Wedding

I heard things being moved around in the yard.

I leaned against a window in the second-floor hallway and looked down. Norn was dragging two wooden chairs beneath the crooked tree. She set one down, decided it was in the wrong place, and dragged it back to try again. The tuft of hair on top of her head bobbed with her movements.

Lilia was arranging flowers beside the low wall in the corner of the yard. She had gotten a bunch of bluebells and a few white daisies from somewhere and was planting them in the earth beside the crooked tree. She couldn't put weight on one leg, and she tilted as she crouched, catching herself with a hand on the ground.

Aisha was running back and forth in the kitchen, the clatter of a spatula mingling with the sound of chopping. She poked her head out and called, "Norn! Have you spread the cloth on the table yet?"

"Almost!"

Norn dug a white cotton cloth out of the pile of odds and ends, shook the dust off it, and spread it over the long table in the middle of the yard. The cloth wasn't big enough, and two corners of the table stuck out.

This is my wedding to Rudeus. There's no church, no priest, and no guests. But my family is here, and so is he. That's enough.

I stood by the window for a while, watching the three of them bustling around below.

Three days earlier, Paul had brought up the wedding at dinner. Rudeus had said, "Let's talk about it after I enroll," but Paul wouldn't hear of it. "You're already living together, and you're still not in a hurry?" Early the next morning, Lilia had taken Norn to the market, and they had come back with a bunch of flowers and a white dress.

A white dress.

I looked down at the dress I was wearing. It was a white cotton dress with a simple ring of lace around the neckline and sleeves that reached my elbows. It wasn't a wedding gown, just an ordinary dress picked out at the market. I had asked for it. It wasn't that I disliked wedding gowns, but even a rush order for a custom-made one would have taken a long time, and with him here, none of that mattered.

I checked myself in the copper mirror at the end of the hallway. The person in the mirror looked awkward.

I still wasn't used to wearing dresses.

On the Demon Continent, all I'd worn were trousers and armor. Suddenly putting on a dress felt like someone had stripped my armor off, leaving me uncomfortable all over. The lace at the neckline rubbed against my collarbone, and the sleeves were too short, leaving the old scars on my arms exposed.

"Forget it. This will do."

By the time I went downstairs, the yard was ready.

Beneath the crooked tree, the long table was covered with a white cotton cloth, with bluebells and daisies arranged on top. The chairs were lined up in two rows. Their legs were a little crooked, but they were good enough to sit on. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the white cloth.

Aisha poked her head out of the kitchen doorway, her apron dusted with flour.

"Sister-in-law! So pretty!"

"...Shut up."

"I wasn't complimenting you. I was complimenting the dress."

I glared at her. She immediately ducked back into the kitchen, but I heard her laughing inside.

Norn came running over, clutching something in her hands. She stopped in front of me, rose onto her toes, and held it up to me.

It was a flower crown, woven from wildflowers in the yard. Bluebells and daisies were intertwined, with a few thin strands of grass wound through them. It wasn't very neatly made, and a few parts were crooked, but the flowers were still fresh.

"Sister-in-law... we'll be family from now on."

She kept her head down as she spoke, her voice very quiet.

I bent down and let her put the flower crown on my head. It was a little loose, so after putting it on, she pressed it down with her hands, worried it might fall off.

"Thank you."

Norn looked up at me, her eyes bright. Then she turned and ran to the chairs, sat down, and buried her face in her arms.

Aisha came out of the kitchen with a little cloth pouch in her hand. She walked up to me and pushed it into my hand.

"Sister-in-law, this is a charm. I bought it at the market myself. There's rosemary and bay leaves inside, to keep you safe."

"...Thanks."

"I'm glad you like it!" She smiled, then ran back to the kitchen.

I held the pouch in my palm. It was tiny, only as big as my thumb, but it was stuffed full.

I was standing in the yard when Rudeus came out of the house.

He wore a clean white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of dark trousers. He had no tie on, and the buttons at his collar were undone, exposing his collarbones.

