Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 894 - 894 Wedding Gift

"Wedding!"

This was the first word that appeared in Shard's mind upon waking up on Tuesday morning.

The wedding is always an important life ceremony, and according to Draleon's traditions, a noble wedding is even more cumbersome and complex. Not to mention, the ones getting married this time are Princess Mona Cavendish of the House of Cavendish and the second son of Duke Esberg, who oversees the Northern Garrison of the Draleon Royal Army Third Corps, Randolph Iceberg.

A Draleon-style noble wedding will last the entire day.

In the morning, the bride and groom will not meet, as Yordle Palace and the Esberg Family will respectively prepare wedding dresses and makeup for the bride and groom, which is quite elaborate, and no one wants to lose face here.

In the afternoon, both families invite friends and relatives to the church, as Mr. Randolph Iceberg believes in the true God, "God of War and Peace," also commonly known as "Father of Peace," hence the wedding will be held at the Peace Chapel in Tobesk City, with the entire ceremony lasting several hours.

Only after the wedding ceremony concludes will the most important process of the day, involving the largest number of people, take place – a grand wedding celebration hosted by the Esberg Family at the manor, inviting friends and family to share in the day's joy.

Getting married means setting up a family, so tonight's grand wedding banquet isn't held at the Esberg family's manor but at the manor belonging to the newlyweds, which is truly a gesture only a grand noble can afford. The manor that Mona Cavendish and Randolph Iceberg are about to call "home" originally belonged to another noble family, but they were erased from Draleon's noble genealogy this summer due to connections with cultists...

"Today's banquet is held at Lakeside Manor. It's such a nostalgic place... Mia, will you go with me?"

Shard spoke as he got out of bed to greet the new day. The lazy cat stood on the bed and meowed, then yawned widely and closed its mouth before Shard turned to look at it.

Compared to the evening banquet, Mia Cat is now more looking forward to breakfast.

Given the identities of the wedding parties, the wedding celebration starting this evening will likely be livelier than a garden party. A wedding celebration is different from a regular banquet; there will be many fun and interesting games and activities. Shard remembered Lecia mentioning that during her eldest sister's wedding celebration, it lasted until dawn the next day before it ended.

For Shard, besides Lecia's handwritten "Summer Night Collection," the most important thing is actually how to showcase his "Wisdom," "Power," and "Charm."

He already has a preliminary plan, but this means he will be quite busy at this wedding.

"I wonder if the doctor and Priest Augustus will show up. Luviya definitely won't; she has elective classes tonight."

The young Outlander is not a relative of the Esberg Family nor the Cavendish Family... at least not on the surface, so the morning preparations of the groom and bride have nothing to do with him.

Yet while preparing breakfast, he can already see from the kitchen window the carriages parked at the gates of Yordle Palace and the different decorations of the palace compared to usual.

Banners are hung on the buildings, colorful little flags sway in the morning breeze, adding some vibrancy to this gray era. Eunuch Servants have laid red carpets throughout the sermon pathways in the courtyard of Yordle Palace early this morning. Fresh petals, hard to find in early winter, are scattered everywhere.

Shard even sees a beautiful flower basket perched on the lance of the knight statue in the center of the courtyard.

Although King Larus III is always strict with his children, he is definitely a pretty good father, especially to those children he has no use for.

After eating breakfast leisurely and letting little Mia wander around the house for digestion, Shard goes to the study to continue perfecting his manuscript. Thinking in the study is more comfortable than in the afternoon woods; the frail morning light penetrates the thick fog and shines on the desk. Wearing a white shirt and brown vest, Shard feels this era isn't too bad.

He has been sitting in the study for only half an hour when the downstairs door opens. The hubbub of Saint Delan Square briefly enters the room, followed by the sound of the door closing, the clatter of heels on the stairs, Mia's alert cries, and the sound of the second-floor door opening.

"Shard, help me bring my gown upstairs."

Miss Writer's voice enters his ears as Dorothy slightly raises her voice, standing in the living room and watching the young gentleman writing in the morning light of the study. Her face is slightly flushed, with an urge to capture this scene on canvas.

Dorothy will attend the wedding at the church as Shard's companion and arrived at Shard's home this morning, planning to go to the Peace Chapel with him after lunch.

The blonde also brought her own gown, a beautiful golden dress:

"Lecia is quite troubled right now."

