The guests arrived at the royal palace one after another, and King Chautard returned to the hall alongside Kaia to host the wedding. Both sides of the grand hall were packed dense with guests, and a red carpet rolled down the center, extending all the way out the doors. We kept a close eye on the restless little girls to ensure they wouldn't disrupt anyone else.
King Chautard, acting as the marriage witness, began reading his address. "Let us warmly welcome the bride, Emily!" At his final cue, the palace maids at the entrance slowly stepped inside. Serving as the bridesmaids, Sidoli and Sissi escorted Emily, who was clad in a snow-white, long-trailing veil, as she walked forward with measured steps. "—Emily is so beautiful today~" Enis murmured from beside me. "Yeah, the two of them are completely the focal point of the venue today," I replied with a smile.
The bride slowly stepped up the dais to the wedding altar, and Kaia gazed at her with profound affection. Today was the most important moment in both of their lives; these two transmigrators from Earth had met and accompanied one another on an alien planet, and their bond had finally borne fruit. Joe, who had been traveling far away, also managed to arrive just in time, catching the very tail end of the wedding. "Sorry I'm late, everyone~" After greeting Kaia and Emily, Joe blended into the ranks of the guests. "You brat, you finally made it," Qiuduo shrugged.
"My bad, my bad! The place I went to was simply too remote, and I had to fly all night using flight magic to get here." Joe then noticed us. "Are you... Enis, one of the Three Demon Generals?"
"That's quite a nostalgic title," Enis replied with a warm smile.
"I remember being killed by you in the past, but for some reason, I was later resurrected. Was that your doing?" Joe inquired with deep reverence.
"It wasn't this little lady. It was my husband who resurrected you all," Enis said, pointing toward me.
"So you are my savior~! Please accept my bow~" With that, he was about to drop to one knee to show his respects.
"Whoa, don't do that. It's a small matter. Attending the wedding comes first today; we can talk about other things later," I quickly stopped him, and everyone put the topic aside for the time being to continue watching the wedding proceed.
"Next, will the groom please recite his vows," the clergyman announced.
BOOM!!!
An explosion erupted outside the banquet hall, causing everyone to gasp in shock. "Have they finally come?" Qiuduo's expression turned grim. Outside the palace, a massive magic circle seemed to manifest, followed immediately by the clamor of a large crowd. "Who dares to cause trouble here?!" King Chautard spoke out in indignation, and Badi noticed the disturbance as well. "Looks like some bothersome pests have come to ruin the party."
Following a brief exchange of blows outside, a horde of armored warriors and black-robed mages burst into the grand hall. "Lady Emily is the officially appointed Princess Consort of the Quekai Kingdom! How dare you people of Tielaisheng snatch her away?!" the leading commander bellowed, drawing his sword. Looking at this setup, they were clearly here to steal the bride. The guests began whispering among themselves in an uproar.
"Nonsense! Emily and I have known each other for a very long time, and our affection is entirely mutual. There is no such thing as an 'intervention'!" Kaia retorted in anger.
"Lady Emily was betrothed to our Prince Zongwen since childhood! How can you people steal her halfway through?!" the commander countered, refusing to back down.
"Emily~ I've come to take you back~" A young man dressed in magnificent imperial robes stepped forward from the middle of the ranks; he was presumably that Prince Zongwen.
"That was merely an unauthorized decision made by our elders back then. I have long since given my heart to someone else..." At this moment, Emily lifted her veil to speak out, and her parents stepped forward from below the stage to try and talk things through.
"If you break your word, this Prince will fight you to the absolute bitter end!" Prince Zongwen remained relentlessly stubborn and refused to let it go. He immediately ordered his soldiers to prepare to take her by force.
"Is this the good show you were talking about, Hubby?" Suōshā leaned in and whispered softly.
"Don't rush, let's watch a bit longer. Either way, this bride-snatching won't go according to their plan," I replied to her with a chuckle.
"Bride-snatching is so fun to watch~ Bride-snatching is so interesting~" The little girls also grew incredibly excited.
"Shh, quiet down~" Zi Mi silenced them.
"Looking at the enemy forces opposite us, their numbers are larger than anticipated. This is going to be a bit troublesome," Qiuduo muttered, staring at the sheer volume of mages—there were at least a hundred of them. This time, they had likely allied with other countries to cause trouble, pulling out all of their assets.
"I will never hand Emily over to you. If you still have any honor as a man, duel me to settle this once and for all, and let us see who is truly suited to be her partner!" Kaia threw down the gauntlet, challenging Zongwen.
"Hmph, who's afraid of who?!"
"This is the main wedding venue, so to avoid injuring the guests, let's take our duel outside! After you!" Kaia invited him out the door. "Kaia~" Emily called out to him in worry. "Don't worry, trust your man!" Kaia waved his hand with a smile and walked out. The guests all followed them out to watch.