The lord’s manor, where the wedding was being held, was not far from the inn where they had been staying. Since he had spent his childhood there, Kasim knew the way to the lord’s manor well. On the way, Kasim encountered quite a few familiar faces.
“Why, who’s this? Isn’t that Kasim?”
“Uncle Alfred.”
With a bright smile, Kasim approached the old man and embraced him warmly. The half-gray-haired old man repeatedly patted Kasim’s back, as though overjoyed to see him.
“It’s been exactly ten years since you left. You really are heartless……. You should have come to visit at least once. But where are you headed?”
“T-The wedding of Lady Matilda…….”
As he looked at Kasim, who had not yet finished speaking, the old man’s expression darkened. He seemed to know about the matter between Kasim and Lady Matilda as well.
“Will you be all right? Still, attending the wedding and easing the burden in your heart is probably for the best.”
“……….”
“Come by the butcher shop after the ceremony. I’ll prepare dinner for you.”
“Thank you.”
Kasim bowed his head and turned away. As he watched the old man, who waved repeatedly as though reluctant to part, Mitchell muttered softly.
“They’re very humble and warmhearted people.”
“The people of the Arne domain are practically family to me. I doubt I’ll ever be able to forget this place.”
After that, Kasim exchanged greetings with many more people. Even now, many still remembered him. From the bakery proprietress to the tailor, everyone welcomed Kasim warmly and worried about him as though he were one of their own.
Because the two of them stopped to greet every person they met, they did not reach the lord’s manor until quite some time later, despite having set out early. As luck would have it, the soldier inspecting invitations was Taylor himself. He greeted Kasim with an expression of surprise.
“Kasim. You came after all?”
“I did. I wanted to see Lady Matilda married…….”
Taylor let out a long sigh.
“I warned you……. But it can’t be helped. Since you came all this way, go in and congratulate the lady.”
Taylor was about to let Kasim enter without even checking his invitation. At that moment, one of the soldiers standing beside him stepped forward. Since Kasim did not recognize him, he was presumably one of the soldiers Morsere had brought along. The man held out his hand with a businesslike expression.
“No swords may be brought into the wedding. Hand yours over to me.”
Kasim silently loosened the sword at his waist and held it out.
‘He must be wary that I might cause trouble.’
After taking Kasim’s sword, the soldier turned his gaze to Mitchell. Understanding what the look meant, Mitchell grumbled as he unfastened his own sword.
“Damn it. Other people are entering with their swords on. Why are only we…….”
“This is for everyone’s safety, so please understand.”
After surrendering their swords, the two were guided to the annex of the manor where the wedding was being held.
A large number of people were murmuring in front of the annex. Judging by the fact that most of the guests were strangers, they were probably guests of the groom’s side. Kasim quietly walked to the back of the line. Arne custom dictated that, upon entering, one first greeted the groom, bride, and their parents before proceeding into the wedding hall, and Kasim knew the procedure well. Perhaps because he felt burdened at the thought of facing the lord and his wife, Kasim’s face was somewhat stiff. Mitchell smiled faintly and eased his tension.
“Relax. Surely they wouldn’t say anything harsh to someone who came to congratulate them on their daughter’s wedding?”
“I know their character well. They aren’t people who would do that, but the problem is that I have no face with which to meet them.”
While they were quietly conversing, it became Kasim’s turn.
“Good heavens?”
The lord and his wife’s eyes widened when they saw Kasim. Since it would be a serious matter indeed if Kasim caused a disturbance at the wedding, their faces quickly filled with concern.
“W-Why have you come here?”
Kasim bowed politely.
“Have you both been well?”
“……….”
“I came to sincerely congratulate Lady Matilda on her marriage. I assure you, I will never do anything rash and offend Your Lordship.”
Only then did the lord and his wife relax at Kasim’s earnest words.
“If that is why you came, then you are welcome. Go on in.”
“Understood.”
Kasim bowed once more and moved on. The Lord of Arne watched his retreating back, wariness still lingering in his eyes.
“With so many nobles of Kordo gathered here, I cannot set my worries aside.”
“Indeed. ……. If something like that were to happen, it would bring immense disgrace upon us, wouldn’t it?”
“Indeed. I know the lad’s character well enough, but…….”
