Epilogue 3
"If someone pulls that lace any tighter, I will have to faint before even reaching the altar-"
Esmeralda gasped for air, her hands gripping the edges of the dressing table as three maids simultaneously tugged, pinned, and panicked around her.
For a woman who had calmly orchestrated the downfall of a fake female lead, faked her own terminal illness, and outmaneuvered the High Court of Justice without batting an eye, Lady Esmeralda Schuan was currently on the verge of a full-blown nervous collapse.
"Hold still, my lady!" the head seamstress pleaded, her mouth full of silver pins. "The imperial mantle requires forty-two anchor stitches or this will drag down the entire Basilica aisle!"
"Where is the sapphire comb?" Duchess Schuan fretted from the doorway, rustling through velvet boxes with manic energy. "The one blessed by the Pope! Marcus, did you move it? Marcus!"
Marcus leaned against the open doorframe, leisurely tossing an apple in the air with infuriating calm. "I haven't touched your holy hair accessories, Your Grace. Though if Esme keeps breathing like a cornered badger, the tiara is going to rattle right off her head anyway."
"Marc, I swear to the Goddess, I will have you stationed at the northern border before sunset," Esmeralda hissed, though the threat was severely undermined by her veil catching on a candelabra.
"You can't," Marcus smirked, taking a bite of his apple.
"You're about to become Empress. You have to be merciful and dignified. Speaking of which, your groom has paced a trench into the marble of the cathedral foyer.
Aziel had to physically confiscate his sword because he thought about cutting through the ceremonial procession just to check if you'd run away."
"He did what?" Esmeralda's eyes widened in sheer horror.
"It's not too late to call it off," Duke Schuan announced, appearing suddenly behind Marcus.
The Duke was fully dressed in grand ceremonial armor, looking remarkably like a man preparing for a bloody siege rather than his daughter's nuptials.
"I have two carriages waiting at the rear gardens. We can be in the southern province by nightfall. The boy can find another empress."
"Father, please stop encouraging kidnapping at my wedding," Esmeralda cried out, clutching her temples. "I wanted this, or I think I do, anyway, I just need everyone in this room to stop moving for five seconds!"
An attendant burst through the side chamber, breathless. "The imperial bells are ringing! The procession has begun!"
Total chaos erupted. The maids made one last frantic sweep, the Duchess finally found the sapphire comb and jammed it into Esmeralda's updo, and the Duke grumbled dark promises of imperial regicide under his breath as he offered his arm to his daughter.
"Take a breath, niece," Marcus murmured fondly, reaching out to gently adjust the delicate lace at her shoulder before stepping aside. "You survived fainting four times. You can survive walking down a carpet."
Esmeralda drew in a sharp, shaking breath. "If I trip on this dress, kill me before I hit the floor."
"Consider it done."
When the towering double doors of the Basilica swung open, the cathedral dissolved into a blinding sea of white lilies, gold light, and hundreds of rising nobles. The imperial choir's voices soared to the vaulted ceiling, majestic and deafening.
Esmeralda's heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her fingers tightened around her father's arm, her vision swimming slightly with the overwhelming magnitude of the crowd.
Then, she looked to the end of the aisle.
Rael stood at the foot of the altar beneath the grand stained glass.
The ceremonial white-and-gold regalia of the sovereign suited his broad shoulders, but his posture was completely devoid of imperial detachment.
The moment his gaze locked onto hers, every ounce of royal composure shattered from his face.
His breath visibly hitched, his ruby eyes widening with an intensity so raw and utterly defenseless that the entire crowded cathedral seemed to evaporate.
The panic in Esmeralda's chest instantly unraveled, replaced by a blooming warmth.
When her father finally placed her trembling hand into Rael's, the Duke leaned in with a low, menacing whisper: "A single tear, Your Highness, and the Schuan army marches on the palace."
"You have my word, Father," Rael replied smoothly, not taking his eyes off Esmeralda for a fraction of a second.
The Duke's eyebrow twitched at the title, but he stepped back to join his weeping wife.
