Ollentia looked at Dimidius with a momentarily surprised expression. She wondered if she was going mad, feeling this way. She had rejected the contract marriage because she didn’t want to experience such emotions, yet she felt like she had created her own hell.

Dimidius swallowed a sigh inwardly.

“Did I look pretty? Really?”

Ollentia continued to mull over Dimidius’s words. However, his response didn’t make her feel any better. It wasn’t as if she received compliments about her appearance every day.

As she became conscious of Dimidius, she found herself in front of the altar without realizing it. She could feel the gaze of numerous guests, so she straightened her back even more. The buzz in the room didn’t seem to die down even as time passed. The appearance of someone other than Viscount Lucsus had surprised everyone.

“Oh my! What’s going on? Wasn’t it Viscount Lucsus?”

“I heard it was Viscount Lucsus. Why did Duke Dimidius suddenly…?”

“It’s just impossible to adapt when His Grace the Duke is present in the cathedral.”

“But the fact that Lord and Lady Armeniaca are here and fine attending the wedding suggests that this is the right thing to do, right?”

Listening to the conversations of the guests, Ollentia widened her eyes. Socor and Kikojelia were in attendance?

Out of curiosity, she turned her head for a moment and met Socor’s gaze, who was sitting calmly with Kikojelia.

‘As expected… Even if the groom changes, they have to appear like a normal family, right?’

Ollentia chuckled in confusion, and that’s when Archbishop Werbu, who was standing at the altar, caught her.

“Haha! It’s nothing.”

As Ollentia chuckled awkwardly, Archbishop Werbu quickly gained control of the situation.

“I congratulate the marriage of the groom, Dimidius Bellial, and the bride, Ollentia Armeniaca Yeonga!”

His voice silenced the guests, who had all become attentive.

Archbishop Werbu began to solemnly recite the wedding vows, and Ollentia stole a quick glance at Dimidius. He was listening to the vows with utmost seriousness.
“…No matter what hardships and adversities may come your way, I hope the two of you will face them together and overcome.”

Ollentia became increasingly composed in the solemn atmosphere. She wasn’t really paying attention to the wedding ceremony, and Dimidius beside her was making her nervous for no reason.

If a contract marriage is this nerve-wracking, how much more stressful would a real wedding be?

“I wonder if the day will come when I have a real wedding,” she thought as she received the ring from Dimidius. It was quite a large diamond ring. Ollentia and Dimidius put the rings on each other. It felt like a sacred ritual, even though it was a contract marriage.

A while later, the officiating Archbishop Werbu spoke for the last time, “Now, groom and bride, please kiss.”

Ollentia, who had attended weddings before, was momentarily surprised.

“A kiss? What should I do?”

Ollentia looked at Dimidius with a bewildered expression at the mention of a kiss. Her heart pounded at the thought.

That’s when Dimidius kissed the back of Ollentia’s hand. It seemed like he was doing his best. Even though he had experienced this before, feeling Dimidius’s lips briefly brush against her bare hand was still unfamiliar. Her face turned slightly red as they kissed with great solemnity.

Ollentia tried to compose herself and took Dimidius’s hand as they walked through the cathedral. The sound of the piano playing was refreshingly delightful.

After the wedding ceremony ended, Ollentia bent her waist for a moment.

“Phew… I thought I was going to suffocate.”

Dimidius responded with a worried tone, “Are you okay? Should we cancel the reception?”

Ollentia shook her head, “No, we can’t cancel it. The cathedral has already prepared everything. I’ll get ready and go up.”

Ollentia entered the bride’s waiting room with Bobby, who had been hovering around her. She had to change into her reception dress and go to the reception hall.

Bobby smiled brightly and said, “It seems like the wedding ended a bit quickly, but I’m relieved that everything went smoothly.”

“Yeah, it seemed simplified. Maybe Archbishop Werbu felt awkward about it because of Duke Dimidius.”

It would have been fine if Archbishop Werbu had said that they couldn’t proceed with the wedding because Duke Dimidius was there. However, knowing the Archbishop’s personality, that wasn’t likely to happen.

Ollentia slowly changed into her evening dress. She wore a neat navy silk dress with a corsage in the shape of a flower. The navy dress looked quite nice against her fair skin.

As Bobby touched up her makeup, Ollentia’s thoughts wandered for a moment.

“I wonder if Socor and Kikojelia will cause a scene in front of the guests. I’m not sure how they will react.”

Thinking about meeting them again made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. But it was a process she had to go through.

After thanking Bobby for fixing her makeup, Ollentia headed to the reception hall.