When Akari and Dean reached the table filled with the royal family along with their most loyal ministers and generals.
"Congratulations, Mage Dean on your marriage to Mage Akari." Crown Prince Ciar said as he stood up to toast them.
The moment he stood up, everyone sitting down at the table stood up as well as they raised their glass of wine up to toast Dean and Akari.
"Your wedding to a citizen of Hiryir brings great honor to us and for our country. To produce such a fine Mage, as well as uniting Teacher and Disciple and now soulmates makes all of our hearts full with happiness. It is our great luck to have witness such an event today." Ciar said as he drank down the wine in his glass.
"To Mage Koya and Apprentice Mage Akari." Everyone said as they too drank their wine.
Dean drank the wine first before passing the half full cup to Akari. Akari took it and pretend to drink the wine. The wine touched her lips before she gave the glass to Lena who stood behind her. Crown Prince Ciar's empty words of flattery and congratulations did not convince her.
He only came to her wedding to establish a connection with Dean and her. He would try to establish any kind of a connection to them, even if it meant through her parents. He wanted their support for the throne. Just like Prince Dae. Their intentions towards her and Dean were not pure. They were calculated moves made to win over her and Dean.
A mage's support would mean a swift win for who ever the mage supported.
"Thank you for your congratulating words." Dean said as he smiled slightly at Prince Ciar. "It means a lot to us that everyone came to witness and be apart of our wedding."
"It is our honor to be witnesses to a love that will last 1000 years." Prince Dae said as he intruded into the conversation as he raised his wine glass up to toast Dean and Akari again.
Dean took another wine glass and sipped on it before passing it over to Akari. Akari took the wine glass and pretended to drink to the toast. When she "finished" she passed it to Lena.
"How long do you plan to stay here in Hiryir?" Prince Ciar asked as he kept his displeased feelings to himself. How dare his royal scum of a brother intervene in his conversation with Mage Dean.
"Not long." Dean said as his patience ran out. "We shall be leaving soon. Thank you again for coming to our wedding."
Dean took Akari's hand and they walked to the next table to greet and drink another celebratory toast.
Prince Ciar and Prince Dae did not get mad at Dean's rudeness. He was a Mage. Someone who they couldn't mess with. Someone who will be alive long after they were dead. Prince Ciar and Prince Dae's eyes met each other and they both turned away quickly.
They both knew why they were there. Both knew that they wanted to wind Dean and Akari to their side. Both knew that with the support of a mage, their faction would win the race to the throne.
Crown Prince Ciar stayed for a few more moments before meeting Duke Jona and Duchess Emi. After a few words, he left with his entourage of Ministers and Generals.
After seeing Prince Ciar leave, Prince Dae did not stay long. He too met with Duke Jona and Duchess Emi, before saying his goodby and left the wedding celebrations.
After the royal family left, more than half the guest left as well. No one wanted to leave before the royal family. Those that stayed behind were close friends to Duke Jona and Duchess Emi. Out of the 600 guests, only 5 remained by the end of the night.
Everyone had made their way inside of the Ayame residence. Dean sat next to Akari, as Jona sat next to Emi on Akari's left side. Across from them was Duke Obara, Duchess Riho, and Rin. Donovan and Delan stayed behind as well as they chatted with Rin.
After a while, Jona and Emi invited Obara and Riho into their receiving room and left everyone else in the dining room.
"Wife. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" Dean asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"We're not friends." Akari told him without look up from her plate. She was starving and didn't care if she was rude towards them or not.
"Haha." Delan laughed to cover up the awkward position they were put into. "Certainly we are not close friends, but we did grow up together and went to the academy together as well!"
"Still doesn't make us friends." Akari said as she looked up at Donovan and Delan. "They use to bully me with the others."
Donovan and Delan had an ugly look on their face. What Akari said was correct, but couldn't see give them some face in front of Mage Dean?
"Really?" Dean asked as Rin, Donovan and Delan felt their whole body pressed down with Dean's killing intent. They felt as if a blade was held next to their necks and a large mountain of pressure pressed down on them. "Is that so?"
"It was all a misunderstanding." Donovan quickly said as sweat dripped down his temples. "We were young and stupid. We believed in false rumors and made mistakes."
"Yes." Delan said as he quickly agreed. His stomach felt upset and he wanted to vomit. "Yes. It was a misunderstanding. We apologise if we caused you any harm."
"Yes, we're sorry." Donovan said.
"Tell me." Dean said as he looked at the three young men in front of him. "How shameless can you both be, to come to our wedding when you treated my wife so poorly? Not only that, but think that your past transgression against her would just be forgotten because it was "a misunderstanding" when you guys were young and stupid?"
If Donovan and Delan could look each other in the eyes right now, they would know that both of their lives would end by Mage Koya's hand.
"Apprentice Mage Akari, please forgive our transgression against you when we were young. We have greatly wronged you and have not had a chance to make things right with you." Donovan said as his eyes pleaded for his life.
"That is why we came here today." Delan quickly added. "We wanted to witness your joyous occasion and make things right with you. Please let us know what we could do to make this right."
Akari sat back into her chair and smiled lightly as she held her glass of wine. Akari swirled the wine around before she took a sip of the wine. The silence made Delan and Donovan nervous. Their life hanged in Akari's hands
"Reparations would be nice." Akari said as she looked at Dean. "It is my wedding day and I don't want any blood to overshadow it."
Donovan and Delan sighed heavily, they were willing to do anything for their lives. Should they have known when they were children that Akari was someone they couldn't mess with, they wouldn't have bullied her when they were young. Instead they would have made a connection with her so they would have a connection to two mages today.
"What would Apprentice Mage Akari like?" Delan asked.
"Oh, nothing much." Akari said as she shrugged her shoulders. "Just 2 million gold coins."
"2 million gold coins?!?" Both Delan and Donovan shouted together.
"Each." Akari told them.
"EACH!" Delan and Donovan shouted again.
"Each." Akari confirmed as her smile became wicked. "Is your lives not worth at least 2 million gold coins?"
Rin looked at Akari and a slight smile came onto his face. Akari wasn't asking for reparations for their slight against her. She was asking for a price for Delan and Donovan's lives. She didn't really care about how they treated her when they were young, she was practically taking money from them and they would give her that money without blinking. She was robbing them and didn't even blink twice.
"2 million gold coins... that... I..." Donovan said as more sweat began to drip down his back. His father is going to be so angry at him. "2 million sounds reasonable."
Delan wished he could turn back time and redo his past with Akari. It hurted him to agree to her request, but he too agreed to pay 2 million gold coins for reparations against their past transgression against her.
The moment he nodded his head, the pressure disappeared and they all took a deep breath as if they just came up from swimming.
"Good." Dean said as he held Akari's hand. "You have three days to deliver my wife's gold. Understand?"
Both Donovan and Delan nodded their head quickly.
"Go, before I change my mind." Dean told them.
Donovan and Delan stood up and left without saying goodbye to Rin. They didn't want to take a chance at angering Mage Koya or Mage Akari.
In the end, Rin got up after finishing his wine. He took one last look at Akari and left without a word.