Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa whoa! What just happened?! Wait, let’s review: Adam suddenly came by to our house and said Marina was pregnant. That’s huge news, I mean, who the hell starts a conversation like that?! Thankfully he didn’t even recognize me at all, neither Lune nor Sol, but come on at least ease into it, man!

Alright, what happened next…? Oh right, even Marina was shocked about the news. How the hell is that even possible? Did Adam not inform her, and if so, then how did he know to begin with?! This asshole, just popping up unannounced and handing a tired looking Marina to me after saying such a thing… He didn’t even have any spare time to sit down and explain the situation with us, just gave me a cold and empty stare before going You better host a wedding soon, you don’t want your child to be born a bastard… And then he just up and left! The nerve….!

“M-Marina?” I shakily sat down by the bed she was snuggled up in, “You doing okay?”

“I’m fine, Lune.” She chuckled, “It’s not like I’m going into labor right now, y’know? That comes later.”

“Yeah, but… I guess. And did you know about this?”

Marina’s eyes deviated to the upper right corners as she tried so desperately to recall the days prior to this, “Well, looking back it was really obvious. To the point where everyone in the castle knew but me.”

“Obvious?”

“Yeah, things like late periods, nausea, and abrupt moments of bodily weakness. As someone who’s from the Dola family, I really should’ve put two and two together, heh.”

She finally came to the same question I had thought the entire time. The Dolas are a world-renowned family of doctors, and Marina was nothing if not a prodigy in the medical arts, so why would she not tell anyone about her symptoms, much less notice them herself?

“If you’re wondering why,” She suddenly opened up, “It’s because I was scared.”

“Scared?”

“Well, we’ll be going home soon, right? If your wife saw me in my pregnant state, she’d be devastated.”

That was your worry? Good lord woman, you really don’t know a thing about Cecily! When Carter died, she was the first to stand up and face the truth and move on instead of moping around like the rest of us. There was never a single problem that she wouldn’t face head on, and neither was there a problem that she couldn’t solve! I’m sure she’d probably be a bit upset, especially after we tell her our plans for the future, but she’ll at most just give me a slap on the face and then agree to it.

“Not only that, though.” Marina added, “Pregnancy is… a scary thing. It’s a new feeling, the feeling of no longer having to only worry about yourself, but about another young and frail being as well. I’ve seen many pregnant women come into my father’s office when I was a child, and the screams they’d let out during childbirth, the many times they would throw up during the actual pregnancy period, it was all just too much… I don’t know if I can handle it, and the fact that neither of us are even of legal drinking age just makes the whole thing feel like we’re going way too fast for our own good.”

After staying silent and listening to her tell me her truest of feelings regarding this, I couldn’t take hearing any of this anymore. I got close to her, and gave her a tight hug without so much as speaking a single word. The Marina I know is chipper and happy, and honestly I was half expecting her to be making light of this situation way more than anyone else would, spouting things like Good going, champ! and Hope the kid isn’t as much of a blockhead as you are! But seeing her so worried about this is kind of unreal in a way.

After getting hugged, she immediately broke down crying as she returned the gest. She didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know what to say, it was all just too much of a mess right now. The whole thing, it’s just as she said. We were moving way too fast, and out of order to boot. Adam told me to hurry it up with the wedding, so as not to have our child be born without his parents ever having married, but getting married at seventeen sounds way too immature, no?

I mean, how old was my dad when he had me? Let’s see, he was around forty when I left home, meaning he’s around… Forty five now?! Geez, that’s almost half a century of Lock Grimheart… Wait no! I’m going off track, I should be going back in time! Hmm, let’s see… He was twenty eight when I was born!? That’s like ten years after I’m supposed to have my kid! Oh God, that really puts things into perspective…

But if there’s anything I won’t be doing, it’s worrying! I’m Lune Grimheart. A traveler and inventor, the General of ARA, the benefactor of the Gryses (and also their burglar…) I’ve already been a parent once with Nelly, and Cecily and I had a ton of fun taking care of her! Now she’ll just have a little brother or sister to play with is all! That’s magnificent news, and we should most definitely be happy about it!

“Marina?” I whispered, “Will you marry me?”

She continued to sob, without even answering the question verbally even. Well, in her tears, she made sure to nod happily, and soon I noticed her embrace got tighter. She was afraid, obviously, but it’s not like she’ll be alone through this. I’ll be with her, every step of the way.

***

Fast forward to three weeks later. Today’s the day, our happy little wedding day! I mean, it’s quite rushed, and the only guests that were actually called were the friends of the bride. The groom’s a filthy hermit with like a total of three friends, and all three of them are out of the country or couldn’t be called because of the groom’s stupid circumstances. That being said, a lot of the maids were being really kind towards Marina, lightening up the mood and talking about all sorts of happy things to look forward too. Some of the older maids who are actually mothers would even give some advice to Marina, which is honestly really nice of them.

Looks like she was in safe hands with these maids, so I don’t have anything bad to say about them. Who I do have a problem with though, is the guy who told us about the pregnancy in the first place. Yep, everyone’s favorite King Adam!

“…” I approached him without saying a word.

“…What?” He answered back coldly.

“Today’s a joyous occasion. Wouldn’t want anyone to be caught with a sour mood now, would we?” I said as I handed him a glass of Cardina wine.

