Thats great. Its all thanks to Roy.

What would I have done? Its all because of the grace of God.

He answered with a sign that looked quite priestly. Although he was young, he looked so young that he felt more like a student than a priest, but the graceful gesture of carefully painting the sign made him look different.

Roy advised Sienna to drink his own dried petal tea.

It smells good.

A purple petal in the cup came up to the surface. Sienna clutched a rough brown teacup with her hands. Mild warmth passed through the palms.

For a while, there was no word between the two. Roy shook his mouth several times to find out what he wanted to say, but soon closed his mouth with a resigned face.

There

There

They spoke at the same time, no matter who was first. Sienna winked at Roy to tell him to go ahead first.

Well, yesterday I heard proclamations all over the street. It was a proclamation marking the wedding of the First Prince of Laifsden to someone, and she had the same name as Sienna. So, is it possible that

He rolled his eyes back and forth as if it was hard for him to ask her. So she said first.

Thats me.

Her answer made him look surprised.

I see.

Thats how it turned out.

Silence settled between them again.

Im a little surprised. Lady Sienna is going to become the queen of the Empire its amazing. Oh, can I attend the wedding?

Are you coming on behalf of the Divine Empire?

Yes, Lady Sienna is a believer in the Goddess of the Earth. Ill represent the parish. Im going to wear a very fancy attire and give you a wonderful blessing.

The wedding was a surprise, so there were no outside envoys. It would be a great help for Sienna to come on behalf of the Holy Empire. She seemed willing to smile and enter the wedding hall if Roy, whom she knew, stood by her, even if she didnt want anyone to marry.

Thank you.

May the blessing of the Goddess come to you in every step.

He gently brought his lips to her forehead and offered words of blessing. She closed her eyes. A soft, warm energy hovered.

Its the Goddesss blessing. Im going to keep you out of the bottle for a while.

At least youre not worried about catching a cold?

Roy nodded his head.

Thats good. I feel energized for some reason.

Oh, after the wedding, I wont be able to see Lady Sienna again, will I? Siennas wedding is something to celebrate, but frankly, I cant help feeling sorry for you.

He said, sighing with a gloomy face.

I can call on you, Roy.

But how could you possibly

Roy, have you forgotten? Im a believer in the Holy Empire. You can come here to bless me or on behalf of the Holy Empire.

May I?

He spoke with his eyes fixed on the teacup.

It must be a weird feeling. Its not that we can meet and chat comfortably, but that I can only meet Sienna only when I represent the Holy Empire.

Yes, now we have to meet not just Sienna and Roy, but as envoys of the goddess of the earth and the Holy Empire. Thats not good enough to say.

They nodded with a sad face.

And yet

Roy spoke with much difficulty.

Are we still friends after Miss Siennas wedding?

Sienna nodded with a bright smile at his words.

Yes, Roy is my only friend.

Thats enough.

Roy nodded with a bright smile.

I said Id come back and

Carl didnt come even the night before the wedding. Sienna sat by the window and looked down at the garden. Not long ago, the tree, where flowers hung coveted, was shattering all the petals and filling the branches with dark green leaves.

knock, knock

Yes.

Its me, Jamie. Can I come in?

Yes. Come in.

Jamie came in through the narrow door, with his head drooping because of his large size. He had a soup in his hand that was steaming.

I dont think I can eat dinner properly.

She thought she wouldnt mind it because she had already experienced it once, but as the wedding day approached, she felt stuffy and lost her appetite. Finally, she skipped dinner because she couldnt eat anything at all tonight.

Jamie put the soup on the table.

Thank you, brother.

There was a savory smell. It was an onion soup that boiled with vegetable stock on a sweetly fried onion.

Originally, it used chicken broth but did not eat meat such as pork, beef or chicken. Instead of chicken, the soup was loaded with mushrooms, adding flavor. The side was full of butter and the baked bread showed off a pleasing color.

Sienna spooned the soup and stuck it in her mouth. She felt as if the comfort reaching her stomach, which had the feeling of being twisted and uncomfortable.

I dont want you to get married. Of course, its not something that can be reversed now.

He said in a somber voice, Im sorry I couldnt stop this marriage on my own.

Jimmy, this marriage is not about being pushed around. Its my choice. It was the wedding I wanted to do.

You

I know what youre worried about. I know how cold the imperial family is, how full of people laughing and carrying knives in their hearts, and I know my husband wont welcome me because its a loveless marriage.

Youre saying you want to do it even though you know that?

Yes. But Ill be able to do well. Even if its a cage full of predators who want to bite my throat, I can do well. Im the daughter of the North. You dont think Im going to be able to survive among the royal people when I have grown up in the cold north wind with our backs on the black forest?

Youve grown up. She was like a child, but she grew up in a few months.

So, youre sad?

When asked about Siennas joke, Jamie answered with sincerity,

Yes. Its a great pity.

She smiled softly, knowing well that his words of regret were sincere.

Sienna, do you remember our mother?

Her mother, Sarah Jaint, died of an illness when Sienna was only four years old.

No, not at all.

She was such a beautiful woman. She loved you when she gave birth to you. A bright little girl was born in Heidel, which is full of men. When you were whining, she held you in her arms and sang you a song.

What song was it?

I cant sing, so I wish I could tell you. Our mother said Heidel was a folk song that came down from the old days.

Sing it to me.

Sienna whined to Jamie to sing it for me even though he kept persisting he was tone-deaf. Jamie opened his mouth pretending he couldnt win her.

The white snow falling in the deep forest

If you try to touch it, it disappears from your fingertips.

Like you can never catch

Jamie sang a line from the folk song with a trembling voice and felt embarrassed as his ears were red.

It was so beautiful when our mother sang it, but as I suspected, it doesnt quite work out well with me.

Its good to hear you sing with your voice.

A soft smile spread around Jamies mouth at Siennas praise.

I wish our mother were alive.

Yeah.

Our mother loved the job of dressing you in pretty clothes and tying your hair. She would have loved it if she saw you wearing your dress at your wedding. Im sure she wanted to do your own dress, too.

Yes. Im sure she did. I wish our mother were alive. But Im sure shell be watching from the sky.

Only

I hope so.

Jamie wanted to talk a lot, but she sat face to face and didnt speak. If Sienna were to get married, it would be hard to meet her after the wedding.

Now that I think back about it, brother and I were really glued together. No, would it be correct to say that my brother dragged me around? You dragged me around even during your knight training. To believe you even took me around with you when you were on patrol and got scolded by our father.

Yes, I dragged you around even when you said you didnt want to. You didnt want to take one step out of the castle because you hated the cold.

Why did you take me around with you so much?

Jamie said, scratching his nose,

Our mother loved you very much. So she would take you out with her wherever she went.

What? So, you did that out of jealousy?