Chapter 81 - The Grand Wedding (Part 1)

Chapter 81 - The Grand Wedding (Part 1)

Amidst swirling snowflakes, Platinum City welcomed the most important festival of the year – the Holy Grace Festival.

For the Aolan Empire, this year's Holy Grace Festival held another significant meaning: Emperor Leopold Holovin's nephew, Henry Holovin, was to be married during the festival.

Henry Holovin was the unofficial, yet acknowledged, heir apparent; every noble understood this fact. On ordinary days, Henry would accept being addressed directly as 'Your Highness the Crown Prince' with a tilt of his chin, and Emperor Leopold raised no objections.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Emperor Leopold himself was expected to place the golden crown upon his nephew's head during Henry Holovin's wedding, formally declaring him the heir apparent.

However, Henry Holovin's wedding was destined not to be peaceful.

Early in the morning, just as the Duke Green Plains' family entered Platinum City, blending into the stream of noble carriages arriving for the wedding, Charlotte received shocking news.

"What? Duke Panma has been stripped of his title?" Charlotte exclaimed in astonishment.

"Mhm, yeah!" Andre nodded vigorously. He had just heard this startling news while greeting some troublemaking friends he'd made the day before.

"A Duke, just removed like that! Madachi Tone is even being held captive in the Imperial Palace right now. Emperor Leopold's scheme is finally exposed! Charlotte, if we go to the palace now, won't we fall into the Emperor's trap too?" Andre's face was etched with worry.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "What's the use of telling me if there's a trap? Go tell Father."

The worry vanished from Andre's face in an instant, replaced by a sheepish grin. "I was just worried I might say the wrong thing and get scolded by Father again."

"Should I praise you for maturing, brother?" Charlotte felt that since the incident where he declared himself Duke Green Plains and was subsequently caught and thrashed by José Mellerfield, her older brother seemed to have gained a bit of sense, though perhaps not much.

"On what grounds did His Majesty Leopold strip Duke Panma of his title?" Charlotte asked.

"His Majesty the Emperor said Madachi Tone refused to dispatch knights to serve the Empire for many years," Andre replied.

Charlotte pursed her lips. "That excuse is too..."

"Too shameless, right?" Andre chimed in. "Everyone knows how much money Duke Panma has sent His Majesty the Emperor over the years."

The Aolan Empire had a system known as "Shield Money." Nobles who were obligated to serve their liege lord but, for various reasons, could not fulfill their service duty, could pay a sum of money to their lord instead. This payment was called "Shield Money."

"Shield Money" was originally a temporary measure implemented during difficult times of frequent warfare. For example, if prolonged wars severely reduced the number of knights, smaller nobles unable to muster enough knights for their lord's service could pay "Shield Money."

Normally, during relatively peaceful times, the "Shield Money" system wouldn't be in effect.

However, there was always room for flexibility. If a lower-ranking noble wished to pay in lieu of service, and the higher-ranking lord was willing to accept the money, then "Shield Money" could still be arranged. This was an unspoken rule, tacitly understood within noble circles.

Duke Panma, Madachi Tone, had sent considerable sums of money to His Majesty the Emperor over the years, and Leopold had never once criticized Madachi Tone for not providing military service. In the unspoken rules of the Aolan nobility, this constituted a mutually agreed-upon "Shield Money" arrangement.

By ignoring this tacit agreement and stripping Madachi Tone of his title using the failure to provide service as justification, Emperor Leopold was undoubtedly damaging his own credibility. Andre calling Emperor Leopold "shameless" seemed quite reasonable.

Yet, Charlotte sighed helplessly. "My dear brother, I already said it was an excuse. Didn't you even consider the real reason His Majesty took down Madachi Tone?"

"The real reason?" Andre looked completely bewildered.

Charlotte had no choice but to explain. "Madachi Tone has been flirting and consorting with the Edisa Empire for years. His loyalty to Aolan is highly questionable. While Emperor Leopold is alive, Madachi Tone might exercise some restraint out of fear. But if His Majesty were to pass away, it's highly doubtful whether Henry Holovin could keep him in check. Emperor Leopold is clearing obstacles and paving the way for Henry Holovin."

The Tone family was a major noble house in the Edisa Empire. Even after Madachi Tone defected from Edisa to the Aolan Empire, the Tone family's foundation remained unshaken.

