Not An Ordinary Wedding (9)
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Aristine’s face was full of curiosity as she furtively lowered her hand and touched the horse.
She could feel its short and smooth hair and the skin beneath it. It felt hot and sturdy.
‘So this is how horses feel.’
One more thing she’d learned on her own.
“This is my first time riding a horse.”
And one more thing she was experiencing personally.
“This is the first time this guy is carrying anyone other than me too.”
As he said that, Tarkan held Aristine’s waist tight. Her waist was so thin that it made him feel strange. But he couldn’t let her fall.
“Hold on tight. It’s dangerous.”
Aristine nodded and wrapped her arms around Tarkan’s waist. When she felt the body in her arms stiffened, Aristine looked up at him.
“What?”
“Move back a little.”
“I thought you said to hold tight?”
“…Not too tight.”
Tarkan replied, trying his best not to look down. Because it was easy to predict what kind of image he would see the moment he looked down right now.
Aristine’s wedding dress had a pure and elegant design, but the chest area was still quite exposed.
However, even if he didn’t see it, he could clearly feel it.
Aristine was sitting sideways on the horse and holding Tarkan tightly, so her body was inevitably touching him.
Tarkan only thought of her as small and slender, so he frowned at the sensation that was much more vivid than he expected.
Aristine was puzzled by his displeased expression.
She figured she might have made some mistake since it was her first time on a horse, so she nodded her head.
“Alright.”
And so, she tried to straighten up and move back but…
‘Ah…!’
Her body swayed on the saddle, and she slipped.
Tarkan was startled and quickly grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his arms.
Aristine reflexively clung to him.
Once he confirmed that Aristine was safe, Tarkan heaved a sigh.
‘Seriously.’
He couldn’t relax his guard around this woman for even a moment.
Aristine stuck out her head to assess the height from the ground then she asked Tarkan:
“It will hurt if I fall, right?”
“Most likely.”
She was used to pain but she still didn’t like it.
“Can’t we just go like this?”
Tarkan didn’t respond. He was still frowning so Aristine studied his face in a slightly sullen mood.
Tarkan still didn’t reply, and he didn’t even look at her. However, his grip around her waist was very firm. To the point that Aristine was practically buried in his arms.
Aristine smiled and leaned against him. While he held her tight so that she wouldn’t fall.
Clop, clop.
With steps that were both heavy and light, the huge black horse slowly marched down the path of the wedding parade.
* * *
People were watching Aristine and Tarkan with dazed expressions like they were in a dream.
Their mouths had fallen open ever since they saw Tarkan mount the horse with his cloak fluttering in the air. The black knight who saves the princess in fairy tales must have looked like this, right?
Even though they felt it was a childish and embarrassing idea, they couldn’t help but feel like they had gone back to their childhood, falling asleep with children’s books on their pillows.
They waved their handkerchiefs after the two lovers who had overcome this trial of love.
“It’s so touching…”
The people who were waiting along the parade road and didn’t know what happened were confused when they saw Aristine and Tarkan. They didn’t understand why the couple was on a warhorse instead of a carriage.
They certainly had no idea but…
“They look good together…”
The visual effect was great.
This was a special wedding parade, perfect for the beginning of the peace that everyone longed for.
The princess who shone in a pure-white dress was resting in the arms of Irugo’s war hero and guardian.
They looked even better on top of the huge war-horse than inside the carriage.
“A fairy’s come to our kingdom…”
“A fairy of peace, for sure.”
“Small and precious, it’s the best.”
And since the two of them seemed to have a great relationship, the people felt more than satisfied.
Everyone knew what an arranged marriage was, but as people serving the royal family, they hoped for a marriage full of love.
The happenings at the wedding spread through word of mouth and newspaper extras, making people swoon even more.
“I heard she was surprised to see the people waiting outside the ceremonial hall then she smiled and waved. Look at this picture.”
“I thought she would act proud and arrogant because she’s the princess of Silvanus, but she didn’t do that…”
Her friendly appearance, which was different from Tarkan’s overbearingness, made people smile widely. Rather, the couple seemed to balance each other out because they were so opposite.
“This is the scene I was talking about earlier. The carriage was tilting, and the horse was going wild, but His Highness rescued the princess. It’s already in an extra.” [1]
“Ah, it looks like a perfect moment in this picture…”
“To think he threw himself to save the princess in such a dangerous moment…”
“Haaa, such fiery love.”
The young girl who was looking at a picture of Tarkan hugging Aristine with his sword drawn, cupped her cheeks with a dreamy expression on her face.
“I bet he must be worried because the princess almost got hurt. He hasn’t let her out of his arms.”
“I know, right? They got on it together instead of having the princess get on first, then His Highness…”
“How is this possible? The pictures alone make him look so cool.”
“It’s possible because it is His Highness Tarkan. Plus, the two of them have very different physiques.”
The people who had been chattering turned their eyes to the news article again.
There was a picture of Tarkan on the war-horse with Aristine in his arms and the cloak flying in the wind.
“The report who got this picture needs an award.”
“Best reporter of the year.”
It seems the reason why the extras were selling so hot wasn’t simply because this was a national marriage. They felt the picture alone made them feel at home in their hearts.
A woman who had been looked at the picture for a while finally asked:
“…This is impossible for my boyfriend to do, isn’t it?”
“Yup.”
At that resolute answer, everyone in the area fell silent.
