Chapter 126

Dressed in a white wedding gown and holding a daffodil bouquet that mirrored the spring weather itself, I was more nervous than I had ever been.

“Do you think… I’ll be okay?”

Seeing my anxious expression, she nodded with just as tense a face.

“Of course, Vivi. Do you think I’ll be okay?”

“Of course. We practiced this so many times…”

We exchanged silent screams, our eyes wide with nerves. My palms were damp with sweat. Outside, the ceremony was already underway. The grand sound of the pipe organ reached all the way to the bride’s waiting room.

“Ugh! Why did this trend even have to start and make life so difficult?”

At my groan, she nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. People don’t understand how much stress brides go through these days.”

Last year, one of the serialized novels in the Poster Gazette had become an explosive hit. That would’ve been fine on its own—except the ending of the novel was… unusual.

It concluded at the heroine’s wedding. As the ceremony ended, she threw her bouquet over her shoulder, and it was caught by her longtime friend and side character.

That friend became the protagonist of the sequel, which became even more popular than the original.

Riding the wave of the novel’s fame, everyone suddenly started throwing bouquets at weddings, and it had now evolved into a full-fledged cultural phenomenon. Which was how Princess Florin and I found ourselves doing unexpected bouquet toss—no, bouquet catch—drills.

Our wedding venue was the same grand cathedral where my brother had been married just a month prior—a gesture of respect toward the traditions of the Kingdom of Gellang, which valued elder siblings marrying first. That delayed our wedding a bit, but I hadn’t minded.

After everything, the wedding itself felt more symbolic than anything else. Our engagement had been as grand as any wedding, I had been the subject of a historic trial, and the trial’s evidence had even been published as a book. If I didn’t marry Armin after all that, that would have been the real headline-maker.

I’d expected to simply enjoy the ceremony, basking in the love and blessings of those dear to me. But because of this whole bouquet fiasco, neither I nor Princess Florin—whose marriage had already been foretold by divine prophecy—had been able to sleep for days.

I muttered my frustration.

“I mean, come on. As if there’s some curse tied to weddings. Saying the bride’s future will be doomed if no one catches the bouquet? That’s just too cruel.”

At that, Princess Florin exploded as well.

“Exactly! I was so worried you wouldn’t catch my bouquet, Vivi. You have no idea!”

A month ago, I had caught Princess Florin’s bouquet. Today, she would catch mine. Since her wedding in Gellang was still to come, the plan was perfectly feasible—but that didn’t mean it would be easy.

“Why are men getting involved now, though?!”

The fictional idea that the bouquet held the bride’s luck had driven the toss into a frenzy, to the point where even men had started to join the scramble. It hadn’t been this bad at Florin’s wedding.

Saint of Mendelia. The first woman to be awarded a knighthood. A daughter of a Viscount who had risen to the rank of Duchess. Beloved by both the royal family and House Grey. A woman of irresistible charm.

With such extravagant titles trailing behind me, today’s wedding was packed to bursting.

Each time I looked at the bouquet, my heart grew heavier. This was supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, but the pressure made me feel more like a shot put athlete than a bride.

I was sighing deeply when someone knocked on the bride’s waiting room door. It creaked open, and in came Michelle.

“Miss!”

“Michelle, I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Sorry, it still slips out of my mouth on instinct.”

Michelle, wearing a dress instead of her usual maid uniform, still hadn’t quite adjusted—she continued to call me “Miss” out of habit.

But Michelle was no longer my personal maid. In just a month, she would become the wife of a small merchant guild leader. It was no longer appropriate for her to serve me in such a role.

Just like the title she couldn’t let go of, Michelle instinctively reached out to adjust my outfit the moment she entered. With a few practiced touches, she straightened my bolero and fixed the ornament in my hair. As she did, my nerves began to settle.

“André?”

“He’s outside. There were so many people the carriage couldn’t even move.”

“I figured. This whole thing really is a circus.”

Michelle chatted lightly, helping me relax with small talk, and soon stepped out of the room. A place swarming with nobles must’ve felt unbearably uncomfortable for her. The fact that she came all this way just for me made my heart swell with emotion.

“I wish Michelle could’ve stood as a bridesmaid too,” said Princess Florin, voicing exactly what I was feeling. I had actually asked her already. Now that she was no longer a maid, I wondered if she could stand by me as a friend.

But Michelle had firmly declined, saying that as a commoner, she couldn’t take part in something like that. I didn’t want to burden her further.

