Chapter 201: Towards the Finale 3

A woman’s most radiant splendor manifests when united with her cherished beloved through marriage’s sanctifying rites.

Love unlocks a woman’s unique, blossoming beauty – which attains its zenith when she adorns herself in her most resplendent raiment for that paramount life event.

And beholding Estel’s breathtaking radiance in her bridal finery, Dust found himself genuinely awestruck by her captivating vision.

Exquisitely gowned and bejeweled in anticipation of her imminent nuptials, Estel outshone her ornate trappings – her lustrous tresses upswept, porcelain skin delicately blushed with cosmetic artistry, arrayed in pristine white lace like a vivid rose’s vibrant petals unfurling.

“Truly, Sister – you possess such natural beauty that the simplest embellishments render you utterly resplendent…”

“Hah, you flatter me, Dust. Though hearing such from you makes the words sweeter still.”

“Brother will undoubtedly be enraptured witnessing his bride’s radiance. To become husband to such dazzling loveliness – he is indeed a blessed man.”

Dust’s warm sincerity prompted a fleeting shadow across Estel’s expression despite her demure smile.

“Blessed, you say…I suppose those words ring true enough. Though ‘over-blessed’ might prove a more apt appraisal…”

“…Ah…I…um…”

Detecting that subtle bitterness suffusing her tone, Dust immediately recognized its underlying implication.

Originally intended as Santana’s principal wife, Estel had ultimately deferred that position to the formidable Lady Cajeros – a Dragonian imperial princess whose overwhelming pedigree relegated Estel to this ‘secondary’ concubine status.

An otherwise incomprehensible demotion for a woman of Estel’s caliber, yet her resolve to become Santana’s bride remained inviolable regardless of such reduced standing.

Despite reassurances that she reconsider this ‘unbecoming’ option, Estel refused all persuasions with characteristic stubbornness:

She would accept no other husband but that man – even as a mere concubine.

An unwavering determination both humbling and alarming in its intensity.

“But no matter – my battle has only just begun, that’s all.”

“Eh…? What do you…?”

Estel’s grim pronouncement elicited Dust’s bewildered curiosity, prompting her clarification in measured tones:

“True, my ‘rival’ hails from Dragonian imperial nobility – a formidable pedigree. But she and I share one immutable commonality despite our disparate standings.”

“Ah…well, yes…but still…”

“We both entered this arrangement through calculated political maneuvering – not genuine affection. And has not my heart’s devotion for Lord Santana predated hers by far? Our rapport surely eclipses whatever perfunctory connection he shares with Lady Cajeros.”

“Uhh…”

Unable to muster any coherent rebuttal, Dust could only gape wordlessly as Estel reassured herself through this self-deluded reckoning:

‘Titles like ‘principal’ or ‘concubine’ amount to mere trivialities ultimately. What matters within these domestic spheres is whose embrace a man cherishes most tenderly. And you had best believe I shall surpass that insipid imperial princess to fully claim Lord Santana’s affections irrevocably.’

Despite her outward composure while kindling this brazen determination, Estel’s disquieting convictions only unsettled Dust further as he frantically sought some delicate rejoinder.

‘How to disabuse her of this misconception…? Though Estel remained unaware of Cajeros’s connection until recently, her assumptions could not stray further from reality…’

Estel perceived Maid Polena as Santana’s true beloved while dismissing Cajeros as a mere political arrangement.

Yet the actual truth reversed those impressions entirely.

Although uncertain about Polena’s precise standing, Santana’s genuine affections had long belonged to Cajeros alone despite maintaining discretion over their rapport to avert Dragonian unrest.

Cajeros and Santana’s bond predated even their respective knighthoods – crystallizing into a fabled romance worthy of fairytale epics, now consecrated through holy matrimony.

‘Estel believes Cajeros a mere political equal…ignorant that she reigns uncontested within Brother’s heart. But…I cannot divulge such sensitive disclosures under any circumstances…’

Their shared history as erstwhile adversaries remained an utter taboo for external dissemination – eliciting catastrophic reprisals if ever revealed recklessly.

But even exceeding that prohibition, Dust himself stood compromised – bound by arcane obligations rendering him effectively Cajeros’s subordinate feudal.

Ostensibly unchanged, his fealty to that ‘mistress’ now constrained through mystical oaths and compacts whose violations would invite unspeakable retribution.

‘Cajeros…that benign countenance belies a ruthlessly pragmatic core. Provoking her displeasure could prove…hazardous. And yet…leaving Estel mired in delusion indefinitely rankles just as sorely…’

As Estel fixated upon cultivating her illusory chances despite the foregone conclusion, Dust parted his lips repeatedly – only to resign himself to powerless silence each time.

‘Haaah…what’s done is done, I suppose. Enlightening her changes nothing – only ensuring my own ruin while inflicting needless anguish upon her. Better she persists blissfully unaware than devastated by the merciless truth…’

Resigning himself to maintaining this charade, Dust could only regard Estel’s self-deceptive primping with pained resignation as she remained ensconced within her tragically naive fantasies.

Within lavishly adorned gardens, the besotted couple exchanged vows tenderly grasping each other’s hands – their expressions radiant yet bashfully demure:

“I solemnly pledge to love you eternally as your devoted wife, Lord Santana!”

“And I swear to cherish you forevermore as a devoted husband, Lady Estel!”

As they professed their heartfelt marital oaths, the presiding officiant beamed beatifically before declaring:

“Then let the bride and groom seal their union with a sacred kiss!”

Heeding those ceremonial words, their lips met in a tender caress as raucous cheers and tumultuous applause erupted from the celebrating assembly.

In that moment, savoring her new husband’s exquisitely gentle, intoxicatingly sweet kiss, Estel inwardly reaffirmed her unshakable resolution:

To wholly possess those enticing lips as her own…

To irrevocably dominate the innermost sanctums of his heart and soul.