# 4
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In the lands of the Duchy of Taylor, so vast as no other can see, grows the wheat that feeds the subjects of the Empire.
“Don't let anyone starve in Taylor's land.”
In accordance with this principle established by the First Duke, all successive Dukes of Taylor put great effort into the welfare of their subjects, and occupied themves with developing agricultural techniques that would ensure a stable wheat harvest.
As a result, the Duchy of Taylor was transformed into a huge granary that fed the entire Deccan Empire. It was natural for an ear of wheat to be engraved on the Taylors' crest. The third emperor appreciated the virtue of this family, and granted them with his own hand the beautiful church and the magnificent portico.
Grace was walking slowly down that hallway that stored the glory of the Taylors, wearing her wedding dress and the bride's veil.
The nobles whispered to each other as they looked at her:
“She is an exact copy of the late Duchess.”
“No one knows what life has in store... for Taylor's daughter to marry just a young Count Al Sachsen?”
“Hush! They are now the family of Her Majesty the Empress, be careful what you say or misfortune will happen to us.”
Count Sachsen looked Grace up and down with a searching eye, then murmured just like his son:
“It's okay, it's worth what was paid for it.”
As for Rosette, she clenched her fists in anger for no specific reason. She couldn't bear for everyone's eyes to be on Grace, even for a moment. She wished that every look given to the bride would be scattered. Her wish was fulfilled when the other hero of this marriage appeared.
“Wow...”
Whispers of astonishment spread like an infection.
"Oh, my God."
The groom appeared behind Grace, with swollen, dark blue eyes and an unmistakable gloomy expression.
Eyes automatically turned from the bride standing at the entrance of the church to that battered face.
“Poor thing...”
Nothing more, nothing less; This word alone was enough to describe the situation. Really... poor thing.
The opinion of Joseph, Walter's assistant, was not much different. He clicked his tongue lightly and said:
“Taylor with this drunkard... are we sure that this is the girl who sent the invitation card?”
Walter glanced at him sideways and whispered a short warning:
“Your mouth.”
Joseph quickly closed his mouth and looked around.
They were standing in a hidden corner of the church garden in front of the building, but the problem was the appearance of Walter Richmond himf. His sculpted muscles, honed by monster battles on the front lines, combined with his imposing stature, made even his elegant suit look like the uniform of a warlord. In contrast to the capital's nobility with carefully coiffed hair, his short, uncombed hair exuded refined brutality. More than one woman was ashamed of him and their gazes were confused.
“Who is he?”
The nobles were peeking at him wonderingly. His face was an unforgettable kind, and yet this was the first time they had seen him. There was no symbol on his clothes that attributed him to a noble family.
“Could it be that he is not a noble?”
“Would someone who is not noble be invited to such a wedding?”
Before the whispering continued, the bells to start the ceremony rang. Curiosity suppressed itf temporarily, and most of those present headed towards the church.
Among the moving crowd of people, a gray-haired old man muttered:
“His Majesty looks like a patient...”
His son who was supporting him panicked and whispered to him:
"Don't say that! Someone might hear you!"
But the Sheikh shrugged his shoulders indifferently:
"I say he looks like someone he looks like, so what? It's been more than a decade since His Majesty fell ill... People even forgot his features. I thought I forgot too... But if the Crown Prince were alive today, you would think he looked like this."
“No one thinks like that but you!”
“Everything changed in an instant...in an instant.”
The old man didn't really listen to his son's objection, but just kept staring at Grace's back as she walked towards the Archbishop.
What a girl, she grew up so beautiful that it hurts the heart of a stranger who has nothing to do with her.
If the late Duke's soul saw this scene now, he might have hit the ground sobbing.
The archbishop, watching the newlyweds from the front, was thinking something similar.
As for the groom's appearance, with his bulging blue eyes, he only betrayed the obscenity of a man from the ugliest of the streets. Even in this sacred moment, he did not stop staring at the bride shamelessly. The archbishop exhaled dissatisfiedly, while the priests helped the newlyweds bow and kneel before the altar.
The Archbishop's brocade suit was colored by the colors of the light that penetrated the stained glass. He rang the bell himf, and anointed the foreheads of both the bride and groom with holy water.
During all of this, Jack Sachsen's eyes did not turn from the bride. He was looking at the calm side of Grace's face, as pure as a porcelain doll, as he delved into tangled thoughts.
How beautiful...
She was such a rare beauty, that he had a strange feeling that he had seen her before.
Why do my eyes hurt more every time I look at them?
