When she was eight and Edelgard was seven, Monica declared she wanted to marry her when they grew up. No one had objected, but no one had taken it seriously, either. Hadn't Hubert said the same thing the other day? And what did children know of love? It was cute, precious, just a little game even when Monica stole a ring from her deceased mother's jewelry box and put it on Edelgard's finger.

The adults hadn't taken them seriously, but that day had meant everything to Edelgard. It was the day Edelgard realized she might like girls as well as boys, and while the adults had laughed none of them had said two girls couldn't get married. And more than once she'd seen her sister Rosalind blushing over a noble girl she took embroidery lessons with.

Monica's father made her put the ring back that day, but Monica promised someday she'd give her a real ring. Even when she went missing and everyone was willing to give her up for dead, Edelgard never forgot that promise. And when they were finally reunited, of course Monica remembered.

Monica promised she'd give Edelgard that ring and make good on that promise once the war was over, but she didn't need to. Monica's feelings for her had only grown, and in the time they'd been apart and then together, Edelgard had never stopped believing that day would come soon.

It's been a year since the war's end. Those Who Slither in the Dark are nothing but a fading memory, the Church of Seiros is spread evenly throughout Fodlan rather than contained in one seat of power. Count Varley is dead, not from the war but from a surprise assassination attack involving a poisoned biscuit (or so the rumors go), Mercedes has taken his place.

Edelgard looks to Mercedes, before facing the woman at her side. In a strange twist of fate, the "real ring" is the same one Monica gave her when they were children, only it fits perfectly now as Monica slides it onto her finger. In turn, Edelgard gifts her the ring her father told her to hold onto after those dark days and the disappearance of her mother. She was not my legally wedded wife, but I treasured her, and she would want you to give it to someone you love.

And she does. She loves Monica von Ochs with all of her heart, would risk everything to save her again if time rewound and presented her with different circumstances, and she knows without a doubt that Monica is true to every word of her vows.

"By the decree of Imperial law and under the power of the Goddess Sothis, you are now married," Mercedes says. Their lips come together in a single, perfect moment as everyone cheers.