Evan Chu glanced at Skylar Yule beside him and said, "Aren't you going to bring me the ceremonial robes? Haven't you seen enough yet?"
Skylar Yule was already laughing so hard his face was flushed red. Maybe today was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. "I'm getting it, I'm getting it right now!"
He immediately grabbed a set of ceremonial robes from the palace maid's tray and tossed them to Evan Chu, saying, "Big brother, I'm really looking out for you. Hurry up and put them on—she's about to turn around!"
Evan Chu grabbed the ceremonial robes, quickly found the underwear, and put them on in a hurry. The heavy weight in his heart finally lifted, just as the palace maid turned around and walked over.
"You—what are you coming over for? I can put them on myself!" Evan Chu said.
"Consort, this is the rule. I've already bent it once for you, please don't make things difficult for me. Otherwise I'll have to tell the princess you aren't following protocol, and that won't end well for you!" the palace maid said.
"Rules? Who the hell came up with these stupid rules? What if some pervert decides to take advantage of you right here?" Evan Chu said, exasperated.
"If that happened, it’d be perfect! We could go straight to the princess and report on the consort’s capabilities. But sadly, consort doesn’t want to—do you dislike me because my status is low and my looks are plain?" the palace maid said, sounding a bit aggrieved.
Both Evan Chu and Skylar Yule were shocked. The Mermaid Kingdom actually had customs like this? It was just too bizarre. Even if he really had such thoughts, it’d be impossible—Skylar was right there, no way he’d do something crazy in front of him!
"You're overthinking it. Sis, you're very pretty—it's just that I don't have those kinds of thoughts right now, so don't take it to heart!" Evan Chu said helplessly.
"Heh, the royal consort really is a gentleman—how rare! Judging by your physique, consort, you must be quite impressive!" the palace maid said with a laugh.
Evan Chu's face instantly turned red. Were all the women in the Mermaid Kingdom this open? Saying things like that out loud was just outrageous.
The palace maid then dressed Evan Chu piece by piece, and when she finished, she deliberately gave a squeeze to a certain area and said, "Not bad—pretty big!"
Right then, Evan Chu wished he could kick the palace maid out of the room. Damn, she was blatantly taking advantage of him—was this really a Mermaid Kingdom custom?
Then she combed Evan Chu’s hair. "Consort, just wait here. When the auspicious hour arrives, I’ll come back and take you out!" With that, the palace maid left the room.
Evan Chu felt like he was facing a formidable enemy, sweat beading on his forehead. If they started some kind of bathing ritual next, his innocence would be ruined in her hands.
At that moment, Skylar Yule looked Evan Chu up and down and said, "Second brother, you really look dashing today. How come I never noticed before?"
"Don't get cocky. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be stuck doing this. And now you're giving me grief? You're really killing me here!" Evan Chu shot Skylar Yule a glare.
Soon, a new palace maid came in, looked at Evan Chu, and said, "Consort, please write your birth date and time here on this rice paper, along with your name and household registration!"
Evan Chu almost blurted out, "You're checking my household registration too?" but swallowed the words. He wrote down everything the maid asked for—except the birth date and time, which he had no idea about, so he left it blank.
The palace maid took the rice paper Evan Chu had filled out and quickly left. Evan knew that soon it would be time to bow to heaven and earth and marry the Mermaid Princess.
Not long after, the palace maid who had helped Evan Chu change came in and said, "Consort, please follow me to the grand hall to marry the princess. This young master is also invited to witness the ceremony."
Evan Chu slowly followed the palace maid into a grand palace as splendid as the Heavenly Dragon Empire’s main hall. He noticed that half the decorations seemed to be made of gold—truly the home of a wealthy emperor.
By now, the palace was filled with people—humans, merfolk, and crabfolk alike. These were surely the most important figures in the Mermaid Kingdom, not a single one to offend.
Selena and Luna Chu were standing off to the side. Evan Chu noticed Selena looked a bit displeased—he knew it was because she wasn’t the bride.
The Mermaid King and Queen sat high above at the front of the hall, while the Mermaid Princess stood quietly with a red veil over her head. Even from behind, she radiated a pure, ethereal beauty.
Skylar Yule immediately moved to stand beside Luna Chu, both watching the upcoming wedding ceremony.
Evan Chu followed the palace maid to the Mermaid Princess’s side. He caught a whiff of a strange, pleasant fragrance from her—he couldn’t tell if it was her own scent or her perfume, but it was very appealing.
Just then, an elderly man with two fish fins on his ears approached Evan Chu and the princess. Holding a brush and a bowl of red liquid, he cleared his throat and announced, "Today is the day our Mermaid Princess Claire Ouyang and Prince Evan Chu of the Heavenly Dragon Empire join in marriage. Please give these two your sincerest blessings!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Mermaid King and Queen stepped down from above. The King dipped the brush into the bowl and painted a few strokes on Evan Chu’s face, then painted a few on Claire Ouyang as well.
The Mermaid Queen likewise painted a few strokes on Luna Chu's face, then added some to Claire Ouyang before returning to her seat.
Evan Chu’s face was instantly turned into a riot of colors. He couldn’t help but mutter, “Damn it, they’ve made me look like a tabby cat—what kind of tradition is this?” But he didn’t dare move, just went with the flow and let them do as they pleased.
Then everyone in the hall took turns adding random marks to the couple’s wedding robes. Thankfully, no one added more to Evan’s face, or who knows what he’d end up looking like.
Luna Chu giggled as she painted Evan’s robe, saying, “Big sis is happy today, so I’ll paint you extra! You really are way too handsome today, hahahaha!”
Once everyone finished, the merfolk elder announced, “Now, the princess and the royal consort will bow! First bow to heaven and earth! Second bow to the King and Queen! Third, husband and wife bow to each other!” Evan and Claire went through the motions like puppets, utterly speechless.
“Send them to the bridal chamber!” As soon as those words rang out, Evan saw Claire Ouyang beside him visibly tremble—whether from excitement or nerves, he couldn’t tell, but his own heart started pounding for no reason.
Two palace maids promptly led Evan and Claire out of the hall, while everyone else headed for the banquet. It was a day of celebration, sure to get lively.
Evan and Claire were brought to the new bridal suite. Evan glanced around at the decorations and felt like he’d walked into the wrong place—there were plenty of wedding symbols, but some were stuck on torture devices.
There was a tiger bench, a brazier, iron chains—almost like a prison cell. Wasn’t this supposed to be a wedding suite? Evan was momentarily dumbfounded.
One of the maids saw Evan’s expression and burst out laughing. “Royal Consort, these are just for show. We’ll move them out soon—they’re to prove you’re truly devoted to the princess. Otherwise, these torture devices will be used on you!”
“Oh, I get it. Please, just take them away!” Evan replied quickly.
“Take them all away—it really does kill the mood. Thank you for your trouble, husband!” Claire Ouyang finally spoke up.
Evan found her voice incredibly pleasant. He was just about to say something when suddenly Luna’s voice echoed in his mind…