He stopped when he saw me.

His mouth fell slightly open, and his eyes swept over me from head to toe. Then his gaze settled on the flower crown before moving to my face.

"..."

"What are you looking at?"

"...You look beautiful."

My ears burned.

"Tch." I turned away and stared at the crooked tree's trunk. "Come on. Don't dawdle."

Paul stood in front of the long table, his right hand resting on it.

He cleared his throat and put on a very serious expression.

"Rudeus, do you take Eris as your wife?"

"I do."

Rudeus answered quickly, as though he'd had his answer ready all along. His voice wasn't loud, but it was steady.

Paul looked at me.

"Eris, do you take this brat as your husband?"

I opened my mouth.

It felt like something was caught in my throat, and for a moment I couldn't speak. The yard was quiet. A breeze blew through, rustling the leaves of the crooked tree. The bluebells swayed gently in the earth.

"...I do."

My voice was quieter than I'd expected, but I'd said it.

The corners of Paul's mouth lifted.

"Then you may kis-"

"Father!!"

Norn jumped out of her chair, blushing all the way down to her neck. Aisha covered her mouth in the kitchen doorway. Roxy put a small wooden box on the corner of the table, her gaze lingering on us for a moment before she looked away.

Paul laughed. A grown man standing in the sunlight, laughing like a child.

But in the end, he still... never mind.

I'm married. To Rudeus. Right here in the yard at home, wearing the flower crown Norn made and holding Aisha's charm.

He's mine.

Aisha made dinner: stewed meat, black bread, a plate of cheese, and a bowl of soup to which she'd added bay leaves especially. To my surprise, she and Norn had also made a cake in secret, saying that such an important day had to have a cake.

The whole family sat around the long table in the yard. The bluebells on the white cotton cloth turned grayish blue in the twilight.

Roxy sipped her soup, occasionally looking up at the yard in the fading light.

"Congratulations on your marriage," she said, her voice so soft it was as though she feared the wind might carry it away.

"...Yeah."

I didn't know what to say. The words "thank you" rose to my lips, then retreated.

After we finished eating, the sky grew dark. In the distance, pale blue lights came on atop the spires of the Ranoa University of Magic, twinkling.

Everyone went back inside, one after another. Paul helped Zenith upstairs, with Norn following behind. Aisha washed the dishes in the kitchen, water splashing. Roxy went back to the little room on the east side of the second floor. Before closing the door, she looked back at me and wished me good night.

Only Rudeus and I were left in the yard.

He sat in a chair, looking up at the sky. The stars were coming out one by one.

"We should go inside too," he said.

"...You go first."

He glanced at me, stood up, and went into the house.

I stood in the yard, looking up at the stars for a while. The breeze carried the scent of bluebells and the sound of dishes being washed in the distant kitchen.

I'm married. Really married.

I took a deep breath and went inside.

That night, I sat on the edge of the bed, my whole body stiff.

Rudeus sat in the chair opposite me, watching me. His prosthetic hand rested on his knee, and his right hand tapped gently on his other knee.

"You don't have to be so nervous. It's not our first time."

"Huh?! I'm not nervous!"

My voice came out louder than I'd expected. The window wasn't shut tight, and the night breeze slipped through the gap, making the candle on the table flicker.

He watched me for a while. Then he stood up, came over to me, and took my hand in his right hand.

His hand was warm. His palm was callused, and there were traces of ink on his fingertips.

"Eris."

"...Yeah."

"Thank you for staying, and thank you for marrying me."

My eyes stung.

I didn't cry. I tightened my fingers around his hand.

"Shut up."

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and buried my face in the pillow.

He laughed.

The next morning, sunlight squeezed through a gap in the curtains.

When I woke up, Rudeus was lying beside me, gazing intently at me.

"Morning, Eris."

"...Yeah."

I nuzzled his shoulder, my hair brushing his chin.

"Morning, Rudeus. My husband."