However, people continued to stream in, and the lord and his wife had no choice but to hurriedly compose their expressions.
“You’ve come.”
At Morsere’s pompous manner, Kasim gave a bitter smile. A wise man would have let him enter quietly, but Morsere had deliberately drawn attention to Kasim and stopped him. Beside Morsere stood Matilda, her face stiff as she looked away from Kasim. Unable to bring himself to face her, Kasim pretended not to notice her and offered Morsere his congratulations first.
“Congratulations on your marriage. I hope the two of you live affectionately together for many, many years.”
“That is my concern, so do not trouble yourself over it……. Now go inside. There are many people of high status, so you should sit in a corner.”
“I will do so.”
Kasim inclined his head and quietly entered the hall. Until then, Matilda did not so much as glance at him. As instructed, the two found seats in a secluded corner and sat down. Mitchell clenched his fists and trembled as though he could no longer bear it.
“I feel like beating that bastard to a pulp, but the captain probably won’t allow it, will he?”
“Of course not.”
The immediate reply drew a bitter smile from Mitchell.
“Even if you hate him, he’s still the man your beloved woman is marrying, is that it?”
“……….”
Perhaps saddened by the thought, Kasim remained silently quiet. Watching the woman he loved become another man’s wife could never be a pleasant experience. Realizing this, Mitchell quietly closed his mouth as well. Meanwhile, the guests continued to gather, and at last the wedding ceremony began.
Clunk.
The doors shut firmly, and armed soldiers took up positions before them. Judging by their unfamiliar insignia, most of them seemed to have been dispatched from Tudret. The Lord of Arne looked at the knights commanding them and shook his head bitterly.
“There can be no doubt that Tudret is a prestigious family. To possess two Paladins, as I had only heard in rumors…….”
Arne did not have a single knight of Paladin rank. It was not because they lacked the means, but because there had never been any need for one. The Arne domain was exceptionally wealthy and peaceful. This was all thanks to the benevolent rule the Lord of Arne had maintained until now.
At least in Arne, the constables were welcomed by the people. The bond between the residents and the soldiers was relatively strong, and no one feared the soldiers. The residents even invited them to dinner without the slightest hesitation.
For that reason, Arne had never needed many soldiers.
Tudret, however, was different. Because riots broke out almost every week due to harsh tenant rents and taxes, they inevitably needed troops to suppress them. Thus, the Lord of Tudret had been forced to build up a large private army, even spending vast sums to hire Paladins. Yet, unaware of those circumstances, the Lord of Arne could not help but envy the Tudret family greatly.
After watching the Paladins’ disciplined movements, he suddenly turned his gaze away. He was deeply worried about what Kasim might be plotting. Though he knew Kasim was not the sort of man to do anything vile, this was still a major event, and he could not help but worry.
‘Thank goodness.’
After confirming that Kasim was sitting quietly in his place, the lord breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Once Matilda has safely married, I should find an opportunity to call Kasim back. He is a truly good man, so if he wished, I could take him into the domain’s forces. He would surely be better than some dangerous mercenary, wouldn’t he?’
While the Lord of Arne was lost in such thoughts, the wedding ceremony was proceeding in earnest. The priest presiding over the ceremony was finally receiving the marriage vows.
“Morsere of the House of Tudret, as the groom, do you vow to take Lady Matilda of the House of Arne as your wife and cherish her with an unchanging heart for the rest of your life?”
Perhaps in his haste, Morsere answered loudly before the priest had even finished speaking.
“Yes. I do.”
After hearing the groom’s answer, the priest turned to the bride. Watching this, Kasim squeezed his eyes shut, as though he could not bear to look. On top of that, the fixed gazes of the lord and his wife, who were relentlessly watching him, were even more difficult to endure.
‘Must I really let her go like this?’
Unaware of Kasim’s heart-rending anguish, the priest’s booming voice rang out.
“And do you, the bride, vow to take Morsere as your husband and support him forever, and…….”
Matilda listened intently to the priest’s words, waiting for the moment to answer, when suddenly a tremendous roar erupted from the direction of the doors.
Boom!
