(Chapter 29) Bad Dream
“Anna Garland, in the presence of the goddess and all the witnesses here today, I ask you, do you take Louise Latimir to be your wife?”
Combining the styles of Rianved and the Central Church, in the grandest cathedral of the capital, the "Saint Glory Cathedral," Anna stood adorned in a decorative patterned gown with a blue and white single-sided cape, while Louise wore the most traditional white wedding dress, standing before numerous guests.
Unlike the empire, where weddings involve banquets and a lengthy series of vows that are dizzying to memorize, with eight out of ten sentences invoking the glory of the Creator Goddess, Rianved weddings are straightforward, focusing more on the celebration after the ceremony.
Grooms often prefer renting a suit of armor rather than wearing formal attire.
Of course, when it comes to women marrying women, the attire can be more flexible.
"I do."
"Then, Louise Latinia, in the presence of the goddess and..."
"I do! Of course, I do!"
Louise, in her wedding dress, immediately threw herself into Anna's arms.
Although Anna was clad in cold armor, a surcoat over it prevented Louise from feeling any discomfort.
"Then, under the statue and glory of the goddess, I declare the two as newlyweds..."
"Wait! I object!"
Just as the two were about to kiss, the church doors were suddenly kicked open, and a group of fur-clad, hammer-wielding men stormed in, nearly reigniting the fear among the populace.
Fortunately, these intruders did not bear the distinctive North Ice leopard tooth ornaments of the Star Kingdom, nor were their hammers adorned with garish, colorful decorations.
"I! Object to this marriage!"
A woman similarly dressed but wielding a staff emerged from among these warriors.
Though her face was blurred, she resembled Helga.
"Anna and I are in love! Helga, why are you causing trouble?" Louise glared at Helga from within Anna's embrace.
"In love? Can't you see the lack of joy on Anna's face that should accompany mutual affection?" Helga, with her blurred face, wore a "mocking smile."
"Anna and I are the ones truly in love! And we are childhood sweethearts!"
"Don't you know that in empire novels, childhood sweethearts always end up losing? What does childhood affection count for!"
"It's the deep, fermented emotions from childhood that will lead our love to victory!"
At this moment, whether it was the priest, the guests, or the warriors of the Bartham family, all disappeared. Helga, too, had somehow changed into a white wedding dress.
"Anna! Tell me, do you choose me, or her?"
"Anna! Don't fall for this woman's tricks! You love me the most!"
"Anna!"
"Anna!"
"Ahhh!!!!!"
Suddenly waking from her bed, Anna nearly fell to the floor.
"What kind of dream was that?"
It had been a long time since Anna had such a vivid dream. Since starting her patrol duties here, the exhaustion had led her into deep sleep every night, rarely dreaming, and any dreams she did have were easily forgotten upon waking.
To have such a clear dream after so long, though the content was indeed stomach-churning.
Even though the kingdom's laws allow for multiple spouses, why did it turn into such a painful imperial romance novel scenario?
...Thinking about it, it might be influenced by that "Bloody End" achievement.
Since that simulation, especially after realizing that both Helga and Louise had feelings for her, Anna had been racking her brains over how Helga and Louise would get along when they met.
If handled poorly, leading to a situation where both were hurt, as in the simulator, the outcome wouldn't be pretty either.
That knife still lay in her otherwise empty spatial ring.
Choosing to hide or play dumb wasn't something Anna wanted to do; it felt too harsh, especially since she had seen real-life examples.
A century ago, a noble knight faced with the affections of two noble ladies chose to feign ignorance and escape, only to be killed by one of them.
It was a famous emotional drama of the time, even adapted into the renowned knight novel "The Blue Collection," still a pastime read for noblewomen in Rianved and Empire.
But to truly respond to both feelings... whether it would lead to a "Bloody End" in reality was also a question...
Hiding leads to "The Blue Collection," responding leads to "Bloody End," what kind of hellish scenario is this?
But to accept one and firmly reject the other...
Anna felt she might not be able to do that.
Although the knight's code also speaks of loyalty to one's partner, Anna inexplicably felt her true desire was to have both.
‘I am loyal to both my partners, so that's being loyal to my partners, right?’
Of course, such twisted logic might not be accepted by Helga and Louise.
...Ahhh! Forget it! I haven't even seen Helga yet!
Moreover, I haven't even seen what Helga looks like now!
...
Though Anna thought if Helga had grown more beautiful, she might still be moved. It seems she's unexpectedly a bit of a looks person?
‘No! Can't think about this anymore! These thoughts are too scoundrelly! This is not knightly!’
Struggling to shake these thoughts from her mind, Anna got out of bed, drank a glass of water, and looked out at the still dim sky, her thoughts drifting once more.
To say Anna only had childhood sweetheart feelings for Helga, needing her to be beautiful now to turn into love?
That was clearly not the case, at least Anna didn't think so.
Memories from childhood... to be honest, Anna felt they were almost forgotten.
Memories from so many years ago, to remain vivid in one's mind after more than a decade, is obviously difficult.
Like, although she could still recall Helga's childhood face, almost everything about her father, her mother, or what they did together was nearly forgotten.
But... very discordantly, that feeling, not like a childhood sweetheart's affection but more like love, would activate the moment she thought of Helga.
‘I must have forgotten something very important, right?’
Anna had realized long ago that she must have forgotten something very important, a crucial scene, a key object.
Or perhaps, the key person.
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You can read early 20 chapters on my Patreon.