As the captain had said before, we were to have the ceremony according to the local traditional wedding customs.

I had been somewhat looking forward to seeing how unique these local wedding traditions would be, and they truly were unique.

First of all, according to local tradition, our wedding was to take place at night.

Not during the day like a typical wedding, but in the middle of the night when the full moon shines brightly.

The venue for the ceremony was also out of the ordinary.

The wedding was to be held in a forest to the north of the Habicht domain.

While it’s common for weddings to be held in a temple under the blessing of the gods, in this region they are apparently held in the forest instead of a temple.

To receive the blessings of the forest spirits?

It was true that I was concerned about adopting such an unconventional wedding method so far from the ordinary, but fortunately the captain had prepared everything well.

All I had to do was choose the dress and small decorative items, but even that kept me incredibly busy.

And so time flew by relentlessly, and finally the wedding day arrived.

From the evening, I busily put on my dress and received makeup and other adornments.

The dress I wore was made by a famous seamstress of the domain, with the skirt embroidered with jewels that shone like stars.

It was a dress perfectly suited for a wedding held under a starry night sky.

I also wore jewels that shone like stars on my ears and neck, and finally my silver hair was twisted up to show my neckline and secured with a jeweled tiara.

The ducal maids who had dressed me up muttered as they made final checks of my appearance.

“Oh my…”

“It’s surreal.”

“It may sound a bit silly, but you look like a fairy from a dream.”

I had heard that people here don’t usually compliment others much, but for them to praise me this much, it seems I was quite well-dressed.

It was a relief for me, as I had been worried about being embarrassed by not being properly dressed for the hastily arranged wedding.

After finishing dressing up like that, I briefly greeted Johannes, Adelheid, and the other members.

Of course, the Johannes couple complimented me on being beautiful, and most of the members who saw me had similar reactions.

“Vice Captain?! Is that really you, Vice Captain?!”

“Un-unbelievable… Of course you were always beautiful, but now you’re really…”

“H-how is this possible? How can the person who used to slice monsters with a sword look like this…?”

“Wow… Now I understand why that stone-faced captain decided to get married.”

“At this level, you could aim for the title of most beautiful woman in the Empire… no, the continent, couldn’t you?”

The members who saw me muttered like that, as if they couldn’t believe it.

I suppose there was a sense of dissonance seeing me, who used to just slice up monsters with a sword, now dressed up in a wedding dress.

Anyway, they all had stupid expressions on their faces, so I was giggling, when Elma, who had been looking at me along with the others, suddenly burst into tears.

“Sniff, sob, Vice Captain… getting married…”

“Elma? Are you crying?”

When I asked in surprise, Elma burst into even louder sobs.

“Sniff, sniff… Getting married without me… Waaah… It’s somehow upsetting… Hic…”

“Come here, Elma. Stop crying now.”

It seems she felt conflicted about me, her close companion, suddenly getting married and leaving her behind.

Elma first wiped her tears with a handkerchief, as if trying not to dirty my dress, then hugged me.

I patted Elma’s back to comfort her.

“Even if I’m married, nothing will ever come between us. We’re each other’s most precious friends. We always will be.”

“Waaaah…”

Once again, Elma pulled away from me so as not to dirty my dress and buried her face in her own handkerchief.

First Johannes, and now Elma too – I didn’t understand why everyone was crying like this.

Thanks to them, I felt like I might cry too.

With that, my time greeting my dear ones came to an end.

Afterwards, I heard the detailed order of the wedding ceremony from the head maid.

According to what I heard, first I would ride in a golden-decorated carriage to the northern forest.

Then, I would take the hand of the captain who was already there waiting, walk between the guests, listen to the officiant, put on the rings, receive the spirits’ blessing, and kiss to conclude the ceremony.

I could understand everything except for what exactly the spirits’ blessing was.

So when I asked the head maid, she only said this:

“That… is very difficult to explain in words. You’ll have to see it for yourself when you get there. But one thing I can tell you is that the blessing is incredibly beautiful and fantastical.”