Everyone turned toward the doors in surprise. The bride and groom, of course, as well as the lord and his wife, who had been watching Kasim, all turned their heads in panic. Astonishingly, a huge hole had been blasted through the entrance to the hall. As dust settled thickly through the air, a black silhouette slowly rose from the spot, as though it had sprung from the ground itself.
Every guest’s gaze turned toward him. The unexpected intruder was draped entirely in black robes. His features were impossible to make out. Only a pair of points of cold blue light, presumably his eyes, glowed fiercely from beneath the folds of his robe. The priest was the first to realize what he was.
“How dare a cursed undead like you…….”
Sensing the dark mana emanating from his opponent, the priest roared and rearranged the mana around him. He was a high-ranking cleric specially invited to Kordo by Count Tudret, a skilled practitioner of holy magic. The surrounding mana was violently rearranged. Soon, the holy spell Exorcism, especially effective against undead, was cast.
“Being who died without even being able to close your eyes, be reduced to nothingness.”
At the priest’s shout, a ray of light formed in midair and plunged straight down upon the intruder.
Bang!
Though struck directly by Exorcism, the intruder did not so much as flinch.
“What crude holy magic.”
With a sinister voice that seemed to echo from the depths of the underworld, the intruder casually waved his hand.
“Aaaagh!”
The priest was hurled backward as though seized by the hand of an invisible giant. He flew a considerable distance before being driven straight into the wooden wall behind him.
Thud!
After slamming the back of his head hard against the wall, the priest fainted on the spot. Seeing this, the guards finally came to their senses. Only then did they grasp what was happening.
“S-Stop him!”
Remembering their duty, the soldiers gripped their spears and charged the intruder. But their steps soon came to a halt. Their opponent had vanished without a trace.
“Wh-Where did he go?”
As they looked around for the intruder, one of the soldiers suddenly pointed toward the altar in shock.
“Th-There!”
The intruder was standing boldly in the place where the priest had stood only moments before. He carefully examined the groom and bride, who could not move a muscle, as though they were flies caught in a spider’s web. A moment later, booming, maniacal laughter rang out.
“Kahahaha! At last, I’ve found her. The elusive maiden born under the Red Scorpion!”
While he laughed madly, the soldiers cautiously approached the altar. Since the bride and groom had been taken hostage, they needed to act carefully. The intruder glanced at them and, without a moment’s hesitation, cast off his robe.
“Gasp!”
Cries of horror erupted from the crowd. The soldiers, too, could only tremble, their eyes fixed on the altar with expressions of disbelief.
The mysterious intruder was not human. His face was a hollow skull with nothing but bone remaining, and a gaze like the flames of hell smoldered within his empty eye sockets. The grotesque crown upon his head and his long, protruding fangs made the skull’s appearance even more terrifying. Before long, one of the Paladins among the guests from House Tudret recognized the intruder’s identity.
“G-Gods above……. It’s a lich!”
The instant those words were spoken, everyone inside the hall froze in place. A lich—the very embodiment of evil, a monster rarely ever seen—had appeared here. What possible purpose could have brought it here? As the people desperately pondered the reason, the lich finally opened his mouth.
“My name is Shurnak. I am the faithful servant of His Excellency Kerubim, the great lord of the demon realm. The reason I have come here is…….”
The lich who had identified himself as Shurnak swept his sinister gaze over the crowd, threatening them with every flicker of his eyes.
“To find and escort to the demon realm the 1,976th bride of His Excellency, the great Demon King Kerubim. Once every ten years, His Excellency takes as his wife a maiden born under the Red Scorpion. Now that I have found the maiden of the Red Scorpion, I shall fulfill his will and take her with me.”
The people were left dumbfounded. They could not help but be astonished when a lich claiming to be a servant of the Demon King Kerubim suddenly appeared and openly declared that he would abduct the bride. Naturally, they could not simply stand by and watch. The Paladins commanding the soldiers drew their swords without hesitation. To suppress their fear, they shouted loudly.
“Do you think you’ll accomplish your goal so easily?”
A lich was by no means an opponent to be taken lightly. Thus, one of the Paladins secretly called over a soldier.
“Go outside immediately and summon every soldier in Arne. We need more forces to deal with the lich.”
“Understood.”
The soldier who received the order barely steadied his trembling body before dashing away.