The reason he was in such a cranky mood was obvious to even a blind man. After all, before he got hitched with that childhood friend of his, he had previously confessed his feelings to Marina, who almost as spectacularly turned him down. After facing such heartbreak, he was actually quite calm about just being a friend of hers, but obviously he’d be fuming if he had to endure witnessing the wedding of the one he turned down with some other guy.

That being said, Adam is my (Lune’s) friend, and so what if Sol is just his shady business partner? I still want to have the King of Cardina’s blessing, if only for the bragging rights, honestly. He’s also become an amazing King ever since he was crowned, and I’ve even heard talks of Cardina being at the peak of its advancements under his rule. Well, those talks are nothing more than rumors, but I could definitely tell the difference between ‘Pre-Adam Cardina’ and ‘Post-Adam Cardina’ to say the least. I’m sure he’s made it to at least a few pages in the history books, meanwhile I’m nothing more than a commoner trying so desperately to be mentioned in the footnotes.

“You better treat her right, Pandora.”

“I will. But more importantly,” I began the teasing, “since we’ll be having a child, you should probably know by now just how well I’ve been treating her.”

“You…! N-No, you’re right. This is a momentous occasion for the both of you, nay, for the three of you. Mariabelle is a dear friend of mine, so just know that I’ll have your head on a stick if you so much as make her weep even a single tear!”

Whoa, this guy’s good… Too good! He somehow managed to stay composed after my distasteful remarks and then masterfully added in a hint of threatening to his little charade. But you can’t beat a merchant in a battle of tongues, I’m afraid!

“Yeah, dear friend… Haha!” I went to get a refill after making fun of him for a bit.

Soon after leaving Adam to fume to himself, I had walked up to the venue shank to open up another bottle. I noticed some of the maids staring at me as I haphazardly took hold of the corkscrew, so I waved at them with a happy smile. Instead of getting a wave back, I was met with disgusted gazes and whispering amongst themselves. Well, that’s just rude! I’m the man of the hour, here!

“Dear?” Marina came up to me with a pouty face, “Did you say something to The King?”

“Heh, nothing he didn’t need to hear~!”

“Dear, I understand you’re still a bit mad at him for confessing to me back then, but I already told you to drop it. He’s a good friend of mine, and he’s also a friend of yours (Lune’s), too. Please don’t be too hard on him.”

I glanced back over towards Adam’s table, who was now staring daggers at me while his wife, The Queen, consoled him. I took note of how the situation looked from an outsider’s perspective, and immediately realized why the maids were being so hostile towards me a moment ago.

From their perspective, this random guy they’ve never met, who looks like a run-down piece of trash, is getting married to the fair and lovely Mariabelle and is also openly shoving it in The King’s face. Yeah, I should really go and apologize… Well, that’s for later. Right now I need to get myself hammered!

“And dear?” Marina made sure to add another detail, “Remember our promise? After the wedding, you won’t ever touch a drop of alcohol again!”

“I know…” I added, “But right now is still fair game, right? It’s supposed to be a happy wedding after all!”

Sighing, she playfully punched my arm and chuckled, “You drunkard! Heh, enjoy the moment, just make sure you’re sober enough to not embarrass us during the ceremony.”

“I will!”

-DURING THE CEREMONY-

“Do you, Mariabelle Pandora, take Sol… Pandora(?) as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Before anything,” Marina added, “I’d like to say that you’re being kinda rude for judging us, Mr. Priest. And for your information, we just happened to share a last name. Oh, and yes, I do.”

After her little display of making fun of the priest’s judgmental tone (that idiot thought we were siblings!), everyone in the venue started giggling and clapping for her while the priest shriveled up in embarrassment. That being said, he knew how to handle these types of situations, so he immediately diverted his attention to the disheveled groom who was being propped up by an equally wasted Adam.

“And do you, Sol Pandora, take Mariabelle as your lawfully wedded wife?”

“Fuck yesh I do!” I raised a half empty glass of wine as I shouted.

“Heck yeah, Sol!” Adam hyped me up, “You tell that sunovabitch priest!”

If you’re wondering what exactly is going on here, I made sure to apologize to Adam after being scolded by Marina, and after talking about some of the books we’ve read, we had quickly got back on the same page. Now Adam and Sol are buds, just like Adam and Lune!

“A-Ah, my King, I apologize for my earlier tone.” The priest tried to weasel his way out of being told off by the King, but Adam wasn’t having any of it.

“Noh! You mesh with my bud’z wife on their wedding day, you mesh with me, y’hear!?”

“Y-Yes, My King. I’m sorry…!”

“Now!” Adam rallied up everyone’s attention, “Let’s have the lovebirds kish!”

Needless to say, Marina wasn’t at all happy with the way I bonded with Adam. She was so embarrassed, I’m pretty sure she would’ve preferred I continued making fun of him. Well, either way the rest of the wedding party went well. I made sure to compose myself during the first dance with Marina, but after Adam lifted me high up into the sky in a beautiful display, I couldn’t keep it together anymore, and we continued laughing at the absurdity of it all.

In the morning after, Marina was a bit angry with the both of us, but I was sadly the only person who had to witness her wrath. But alas, I now have to part ways with my dear alcoholic beverages… and welcome my new family instead! Haha! All in all, I’d call that a successful wedding! Now all that’s left is… ugh, my head…