“It’s understandable. I can imagine how overwhelming this would feel from her perspective.”

“But still, as the wife of a baronet—even an honorary one—she deserves to be a little more confident.”

Florin’s cheeks puffed slightly with indignation. On the night of the divine prophecy, she had run away from the palace—and it was André who had helped her. In recognition of that, André had been granted the title of honorary baronet by the royal family of Gellang. It was a title in name only, with no land or estate, but once they married, Michelle would become a baronet’s wife.

“It’s alright. Just the fact that she is here means a lot.”

I knew it had taken great courage for Michelle to attend. At the time of my engagement, she had still been a maid—it must’ve been uncomfortable to come back as a guest. But I felt nothing but gratitude toward her.

“If only Michelle could be the one to catch the bouquet…”

“Truly.”

It was the ideal outcome both of us wanted most. But picturing Michelle among a crowd of noblewomen, fighting to catch a bouquet, was hard to imagine.

From outside, a choir began to sing acapella. That meant Armin had finished his entrance. My shoulders tensed, and Princess Florin gently patted them.

The climax of the wedding was almost here.

“Princess Florin… do you think I can throw it well?”

“Of course, Vivi. We practiced a lot. You’ll do great.”

Her voice wavered slightly, but she nodded firmly, full of resolve.

* * *

The wedding proceeded smoothly. Since it was held in the same cathedral where my brother and Princess Florin had been married, the order of events and even the setting felt familiar.

But the sight of Armin waiting for me at the end of the aisle never felt familiar, no matter how many times I looked. He always dressed well, of course—but in a white ceremonial suit he would never normally wear, he looked several times more dashing than usual.

Apparently, he felt the same. As I approached under my veil, bouquet in hand, he whispered softly as he came to escort me.

“You’re breathtaking today, my wife.”

My cheeks flared with heat. I could feel the hint of a smile in his voice—his way of easing my nerves with gentle teasing.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“About what? And stop talking to me,” I whispered back, hiding behind my veil and bouquet.

“The bouquet. If all else fails, Lewin and Abyss promised they’d catch it.”

“Lewin and Abyss aren’t even thinking about marriage yet.”

“Still better than a complete stranger catching it, don’t you think?”

He wasn’t wrong. The fact that he and my brother had held a little ‘strategy meeting’ of their own to ease my bouquet anxiety brought me a strange sense of comfort.

Arm in arm with Armin, I half-listened to the officiant’s long, somewhat monotonous speech. It was probably meant to be a blessing, but the low murmur of the audience made it hard to catch the details.

As the seemingly endless sermon began to wrap up, Armin tightened his grip around my arm—reminding me to focus. This, after all, was the most important moment of the ceremony.

“Do you promise, before God, to love each other through all things, until death do you part?”

“I do.”

Armin answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“I do.”

I followed resolutely after.

No sooner had the officiant declared our marriage official than applause erupted all around us. At last—it was time for the event everyone had been waiting for.

To the sound of a triumphant pipe organ, Armin and I walked together down the aisle. I spotted Michelle near the back, clapping enthusiastically. She hadn’t even taken a seat—too shy to do so, perhaps—but her joy was unmistakable. I beamed at her in gratitude.

At the aisle’s end, Armin and I shared a gentle kiss. The ceremony is truly over now.

In the novel that started this whole trend, the female protagonist threw her bouquet immediately after that kiss. Following that model, Princess Florin should have been positioned roughly thirty degrees to my right.

There was an unspoken rule: the bride must throw her bouquet without looking back. I could only hope that Florin—or Lewin or Abyss—was standing right where she was supposed to be.

I closed my eyes and tossed the bouquet.

There was a surprised murmur from the crowd, followed by puzzled voices.

“Who is that?”

“No idea. I’ve never seen him before.”

Florin was well-known. So were Lewin and Abyss. Their confusion could only mean none of them had caught it.

Startled, I turned around—and there he was, holding my bouquet.

“André!”

It was André who had caught it.

Looking back, I saw Princess Florin had been shoved all the way to the edge of the crowd during the scramble. She was anxiously searching, clearly unaware who’d caught it.

Michelle’s face went pale the moment she realized it was André. Florin, on the other hand, now hoisted up by Sasha, finally spotted him and began clapping with joy and relief.

I turned to Armin and smiled. I didn’t have to say a word—he already knew why I felt so incredibly happy.

It was more joyful, more delightful, more perfect than I had ever imagined. A wedding that couldn’t have ended any better.