(3) Chapter 22: The Ceremony!

Chapter 22: The Ceremony!

The hall in the palace was decorated with beautiful flowers across the walls. Chairs were placed for the guests to sit down.

There were only a limited number of guests, including the top noble heads of the Vechnos Kingdom and Hillary's family.

There was a statue of the God of Knowledge, whom the Vechnos family worshipped, present. It was a statue of an old man with an open book in his hands.

Priests were also present, waiting for the bride and groom. Henry and Carl were sitting in the center. The chair for them was different from others.

Two small chairs, but bigger than other chairs, were placed near Henry and Carl for the mother of the groom and bride.

The guests were talking with each other when suddenly the entire hall turned silent, and they turned around. Ryan was slowly entering the hall in the traditional dress of the Vechnos.

He was wearing a slightly orange coat with golden borders. On the arm, the insignia of the Vechnos family, a golden lion, was embroidered on both sides. Below the coat, he was wearing slightly yellow pants. He was barefooted as the marriage was in the presence of the God of Knowledge, and wearing shoes wasn't allowed.

Ryan bowed and greeted Henry and Carl when he passed them. Carl raised his eyes in surprise and turned to look at Henry.

Henry understood why Carl was looking at him, so he nodded, further increasing the astonishment. At the same time, Carl also felt a wave of joy since Ryan was marrying his daughter, and she would be the next queen.

Ryan's strength was not a bad thing for him. In fact, it couldn't come at a better time, as the Kingdoms were going through tumultuous times, especially after the Turing Empire announced their intentions of attacking the Geratin Empire.

The priest greeted Ryan once he reached them; Ryan nodded and greeted him back. He then looked at the statue of the God of Knowledge.

Ryan used to be a student in the academy where the priests for the God of Knowledge worked, so he had come into contact with the Knowledge Temple at a young age. Ryan had no idea whether the Gods existed or not, but he believed in them, so he bowed toward the statue with a respectful face.

Carl didn't like the fact that the marriage was happening in the presence of the God of Knowledge since he and his family were believers in the God of Nature. But since Hillary was going to marry into the Vechnos family, the Vechnos' beliefs took the lead.

After bowing, Ryan turned around and waited for his bride to enter the hall with a calm face.

Ryan didn't have to wait long as Hillary slowly entered the hall. She had worn the traditional dress of the Great Eagle Kingdom.

She was wearing a red blouse with beautiful golden embroidery. Her long skirt was also red with even more intricate embroidery. Her head was covered by a red scarf. As she walked, the sound of the anklets rang in the hall.

Everyone's breath was taken away by how beautiful Hillary looked. She wasn't looking ahead, but down as she walked forward.

When she reached the first row where her and Ryan's parents were sitting, she respectfully bowed.

She then stepped forward and reached the statue. The priest similarly greeted her. She greeted him back and then bowed toward the statue.

Hillary then finally met Ryan's eyes, and her cheeks immediately reddened.

Since both the bride and groom had appeared, the priest decided to start the rituals.

"Prince Ryan, Princess please step onto the altar and hold your hands together," The priest requested.

The altar was spherical, and it was right below the statue. Ryan and Hillary stepped into the altar and held hands.

Hillary's hands were extremely soft, while Ryan's hands were rough with all the scabs from the sword training and battle.

Hillary noticed that Ryan had gotten bigger than the last time they met, but since the moment was life-changing, she didn't focus much on that.

After holding hands, they stood in front of each other. His left hand held Hillary's right hand, and his right hand held her left hand.

"Repeat after me!" The priest called out.

Ryan and Hillary followed the order and repeated the sentence after the priest.

"I promise to secure her from all troubles,"

"I promise to secure him from all troubles,"

"I promise to shield her from the tragedies and keep her forward in moments of joy…"

Ryan and Hillary took their vows. There wasn't any difference in the vow between the two parties since both males and females were Knights. If there were male Kingdoms, there were female Kingdoms as well. And also, in front of the God of Knowledge, everyone was equal.

"Do you, Prince Ryan, agree to take Princess Hillary as your wife?" The priest asked after the vow was complete.

"Yes," Ryan responded.

"Do you, Princess Hillary, agree to take Prince Ryan as your husband?" The priest asked Hillary.

"Yes," Hillary answered. Her voice was low, but loud enough for the priest to hear.

The priest nodded and then began to chant the mantras kneeling in front of the statue.

Ryan and Hillary silently stood there, looking at each other. Ryan had a smile on his face while Hillary was shy, but there was no love in both of their eyes.

Both of them understood that marriage was more of a necessity than a willingness. Hillary was slightly more comfortable than Ryan since she had Ryan's promise. Love was something that would slowly blossom between the two.

Ryan's primary motive for marrying Hillary was the alliance with the Great Eagle Kingdom. He believed the same about love that it would slowly happen between the two.

After the chanting was complete, the priest stood up, went to the statue, and picked up the knife placed at its feet.

He then told Ryan and Hillary to leave their hands and added, "Cut your fingers simultaneously." He put the knife between the two. Ryan and Hillary's fingers were touching the two sides of the knife.

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