Difficult to explain in words, she says.

In any case, it didn’t seem like there was anything I particularly needed to memorize, so I just got into the wedding carriage.

As I rode in the luxurious carriage decorated with gold here and there on the way to the forest, I suddenly thought:

My fate has now completely changed.

Before my regression, I had died drinking poison without ever marrying, but now I’ve not only survived, but I’m wearing this beautiful dress and about to marry the man I love.

This must be the fruit of all my desperate struggles to survive and create a better future.

Just as my heart was swelling with emotion, the carriage came to a stop.

Soon the carriage door opened, and there stood the one who had led me to happiness.

“Martin.”

As we had agreed beforehand, I called him by name instead of “Captain.”

Martin.

It was a wonderful name that rolled off the tongue comfortably.

I had always wanted to call him that, and now that dream was finally coming true.

Hearing his name, Martin gave me a pleased smile and held out his hand to me.

I lightly placed my hand in his large one and stepped down from the carriage.

As I looked him over after getting out, he was even more handsome than I had expected.

His face was handsome of course, and he was wearing a black suit as dark as the night sky with a deep blue cape.

While I was taking in his appearance, he too was taking me in with his golden eyes.

Then he whispered in my ear:

“You’re so beautiful it’s almost frightening to show you to others. I’m sure other men will covet you…”

“Then we’d better hurry and proceed with the wedding. I’m worried someone might covet you too.”

We giggled at each other and began to walk together.

As we walked along the long white carpet laid out in the forest clearing, passing between the guests, solemn music began to play.

As I walked in time with that music alongside Martin, it finally felt real.

That I was entering a new chapter of my life.

As we walked all the way through the white roses, music, and blessings of the guests to arrive before the elderly priest, he recited the wedding rites in a solemn voice.

We swore our love in unwavering voices before him, and placed the wedding rings on each other’s fingers.

It was at that moment that something special happened.

“Wow…”

Such exclamations burst forth from among the guests.

I too felt something sparkling above my head and looked up at the sky.

From the sky full of stars, white shining fragments were slowly falling.

It wasn’t snow.

It was literally fragments of “light,” as if pieces of starlight had broken off and were falling down.

As I stared at the sky in amazement, Martin explained:

“This is the phenomenon called the spirits’ blessing.”

“Ah, so this is that blessing? The one that occurs every full moon night in the northern forest of Habicht Duchy…”

“Yes, doesn’t it look just like sparkling snowflakes?”

He caught one of the falling lights and held it out to me.

“At the Founding Day ball before, you used your ability to make it snow in the ballroom. It was so beautiful that I thought: I want to show you beautiful snowflakes too.”

Now I understood why he had insisted on this region’s traditional wedding customs.

What an enchanting and beautiful wedding – wouldn’t it be a great loss not to experience it?

As I was gazing in rapture at the lights falling from the sky, Martin called to me again.

Come to think of it, the most important part of the wedding ceremony was still left.

I quietly closed my eyes and waited for the approaching warmth.

Even though we had done it several times before, the heat that always made my heart flutter settled on my lips.

And so, in the forest where the spirits’ blessing was falling, we promised to give the rest of our lives to each other.

The wedding ceremony concluded successfully.

Afterwards we briefly enjoyed the party, and around sunrise we returned to the bedroom.

Usually the first night after marriage takes place literally at night, but we had held the ceremony at night.

So unlike other newlyweds, we ended up doing the couple’s first act together while watching the sun rise.

As the morning sunlight filtered through the translucent curtains, we undressed each other and caressed each other’s bodies.

It felt a little embarrassing to be doing this in the light, but the joy outweighed that feeling.

His lips, even hotter than before, fluttered teasingly over my tender skin.

Just as that ticklish sensation was making my body heat up, Martin kissed my instep and made a request.

“My wife, call me that again.”

“…Call you what?”

As I asked breathlessly, he lightly bit the sensitive skin on the inside of my thigh and answered.

“My name. Call my name again.”