The sudden news of the marriage of Emperor Claude de Alger Obelia spread across the Empire and beyond like fire, shocking everyone.
The shocking wedding was scheduled at the end of the winter, on the first day of the spring late evening.
The wedding ceremony was prepared by none other than the Crown Princess, Athanasia de Alger Obelia who handled everything to make sure the special day became an unforgettable memory for her parents as her gift to them.
What was even more astonishing was the cold Emperor was marrying a commoner; a woman who was previously the Royal Healer who had disappeared mysteriously and returned just as mysteriously.
They knew there was a mysterious woman close to the Emperor who helped him handle the national affairs and come up with new ideas to maintain and advance the Empire. And they also knew the cold Emperor cherished her a lot but given the debaucherous nature of the Emperor, they didn't think anything would come out of it. But they were proven wrong.
The Emperor had decided to make that woman his wife and the Empress of Obelia.
It became the trending gossip among everyone. From tame to outrageous speculation and opinions surrounded the ludicrous marriage of the Emperor to a woman who had not a trace of noble blood in her.
It was unthinkable but very fitting of the Emperor who was known to never follow the royal protocols.
The wedding ceremony became the most awaited day for the people of the Empire.
Not everyone was happy about it but the opposition was handled unexpectedly by their sweet and kind Princess Athanasia. The protesting nobles were swiftly silenced. While the common people rejoiced.
The common people had seen with their own eyes the magnitude of the Empress's great accomplishments.
As the people of the discriminated and shunned lower class, who had to live their lives compromising on everything and living on the bare minimum, they had lived in the world created by Emperor Claude de Alger Obelia and Empress (Y/n) Scarlett de Alger Obelia. It was better and far more bearable than the oppression they lived under before.
For what reason, should they turn their blade to the Great Empress? Why should they reject the miracle bestowed upon them?
How could anyone else rival the kind heart of a woman who was just a commoner, who attempted to change the state of things in the Empire for the betterment of the people without discrimination, and who was continuing to change it?
So with heart-filled gratitude, they crowed through the capital gate, longing to catch a glimpse of the kind Empress on the special day.
The wedding was prepared in the main garden of the Imperial Palace. The same garden which the Emperor had designed for her as a token of his affection.
The exotic flowers were in full bloom, blooming gracefully under the warm spring sun and spreading their dazzling scent around the vibrant garden. Their beautiful hues captured the people's hearts as they waited with bated breath.
The petals of the beautiful flowers swayed along with the breeze, dancing in an invitation as the Emperor waited for his bride who finally stepped on the red carpet led by her Knight, Felix Robane, and the Crown Princess, Athanasia de Alger Obelia.
The Emperor extended his hand and the bride accepted it with a discreet wink and a mischievous smile. The groom only smiled with a hopeless sigh.
A handsome groom and a beautiful bride.
The tender way the Emperor gazed at her smiling bride was evidence enough that he was madly in love with the beautiful woman, his soon-be wife.
People were struck speechless to discover the ice-cold Emperor's tender side.
The bride with a graceful smile began her vows.
"I promise to be your guiding light in the dark, a warm comfort in the cold, and a shoulder to lean on when life is too much to bear on your own. I promise to love, care, and cherish you, and annoy you through all life's adventures that I will take you on. Wherever we go, we'll go together. I promise. No lies this time. You will be stuck with me till our final days, my dear husband. Do you still take me as a wife?"
The Emperor raised an eyebrow at the ending words said with a mischievous wink.
"Yes."
The bride smiled in unbridled joy.
The pastor almost had a heart attack when he heard modified wedding vows. But he kept his silence and turned towards the groom. The audience did the same except for those close to the bride who smiled and laughed with hopeless resignation.
The Emperor looked at his bride's eyes and began his vows.
"I take you as mine, knowing and loving all of your strengths and faults, just as I offer myself to you as yours with all of my strengths and faults. I promise to love you, cherish, and respect you. To care for you and protect you and comfort you and encourage you, even with your so-called adventures and annoying shenanigans. I promise to be with you for all of eternity and till our last breath and fall in love with you every day. Do you take me as your husband?"
"Hmm, you sound quite demanding. I'm not sure." The bride whispered. Just as she felt the gentle grip on her tightened, she smiled. "But I'm also quite a demanding and troublesome woman, aren't I?"
"So is it a 'yes'?"
"Yes, I take you as my darling husband."
The wedding vows were exchanged and the knot was tied with a kiss.
Following the solemnization of their holy marriage, the sweet scent of flowers drifted on the breeze, illuminated by the rosy glow of the setting sun and the dazzling couple.
****
Decades went by and the Obelian Empire saw significant changes under the reign of the Emperor and the Empress; advancement in both trade and technology along with education and laws. People were much happier and more content under the new rule. The throne along with the legacy was eventually passed on to the Crown Princess, Athanasia de Alger Obelia since the couple had no child of their own. And they quietly retired in the background.
Though the Emperor and the Empress had retired, their love story was immortalized by their people and eventually passed down from one generation to another.
It became a widely believed myth; under the vibrant festival light, among the gathering joyful crowd, and underneath the dazzling sky filled with soaring birds, look closely and you would find the couples strolling through the crowd, smiling and laughing, enjoying the joys their position had denied them before.