Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 896 - 896: The Seating Problem

In this world, people are accustomed to holding weddings between one and two o'clock in the afternoon, and Princess Mona Cavendish's wedding was scheduled for 1:40 PM on the nineteenth afternoon of Frostfall Moon.

Although the Peace Church was not closed because of this wedding, additional decorations were still made inside the church. The eunuch servants from Yordle Palace were sent ahead to the church entrance to guide the arriving guests to the wedding hall.

This is not the main hall of the church, but the side hall used for daily preaching, as people believe that marriages blessed in the main hall of the cathedral would bring extra pressure to the newlyweds. Even if it is not the main hall, the solemn and dignified atmosphere is not lacking at all. The astonishingly deep hall is large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, and the clean, reflective tile floors and various religious oil paintings on the walls add more sanctity to the church.

The hall had already been set up, with a red carpet stretching from the entrance of the hall to the preaching platform, which was full of flowers, and even around the huge holy emblem behind the platform, flowers were used for decoration. The colored windows were adorned with ribbons, and musicians in formal attire, as well as children acting as flower girls, had already arrived.

Shard and Lecia arrived relatively early, and not many guests had taken their seats on the long rows of wooden benches when they entered the hall. Yet, even though there were already quite a few people, the hall was still relatively quiet, with everyone instinctively lowering their voices. Shard understood this behavior, because even as an Outlander, he knew this was not a place for loud chatter.

Guest seating was not fixed, except for members of the Royal Family and both direct relatives needing to be in the first three rows; friends like Shard, who seemed to appear from nowhere, could choose any seat in the back rows.

A long bench could seat two people, and Shard and the blonde girl sat in the fifth row near the center aisle. Shard sat on the outside, while Lecia sat on the inside. After sitting down, his hand resting on the right armrest, which seemed to have been polished over time, he curiously looked around.

The hall of the church itself was so awe-inspiring, but due to the wedding arrangement, it had more of an air of celebration. Without any familiar faces appearing for the time being, guests continuously led in by the eunuch servants spoke in lowered voices, occasionally greeting one another but still controlling their volume.

Shard was able to recognize most of them, and gentlemen, either in black formal attire or red army uniforms, could greet Shard quietly, as if not surprised at all by the presence of "Rejed's Hamilton" here.

"Miss Galina's carriage has already arrived outside the church, she should be in here soon."

Earl Deon, who worked at the Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even informed Shard of this, then said to Shard's female companion "Dorothy":

"Afternoon, madam."

But the blonde girl didn't look too well at the moment, and after the Earl walked away, she had an expression of things going awry on her face:

"Shard, will Galina want to sit next to me later?"

Beside Shard was the aisle, and Miss Galina, who was such a distinguished non-direct family relative, could sit in the first three rows, but could also sit elsewhere, allowing more casual seating on such occasions.

"I don't know."

Shard replied, but in his heart he was quite certain that the Grand Witch would most likely do so.

"Dorothy" pursed her lips, tilted her head onto Shard's shoulder and closed her eyes. But she almost immediately sat straight again, and when she reopened her eyes, the cat lounging lazily on Shard's lap meowed once more:

"Meow!"

"Good afternoon, Shard."

Despite having been with Shard all along, Dorothy still said this with a smile. She was in a good mood, certainly much better than Lecia:

"This is my first time being a bridesmaid, oh, Shard, you have no idea how many things I've done this noon. Even with the Maid's help, but being the chief bridesmaid is indeed hard work."

Despite the quiet complaints, the smile at the corner of Dorothy's mouth showed she was also infected by the atmosphere, blessing the soon-to-be-married couple. Dorothy looked around, showing interest in the church's interior decoration:

"This is my first time entering the Peace Church."

"Lecia doesn't want to sit next to Miss Galina; is she running away?"

Shard asked quietly, and Dorothy immediately shook her head:

"Of course not, how could she be afraid of Miss Galina? She's preparing to have someone else sit next to me in advance."

"Who would sit beside you? Oh, good afternoon, Marquis Dirac!"

Shard slightly raised his voice, greeting the elderly gentleman passing by nearby. The blonde girl blinked mischievously with a smile:

"Guess."

Before Shard and "Dorothy" walked in just now, the hall was already continuously playing Draleon's renowned wedding accompaniment tunes, "Midsummer Grass", "To My Beloved", and "Call of the Snowy Mountain Peak". The gentlemen of the band in formal attire were performing tirelessly on one side of the church. As time passed, more guests arrived, each taking their seats and engaging in hushed conversations.

This exhilarating yet solemn atmosphere also infected Shard, who greeted people and discussed with Dorothy the hall's decor style and the origin of the religious murals above.

As they were talking, some loud conversations sounded at the hall entrance, and Shard heard the word "Princess". Turning his head, he happened to meet eyes with Lecia:

"Hmm?"

Shard looked at Lecia at the entrance, then at Dorothy beside him, and this feeling was indeed very strange.

The Red-Haired Princess was presently dressed in a plain long gown. The gown was extremely simple in decoration, even the hem did not have lace trim. She didn't wear a corset but rather a golden ribbon as a belt. Her long hair fell simply behind, she wore two matching silver bracelets on her hands, and silver high heels on her feet.

