Chapter 272: Blessings From The Great Lady
On either side of the aisle, rows of chairs were arranged to face each other, where the most authoritative figures among the guests were a.s.signed to sit according to their rank and hierarchy. There were high-ranking territory lords of Megaris, members of the royal family, and diplomats representing the royal families from other kingdoms among them. Behind those rows of chairs were grandstands, carved seats made of marble running along the entire wall, and even those seats were filled with n.o.bles and rich merchants with attires that would make anyone aware that they were foreigners from other parts of the continent.
Though Seren had experience with crowds as she had attended several important occasions back in Abetha with the king"s permission, those were normally banquets with less than a hundred attendees, and she would only make an appearance and quickly leave once the social gatherings began. Also, although her arrival would always cause murmurs to follow, she was never the center of attention, like with her sister"s engagement ceremony. Even at her own wedding back then, there were less than twenty witnesses to the ceremony itself.
However, the throne room was filled to the brim… she could not even make herself begin to count...
Seren inhaled deeply to calm her nerves, and Drayce could feel her hand trembling on top of his own. Still, Seren walked with grace and poise under the pressure of the gazes fixed at her from both sides of the pathway leading towards the altar. Her grip on Drayce"s hand tightened a little and she heard him say in a low voice, "My Queen, relax. It"s nothing."
Seren nodded and continued walking down the aisle, trying to focus on the sweet lilting music of the harp playing in the background. She also found great comfort in the fact that Drayce was holding her hand.
It was the first time for the people of the kingdom to see their queen. Even though it had been roughly a month since she came, few had ever met her, and they were limited to the royal servants and the women from the royal harem who had come across her on the day after her arrival.
Seeing the veil-covered Queen Seren, most of them remembered what they had heard about the young woman so far. Some had heard rumors, while others received concrete reports from their subordinates about the mysterious foreign princess.
Though many had questions in mind, no one dared voice out their thoughts after how Drayce had made clear to everyone about her status during the first royal court session after he returned to the kingdom. By now, almost every official of Megaris had heard about her, about how she was raised in Abetha and even about her curses. For the high-ranking officials sitting near the aisle, they could clearly see the scales on her body that they had only heard about. Some of their wives and daughters frowned seeing how their king was holding her scaly hand.
However, they were n.o.bles, and n.o.bles were known for their abilities to hide their true thoughts. If their king didn"t mind the ugliness of his queen, then they were smart to keep their mouth shut. At least on the surface, they could openly show that they accept this woman as the Queen of Megaris. Not like they had other options, knowing how dangerous their devil king was.
After crossing half of the distance from the door to the altar, Seren heard a familiar voice.
"Seren!"
Seren immediately found the little girl who was excited to see her. Beside her, her father, Duke Wimark, was signaling her to keep quiet.
"Rayjin is here!" Seren smiled at the little girl, and that helped her relax a little. She continued walking forward and she noticed that on the second row, her brother Prince Cian was standing along with Prince Arlan and Prince Lenard of Griven. The first row seemed to be dedicated to the members of the Royal House of Ivanov, and she recognized some of the ladies seated there. However, there were many she did not know, especially the males.
When they reached the altar which was elevated from the ground level, Seren noticed Drayce"s grandmother, the Great Lady Theodora, sitting on the foremost seat in the front row, and she was smiling at the royal couple.
Her brother, the Great Lady, Rayjin…
Seeing these familiar faces made Seren feel like she was not among strangers anymore and could be at ease. Before reaching the steps leading up to the altar, Drayce did something outside of the ceremony and took Seren towards the Great Lady. It caused Seren to be startled, but she understood why Drayce did what he did. Lady Theodora was the oldest one in the royal family and getting her blessing was symbolic and important to the entire kingdom.
"Greetings, Grandmother," Drayce said while Seren bowed her head a little. It was rare for the Great Lady to appear in public, especially to show her face in the Grand Palace as she had long isolated herself from the affairs of the kingdom and anything related to the palace. She was not only a Queen Dowager but someone who had played an important part during the rule of three kings. Now, she broke away from her living in isolation to witness the wedding of her grandson.
The Great Lady stood up from her chair with the help of her staff and looked at the royal couple with a pleasant smile on her aged face. "You two young ones look really good together. My blessings are always with you."
Both Drayce and Seren paid their respects as younger generation members of the family. After greeting the Great Lady, Drayce and Seren climbed the steps leading to the throne platform where the altar was placed. An elderly man stood waiting before them to perform as the master of ceremonies of the grand wedding.
As they stood in front of the elderly man, Drayce still didn"t let go of Seren"s hand, and it caused some of the guests to realize how the king truly felt about his queen.