Chapter 35 – After the Sweet Proposal

The sweet proposal that happened in the garden, although short-lived, still lingered in Tiana’s heart as they proceeded quickly in discussing the preparation for the wedding as soon as they returned to the duke’s mansion. They barely have two months left to prepare for the ceremony and there’s so much to do.

The lovers’ busy schedule temporarily halted their moments of courtship and romance for they have barely any time to rest. In consideration of the emperor, it was decided that the ceremony will be held at the temple inside the palace, and the reception is to be held at the banquet hall.

Since Lucius was the former emperor who stepped down and became a grand duke for the sake of his older brother, who is now the current emperor, it wouldn’t be strange to have his wedding in the palace.

Lucius’ mother, the reigning queen, will have much influence in ensuring the fulfillment of such arrangement. She’s also very confident that Rael, with his fondness toward his younger brother, will give his blessing to such plan. Above all, the marquis was very satisfied, since he put in a lot of work in the union that is to come.

He cares very little as to where the ceremony will be held, but if it’s to be done in the palace then the preparation must be extraordinarily grand, for Tiana will never have a fancy wedding such as this, ever again.

Such fairy tale wedding is only possible with Tiana’s body. If it were her in real life, it would’ve been impossible.

“Here are designs sent from each dress shop. There’s also a dress design plan, so please take your time.”

“Thank you, Alfred.”

The plans for the ceremony and reception are completed to a tee. The last remaining step is to decide on the bride and groom’s attire. After all, they are the center of the celebration and all eyes will be on the lovely couple. As such, choosing the wedding gown and tuxedo is extremely important and materials to be used must be scrutinized delicately.

As Tiana was checking out the designs that Alfred had given her, with hawk’s eyes, Inabel, came in with the tea, set the teacup down on one side of the table and said, “Oh my goodness! They’re all famous shops in the capital. There seems to be a lot. Can you finish it all, ma’am?”

“It’ll be alright, I already have our preferred design in mind. I will just go through them quickly and choose the few that will fit our taste.”

“Is that… Are you sure you could skim and go through this much?”

“Sure. It won’t take too long. I don’t really need to spend too much on the details of each and every design. I’ve known what I want for years, this will be an easy breezy task for me.

Tiana, having reviewed the first pile twice, pushed the thick stack of designs and grabbed the other pile. Enticed by the fragrant aroma of black tea, she took a small sip to moisten her throat and began to scan through the rest.

Fixated by how Tiana’s hands are moving too fast through the stack of designs, Inabel pointed at the discarded pile and asked in a strange voice, “Did you already look at the ones here?”

“I did. Unfortunately, they are not the ones I prefer. I find them superfluous and don’t adhere to my own personal standards.”

“Huh? Did you look at all of them? That fast?”

“It wasn’t that much. The most important thing is to find the perfect style among the ones I’ve initially chosen.”

“Right…”

Tiana dismissed Inabel’s interference, though the latter looks like she has more to say on the matter, and focus on what she’s doing.

This one looks too old-fashioned; this is overkill. I guess I tossed out all the trendy styles. Why is this still here? Oh wait, never mind, I’ll keep this one.

She dog-eared a paper and placed it on top of the elimination pile. Inabel, who glanced at the dress designs, exclaimed in surprise, “Excuse me, ma’am. The designer of this one is quite famous. Artenara Salon is one of the best dress shops in the capital. Elohim Heronara… She’s the head designer there!”

“I’m not after the famous designer or a great dress shop. It’s the style that suits me best that I’m looking for. If I’m not offered that, then I’m afraid I have to discard their designs.”