Dorothy said while following Shard up the stairs. She carried a large garment bag while Shard carried a suitcase and another brown garment bag:

"Today is Lecia's sister's wedding; why is she worried?"

Shard asked, as the garment bag in his hand was large, and he always worried about accidentally stepping on the cat while climbing the stairs.

"According to custom, if a younger sister is getting married while the elder sister is still unmarried, then the elder sister must serve as the bridesmaid, and in fact, the Chief Bridesmaid. Unfortunately, although Mona has more than one unmarried sister, Lecia's age is the most..."

Dorothy stopped speaking and looked at Shard from the top of the stairs:

"You understand."

The blonde raised her eyebrows slightly.

An unmarried elder sister serving as Chief Bridesmaid is a custom of the Old Continent, partly as a subtle nudge from the elders to encourage marriage, partly as a blessing for the unmarried daughter to find a suitable gentleman soon. Naturally, it's also because the Chief Bridesmaid receives more attention, making the wedding a good occasion for matchmaking.

"What is Lecia doing now?"

Shard asked, worried about stepping on Mia's paws while climbing the stairs with the sizeable garment bag.

"Makeup and preparing the dress, then going to give blessings to Mona, and according to the customs of the House of Cavendish, she has plenty to do this morning; the bride is more relaxed than her, the bride just needs to wait for makeup."

Shard put Dorothy's dress in the side bedroom for now, considering the makeup time, it'll take at least an hour for Dorothy to put on that outfit, so they would have an early lunch today.

"What gift are you planning to bring to the wedding banquet at Lakeside Manor tonight?"

Shard asked curiously when Dorothy sat down on the sofa.

The blond girl pointed to the makeup box she brought:

"Inside is a personally signed 'Hamilton Detective Stories', with my own written blessing on the cover as well."

Although a book is not valuable, at least not for the princess, this book is currently a hit, and with the author's blessing, it is remarkably suitable as a wedding gift.

"So, Shard, what have you prepared? Oh, I saw in the newspaper that yesterday morning, you gave Margaret Anjou a beautiful gemstone at the train station."

Dorothy said, waving her finger in the air:

"So, generous knight, what have you prepared for the wedding?"

Knowing she was teasing him, Shard reached out and took out a small box:

"A ruby, which I bought casually before leaving Midshire Fort yesterday."

In fact, Granny Cassandra, having heard that Shard needed a gift, gave him one casually and insisted that Shard not pay for it.

In that small round gilded box, there was a heart-shaped ruby. Shard opened it and showed it to Dorothy, whose pupils slightly contracted, then she said reservedly:

"Very beautiful, but you need to see this."

Dorothy opened a metal foldable multi-layered makeup box from her suitcase and handed a red jewelry box to Shard:

"This is what Lecia prepared for you, to give as a gift."

Inside the red jewelry box lay two teardrop-shaped sapphire earrings, outlined with pure gold frames. Of course, although they looked quite beautiful, from the perspective of jewelry appraisal by Circle Sorcerers, they couldn't compare to Shard's ruby.

Shard held the box in surprise:

"Lecia actually prepared this for me?"

Dorothy showed a faint smile:

"This gemstone still can't compare to the ruby earring you gave Lecia (Chapter 384), yes, that diamond-shaped gemstone."

She pretended to talk indifferently, then turned her head to look at the morning light outside the window. This action exposed her ear to Shard, and her right hand raised seemingly unconsciously to touch her empty ear.

[She's hinting to you.]

"She" gently reminded.

Shard understood the hint and coughed lightly:

"Then, Dorothy, I'll just gift away the present Lecia prepared. As for this ruby I bought from Midshire Fort, let's..."

He opened the gilded round box again and handed it to Dorothy. The blond girl turned her head with an effort to control her smile, but her brows and eyes still showed uncontrollable joy:

"This won't do, knight, how could I easily accept your gift?"

Speaking seriously, like a character reciting lines in an opera.

Shard thought for a moment:

"Oh, golden-haired, blue-eyed girl, would you like to dance a waltz with me at the wedding banquet's ball?"

"Of course, yes, knight, of course."

Dorothy looked at him, blinked, and eagerly awaited the next words.

Then Shard spoke the words that Miss Writer was waiting for:

"Beautiful lady, this will be the gift I give you after the ball."

Dorothy's smile was completely uncontrollable.