Chapter 29: Ritual Sabotage!? An Unexpected Incident

Every perfect plan has a hidden pitfall.
This is Murphy’s Law, and also a lesson carried over from my past life.

The Royal Palace Grand Cathedral, the bride’s waiting room.
Through the window, the clear blue sky and the cheers of the crowd filling the plaza could be heard.

“…All finished, Lady Eliana.”

Sylvia placed the final touch of color on my lips.
Reflected in the mirror was me, clad in a pure white dress.
The Imperial heavensilk glowed with a pearly sheen, and despite weighing only two kilograms, it exuded a dignified presence.

“Perfect.
…This will endure even a ten-hour ceremony.”

I stood up and gave a light twirl.
The hem fluttered softly.
It was not heavy.
It was not suffocating.
This was the moment all my struggles paid off.

Click.

The door opened, and Claude, dressed in formal attire, entered together with Duke Valerius.

“You look beautiful, Eliana.”

Claude gazed at me with dazzled eyes.
His own white-and-gold royal formalwear suited him perfectly.

“Hmph.
…Not bad.”

The Duke nodded in satisfaction, even as he made his usual gruff remark.
For him as well, today’s ceremony was the culmination of his career as Master of Ceremonies.
A grand stage to showcase the royal family’s prestige and the alliance with the Empire.
Mistakes were unacceptable.

“It is time.
…Confirm the rings.”

The Duke signaled to a ceremonial official standing behind him.
The official, pale-faced and trembling, presented a small box.

Click.

The box opened.
Inside was a red velvet cushion.

…Only the cushion.

“…Hey.”

The Duke’s voice dropped dangerously low.

“Where is the ring?”

The official collapsed to his knees.

“I-I deeply apologize!
I-It was there when I confirmed it this morning!
But when I opened the box just now…!”

“Impossible!
That is a national treasure!
What was the security doing!?”

“I-I don’t know…!
But in the preparation room, there was a note saying, ‘The royal ring will not be given to a girl who defiles tradition’…!”

The room froze.
An inside job.
There was still a fanatic among the conservative faction within the Bureau of Ceremonies who did not accept me.
Someone who saw my ‘lightweight dress’ and ‘carriage pilgrimage’ as blasphemy against tradition had made their move at the very last moment.

“Damn it…!
Do you intend to smear my face with mud…!?”

The Duke roared in fury, raising his cane.
Claude’s expression hardened as well.

“Search immediately!
Capture the culprit!”

“W-Wait, Claude.”

I glanced at the wall clock.
Five minutes until the ceremony began.
The entrance music had already started playing.

“Even if we search now, we will not make it in time.
Is there a spare ring?”

“There is none.
Those are the rings of the first king and queen.
…By law, no other rings may be used in the ritual.”

The Duke clutched his head.
His face was deathly pale.
The exchange of rings was the climax of the ceremony.
If there were no rings, the ceremony would be interrupted and the royal family would become a laughingstock to the world.
Lady Hilda of the Empire was present as well.
She would surely scoff, thinking, ‘So Lutetia cannot even manage its rings.’

“…Shall we postpone?”

Claude voiced the painful option.

“No.”

I answered immediately.

“If we postpone, that would be exactly what the culprit wants.
And besides…”

I clenched the hem of my dress.

“I refuse to repeat this preparation period ever again.
We finish this today, right here.”

“But without the rings—”

“As long as we have them, it is fine, correct?”

I looked around the room.
Expensive furnishings.
Vases.
And the luxurious chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

At its edge, there was a spare crystal ornament.
A fist-sized, high-purity crystal.

“…We will use that.”

“What?
That is just a decoration.”

“The material is sufficient.
…Sylvia, please take it down.”

Sylvia hesitated for only a moment before climbing onto a chair and handing me the crystal.
It was heavy.
A beautiful, flawless crystal.

I placed it on the table and took a deep breath.

“Claude, Duke Valerius.
Please step back.”

