Chapter 42: The Finest Gilded Performance

It really was a shame. The wedding dress Nathalya had made was beyond exquisite. The delicate fabric hugged his body like a second skin, and the embroidered pearls and polished crystals glimmered like starbursts. He almost didn’t want to wear it. His dear friend had worked so hard on it, all for this dreadful, ugly affair.

Everything was in place. Everyone had their duty. Among all the guests gathered for the day the entire Kingdom had been anticipating, there were hundreds of implanted Scarlet Cloaks. Aster had hidden several blades among his room, all of them different, but all of them sharp enough to drain crimson vengeance for everyone in the kingdom straight from the Usurper’s belly.

The distant bells of the palace temple warned him of the time. He looked himself over in the mirror again, veil in hand and waving the dress’s train to and fro. He’d have to go down in mere moments; he was just stalling now, really.