Not An Ordinary Wedding (8)
* * *
“Dionna-nim, did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
Dionna tilted her head, acting like she didn’t know anything. But in reality, she already knew everything.
“About His Highness Tarkan and the Princess’ wedding parade! The carriage flipped over so it is about to be stopped!”
“Oh no…”
Dionna covered her mouth, looking a little startled.
“Are both of their Highnesses, okay? I hope no one watching got hurt…”
“Fortunately, they say no one got hurt.”
“Really? That’s….”
‘Too bad.’
While keeping that thought to herself, Dionna gave a soft smile.
“…what a relief.”
Although they say that no one was injured, information can be inaccurate when there’s confusion. Dionna was eagerly awaiting the news of Aristine being seriously injured.
‘It will be even better if that pretty face gets grounded on the floor.’
What a pity.
‘If a bystander had gotten hurt at least…’
Imagine what it would look like if there was blood spilled at a marriage for peace. It would give people the opportunity to suppress Aristine for being terrible and inauspicious.
The more special this marriage was, the more backlash she would have gotten so it was such a pity.
“From what I heard, His Highness Tarkan handled the situation very well. As expected of His Highness.”
“I knew it; His Highness is amazing.”
Dionna smiled along with the young noble lady, not revealing a hint of her true feelings.
Seeing as no one came to report any injury after time passed, what the young miss said was probably true.
‘It’s too bad but still, with that, this wedding is ruined.’
Completing the wedding parade meant that the couple would be together for the rest of their lives. But since they failed to accomplish that, the impact would be huge.
“I probably shouldn’t say this but a part of me thinks it turned out for the best.”
The young miss lowered her voice and whispered to Dionna.
Of course, Dionna was expecting the young miss to say something like this. After all, this lady was one of her followers.
But she acted like she knew nothing, and made a face like she didn’t understand at all.
“For the…best?”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I think that because no one got hurt. If someone got hurt, that naturally won’t cross my mind.”
The young miss hurriedly waved her hand to clarify then lowered her voice even more.
“It’s just, you know, the princess’ wedding is ruined because of this. When I think about how the princess purposefully summoned Dionna-nim to her bride’s waiting room to make you mad, I just…”
The young miss hmphed and scoffed.
“She brought her wedding’s ruin upon herself.” (the miss)
“Your Ladyship…” (Dionna)
“Dionna-nim, you said it’s because the princess is lonely but is that really the case? It’s obvious to me.”
The young miss pursed her lips.
Honestly, when she saw the princess’s entrance into the wedding hall, her gaze was unconsciously stolen away. She was staring in a daze then she suddenly came back to her senses.
She felt so disgusted because she thought the princess was pulling such dirty tricks with such an angelic face. And because she was swept away for a moment, she couldn’t help but hate the princess even more.
To think people were feeling moved and even calling this the perfect wedding…
‘They’re all being deceived by that nasty princess!’
She felt angry and aggrieved.
If she was already feeling like this, imagine how terrible Dionna felt as she sat in the same guest seat.
‘Even though Dionna-nim is His Highness Tarkan’s lover…’
Her heart ached when she saw Dionna clapping alongside others, with a smile on her face.
‘She is so kind; she didn’t even know the princess was ridiculing her and tried to protect the princess instead.’
When her thoughts reached this point, she decided she was going to support Dionna even more. But even if no one knew, the heavens certainly did and it punished the princess.
“Anyway, I heard they’re thinking of switching to a new carriage. But will that even go well?”
The young miss said with a twisted smile.
“Why wouldn’t it? There should be many other ceremonial carriages, even though they might be inferior to the golden carriage. Those carriages are lovely.”
Dionna asked like someone with no bad intention at all.
“Well, there is enough carriages. But I don’t think the Queen will sit still. She will delay as much as possible and only send it after His Majesty steps forth.”
The young miss chuckled.
“By that time, won’t all the spectators have shriveled away? Talk less of the bride and groom who will be standing idly in the middle of the parade path.”
That was enough to cool the hearts of the people who were joyfully celebrating this marriage.
“Who knows, people might even leave halfway. That would be a sight to see.”
The young miss giggled.
Dionna looked at the young miss and an awkward smile appeared on her face but she didn’t say anything to stop her.
She only covered her mouth, looking concerned.
Just imagining what the young miss said made her want to gloat. She regretted not being able to see it in person.
‘Let’s see how you get through this humiliation.’
A twisted smile sprung onto her lips which was hidden under her hand.
* * *
Piiiii!
The sound was too sharp for a whistle.
Aristine tilted her head at that high-pitched sound.
‘Why whistle all of a sudden?’
It sounded like he was calling for something.
‘Ah, could it be…’
The moment she thought that, the ground rumbled. After a few moments, she could hear the sound of horse hooves, then she saw something running towards them.
‘…A demonic beast?’
Aristine was startled and clung tightly to Tarkan’s neck. But soon, she realized she was mistaken when she saw Tarkan’s casualness and the cheering of the people around.
The true identity of this ‘demonic beast’ was a black horse.
It looked like a demonic beast from a distance because of the body armor that it was wearing and how huge it was. [1]
‘The horse armor in Silvanus is so different that I had no idea…’
The Silvanus Empire used silver horse armor that covered the entire horse’s body. In contrast, the Irugo Kingdom used metal and hides of demonic beasts to protect the vital areas. Mobility in the plains was given the highest priority.
Because of the gorgeous armor laid on its forehead and the huge carved horns hanging on either side of its head, it looked more like an elegant and dangerous high-level beast than a horse.
Moreover, it was a huge warhorse with an imposing presence that could be felt from far away so Aristine’s misunderstanding was not unreasonable.
‘I think its legs alone are as tall as me.’
It looked like a completely different breed from Silvanus horses.
“So you mean…?”
“Yes.”
There was pride and affection in Tarkan’s eyes as he looked at the horse.
Aristine immediately understood Tarkan’s intentions.
Obviously, if he could call a horse like this without the Queen’s obstruction, then riding a horse was the best option.
But there was a problem.
“I…don’t know how to ride a horse.” (Aristine)
Tarkan was taken aback and turned to look at Aristine.
He wondered how she didn’t know that either then he belatedly remembered that she had been confined. She didn’t receive proper education even though she was a princess.
That said, it didn’t really matter.
“I know.”
Since he was by her side.
Tarkan hugged Aristine tight with one arm and leaped onto the horse with his other hand. As he jumped using his body’s flexibility, the cloak affixed to only one of his shoulders fluttered heavily.
Although it should have been surprised by its master’s rough mounting, the horse remained standing still.
Aristine sat on top of the horse and looked down with amazement.
‘It’s so high!’
Her view was much higher than when she rode the carriage.
However, she wasn’t afraid of falling. Because Tarkan was holding her from behind.
Translator’s Corner:
[1] I should translate ‘body armor’ to ‘barding’ but I feel like most ppl will draw a blank when they see the word