The pain in his eyes intensified, and he growled to himf, while the Archbishop also furrowed his eyebrows.
What kind of man is this?!
The groom's constant glances at the bride during the entire ritual seemed to him extremely annoying and inappropriate.
Among the guests, a faint whisper spread:
"What's this? Suddenly he's a passionate lover?"
Joseph whispered as he watched from afar, and Walter let out a short, sarcastic laugh. However, he too did not take his eyes off Grace; The ceremony was almost over, and he still did not fully understand what this “daring miss” wanted to suggest to him.
The ceremony progressed rapidly until all that remained was the ritual oath. It was a ritual in which the bride and groom were asked before the Lord if they would enter this marriage with a pure heart and body, and if they would commit to loving their partner alone for life.
The Archbishop looked at Jack coldly, and the question of purity passed over him. How can a man who is known to have six illegitimate children be asked about bodily purity?
“Do you swear, Jack Sachsen, to take Grace Taylor as your wife, and to love and honor her for life before the Lord?”
For the first time since entering the church, Jack turned his gaze to the Archbishop and answered with a serious face:
“Yes, I swear.”
The Archbishop's gaze turned to Grace. This young woman, who had been listening to his words from the beginning with unwavering majesty, now answered her with a question he had been repeating for many years:
“Do you swear, Grace Taylor, to enter this holy matrimony with a pure heart and body?”
It was an ancient question, long since reduced to a mere procedure, like the dabbing of water on the forehead; No one answers except “yes.”
Grace slowly raised her eyes. Her body dressed in a wedding dress was reflected first in the archbishop's eyes, and then her gaze moved to the statue of the god lying behind him.
An old voice passed through her mind:
“Your Majesty, the most important thing in hunting is waiting for the right moment.”
When she remained silent, a new whisper began to rise between the seats. The Archbishop cleared his throat to bring her back to the moment:
“Hmm.”
This God, who never stopped looking at her from above with a face that revealed nothing, was doing the same thing today as well. She looked up at him and said in her heart:
Oh my God...it's about time.
“Do you swear, Grace Taylor, to enter into this holy matrimony with a pure heart and body?!”
His voice rang louder this time, and it resonated between the circular walls of the church. All eyes turned to the bride.
Grace felt as if she was standing alone in the heart of the enemy camp. A cold shiver ran down her spine, and at the same time the fire that she had been suppressing for years ignited in her chest, and its temperature rose.
She tightened her stomach muscles and took a deep breath. Then she finally opened her lips.
It wasn't just words; It was an unearthing of the sword she had hidden so long.
"no."
“My heart loves someone else.”
Silence spread throughout the hall, as if ice had been poured on those present. The Saxen family gasped, their mouths remaining open, and Duke Taylor and his wife held their mouths with their hands in astonishment.
They were not the only ones shocked; Jack Sachsen, who had six illegitimate children, opened his eyes wide and looked at her with such white anger that even the Archbishop began coughing in confusion.
There is nothing like this in the records!!
No matter how much he dug into his memory, he could not find a single case in the history of the temple where something like this had happened.
The whispering became louder and louder, so the Archbishop tried to regain control and pretended that he did not hear, and hurried to the next question:
“Do you swear, Grace Taylor, to take Jack Sachsen as your husband, and to love and honor him for life before the Lord?”
He looked at her with sincere hope:
Please...just say yes and get it over with.
However, Grace quietly turned towards the groom and stared at him. That confident, calm stance conveyed everything that was going on in her heart to whoever could see it.
Wherever her eyes turned, they were met by the eyes of the nobles, and then returned to Jack with him. More than one of them nodded to himf unconsciously.
“...What a shame, what did he do to his eye on the wedding night that made it look like this?”
“…Even I wouldn’t have expected love or respect from him.”
Jack became more agitated, and his breathing became more intense, adding more weight to Grace's words.
“Archbishop! What are you doing?! Why don’t you follow the ceremony?!”
Count Sachsen rose, unable to bear it, shouting, and the Archbishop, in turn, tried to hurry to end the ritual and circumvent the situation.
But Grace beat him to it.
“So, I don’t think I can love this man.”
Her sweet voice rang in everyone's ears. The Archbishop closed his eyes, searching for his Lord.
Oh my God, why did you put me through this day?
“I don't think I could love even one hair on Jack Sachsen's head.”
M.M.: Land, sea and air bombing 🤣🔥
The moment I closed the door to speak, the brutality of the immoral person that everyone knew suddenly exploded.
“You, the one who was attached to another man before marriage, dare to talk about loving me or not loving me?!”