Although Emperor Leopold had even married Princess Cassandra to Duke Panma, the Duke apparently didn't believe this signified acceptance by the Aolan Empire's nobility. Over the years, Madachi Tone had minimal contact with Aolan nobles, instead maintaining very close ties with the Tone family in the Edisa Empire. Not only did they correspond frequently, but he also regularly brought talented youths from the Tone family to his own domain, enfeoffing them as lower nobles.

Duke Panma's fiefdom bordered the lands of the Marquis Blackstone, making it impossible for Madachi Tone to hide these activities. Consequently, many Aolan nobles had expressed doubts about the loyalty of this "surrendered general" with a history of betrayal. There was no reason Emperor Leopold wouldn't share these suspicions.

After hearing his sister's explanation, Andre looked as though he'd had an epiphany. "Oh, so that's how it is. Then I can rest easy."

Charlotte desperately wanted to spit: Rest easy my foot!

But she was a lady and couldn't resort to such vulgarity.

Did Emperor Leopold truly strip Duke Panma of his title and place Madachi Tone under house arrest solely to eliminate this potential future traitor?

Charlotte didn't think so.

Madachi Tone might have harbored thoughts of betrayal for years, but the fact remained that he hadn't actually rebelled. The obvious reasons weren't just that Emperor Leopold had granted him a dukedom and married his daughter to him, but also that his neighbor was the Marquis Blackstone, Brown Lekman.

Having fought alongside Brown Lekman, Madachi Tone undoubtedly knew better than anyone just how formidable the Aolan Empire's foremost general truly was. With the Marquis Blackstone nearby, Madachi Tone would find it difficult to muster the courage to betray them.

However, while the Marquis Blackstone effectively kept Madachi Tone in check, Madachi Tone also significantly tied down the Marquis.

Ever since Madachi Tone was enfeoffed as a Duke, Brown Lekman had left his own domain only a handful of times, always returning as quickly as possible. When Emperor Leopold needed troops, he never mobilized the forces of the Marquis Blackstone.

The most direct beneficiary of Emperor Leopold's move against Madachi Tone was undoubtedly the Marquis Blackstone, Brown Lekman. An old shackle binding this sharp blade of the Empire had finally been removed and discarded.

And a blade, once drawn, is meant to slay enemies, or at the very least, intimidate them.

So, who was the most likely enemy the Emperor of the Aolan Empire would face in the coming years?

The answer required no thought – the King of the Gatu Kingdom, Ethel Holloway.

On one hand, eliminating a potential traitorous threat. On the other, freeing up the Marquis Blackstone to deal with the restless Ethel Holloway.

Emperor Leopold's move could be described as killing two birds with one stone.

However, Charlotte didn't intend to explain this second objective to Andre. Her brother was inherently lazy about delving deep into such matters anyway. Knowing that Emperor Leopold dealt with Duke Panma because of Madachi Tone's treacherous intentions was enough for Andre to feel reassured, believing the Mellerfield family was definitely safe.

The stream of carriages gradually entered the magnificent, newly decorated Imperial Palace, guided by palace guards into several separate flows. Judging by the coats of arms on the carriages, nobles of different ranks were being led to different palaces for reception.

Top-tier imperial nobles like the Mellerfields were guided directly to a splendid building adorned in gold, red, and white. Henry Holovin and Anne Paste's wedding ceremony would soon take place here.

This building was named "Gerhard Palace." Gerhard Holovin was the first Emperor of the Aolan Empire, and Gerhard Palace had always been the place where the imperial family held important celebrations. Having Henry's wedding arranged here clearly showed the importance Emperor Leopold attached to this event.

Upon entering Gerhard Palace, José Mellerfield and Count Philips' families were welcomed by attendants into an antechamber adjacent to the main hall to rest and await the start of the wedding.

Although only an antechamber, it was quite spacious, furnished not only with exquisite food and drinks but also with musicians and dancers performing. When Charlotte and the others entered, there were already guests inside, some of whom were acquaintances of Charlotte.

For instance, Duke Bonan, Fernandes Paste, and the King of Koxin Kingdom, Alphonse Murat.

José Mellerfield smiled and greeted the two upon entering. Fernandes stood up and warmly returned the greeting to José Mellerfield; it was evident the Duke Bonan was in high spirits with his daughter about to be married.

