Following the procedure I'd heard repeated to death from my adjutant, Raoul, I approached my fiancée, the "White Cocoon" lady.
The altar in the Royal Palace's cathedral usually has a priest, but today, no one was there.
Instead, colorful light streamed in from the stained glass above, vividly coloring the White Cocoon lady's veil.
I subtly glanced towards the wall.
Several chairs were prepared there, where my parents, King and Queen of Tidros, and my elder brother, the Crown Prince, were seated.
Next to him was Lord Barrymore.
It was a month ago that the formal marriage proposal came from the King of Tania.
I was astonished, as I had fully expected it to be rejected.
From then on, it was a flurry of preparations.
To be honest, the lady on the other side had all her wedding preparations complete, so all that was left was for us to get ready.
But...
My brow furrowed, and my face twisted.
"Is this really alright with me?" I wondered.
As I pondered this, someone cleared their throat behind me.
Casually, I moved only my gaze while slowly walking on the red carpet, and my adjutant Raoul was glaring at me. He apparently wanted me to move faster and not look away.
He's a young man, almost thirty this year.
He's my milk-brother and serves as my adjutant in the Knights.
With his cool eyes, he's quite popular with women, but he always used to say, "I couldn't possibly consider getting married before the Commander."
Each time, I would tease him, "You'll be an old man if you wait for me."
But last night, when we were drinking together, he suddenly burst into tears, saying, "Now I can get married with a clear conscience." Remembering that made my lips twitch.
It seems Raoul wanted to get married after all.
I had to give a wry smile, thinking I had treated him badly.
"Your Highness isn't popular because you lack motivation, and your clothes and hair are unfashionable."
Raoul always said this with a frown, but for me, clothes are fine as long as they cover me, and my appearance is fine as long as it's clean.
Well, if I remained unwed, that would be fine too, I thought last summer when I held my nephew, the Crown Prince's son, in my arms.
"This child will do," I thought.
"I'll just pour all my love into him. I'll dedicate my fatherly instincts to this child."
But then, this marriage proposal suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Listen, absolutely no blunders!"
One day, three days before the engagement ceremony.
Pressure was put on me by the Crown Prince and my second elder brother, who had hurriedly returned from his in-laws' home.
"This is an unexpected find! It's great that the Crown Prince of Karaban is an idiot."
The Crown Prince and my second elder brother wore extremely evil smiles. It's truly baffling why women praise such dark-hearted men.
Ignoring my thoughts, the Crown Prince summoned a tailor, and my second brother instructed Raoul, "Just make him look handsome, no matter what. The raw material isn't bad."
The result.
I'm standing here now, dressed in a supreme military uniform, with a trendy new hairstyle, and my beard carefully shaved.
"What kind of girl is she? In the end, I haven't even seen what she looks like."
Well, it's a marriage decided by Mother, and Father has agreed, and above all, my brother, the Crown Prince, is enthusiastic, so I have no right to refuse, but I was curious enough to ask.
I knew nothing but her name, let alone her appearance.
"She's twenty. Her former fiancé, Crown Prince Arios, didn't like her appearance, and although she entered the Karaban Allied Kingdoms two years ago for wedding training, their distance apparently never closed. So, don't expect too much yourself."
The Crown Prince stated clearly.
Well, they probably don't expect much from my appearance either, so it's mutual.
"But you know. They say she has a dragon crest. Isn't that amazing?"
My second elder brother explained to me, slightly excited.
A Dragon Crest, huh.
I've heard of it.
The Kingdom of Tania is also known as the 'Land of Dragons.'
Dragons are deeply involved in its founding. The family is said to still get dragon scale tattoos on their bodies.
In other words, only members of the royal family have these scale tattoos on their bodies.
So, marrying someone with this tattoo or taking them in as a subordinate is an incredibly great honor.
However.
On the other hand, it's also true that some people secretly mock the act of tattooing as a "barbaric custom" or call the scale patterns "lizard people." This tendency is stronger in newer nations.
They lack knowledge of history and lack the tolerance to respect or understand other cultures.
I stopped right next to the White Cocoon lady.
Completely covered by her veil from head to toe, it was impossible to discern her appearance, but she was quite small.
Her head was roughly in the middle of my chest.
This means I'll have to bend quite a bit to kiss her.
My two brothers and Raoul told me to remove the veil and kiss the lady's forehead.
That "forehead kiss."
I never thought I'd be doing that to the "White Cocoon" lady from that time.
Suddenly, the White Cocoon lady stirred.
It seemed she had turned to face me.
Because the veil covered her like a cocoon, it was hard to tell which way was front or back.
I quickly glanced at the attendees.
Looking at the Crown Prince, he signaled with his chin for me to "do it."
Raoul, who was walking behind me, stood in a way that blocked my retreat.
Not that I was going to run, though.
Tap.
I heard a footstep, and looking behind the lady, a maid-like woman stepped forward.
Ah, so I just need to hand the veil to this woman.
Our eyes met, and the maid held out both palms upward, so my interpretation must be correct.
I grabbed the veil firmly, and with a forceful pull, I stripped it away.
Swish.
The delicate lace fabric fluttered in the air, lighter than a spider's silk.
When I saw the woman who appeared from beneath, I gasped in shock.
Silver hair, clearer than a spring.
Fine-grained skin, appearing like white porcelain under the colored light of the stained glass.
Well-defined features and a slender figure draped in a pure white dress.
...This...
This...
Wh-where in the world...?!
I stared, dumbfounded, at the girl before me.
What part of this was ugly?