Gregory frowned to himself as he looked around the reception hall. His heel clicked against the ground as he bounced his leg up and down. He was seated next to his wife, and all around him, there were well-dressed individuals who looked equally as upset. Gregory’s wife placed her hand on his shoulder. “Calm down,” she said. “Getting angry won’t accomplish anything.”

Gregory snorted and brushed his hand over his shoulder, knocking his wife’s arm away. “How can I not get angry in a situation like this? Aren’t you upset? Alice deliberately told us the wrong time! We’ve been waiting her for hours!”

Gregory’s wife rubbed her wrist and let out a small smile. “Perhaps something’s held her up,” she said. “You know Alice is a very busy individual. She’s a guild master and a champion for humanity. Honestly, if it weren’t for her, would we be in such a good position socially?”

Gregory snorted again. “The Lowenherz family is plenty capable even without Alice. Would she be in her current position without us?” He gestured around himself. “Look around you. If she’s simply busy and didn’t tell us the incorrect time, then why hasn’t the groom’s family and friends arrived yet? Why haven’t Alice’s friends arrived yet? It’s only us, the relatives that she’s been butting heads with that have been waiting for hours.”

At that moment, the large doors leading to the reception hall swung open. A pale-looking couple walked inside with stiff movements. Everyone waiting in the hall turned to look at them, and upon seeing who they were, the guests’ expressions twisted in shock.

“Regis!? Allie!?”

The couple exchanged glances with each other before chuckling, their laughter sounding like rocks grinding together. The man, Regis, raised his hand and waved at the crowd of guests that were climbing to their feet. “Hello, everyone,” he said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve last met, and I do believe I’m seeing some new faces here.”

Gregory’s wife tugged on her husband sleeve. “Who is that?” she whispered, keeping her eye on the couple.

“That’s my brother,” Gregory said, his expression cramping. “He died in the frostlands.” He jerked his arm up, freeing his clothes from his wife’s grasp, and walked towards Regis. “What happened to you? Why are you…?”

“Alive again?” Regis asked and chuckled. “It’s all thanks to Alice and her boyfriend. No, that isn’t correct. He should be her fiancé now.” He nodded, his movements a bit stiff. “We aren’t actually alive, but we’re not dead either; I believe the proper term for someone in our state is zombie.”

The guests gasped and exchanged glances with each other. One of them stepped forward with a furrowed brow. “How do you … feel?”

“I don’t do much of that these days,” Regis said, his glazed eyes turning to look at the man who asked the question. “Why?” A small smile appeared on Regis’ lips. “Are you afraid I’m going to eat you? I’ll have you know that my tastebuds and stomach no longer work; I don’t feel the urge to get into a conflict with any of you. Even past grievances can be forgiven.”

Gregory stared at Regis with a complicated expression. After a bit, he let out a sigh and shook his head. “When did she bring you back to life?”

“It wasn’t that long ago,” Regis said. His face cramped. “Can you believe she immediately abandoned us after reanimating us? We weren’t even finished with our conversation when she left.”

“Dear, she was taken away by a dragon,” Allie said. “I wouldn’t exactly call that abandoning us. She did come back after all.”

“She came back after we had settled everything,” Regis said and rolled his eyes. “Luckily, it seems like undead aren’t too discriminated against these days.”

Gregory furrowed her brow. “Speaking of discrimination, what time were you told the wedding would begin?”

“Isn’t it now?” Regis asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m surprised to see all of you here so early. If I recall correctly, none of you could be described as the punctual type.”

“I knew it,” Gregory said and made a face. “She told us a different time.”

“Excuse me,” a masked man, who was standing near the door, said. “Mr. Lowenherz? Mrs. Lowenherz? If you’ll follow me, I can take you to the back where Alice is waiting.”

Gregory’s eyes widened. “Alice has been here the whole time? Why hasn’t she come out to greet us?”

The masked man’s neck cracked as he turned to look at Gregory. “She was busy getting dressed. Also, your name was not on the list that I was given.”

“List? What list is this?”

“The list of very important guests,” the masked man said. “The regular guests have to wait for the ceremony to begin. The important guests get to enter first. Have you never attended a wedding before?”

Gregory’s eye twitched. “I’m the bride’s uncle. Am I not an important guest?”

The masked man reached into his shirt and took out a piece of paper. Its color contrasted against the man’s black gloves. “What’s your name?”

“Gregory Lowenherz.”

After reading for a bit, the masked man put the list away. “No. You’re not an important guest.”

Gregory’s brow furrowed. “If, as the uncle of the bride, I’m not an important guest, then who is? What status do they have that’s stronger than the bond of family?”

At that moment, the building rumbled, and a wall collapsed. “Damnit. Who put this wall here?” a feminine voice asked, coming from the dust that had been kicked up. A woman wearing a purple dress walked through the dust, waving her hand in front of her face. Behind her, a massive scaled head appeared. Tafel turned around and gestured with her arms. “Back up! There’s no space for you to enter from here.”

The scaled face frowned. “Shouldn’t you have brought us somewhere more spacious?”

“I underestimated the area nine dragons occupy, okay?”

“Tafel Besteck?” the masked man asked.

Tafel nodded.

“Right this way,” the masked man said and gestured with his arm. He turned towards Gregory. “If you were wondering, yes, she is a very important guest.”