Sera's ceremony went as well as theirs, with Blanc refusing to yell as loudly as he wanted, until he saw his sister shedding tears of happiness, a moment in which he roared like a beast, out of happiness for her. Blessing their engagement silently in his heart.
The night continued inside the main hall, where the main table was occupied by the two newly engaged couples, and their families opposite to them.
Many conversations were had that night, and much laughter was brought together with tears of joy and pride.
But soon the night ended, and Blanc and Celine found themselves sent to his room to consummate the engagement.
Blanc received pointers throughout the night from his father and now father-in-law, as well as his mothers for some unknown reason, which exhausted him beyond what he thought possible, so he found himself drinking wine to cope with the information received.
"I'm sorry for my family," began Blanc as they entered his room, the laughter and noise from the main hall, finally subsiding enough for them to understand each other, "they love to speak and get to know people, especially you, so I'm sorry if they were too much."
Celine giggled at his words, as she struggled to remove her boots, "Well, they are certainly more friendly and happy than my family is. It feels like a breath of fresh air to be around them, even though…"
"Oh, don't tell me they found the energy to lecture you as well," Blanc sighed, sitting on the bed. "Come here, sit down, let me help you with those."
"Well, thank you, my Golden Fiancée, I will not refuse such an offer. And to answer your question, yes, they did."
"Your father was merciless in his details as well, let me tell you," Blanc giggled as she removed her boots from her feet.
"The bastard," she sighed, lying on the bed.
"Well, the information was hopefully as useful as it sounded to be," Blanc said, joining her in watching the ceiling. "Do you regret it?"
"What?" she asked, turning her face towards Blanc.
"All of this," he replied, still watching the ceiling.
"Well, do you?" she answered with a question.
Blanc smiled at the unfairness, but answered honestly, as he turned to watch her, "No, I don't."
"Then why do you ask?" she replied, getting her face closer to his, still searching his eyes for the truth.
"So I can hear you say it," he said, as their noses were now touching.
But instead of answering, she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "Is this answer enough for you?" she asked, giggling.
"I didn't hear you quite right earlier, could you repeat that?" he replied, a grin on his lips.
And she did a few more times since it appeared her new fiancée's hearing was quite faulty in more ways than one, as she found out over the night as they did what all people do on such long nights.
Afterward, before they went to sleep, they decided to rest and have a cup of hot tea in the cold spring air on the balcony.
"If I were to have a favorite spot, this would be it," said Blanc as he pulled a chair for her.
"It is wonderful," she murmured as she watched the horizon, "way prettier than the Imperial Capital."
"I am glad to hear that," he smiled, as he poured her tea.
This was the first time in his life when Blanc chose to watch something else than his favorite views when sitting here.
He kept watching her, her face barely visible under the full moon, yet still pretty, even though she was lost in thought.
As they had embraced earlier, even though it was dark, and they couldn't see each other once they snuffed out the candles, both could feel the presence of the other's Marks as they also connected for an instant, making them instantly aware of all the Marks the other possessed.
In the silence that had fallen on the balcony, the only thing that could be heard was the wind moving the branches of the trees.
He thought that the earlier experience brought them closer, uniting them in more ways than one.
"May I say something?" she asked.
"Please, never ask me that again. Feel free to speak your mind whenever you feel like saying something," Blanc replied, with a serious expression.
"You, your family… all of it feels so strange to me," she began.
"Strange? In what way? Have we done something wrong?" asked Blanc, suddenly worried.
"Perhaps one day I will tell you all about it, but I have been raised to doubt all and everything. It offered a barrier that I could use to defend myself, and that allowed me to act with pride and arrogance as it was befitting of my Blood. Yet, these last few days have left me more confused than anything."
"Why is that?" Blanc asked, placing his hand on top of hers.
She accepted it with a smile as she spoke, "Because of you. We have just met, however, it feels as if I have known you my entire life, and I can never tell if you are speaking the truth when saying some things, or if you are just too good at lying."
Blanc sighed, hearing her words, as he turned his face towards the view in front of them, "Earlier, I felt the same. And I could see your arrogance when I met you, like nothing was worthy of your time until you saw the lynx pelt, but I've been raised the same way. Always plan, be careful of the words you speak, try to be more cunning than others, and ensure that you have the strength to show for it. But I refuse to do that with my family. What would become of this world if even families worked against each other?"
"Then you don't know my father," Celine mentioned.
"He seemed wonderful the last few days," Blanc muttered.
"Because he knows how to play the game. He made our Blood a Crownbound in just half a lifetime," she added. "Believe me, he hates every second here."
"Vita, help me…" Blanc sighed, "he will show up when the battle starts, right?"
"He will, not to worry. He hates it here, but hates commoners, especially the rebellious type, even more."
"I see," Blanc replied, lost in thought, "either way, he is not your issue anymore, Celine of Blood Denegis."
She laughed at his kind words, "And here I thought you would get mad at hearing the truth about my father."
"Why would I?" Blanc asked, "That is his truth, not yours."
Celine sighed, exhausted, "Yep, I still don't understand you."
"Lucky for you, and me also, we have a whole lifetime to figure it out." Blanc smiled, offering his hands for them to go back inside.
"Perhaps even more than that," she smiled back, accepting the hand offered as they went back inside to finally rest for the day.