Chapter 95. The Wedding (2).
Chapter 95: 95. The Wedding (2).
The outfit that had been prepared for Austin was a traditional styled clothing known very well within Greymoor Kingdom’s noble wedding customs.
It was a deep navy outer coat with silver fastenings down the front, along with fitted trousers in the same colour, and a white inner shirt with a high collar.
The coat’s cuffs and collar had been embroidered with fine silver thread in a pattern that the tailor had described as meaning prosperity and long life.
Of course, Austin had appreciated this so he had no complaints about it.
He simply stood still whilst the attendants worked on the fastenings, and Austin looked at himself in the mirror.
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he thought, not for the first time, about the night he had died on a road in his old world.
Thinking back to everything that had happened up to this point, if anyone had told him that in a few months’ time he’d be transmigrating into another world where he’d be meeting a beautiful wolfkin and elf who would end up becoming his wives.
If anyone had said this to him back then, he definitely would have thought the person was smoking some weird mushrooms.
But now, here he was.
Standing in his own mansion, on his wedding day, about to marry two women who had somehow, in the span of less than a year, become the most important people in his life.
Taking his new reality in, Austin exhaled slowly through his nose.
’I really am a lucky motherfucker.’ He thought quietly as one of the attendants finally finished the last fastening and stepped back.
Austin looked at himself in the mirror for one more moment.
Then he smiled, straightened his collar, and headed for the door.
***
The ceremony was held in the garden of the new mansion.
There were rows of chairs which had been arranged on either side of a wide central aisle that led toward a raised stone platform at the far end, where the officiator was.
The guy was a tall, silver-haired man wearing formal ceremonial robes.
He had been brought in from the capital, and right now he stood waiting with a calm expression on his face.
Meanwhile, the guests filled the chairs on both sides.
Nobles and merchants and guild masters and familiar faces from Elmfield itself, all of them were dressed in their finest and all of them were talking quietly among themselves as they waited for the ceremony to begin.
Meanwhile, Lord Harvey Briggs sat in the third row on the left, his large frame squeezed into a chair that was doing its best to hold him, and he had a glass of something already in hand despite the ceremony not having started yet, and was now chatting amiably with the merchant couple seated beside him.
Sitting further back was Lady Ariel.
Her expression was calm and unreadable as always, whilst her sharp eyes moved slowly around the garden as she took in every detail around her.
On the other hand, Commander Aldren stood to one side in his full garrison uniform.
His arms were behind his back and his expression remained stoic as he tried to hold back the excitement he was feeling on such a wonderful day.
Cedric stood nearby with his hands clasped in front of him, and if his eyes looked slightly brighter than normal, no one was going to mention it.
Now, Ophelia had somehow secured herself a seat in the very front row.
Nobody knew exactly how she had managed this, but nobody was going to argue with her about it either, so she sat and waited for the brides to arrive.
Tatiana had also been given a seat in the front row on the opposite side, and she was currently sitting with her tail coiled carefully around the base of her chair.
Her arms were folded as she tried her best to look dignified and composed as the music began.
It was a soft and unhurried melody played by a small ensemble of musicians positioned to one side of the garden, and the moment it started, the quiet conversations across the rows died away and every head turned toward the aisle.
Nora came first.
She walked slowly as her wolf ears stood upright and her tail remained still behind her.
She was wearing an ivory-coloured dress which looked simple in its cut but was made from a fabric that easily caught the light as she moved and walked.
Her dark hair had been pinned up with small white flowers woven through it, and Austin couldn’t help but be amazed by how beautiful she looked right now.
A grin spread across his lips as he internally praised himself for having such a stunning woman by his side, and this exact same thought came to mind when he noticed Rowena appearing at the top of the aisle a moment later.
Rowena’s dress was a pale silver colour that matched her calm and relaxed elegance perfectly.
Its long skirt trailed slightly behind her as she walked, and her blonde hair had been left loose for once.
She allowed it to fall naturally over one shoulder rather than its usual braid, and the effect of it made her look even more stunning.
In fact, she looked somehow less like a countess of centuries and more simply like a woman about to have her wedding.
Actually, she definitely was about to have her wedding.
Anyway, Ophelia pressed both hands over her mouth in the front row as she watched her beautiful niece, and she couldn’t help but wonder what her late parents would think of their daughter right now.
On the other hand, Tatiana’s tail came loose from around the chair leg and began swaying behind her without her noticing.
Austin watched both of his ladies walk toward him and he felt really proud to be having this special moment with them right now.
When they reached him, one on either side, Austin looked at Nora first and then at Rowena, and neither of them said anything for a moment.