Chapter 22
Time passed quickly. The wedding day came before Chloe even realized it.
It was early morning—so early that the sun hadn’t even risen yet.
“Are you awake?”
“Yes. Though it’s more like… I never slept.”
“Why not?”
Chloe and Curtis had left the Berque estate and arrived with their servants at a quiet temple behind the royal palace. It was a special place: a shrine built by the founding king of Ibaness to worship the dragon. Only members of the royal family were allowed to use this private prayer site.
This was where their wedding ceremony would be held today.
Curtis asked casually, and Chloe answered with a sleepy groan.
“I had too much to study.”
She had spent the entire night reading and memorizing the wedding rituals she would have to follow today. Even though the ceremony had been simplified, there were still many royal traditions she had to learn.
“You thought becoming royalty would be easy?”
“Well, it was easy for you.”
“True. I was born into it.”
Curtis laughed, since he had indeed become royalty just by being born. Chloe, on the other hand, pouted. He had promised not to make her work overtime—and yet, here she was, pulling an all-nighter for their wedding.
Still, she didn’t complain further. Curtis also had bloodshot eyes, showing that he too hadn’t gotten much rest this past week.
“This is my first time coming here.”
“Of course. Only elite royal guards are allowed in.”
The temple was small but elegant, with white walls that matched beautifully with the surrounding forest. Since it was such a sacred space and only opened for big events, it had been built to feel peaceful and untouched by the outside world.
Even though it was summer, the early morning air was cool. Chloe had thought no one else would be here yet, but a man was already standing in front of the temple waiting for them.
As soon as they got close, the man spoke.
“Lady Amboise. If you’re being forced into this, just say the word. I’ll protect you from my uncle no matter what.”
Chloe quickly saluted.
“Loyalty, sir. Thank you, but I’m fine.”
The man held his forehead dramatically, like he had a headache.
“Oh dear… You can speak normally with me, you know. You’re going to be my aunt.”
He sounded warm and playful, not sarcastic or rude. Chloe lowered her hand.
“Thank you for your kindness, Prince.”
This was Prince Frederick, the King’s son and Curtis’s nephew. He looked at Chloe for a moment, then turned to Curtis.
“Uncle, I’ve always admired you, but this time, I’m truly impressed.”
“It must be nice to have a role model in the family. Be sure to thank the gods.”
“My wife also sends her congratulations.”
They shook hands, more like friends than family, since they weren’t far apart in age. Curtis had once told Chloe that he and Frederick were quite close.
“Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Frederick de Ibaness. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Chloe Amboise.”
“Loyalty. I am Chloe Amboise, sir.”
“Oh dear.”
Frederick squinted playfully. He was handsome and had a charming smile that made people feel comfortable.
Chloe almost let her guard down, but she’d recently met many high-ranking people and had learned it was best to stay formal.
“Forgive me. Since we aren’t officially married yet, I’m still just a soldier of Ibaness. I apologize if I caused concern.”
“Honestly, it feels like my uncle is marrying someone way too good for him already. Understood.”
He smiled again and offered his hand.
“But you’ll at least shake hands with me, right?”
“It would be an honor.”
Chloe shook his hand and thought, He’s kind, polite, and easy to talk to.
“Sorry if I caused trouble.”
“Not at all. I’m happy to be part of this. It’s an honor to oversee the cleansing and blood oath ceremonies.”
He even spoke nicely. Chloe stood a little taller and entered the temple feeling good.
The royal wedding had three key parts:
- The cleansing ceremony (to show the gods you’re pure and worthy of joining the royal family).
- The blood oath ceremony (symbolizing the bond between families).
- The main wedding ceremony.
Normally, these rituals were performed in front of guests, which is why most royal weddings happened in the palace. But the King had banned Curtis from entering the palace, trying to stop the wedding.
In response, Curtis simply asked Prince Frederick for permission to use the dragon shrine instead. Since the shrine wasn’t technically in the palace, the King had no power over it.
The King got even angrier—but by then, the news had already spread too far. Refusing the wedding now would make the royal family look bad. So the King had no choice but to allow it.
Frederick even volunteered to act as the royal witness for Curtis’s wedding.
However, Curtis didn’t want a long public ceremony with lots of guests. Mostly, he was worried about Frederick. If Frederick was gone all day for the wedding, the King might do something cruel while he was away.
