"Reginald, I'm asking you for the last time. Please don't act so impulsively. I've told you several times that the Devil is invincible." Lord Horace grabbed Reginald by his wrist and tried to stop him from doing something stupid yet again.
Reginald cocked his head and let out an exasperated breath. He pulled his wrist away from Horace and spoke in a displeased tone, "First of all, you are forgetting that I am no longer your friend's son but a King."
He slowly turned around to face Horace and spoke while gnashing his teeth at the old man, "And secondly, I am not going to kill the Devil. Not today. I'm just going to kill the civilians and sabotage the wedding."
Reginald clenched his fists and bare his fangs while snarling like a vengeful monster, "I cannot let them enjoy when I am still mourning my sister's death. I'm going to sacrifice at least a thousand humans and offer their blood to my sister's soul."
Reginald had gathered around a hundred turned vampires in his courtyard. He was going to rally them to Wyverndale.
His plan was to blend in with the humans who would gather in the Golden Street today. And the vampires were going to go on a killing spree during the procession of the newlyweds.
Reginald was even willing to sacrifice those hundred pawns of his if it meant that he would get to slaughter ten times more.
A sinister grin lurked on Reginald's face while he whispered, "I'm going to instill fear and sow the seeds of doubt in everyone's heart by making that Devil reveal his true form in front of them."
"And I am going to make the living civilians believe that such tragedies will keep on befalling them because their to-be Queen chose to marry the Devil."
Reginald turned to face those hundred vessels that he was going to use for revenge. He then ordered in a loud voice, "Alright! Let's move now. We shall reach there by the late afternoon if we move now."
---
The cool summer breeze was frolicking with the curtains and was gushing inside the room every once in a while to cool down the nervous bride.
Adeline was anxiously sitting in front of her dressing table mirror. She was clasping her hands so tightly that the knuckles had already whitened. Her heartbeat was taking leaps as the time for her to walk down the aisle was closing in.
Her maids were hovering around her and were giving the final touch to Adeline's bridal look.
Osanna secured the golden tiara on Adeline's hair. She then held the mist-like veil on top of Adeline's cascading silver waves of hair and said, "Okay, now for the final piece…" She pinned the maiden veil and gazed at Adeline's reflection to check how it looked. A satisfied smile appeared on her lips.
Hawisa and Osanna finally finished waving their magic wands on Adeline. They themselves were stunned when they saw the completed bridal look of the Princess.
She looked so captivating that the two of them were unable to look away from their darling Princess whom they had practically brought up as their own.
And Hawisa couldn't help but take Adeline's hand and kiss her. "Our baby Adeline is now a breathtaking bride," Hawisa smiled at Adeline while her eyes were starting to well up.
Osanna was already crying so she swiftly turned around to wipe her tears.
And Adeline started taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. Even though she was going to get married to the man of her dreams and the love of her life, her body was refusing to listen to her. Her heartbeat kept on elevating and she could feel an unsettling knot in her stomach.
Maybe it was because she was excited, or maybe it was because she was afraid. Or maybe it was both. Maybe she was excited to begin the new chapter of her life together with Theodore. But at the same time, afraid to know what those new chapters of her life had in store for her.
---
"The bridegroom and his party have arrived. Open the gates," One of the Palace Guards ordered those who were guarding the iron gate of Wyverndale Palace.
They pushed the heavy door open to welcome the main guests for today and the stars of the event.
Those who were posing as Theodore's foot-soldiers entered the Palace first and lined up alongside the Wyverndale soldiers. And when the path was cleared for the Prince to enter, all of the eager onlookers were in for a great treat to their eyes.
Theodore rode inside the Palace in his magnificent black horse like a Prince who was set out to conquer the world. His raven-black hair rhythmically floated behind him as Arion galloped forward.
The black ceremonial robe that he was wearing outside his tight-fitted white shirt was also flapping behind with the pressure of the wind. He had tucked his shirt inside his fitting black trousers. Needless to say, his seductive body and his captivating face kept everyone gaping.
"I see why Princess Adeline rushed the marriage. Who would want to let this angelic man escape away?" One of the guests who caught the sight of Theodore thought to herself.
A guard who knew about Theodore's real identity thought to himself, "Who could tell that this man is the Devil Prince? His looks and wits are incomparable to any mere mortals like us."
Not a single soul who saw Theodore could badmouth about him, regardless of their knowledge about him being the Devil.
After Theodore, several carriages entered the Palace. Among them, Azriel and the Goddess were sharing a carriage. Thankfully, the carriage was an enclosed one and several potential fainting was avoided.
---
"Adeline, I know that you must be feeling really anxious right now. But please, will you at least drink this juice? You haven't had anything yet and I'm afraid you might feel nauseous in the ceremony." Hawisa was holding a glass of guava juice in her hand and was trying to make Adeline drink some.
But Adeline turned the other way and said, "I don't think I can swallow even a drop of it." And she resumed breathing in and out again.
Osanna clicked her tongue and tried to get to Adeline, "I pity Prince Theodore. I'm worried that he will blame himself if Adeline feels dizzy during the ceremony."
Adeline gave a corner-eyed look to Osanna and snatched the glass from Hawisa's hand. She knew Osanna was trying to manipulate her into drinking the juice but it worked.
Hawisa and Osanna smiled at each other when Adeline gulped down the whole glass of juice.
Hawisa was retouching Adeline's lip color when a court lady came to inform them, "It is time for Princess Adeline to move."
The moment Adeline heard that, she felt like the juice that she gulped down in a whim was going to come out. But she was able to suppress it by talking to herself, "Adeline, you are going to be a loving wife and he is going to be a great husband. Now walk your arse up there to the altar and kiss your groom. Everything will be fine then."
Adeline didn't realize that she was talking out loud. And both of her maids were raising their brows and were looking at her with great amusement.
"Hawisa, Osanna, please help me reach the garden without tripping okay?" Adeline turned around to see them staring at her. She furrowed and asked, "Is something not right?"
"No, we were just admiring your enthusiasm to kiss the groom," Osanna grinned and instantly went around and stood behind Adeline.
Osanna helped to lift the gown while Hawisa offered her arm for Adeline to hold.. And they set off towards the extravagant wedding venue.