mana. Watching them, who came in pairs or brought their entire families, bowing respectfully, I felt the weight of the years.
The only professor who came alone was Professor Wilton Roberts, who taught throwing knife technique.