Ren and Lucilia stood across from each other. Both of their hands were holding the others, and the two smiled the brightest they ever had.
That was when the king stood up and stood next to the couple. In Volarian culture, unlike on Earth, the father of the bride would marry his daughter off instead of being a priest or someone who was ordained. This would symbolize a father handing the protection of his daughter to someone else.
"All rise" The Emperor said, immediately gathering everyone's attention in the room.
The Emperor cleared his throat before continuing his speech. "In the name of Caelum, the royal family of the planet of Volaria, I, Lucius Aria Caelum, stand here to officiate the union between both my daughter, Lucilia Aria Caelum, princess of the Volarian Empire, and the man who she has chosen to marry. This man has survived the trials and won my daughter's heart. Ren!"
The crowd clapped in response to Ren's name, which surprised Ren that he was this popular among the nobility in attendance.
"Ren has acknowledged that he will take my family name as his own." The Emperor continued. "He has earned his spot among the highest of the Volarian nobility. He will have the same rights as my sons, Prince Marcel Aria Caelum and Caius Aria Caelum. He will be placed in line for the throne of Volaria after all my children. He has acknowledged this, and this day will become the day Ren becomes my family."
Ren saw the emperor, who was seemingly putting on an act for the crowd. Ren knew that the emperor still wasn't a fan of him but had no choice but to accept him going forward. Lucilia made it clear that she would not be swayed from her decision to marry Ren.
"Now before we celebrate the union, both of them must give each other their promises."
The promises worked very similarly to vows. Ren had studied up on previous marriage ceremonies in the empire and understood that the promise ceremony was the bride and groom making their dedicated promises to each other. The promises were extremely important, as the one saying them was forbidden to break them, especially to someone of the royal family. If they go against their word. Then punishment is the only thing that remains for them. Breaking the promise would dishonor their name completely, and they would be punished by the other party. Ren read up on two nobles who got married; one broke his promise by cheating on her without her consent or knowledge. This led to his family being pretty much kicked out of the nobility and moving to a different planet, far away from Volaria, while the man who cheated was sentenced to death along with the woman with whom he had cheated with.
The Emperor turned and looked over at Ren. "First, your promises, Ren."
Ren cleared his throat before looking at Lucilia in the eyes. This was his big moment. He didn't know how she was going to react, but there was one thing he did that was unusual for grooms, at least on earth. Many grooms write and rehearse their vows before getting married, but Ren, on the other hand, decided to speak from the heart, a place where just saying words would mean less than how he felt truly deep down.
"Lucilia, when you came into my life, it changed everything. We didn't meet in the most conventional way; in fact, we tried to kill each other, but I don't think either of us knew that on that day we'd meet our soulmates. You have shown me so many great things since we met and opened my eyes to an entire new world, and I want to continue exploring the universe with you by my side, hand in hand. I promise to love you unconditionally; no matter what happens, I will stand by your side. I promise to give you the best version of myself possible. I promise to be a man worthy of you every day. I promise to live, laugh, fight, and love by your side from now into eternity. You have my heart completely, and no matter what or who comes into our lives, you will always be my number one. I love you, Lucilia."
Lucilia had a tear roll down her cheek after hearing Ren's promise. Even the Emperor himself cracked a smile. "Now Lucilia." The Emperor said.
"Ren, your right, we didn't meet normally, instead on the battlefield, but on that day something just attracted me to you. You interested me, and I wanted to know more about you. And while doing it, I fell in love with you. Your kindness, your intelligence, your drive—I fell in love with all of it. We've had our share of road bumps, but the fact that I love you has never changed and never will. You are the love of my life, and you make me happier than I could have ever imagined. Before you came, I didn't think my life could be filled with this much happiness. I promise to you, to laugh and cry with you, to be your shoulder whenever you shall need it, to put all my strength into being the wife you deserve. I promise to make you proud as your wife, on good days and bad, rain or shine. I will love you forever and with all of my heart."
The two looked at each other lovingly after making their promises to each other.
The Emperor once again cleared his throat. "Now that the promises have been given, it is now up to them both to accept the promises offered. Ren, do you accept Lucilia's promises?"
"I do" Ren answered without hesitation.
The Emperor now turned to Lucilia. "Now do you, Lucilia Aria Caelum, accept the promises offered by Ren?"
"Without a doubt in my mind, I do." Lucilia answered.
"Then by the powers at be, witnessed by the goddesses themselves. I officially declare Lucilia Aria Caelum and Ren to be married. And officially name Ren, Prince of Volaria, Ren Aria Caelum."
Lucilia and Ren's lips met for a kiss, which was applauded by everyone in attendance. The union of the two is now official in the eyes of Volaria. Ren was now Prince Ren Aria Caelum, a member of the royal family.
Soon after the initial ceremony began, there was a small party among the nobles. There were friends of Ren and the others as well who had invites. Ren was talking to Lucilia, Scarlet, and Serenity before Ren felt a tap on his shoulder. Ren turned around and was greeted by a familiar face.
"Marcus!" Ren said when seeing the man in front of him.
Marcus Facilis, the man who fought with Ren in the arena during his trial and who surrendered. He had kept in somewhat close contact with Ren and Lucilia but hadn't seen them since the trial.
"Hey you two, congratulations on the wedding." Marcus said, shaking Ren's hand and bowing to Lucilia.
"It's been awhile; how have you been, Marcus?" Ren asked. "You haven't messaged in a couple weeks.
"Oh, sorry about that. some...family drama kind of took over my life for a bit." Marcus replied. "But that's all over now, so things are going well."
Ren, Lucilia, and Marcus caught up with each other and what had happened over the last few weeks, and the party continued on. Members of noble families congratulated Ren and Lucilia throughout the night. After a few hours, the party ended and everyone went home, but Octavia, Sienna, and Aurelia all went home with Lucilia. Deciding to spend the night over at their sister's house. Soon, while walking into the mansion, Scarlet asked Lucilia a question.
"Lucilia I know today is a weird time to ask, but how does this harem stuff work, like officially now that you two are married?"
Lily, Ashastha, Serenity, Sthora, and Eleonora all paid extra attention to this.
Lucilia turned to Scarlet and explained "Well, it is time I explain everything, but basically, the first step is for both parties in a marriage to consent to adding you, which you don't have to worry about. The next step would be getting the sigil."
"The sigil?" Lily asked.
"Yes, think of it as a mark located on a part of your skin; this would officially mark you as a member of Ren's harem, and no other man would dare even approach you, or else they would face criminal punishment."
Scarlet nodded in understanding as slowly everyone in the house went into their rooms, including Ren and Lucilia.
Once they arrived in the room, Lucilia pushed Ren onto the bed and jumped on top of him, both her hands pushing down on Ren's chest.
"I've been wanting to jump on you since the wedding ended." Lucilia said. "I think it's time for me to officially become one with you as your wife."
Ren smiled as he dragged Lucilia down to his face and kissed her passionately. The two would spend all night in a storm of lust and passion. Barely getting a second of rest until the two passed out from exhaustion.
(AN:Yes the NSFW chapter will be dropping on Patreon in a few days)
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