This "plain" attire truly doesn't match the Princess's status—if Lecia were to walk barefoot on the grass now with a wreath on her head, she'd be indistinguishable from the "Sanctity maiden" depicted in operas and knight novels.

According to local wedding customs, the bridesmaid's attire and jewelry must be simple—though the price of this outfit and jewelry would take Shard a month to earn—the bridesmaid shouldn't overshadow the bride on the happiest day of her life but rather complement the bride, making her appear more beautiful, hence her choice of attire.

Lecia, as the bridesmaid, appeared early in the hall, clearly not to find Shard. Behind her followed Princess Margaret Anjou and her accompanying ladies-in-waiting, who obviously came to attend the wedding.

This princess from the Southern Nation wore a gradient blue dress today. The upper part was mostly white with a hint of blue, gradually becoming more conspicuously blue from the waist down, until it turned entirely blue at the hem.

Lecia's dress was not only plain but also very thin, suitable for summer but not for winter, whereas Princess Margaret's dress was not only complex in color but also comprised at least three layers. Her face had light makeup, and her elegant eyebrows were particularly striking between her pale blue eyes and the fair forehead partially covered by scattered hair.

When Lecia and Princess Margaret stood together, though the two princesses' beauty differed in style, Lecia was uncommonly a bit inconspicuous due to the contrast in their clothing.

People near the door had already noticed the appearance of the two princesses, rising to greet them, with some even using Casenric Language.

Princess Margaret had just arrived in Tobesk yesterday, probably invited at Yordle Palace yesterday, and the visiting group led by her also had social needs to contact the nobles, so no one was surprised by the appearance.

As Lecia led Princess Margaret and her entourage into the hall, people rose in rows to greet them. Of course, they did not stand entirely straight, but let their backsides leave the seats and bowed slightly. After all, it was a wedding; even though they wanted to exhibit their country's etiquette before the foreign princess, they had to maintain the dignity of the Cavendish Family.

This series of scenes made Shard increasingly excited; he enjoyed such peaceful and beautiful moments. But soon, Lecia brought the mildly smiling Princess Margaret to Shard's side.

Shard and Dorothy also stood up just like others, but did not expect Lecia to stop.

She introduced rather distantly as though she were a stranger to Shard:

"Miss Margaret, this is Hamilton Knight of Rejed's. You met yesterday at the station."

Shard vaguely understood what Lecia intended to do, and Lecia wore a cold expression, starkly different from the enthusiastic discussion of the 'Night of the Red Butterfly' they had in the carriage last Saturday afternoon.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness."

Yet he did not forget to courteously greet Princess Margaret Anjou, who nodded with a smile.

Then Lecia said:

"Margaret, how do you find the seat here?"

She pointed to the seat next to Dorothy, and Princess Margaret smiled, nodding:

"Very nice."

Lecia asked Dorothy:

"Madam, do you mind if Princess Margaret sits here?"

"Oh, of course, I don't mind. It's my honor. But isn't the princess sitting in the front three rows?"

Dorothy asked somewhat surprised, and, together with Shard, stood aside to let Princess Margaret and her accompanying lady-in-waiting sit down.

"Margaret thinks it would be better not to disturb today's newlyweds."

Lecia whispered, exchanging glances with Dorothy, whose intertwined souls could sense each other's joy.

"Madam, you truly are beautiful and match well with the knight."

As Princess Margaret settled into the seat, Lecia said with a smile to Dorothy standing beside. Just then, the orange cat in Shard's arms meowed, surprising Shard as he looked at Dorothy, who replied:

"Your Highness, thank you for the compliment. You also look as beautiful as today's most delicate flower."

Upon saying that, the squinting cat meowed again, and Shard heard Lecia laughing:

"Thank you."

These three sentences were all said by Lecia, yet such a 'boring' act made both ladies quite joyful at the moment. Normally, exchanging souls required consuming spiritual power and Spirit, but on this special 'Day of the Red Butterfly', such consumption was minimized... Shard learned this during that stormy night.

Today, Lecia was merely praising herself; on that night, she had exchanged souls with Dorothy more than ten times.

"Is this really the time to be thinking about such matters?"

'She' gently reminded, prompting Shard to immediately dispel his memories. Thus, Princess Margaret Anjou's seat was next to Dorothy, with Shard on the outer side, and then the aisle covered in red carpet.

After finding a seat for Princess Margaret, Lecia did not immediately leave, but waited for a moment. Shard initially wondered why she was still here when the badge on his chest became intensely hot.

Shard once more turned to look towards the entrance, where Miss Sylvia in a red ceremonial gown had remarkably appeared.

The young Grand Witch was also rather captivating today; she should have come as a companion of Princess Margaret, though it was unclear why she was a step late. Upon arriving, she found that the entire row of seats on her side of the aisle was already occupied, prompting Dorothy to want to stand up to offer this beautiful Casenric Lady a seat, but Miss Sylvia shook her head and sat on a seat across the aisle, separated by the red carpet from Shard.

The Witch discreetly nodded to Shard, who responded in turn. Subsequently, he felt the badge on his chest becoming even hotter.

As expected, Miss Galina, accompanied by Tifa, entered the hall. She immediately saw Lecia in her bridesmaid dress standing on the red carpet of the aisle and then noticed that all the seats beside Shard were occupied.

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