Alphonse Murat also smiled and exchanged a few words with José Mellerfield but remained seated. His rank was one level higher than José Mellerfield's, so adopting such a posture, no one could criticize him.

"Grandfather," Charlotte followed behind her father, greeting His Majesty Alphonse. Alphonse Murat was Rosie's father, which made him Charlotte's step-grandfather.

Alphonse Murat merely nodded, without a hint of a smile on his face. His reaction to Charlotte was less enthusiastic than that of the unrelated Fernandes Paste beside him.

Charlotte didn't feel upset, because Alphonse Murat wasn't just cold towards her, his step-granddaughter...

"Father," Rosie pulled José Mellerfield to sit beside Alphonse Murat, undoubtedly wanting to display her importance and role in the alliance between the two families.

However, Alphonse Murat still just nodded, showing no more warmth towards his own daughter than he had towards Charlotte.

Rosie had been with the Mellerfield family for years now, and Charlotte had more or less figured out what kind of person her "new grandfather" was.

To put it nicely, this little old man, Alphonse Murat, had an introverted and self-absorbed personality. To put it bluntly, he was cold and selfish.

Alphonse Murat's coldness and selfishness applied almost universally, whether towards strangers or his own family.

It was said that when Alphonse Murat was young, he enjoyed drifting on large ships at sea for days on end. Once, his wife took their child, who was less than a year old, boating with him. The child caught a cold and developed a fever from the sea wind. Lacking medicine on board, Alphonse's wife wanted to return to land to find a doctor for the child. But His Majesty Alphonse hadn't finished enjoying himself and refused to go back.

Alphonse's wife held the critically ill child and wept uncontrollably. Finding his wife noisy, His Majesty Alphonse had both her and the sick child locked away in a soundproof cabin in the lower decks. By the time His Majesty Alphonse returned home, having had his fill of fun, the child was nearly dead.

That child, almost killed by her own father, was the current Queen, Mary Holovin.

If he treated Mary like that, how much better could he possibly treat Rosie?

Rosie forced a smile and spoke to her father, but the feedback from His Majesty Alphonse was so minimal that Rosie seemed to be performing a one-woman monologue, growing increasingly awkward. Her status as a princess of the Koxin Kingdom was Rosie's greatest asset, yet Alphonse made no effort to hide his indifference towards his daughter in front of so many outsiders. How was Rosie supposed to maintain her composure?

Seeing the smile gradually stiffen on Rosie's face, Charlotte almost felt sorry for her.

Fortunately, just then, several more guests entered the antechamber, rescuing Rosie from her awkward situation. The leader of the group had a square face, a sturdy build, sharp eyes, and wore a simple, plain black formal suit. The moment he entered, Fernandes Paste, José Mellerfield, and even Alphonse Murat, who had been completely still just moments before, all stood up to greet him.

This man was the Marquis Blackstone, the Empire's foremost general, Brown Lekman.

Brown Lekman put on no airs, taking the initiative to bow to the King and Dukes who had arrived earlier. The three royals and nobles returned his salute.

Brown Lekman took a seat beside Duke Bonan, Fernandes Paste. This created a seating arrangement in the antechamber of two on the left and two on the right, facing each other.

The four great figures might have chosen their seats randomly, yet Charlotte, observing from the side, found it rather interesting.

Seated on the left, Brown Lekman and Fernandes Paste were both aligned with Emperor Leopold. Fernandes Paste's daughter was about to marry the Crown Prince Henry. Successive Marquises of Blackstone had always been loyal to the Aolan Emperor, and Brown Lekman was no exception.

Seated on the right, Alphonse Murat and José Mellerfield were not as close to Emperor Leopold. There seemed to be unresolved issues between Alphonse Murat and His Majesty the Emperor; last time, Leopold's intelligence organization, "The Claw," had even "mistakenly" kidnapped him. José Mellerfield had also remained hesitant, unwilling to clearly declare allegiance to the Emperor's side.

However, despite their different stances, these four "vassal lords" chatted without much restraint. Perhaps because they rarely met, all four had plenty to talk about.

As the conversation warmed up, the voices of the four powerful men almost completely drowned out the melodious music played by the musicians.

Only when the figure of the final guest appeared did the lively antechamber suddenly fall silent, as if someone had pressed a pause button.

This tardy guest was the King of Gatu, Ethel Holloway.