Rael immediately closed his fingers around hers, his grip warm, steady, and grounding. Leaning in just close enough that his breath brushed her ear beneath the veil, he whispered, "You're late. I almost started a coup."
Esmeralda let out a quiet, breathless laugh, her emerald eyes shining with fond amusement. "My father tried to smuggle me out the back window."
"Good thing I brought extra knights," Rael murmured, his lips curving into that brilliant, devastating smile that belonged only to her. "You look... impossibly breathtaking, Esme."
"You're not so bad yourself, Your Highness," she whispered back, the blush rising high on her cheeks.
The Pope stepped forward between them, the golden embroidery of his vestments catching the jewel-toned sunlight filtering through the vaulted stained glass.
An altar boy hurriedly presented the ancient liturgical parchment containing the sacred imperial oaths, but Rael did not spare the centuries-old text a single glance.
He held both of Esmeralda's hands in his, his fingers warm and steady, his gaze locked onto her veiled silhouette as if the hundreds of watching nobles in the Basilica had ceased to exist.
"We have gathered here today to celebrate the union of His Highness, Crown Prince Rael Sullivan and Lady Esmeralda Schuan of the Schuan Duchy, " the Pope prompted gently, "now, please say your vows."
"Esme," Rael said, his voice carrying effortlessly across the silent cathedral. His eyes softened with shameless devotion that made Esmeralda's pulse skip wildly.
"I spent my entire youth being taught how to command an Empire," Rael murmured, loud enough only for her and the heavens to hear.
"Yet I was a fool who couldn't even recognize the true light standing right beside me. Esme... I once told you I would climb to wherever you were, that I would chase you until you were ready. Today, I vow not just to follow, but to stand as your shield, your equal, and your most devoted subject."
A faint smile curved his lips, his voice dropping into a husky tone that sent heat straight to Esmeralda's cheeks.
"The Empire may demand my duty, but my heart, my soul, and every breath I have left will only ever belong to you. If loving you is madness, then I pray I never regain my sanity."
Beneath the sheer silk of her veil, Esmeralda bit her lower lip, fighting back the overwhelming prickle of tears behind her emerald eyes. She tightened her grip on his hands, her voice trembling just enough to reveal the girl beneath the poised villainess.
"You speak as though you have given me a choice, Your Highness," she whispered, her eyes shining with quiet, fierce affection. "When I woke up just months ago, the Goddess had given me memories of a life I once had."
A collective murmur flooded the cathedral.
"At first, the one only thing I wanted was to embrace my family's wealth and to break off my engagement to avoid a future I didn't want." Esmeralda chuckled a bit.
Duke and Duchess Schuan smiled as they both held hands.
"I remember Your Highness being so skeptical about my sudden transformation, unable to believe in my drastic change of feelings. We argued quite often in those days."
Rael held her hand tight, slightly embarrassed about his previous manners.
"But then, the more we argued, the more I felt that my feelings had never actually left. It was always you who this heart beats for, Your Highness. I had to deny it at first, but your persistence only made me waver to your presence."
Esmeralda smiled, her eyes glistening from behind her veil.
Rael couldn't help his heart hammering through his chest as he looked at those emerald gems beneath the think cloth.
"I love you, Rael. Ever since I met you, I have always loved you." Esmeralda confessed wholeheartedly.
"And so I vow to hold your hand through every storm, to temper your every foolishness, and to love you until the end of our days. But you had better keep running... because I have no intention of letting you fall behind."
Rael let out an ecstatic laugh, his chest heaving with sheer relief.
The Pope cleared his throat, raising the holy scepter to bless their vows, but Rael barely waited for the blessing to conclude.
When the time came to seal the covenant, he swept the heavy veil back with trembling hands, cupping her face and drawing her into a deep, desperate kiss before the entire court.
The cathedral erupted into deafening cheers, Marcus whistled loudly from the front row, the Emperor and Empress on the side both relieved and happy as they held each others hands and stared affectionately at their son, and Duke Schuan buried his face in his hands in defeat.
Against Rael's lips, surrounded by the beautiful and glorious chaos of the Empire they had saved, Esmeralda finally smiled, knowing without a doubt that she was home.