“The only thing we can entrust to Ilnord is the wedding ceremony, nothing else.”
Blueny spoke firmly.
“Besides, we don’t have much time, so we need to start preparing right away. First and foremost… we need to choose a dress.”
“A… dress?”
“No matter how pressed we are for time, you must get your wedding dress made here.”
Blueny grinned and took my hand.
“The designer is waiting. Let’s go quickly.”
Following Blueny’s lead, I arrived at a parlor that had already been transformed into a fitting room.
“I am Anri, the designer. It’s an honor to be in charge of the princess’s wedding dress.”
She had everything prepared and was waiting. With a soft smile, she greeted me.
“I’ll pour my soul into making you the most perfect wedding dress.”
“Uh… oh. Thank you.”
I wasn’t sure if all this enthusiasm was necessary.
“Well, since Ollia is getting married, anything less than this would be strange.”
“R-right?”
She had a point, but why was I already feeling uneasy?
As expected, my unease was an instinctive warning.
“Our Ollia looks good in anything, so it’s really hard to choose.”
Blueny glanced at me seriously, deep in thought.
“Ollia, it might be a bit tiring, but I think you should try on all the samples here.”
“A-all of them?”
I widened my eyes in shock.
Did she even realize how many dresses were here?
“Why? I carefully selected and narrowed them down… Do you not like them?”
If she didn’t like them, then there was nothing I could do.
Blueny murmured weakly. Then, with a sorrowful expression, she gestured toward Anri, the designer.
Seeing that, I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I were sitting on a chair covered in thorns.
Why was she acting so dejected?
Ugh, fine!
“No, I don’t dislike them! I’ll try them on, whatever!”
I forced myself to smile.
“Right? Of course, we have to try them all on before deciding.”
“Y-yeah!”
“Great! Let’s get started.”
Blueny’s face lit up with enthusiasm.
Wait… did she just manipulate me into doing this?
It took me a moment to realize it.
“First, would you like to try on these two dresses? This one has a mermaid design that accentuates the figure…”
“No need for an explanation. I’ll just put them on and come out.”
Looking at the sketches laid out on the table, I saw that they hadn’t just chosen many at random; each dress was a different design, carefully thought out to suit me.
‘With this much effort put in, I have no choice. I have to do my best too.’
I quietly changed into the first dress.
Even though the maids helped me, changing into each dress was quite exhausting.
“Princess, this next dress is made with dozens of layers of lace. When worn, it spreads out beautifully.”
Even after trying on several dresses, there were still many more waiting.
‘Ugh…! These dresses are heavy, my legs hurt, and everything is just exhausting!’
I screamed internally.
But I kept trying them on diligently.
Swish—!
As I pulled back the curtain and stepped out—
“Huh?”
There were more people next to Blueny.
“Our Ollia is trying on wedding dresses. Of course, we had to come see.”
Delight spoke as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
And next to him—
“I heard you were trying on wedding dress samples.”
At some point, Serdin had arrived.
He stood behind the sofa, looking at me.
In that instant, a mischievous glint flashed in my eyes.
There was no way I was suffering through this alone!
The moment our eyes met, I smirked.
“Serdin, don’t you need to get a suit tailored as well?”
“…Me?”
Clearly caught off guard, Serdin pointed to himself in surprise.
“Yes. A wedding involves both of us. You need a proper suit too.”
“I was just thinking of wearing something simple…”
Serdin waved his hand dismissively, but—
“Ha! Look at Ollia taking care of Prince Serdin already.”
Blueny chuckled warmly and signaled to Anri, the designer.
At that moment, the curtain covering one side of the fitting room was drawn back.
Beyond the curtain, a new space was revealed.
It was another fitting room, filled entirely with men’s formalwear.
“Prince Serdin, we actually already prepared these for you.”
“…All of these are for me?”
“Yes. They may look similar, but each one has different details. You’ll need to choose carefully.”
For some reason, Blueny’s usually warm smile felt a little terrifying today.
“Serdin has fair skin, but his hair is jet black.”
Delight studied Serdin’s face carefully.
“He could pull off something more extravagant.”
“How about these?”
Anri pointed to the outfits.
“This one has embroidery on the shirt, and this one has detailed patterns on the jacket…”
“It would be best to try on both.”
Delight’s critique was sharp and meticulous.
Watching the scene unfold, I quietly approached Serdin and asked,
“If you’re struggling, do you want me to help?”
I was the one who had dragged him into trying on suits, but even just watching looked exhausting.
However, unexpectedly—
“I’m fine. I can try on as many as needed.”
“…Really? You’re not tired?”
“Actually, it’s kind of fun.”
Serdin smiled leisurely, grabbed another suit, and stepped into the fitting room.
Was he doing this out of sheer stubbornness?
Was he refusing to look tired in front of Delight because he saw it as a challenge?
Or was trying on formalwear just that much easier compared to my heavy wedding dresses?
I watched Serdin curiously as he changed into yet another suit.
“…Is this for real?”
It didn’t seem like he was faking it.
Serdin showed no signs of exhaustion and changed clothes as many times as Delight requested.
“This one is the best so far.”
Finally, after Serdin had tried on fifty suits, Delight showed a satisfied expression.
“You’re still a bit lacking to stand next to Ollia, but I suppose you’re passable.”
Delight spoke with a blank expression, furrowing his brows slightly.
It was as if he had barely managed to avoid calling it a complete disaster.
“Don’t take it the wrong way. He means you look good in it.”
Blueny translated Delight’s words with a smile, addressing Serdin.
“Actually, I think it suits you well, too. We can use this as the base design for your formal suit.”
At last, what felt like an endless fitting session was finally coming to an end.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Serdin, now back in his regular clothes, smiled in apparent relief as well.
“If it has Dad’s approval, then I’m satisfied too.”
“Of course, it should have my appr— …What did you just say?”
A crack formed on Delight’s face, like a broken toy suddenly freezing in place as he stared at Serdin.
“Father-in-law. I’ll be in your care for the rest of the preparations.”
“W-what did you just call me?!”
Delight’s entire body stiffened in horror as he shouted.
“Father-in-law.”
Serdin responded with a perfectly innocent smile, utterly shameless.
His pronunciation was so crisp and clear that it rang directly in Delight’s ears.
“Well, I am your future son-in-law. Isn’t this the natural way to address you?”
“…Ugh.”
“In Ilnord, calling you ‘Father-in-law’ would make our marriage seem more credible. It would be best if I got used to it now.”
His reasoning was sound.
But logic aside, Delight’s visceral rejection was far stronger.
His face twisted in frustration as he opened his mouth to argue—
But before he could, Blueny turned to Serdin and asked first,
“That makes sense. Then, what about me?”
“Of course, you’re Mother-in-law.”
Serdin effortlessly called her ‘Mother-in-law’ without a moment of hesitation.
“Oh my, what a good son-in-law.”
Blueny, amused, naturally accepted the title.
‘What is happening right now?’
I watched in stunned silence.
Then, as Serdin turned his head with a smirk, our eyes met.
I stared at him blankly.
Serdin was at it again.
If this was just some small act of rebellion for making him try on dozens of suits, I wouldn’t have minded.
But—
‘Rather than provoking Delight, he’s using this as an excuse to call him ‘Father-in-law.’’
When we were younger, Serdin pretended not to care about titles.
But in reality, he put a lot of thought into which form of address would benefit him the most.
No matter what the title was—whether it was genuine or not—he didn’t care.
“I could still smile and call the Empress ‘Mother’ if necessary, even though she abandoned me.”
‘Don’t do that.’
His shamelessly composed smile made my heart ache.
