As soon as Eldric gave his answer, both Cedric and Elara were stunned for a moment before they were overwhelmed with excitement as well as ecstasy. When they first thought about it, they were expecting a lot of dissatisfaction or in the worst-case scenario, a direct rejection from Eldric. After all, he might seem like a meek and gentle child, but who is to say that he won't get angry at them? Especially after knowing that they hid so many things from him.
But to their pleasant surprise, nothing like that happened. There was no protest, there was no argument. Their son just listened to them and agreed with a smile.
For a moment, the two of them were overwhelmed with emotions. On one side, they were happy for their daughter and how she would be taken care of in the future, while on the other side, they were feeling sad for Eldric. He was kept in the dark his whole life and yet, even after knowing the truth was willing to sacrifice his future. Truly... He was one of a kind in this cruel selfish world.
"So... What are we going to do next?" Now that he had agreed, Eldric wanted to know the next course of action.
"Aria doesn't like when there are too many people around her.
So, we will be holding the ceremony here in our house. We have already received the required materials. After the ceremony, you two will be officially husband and wife and will receive blessings of the world." Now that Eldric has accepted the marriage, Elara is more than happy to answer all his questions. Cedric too had a smile on his face. After all, this was perhaps the first time after their daughter's fifth birthday that they truly smiled from the bottom of their heart.
"After the marriage, if you want, you can sleep with Aria." With a blush on her face, Elara spoke. "But don't be forceful. Even though I would love nothing more than to see my grandkids, I would still like you to take care of her feelings first. Even though she can't speak and remains like this... She has her way of expressing her feelings."
Gently brushing her daughter's hair, Elara spoke in a soft tone.
"Go... After dinner, take some rest. You must be tired after such a long day." Waving towards Eldric, Cedric spoke further "Tomorrow is the biggest day of your life. You need to be in perfect condition."
"Umm..." After dinner, Eldric walked inside his room before changing into a new set of clothes and lying on the bed.
He had countless thoughts rushing through his head. From leaving the school to getting a new job and then getting married.
Everything felt like a dream. It all was happening so fast that Eldric didn't know how to react. Should he be happy or should he be sad?
The more he thought about it, the more he found himself at a loss for answers. He didn't know whether he did the right thing or not. On one side he was against marrying someone who can not decide for herself. While on the other hand, he was obliged to take care of her.
"Meh... Screw it." After thinking for a long time and being unable to come up with a definite answer, he just shook his head and didn't bother to think about it.
Since it has already come to this, then the only thing to do is to move forward. As for what the future has for them in store... No one knows. With these thoughts in his mind, Eldric tried to go to sleep.
.
.
.
.
The entire night Eldric couldn't get a wink of sleep. Although he appeared calm on the surface, but there was a raging storm inside him.
He might look like an eighteen-year-old boy, but inside he was still fifteen years old. Not to mention marrying, he didn't even have a girlfriend. It was a miracle that he was still able to retain his calmness even amongst all this.
The more he thought about it, the more Eldric felt his heart racing. Numerous thoughts began to stir up in his mind.
What was he going to do from now on? How was he going to communicate with her? Was he finally going to do the things that he had only seen on the internet? How should he act as a husband?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. But after taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down.
.
.
Waking up in the morning in a daze, Eldric looked around for a moment before the memories from the night emerged in his head.
Thinking about how he was going to marry today, he couldn't calm himself.
After taking a bath and changing into a new set of clothes, Eldric walked out of his room only to see Cedric and Elara waiting for him with smiles on their faces.
"Are you ready?" Cedric asked while looking at him.
"Umm..." Eldric just nodded in response. In his previous life, he had seen a lot of weddings but they all included numerous guests, a lot of functions, dance, songs, and grandeur. But the wedding here wasn't complicated. Unlike the previous world where people make an oath to the god of their religion, people here make an oath to the world. And unlike his previous life's gods... The world here takes this oath very seriously.
Even though Eldric appeared calm on the surface, one could tell from his red face and constant habit of rubbing his palms that he was feeling extremely nervous. Even Elara let out a chuckle seeing him pretending to be all serious.
"Come... Sit." Taking Eldric to the living room from where the furniture had been removed, Cedric made him sit on the ground cross-legged.