Chloe had been confused when Curtis first explained that.
“But isn’t Prince Frederick the King’s own son?”
“My brother has all the qualities of a great ruler,” Curtis had said flatly.
In other words, he’s equally harsh to everyone—including his own children.
That’s how Chloe ended up meeting both men at the temple so early in the morning.
As she watched Prince Frederick walking ahead of her, she thought: Being hated by your father—even if you’re the heir—must be painful.
Was he doing this out of love for his uncle? Or to protect the royal family’s honor?
Either way, for the first time, Chloe thought maybe Ibaness’s future wouldn’t be so bad. Out of all the royals she’d met, Frederick seemed the most worthy of the title. (Though the only royals she had met were Curtis and the King… so the competition wasn’t strong.)
Then, Frederick turned and spoke to her again:
“Do you have any questions? Since you’ll soon be part of the family, feel free to ask anything about the palace.”
Chloe hesitated, then said carefully,
“Forgive me… but I’ve heard the King can be very… intense.”
In other words: Aren’t you scared of your dad?
Frederick winked.
“Thankfully, our great father hasn’t had another son yet. So I’m still safe.”
Wait, what? Did she just hear what she thought she heard?
“Of course, if he does remarry and have another child like Grandpa did… then I’m in trouble.”
Next to him, Curtis—who had been the King’s late-born son—replied with a straight face:
“That joke wasn’t funny.”
“Hahaha!”
Frederick laughed and even clapped. Chloe sighed.
Maybe Ibaness’s future isn’t so great after all…
***
The cleansing ceremony ended quicker than expected.
Chloe messed up her lines twice, but the priest kindly pretended not to notice.
“Thank you.”
“You’re now part of Ibaness under the blessings of the gods. I hope to see you often.”
After she finished talking with the priest, Frederick leaned in and whispered:
“That means he wants a big donation.”
“…”
Chloe already wanted the blood oath ceremony to be over.
But before that, there was still one important step.
Normally, the royal getting married would pray to the dragon at the shrine—thanking it for protecting the kingdom and asking it to bless the new family member.
But Curtis suddenly got busy.
The royal guards had arrived with commanders to begin preparing for the ceremony. Since they would serve as the honor guards, Curtis, as their commander, had to oversee them.
“Even for a simple wedding, I’m still the commander. It would look strange if I didn’t lead the honor guards myself.”
So in the end, the prayer to the dragon was left to Chloe.
She had a strong suspicion that Curtis had planned this on purpose just to get out of saying the long prayer. After all, she’d spent hours memorizing it the night before.
“If not for this, I could’ve slept at least two hours…”
As she waited for the prayer room to be ready, her eyes felt heavy.
What if I fall asleep while praying?
She forced her eyes open and looked down from the temple terrace.
She saw the familiar faces of guard captains standing around Curtis, probably reviewing the ceremony schedule.
Suddenly, her eyes met with Ezra, the 2nd Division Commander. His eyes widened in surprise, then lit up with happiness. He was clearly about to mouth something to her—
Chloe quickly turned her head away.
“Damn it. I can tell he’s dying to tease me.”
Since she’d been on leave, she hadn’t had any contact with her friends in the Royal Guard. But she did have friends, especially George (1st division) and Ezra (2nd division).
They probably freaked out when they saw the newspaper article. After that, they probably thought it was hilarious.
“When I go back to work, how am I supposed to survive their teasing…?”
‘Didn’t you hate the Duke? When did you fall in love?’
‘Was it during one of those late-night reports?’
‘Didn’t know you were into getting yelled at in the sun!’
‘You married him? Is this workplace harassment or a royal love story?!’
Just imagining it drained her energy.
“Why are they so loud even in my imagination? Can’t they shut up?”
“Why are you marrying Duke Verque?”
“Shut up—! I-I’m sorry!”
Chloe almost shouted “shut up” at a royal prince.
Seeing her panic, Frederick froze for a second… then burst into laughter.
“I get it. I’ve been asked the same question so many times, I nearly curse people out too.”
“I’m sorry…”
And he pointed that out, too. Chloe wanted to crawl into a hole.
Frederick chuckled a bit more, then cleared his throat.
“Let me ask again. Why did you choose Duke Verque?”
