Chapter 612: Aisle, Altar, and Bride (1)

Fifteen days passed since Ysnay declared war.

Despite my wait, though, she did not appear again.

Maybe it was because her preparations were not complete yet, or maybe it was because it was not the right time yet. It's impossible to know the real reason.

However, I'm not so naïve as to hope that she changed of opinion and decided to leave me alone.

Even if one hundred years pass without her making a move, I would have the certainty that she is still waiting for an opportunity.

Ysnay is like that. As the greatest plotter that I have ever known, I would not find it strange if her plans need of hundreds of years to be accomplished.

Well, I don't think it will take that long, though. Actually, I have the feeling that she will appear before me soon.

How soon? I'm not sure, but it should during the next few months.

For now, though, I can only wait and get ready to face whatever she throws at me.

Even now, I'm strengthening my preparations. Every time that I think about something that Ysnay could use against me, I move to create a countermeasure towards it.

It's a bit tiresome, but that is the least I can do if I want to face Ysnay.

Anyway, fifteen days have passed since the day Ysnay declared war and eighteen days since Alan's coup d'eta.

A pair of things happened during these days. The first was that Dina was declared the new Emperor. Although she has not been crowned officially yet, it has already been announced to the entire empire.

The second was that Alan proclaimed himself as the true emperor. He, supported by the Carmell Family and Riea Family, said that he was not going to accept Dina as the new emperor, and thus, he was going to create the Neo Arcadian Empire with the support of the Carmell and Riea Family, and face the fake emperor that is Dina.

Alan's declaration made the entire empire nervous. After all, it meant that he was prepared for a civil war.

However, neither Dina nor I were worried. In fact, the people in my group consider it a joke.

After all, Alan and the two families were already defeated once. What they are doing now is just their last struggle before their elimination.

Of course, I'm sure they will not give up so easily. Right now, they must be plotting some way to turn the tables and reverse their perilous situation. But it's just a futile struggle.

Right now, though, I don't want to think about that.

Because today is an important day.

And it's related to the third important thing that happened in the last fifteen days.

Actually, it has not happened yet, but it's going to happen today.

The new Emperor, Dina Quintin, is going to marry.

And the groom is the leader of the Red Skull Gang, Clark.

Of course, Clark's true identity is me, so the person that Dina is marrying is actually me.

Nice, right?

Right now, I'm in my room in the palace getting dressed for today's wedding.

Behind me, Daisy and Louise and tidying my clothes and making sure that everything is alright. Daisy is doing it with a smile, but Louise, on the other hand, has a complicated and slightly sullen expression.

"Jealous?" I asked with a smile.

Louise smiled wryly and nodded.

"A bit. After all, You are marrying Dina first than us… Goddess, I can't believe that I lost to your sister."

I rolled my eyes.

"This girl… You know that Dina can't marry me in my true identity, right? You, on the other hand, will marry me as Claus Quintin, nor like Clark. Consider this marriage as a compensation for her."

"Well, that is true…" Louise murmured softly, but her voice was still slightly sullen.

To think that she is really this jealous that I'm marrying Dina...

Seeing our interaction, Daisy covered her mouth with a hand and giggled softly.

"Miss Louise, you should be more understanding. Your highness can't marry all of us at the same time. It's unavoidable that some will be first and others will come afterward."

"I know, but it doesn't mean that I don't want to be the first one! What about you, Daisy? Are you not jealous that Claus is marrying Dina before of us?"

"Of course not. My mission in life is to serve His Highness. As long as he is happy, I'm happy."

"Really? Who was the one that was grumbling 'His highness has too many women... I wonder if he will have time for me' with a depressed face then?"

"Louise! You promised you would keep it a secret!"

"... Sorry, I think I forgot." Louise giggled.

I gave Daisy a warm gaze, making the embarrassed maid blush even more. The poor maid did not know what to do to hide her embarrassment.

Seeing that, I chuckled and shook my head.

"Come on, my beloved girls. We have an eternity to spend together. I will have more than enough time to pamper every one of you."

"Bah. Excuses of a womanizer." Louise rolled her eyes. However, her lips were curved up in a smile.

Just then, Daisy finished making sure that my clothes were perfect and nodded with a smile.

"It's done, Your Highness. Just in time. We should leave soon."

"Yes. The ceremony starts two hours later, and we need to be early."

As the girls said, the ceremony would start two hours later. However, we needed to go through a lot of formalities before that, so it was better if we arrived earlier.

We soon arrived at the place of the wedding, the main cathedral of the Church of Order in the capital. Plenty of the guests had already arrived at the church.

I shook hands and greeted every one of the people invited to the party. Most of them were nobles, with a few exceptions, and some of them were my acquittances.

Such as the three sisters of the Red Skull Gang, Marana, Akilah, and Raven; or Aunt Dayana and Aunt Sera, or little Lena, Claire, and Iris. I even saw my fiancée standing beside a clone of mine that was acting as my real body.

Some of my acquaintances knew the true identity of 'Clark', and others didn't. The ones that did, though, could not stop themselves from rolling their eyes when they looked at me.

Their expressions turned even funnier when I greeted my clone, Claus, and my clone threatened me with cutting off my head if I made Dina cry.

All in all, it was a nice play.

But soon, it was time for today's main event.

Thus, I walked through the aisle and headed to the altar, where the person in charge of the ceremony, Saintess Safelia, was waiting for me.

Weddings in this world did not have a best man, flower girl, or anything like that. Instead, the family of the groom and the bride sat at the sides of the altar while the groom waited for the bride to enter the church while being escorted by her father, but on this occasion, the one escorting Dina is my grandfather and the former emperor, Creig Quintin.

My clone, Lena, my aunts, Andrea, Lina, and the other members of my mother's family are seated on the side representing Dina's family. On the other hand, Marana, Akilah, and Raven are seated at my side, although they are not truly my family.

Well, they are my women, so in a certain sense, they are closer to me than family.

Just then, soft music started to sound through the church. It was the announcement of the bride's arrival, and thus, the start of the ceremony.

The door of the church was opened, and a beautiful black-haired girl in a white dress stepped inside the church while being escorted by a dignified old man.

When I saw the beautiful girl, my eyes opened wide with a stunned expression. She looked so beautiful that I could not help but take a deep breath.

She was Dina Quintin, the new ruler of this empire, and my beloved sister.

And from this day onwards, she was going to be my wife as well.