Soon, Elara brought Aria out of her room while holding her hand. At the moment, Aria was wearing a long red gown with a veil covering her face. Her dark black hair was flowing freely behind her back, reaching her waist.
Just like usual, she didn't speak but sat beside Eldric in a daze.
"Should we start?" Even though it was a day of great joy, Elara was trembling with nervousness.
"Hmm." Cedric nodded in reply as he picked up a small black hexagonal crystal, the size of his palm before raising it in the air.
And as soon as he did it, Eldric saw something magical happen. The crystal hovered in the air silently.
Cedric then took out a variety of flowers and materials before arranging them on the ground in the shape of a star.
And as soon as the last material was placed, the crystal suddenly began to crack. With it, the materials on the ground began to float into the air, rotating around the crystal, and merging with it. With every material that merged with the crystal, there would be an additional crack.
Soon all the materials disappeared, leaving behind a crystal that was about to shatter at any moment.
It was at this moment that Elara took out a white piece of paper and threw it towards the crystal.
The crystal which was already full of cracks shattered into pieces the moment the piece of paper merged with it.
With the shattering of the crystal, a deep purple flame appeared above the ground silently hovering there.
Eldric silently looked at everything happening in front of him. It was at this moment that the sound of Cedric suddenly echoed inside the room.
"Eldric... Are you willing to marry Aria and take her as your better half?"
As soon as this question was asked, the purple flames flickered as if waiting for an answer.
"Mmm... I do." Looking at the expectant gaze towards him, Eldric just nodded.
And the moment he answered, a third of the flame separated into two equal parts before suddenly rushing inside Eldric and Aria's body.
Frightened by this, Eldric was about to jump up, but seeing no harm he calmed himself.
"Eldric, are you willing to support her and take care of her for your entire life?"
This was the second question Cedric asked.
"I do."
With this, half of the remaining flame split into two before merging into his and Aria's body.
"Eldric, are you willing to provide and protect her?"
"I do."
As soon as he answered the last question, the remaining flame split into two before merging into his and Aria's body once again.
"With this, I declare you both husband and wife."
As soon as Cedric spoke these words, the space around them suddenly trembled before a long colorful ray of light emerged from it, enveloping both Eldric and Aria in it.
Before Eldric could understand anything, it was all over.
'What the...' Even though Eldric wanted to ask a lot of things, he suddenly saw Elena hugging Aria before bursting out crying.
With every passing second, she would tighten her grip around her daughter as her cries echoed throughout the house. With eyes filled with tears, she kept on hugging her and after a few moments grabbed Eldric by his hand and pulled him towards her before hugging both him and Aria in her embrace.
Even though it was a happy event, how could a mother not cry at this moment? For the past thirty years, she had been taking care of her daughter... Thirty years of blood and tears, and now was the time to finally bid farewell to her. Elara felt like someone carved out a piece of her heart.
After thirty years, it was finally time to bid farewell to her daughter. She didn't know whether this was going to be her last time seeing her or not. But now Aira wasn't just her daughter, but she was someone's wife too.
On the one hand, Elara was happy for her daughter, but on the other hand, she couldn't bring herself to marry her daughter off.
Eldric was just silent. He looked at Cedric who soon arrived near them before gently caressing his daughter's head and patting him on shoulder. He too wanted to speak, but unlike a mother, a father's emotions aren't as easy to express.
Memories from when she was little to this day began to play in his head as he silently looked at his daughter with eyes filled with love. He had a lot of words to say, a lot of emotions to express, but in the end, everything turned into a single smile that expressed everything.
"It is time to bid farewell." After almost an hour, Cedric patted his wife, as he pulled her away from their emotionless daughter.
"So soon?" Even though Eldric kmew rhey were going to leave, he didn't expect the two of them to leave this soon. Flustered, he could only look at them.
"Unfortunately, yes." With a sigh Cedric nodded. "There are so many things that I wanted to tell you, but I am afriad you have to learn it yourself.
Take care of yourself and Aria, son."
Patting him on shoulder, both Elara and Cedric looked at the enpty space in front of them and after waving their finger, soon disappeared from there, leaving behind a stunned Eldric and a dazed Aria.