22 The Wedding (2)

'' I am getting married.'' Annalise looked at her beautiful face in the mirror. She cupped her cheeks as if she could not believe that the wedding taking place in the duchy was hers, a commoner.

''Yes, Miss. You and the duke are getting married. '' Her personal maid stood behind her and clipped on the necklace before dropping her hands.

She then gushed out with excitement, ''My lady is the most beautiful bride in the world. I can see why the duke can never let his eyes off you. You are much more beautiful than the duchess.''

''Olivia, don't say that,'' Annalise warned her maid as she continued admiring herself in the mirror.

''But..'' Olivia wanted to talk, but the seriousness in Annalise's eyes made her cease her words.

''Yes, Miss.'' She bowed her head.

''It's okay, Olivia. I just want you to be careful as we will be living with the duchess from today. I don't want to put you in any trouble,'' Annalise sighed with a smile.

''Yes Miss,'' Olivia said obediently, but her thoughts were different from her outward self.

Olivia truly felt that her miss and the duke were a match made in heaven. Someone like the duchess was obstructing their love to blossom, and she hated it.

'Don't worry, miss. If that woman tries anything, I am sure the duke would divorce her immediately, and you can be the one and only true duchess,' Olivia swore in her heart.

*Knock*

*Knock*

''That must be his grace,'' Olivia announced and went to open the door.

Indeed, it was Dante. He entered with a radiant smile on his lips and Olivia respectfully left the room with a small smile on her face.

''Annalise,'' Dante called out as he held out his hand to the woman sitting in front of a dressing mirror.

Annalise stood up with his help and closed the gap between them with a smile.

Once she got closer, Dante put his hand on her belly and asked, ''Are you and the baby are okay?''

''Yes, we are okay,'' Annalise nodded. Her golden brows then came together, creating dents on her forehead. She looked worried and nervous about something.

''But the dress..is it okay to wear something like this?''

At her words, Dante's gaze went down to the cream dress on Annalise's body.

Her wedding dress was not white but cream, as she was not a pure woman before getting married. In the matter of marriage in the empire, a woman must be pure and the white dress she wears on that day signifies her purity, also known as her virginity.

There are also cases of a woman being pregnant before getting married, like Annalise. They can never put on a white wedding dress, as they are not virgins anymore. Even if the woman is not showing her bump yet, she can not put on a white wedding dress. People in the Asterian empire believe in retribution from the heavens, as there was a case of a noble lady hiding the truth about her purity.

There was no child in her marriage, and it was later revealed that she was not a virgin when she got married, yet she dared to put on a white wedding dress.

After then, no woman dared to deceive anyone, especially their spouses. The accustomed color for impure maidens was cream, and they are not allowed to wear veils.

''It's okay. Besides, it is a good thing, as no noble would try to find trouble with you during my absence,'' Dante assured her.

'She wore white on the day of our wedding.' For a second, his mind went to his wife on their wedding day. After a momentary pause, he inwardly berated himself for thinking about another woman on a special day with Annalise.

''Ah...the garden. I heard it belongs to the duchess. I hope she would not be angry that you use it for our wedding, Dante,'' Annalise said, worriedly to Dante.

''No, she would not, and the garden belongs to the hayes duchy. If you like it, you can be spending your time there.''

''Really?'' Annalise's face brightened up at his words. She heard about the beautiful garden from Olivia. She also loved flowers and had been curious about the garden since she entered the duchy.

''Of course. You are my wife from today, Annalise. Anything of mine is yours, my love.'' Dante's gaze softened at her cute expression and lowered his head to peck her forehead.

Just in time, someone knocked on the door, and he told her with a smile, ''It is time for our wedding, my beautiful-to-be wife.''

—--

The nobility's words about the whole fiasco were;

''Why is the duke marrying a commoner?''

''The hayes duchy's reputation is at stake, yet he does that blasphemy.''

''He will have two wives now.''

''The future for the inheritance might be dangerous is the duchy.''

''I heard the mistress is already pregnant.''

''Oh my! Then the duchess?''

''No news yet.''

The beautiful garden that Isla poured her heart and soul into had different nobles seated on each side of the path and waiting for the couple of the day.

The nobility obviously could not accept that the only duke in the empire dared to accept a commoner as his second wife. That same woman was also rumored to be pregnant, and he still went ahead to marry her into the hayes duchy regardless of the duchess.

Does he not fear the grand duke? They wondered as both parties were strong in their opinions, but the grand duke had a whole territory to himself, which made him a tough opponent for the duke.

Who was the duke? Who was the grand duke?

The grand duke is actually known as the Southern Elrod Grand duke. In the Asterian empire, there are four territories, namely the north, south, east, and west. The capital resided amid the four territories.

The South was the most powerful thanks to the Elrod Grand duke as their leader. A man who participated in the historical wars with other empires from the age of thirteen. After the longest war during the emperor's grandfather's reign, he came back to the empire as a war hero.

Then he later fell in love with the daughter of a countryside noble who was the late grand duchess, and they had a daughter who was now the duchess of hayes duchy.

Meanwhile, the hayes duchy was famous for the nickname, 'the overseer of the future.' History talked about the hayes duchy for always being on the future emperor's side. Even if their decision made no sense to people, the prince that they support would become the emperor. Just like the current emperor, who would have expected that the abandoned son of the first empress would become the emperor? It was known that the previous emperor and the second empress never liked him, yet he became the victor.

And the hayes duchy, who never supported the late second prince, supported him, and now their influence in the capital is second to the emperor's.

The two families were not to be taken lightly. The mistress had the duke in the palm of her hand and the duchess had the grand duke as her father and her backing even though there are rumors about her being an unfavoured daughter.

There are also rumors about the grand duke coming to the capital after the empress's tea party months ago. Either way, the duchess still had the grand duke.

Some nobles came to the wedding while some did not, as they feared the grand duke more than the duke.

''The groom and the bride are entering.'' A shout came from the rear, and all nobles turned to their backs to see the duke holding a beautiful lady by his side.

''Oh my!''

''How beautiful..''

Low exclamations came from each side as they heard rumors about the mistress's extraordinary beauty for a commoner. She indeed rivaled the duchess' hayes. But another thing that immediately took their attention, and that was the color of her wedding dress and the lack of a veil, meaning one thing.

The mistress was definitely pregnant, and her posture and the visible baby bump told them as much.

''It seems the future of the hayes duchy won't be peaceful,'' A noblewoman whispered with the fan hovering over her lips, and the surrounding nobles inwardly agreed to her words.

The mistress or the duchess, who would be the victor?

Only time and the future could tell.

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