“Eliana, what are you—”

I raised my right hand.
I constructed the image in my mind.
This was ‘cleaning.’
From this large block of crystal, everything that was ‘not a ring’ would be removed as ‘impurity.’
Like a sculptor seeing a statue within wood, I saw two rings within the crystal.

“Target, crystal.”
“Separation designation, all matter other than ring-shaped forms.”
“Effect, peeling and polishing.”

“—[Precision Cleansing: Micro-Clean]!”

Flash!

A fine surge of magic burst forth.
My fingertips sliced through the crystal’s molecular bonds like a laser cutter.
Excess fragments crumbled into sand and fell away.
What remained were two transparent bands.

Next, I recognized the minute surface irregularities as ‘impurities’ and blasted them away.
No polishing agent, no cloth.
Molecular-level polishing through magic alone.

Shhh…

The light converged.
On the table lay two rings clearer than diamonds.
Their surfaces bore intricate geometric patterns inspired by chandelier-cutting techniques.
When they caught the light, they shimmered with rainbow hues.

“…Done.”

I wiped the sweat from my brow.
Time required, three minutes.
Just barely.

“W-What an…”

The Duke picked up the rings with trembling hands.

“Beautiful…
Far purer than the national treasure gold rings…”

“They are improvised, but the sizes are adjusted,”

I said, smiling at Claude.

“But these are not the traditional rings.
…This violates the law.”

The Duke snapped back to reality.
Was he really worrying about the law at a time like this?

“Uncle.
What does the law say?”

“‘The royal rings shall be made of gold, symbolizing unchanging love,’ it says…”

“Then let us change the interpretation.”

I stood and pointed toward the door.

“Gold is a material.
It may one day decay.
But these are crystal.
…They hold light.”

I activated my sophistry at full throttle.

“Love is not a material weight, but something formless like light, yet capable of illuminating the world.
…Is not the brilliance of light, rather than the burden of gold, more fitting for a new era of royalty?”

Silence.

The Duke stared at the rings, then at me.
Finally, he let out a powerless laugh.

“…You never run out of words, girl.
…Very well.
As Master of Ceremonies, I approve that interpretation.”

He placed the rings into the small box.

“The culprit will be dealt with later.
…Let us go.
The ceremony begins!”

The doors of the Grand Cathedral opened.
The majestic sound of the pipe organ.
Light pouring down through the stained glass.

We began walking down the long aisle.

Dignitaries from every nation lined the sides.
In the front row stood Lady Hilda of the Eastern Empire.
She glanced at my dress, gave a thumbs-up, and smirked.
She was probably saying, ‘Nice fabric.’

At the altar, the Archbishop awaited us.

Long, long vows.
And then, the exchange of rings.

Claude slid the crystal ring onto my ring finger.
Bathed in light, it shimmered in rainbow colors.
Resonating with the stained glass, it was as if a star had taken residence at my fingertips.

A murmur rippled through the cathedral.

‘Is that… a diamond?’
‘No, it is far clearer.’
‘How beautiful… This will start a new trend.’

No one cared that they were not the original gold rings.
They were simply captivated by their overwhelming beauty.

I placed the ring onto Claude’s finger as well.
His hand gently enclosed mine.

“…It is beautiful,”

He whispered.

“Your magic always makes the world more beautiful.”

“I only removed the impurities,”

I replied, hiding my embarrassment.

“…I love you, Eliana.”

“I love you too.”

The greatest crisis had passed.
All that remained was to endure the overly long speeches and banquet that followed.

…Or so I thought.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Duke standing at the side of the altar, looking deeply moved.
He was holding a congratulatory manuscript as long as a scroll.
Its thickness rivaled that of a dictionary.

I checked the clock.
16:45.
Fifteen minutes until my ‘quitting time’ of 17:00.

(…Uncle.
You are not planning to read all of that, are you?)

If he read all of it, it would take at least an hour.
My punctual departure was in danger.
My ‘first night’ would be eaten away.

I exchanged a glance with Claude.

(We speed it up.)
(Got it.)

Perfect understanding without words.

“Now then, a congratulatory address from Master of Ceremonies Duke Valerius—”

The moment the host announced it, I moved.