Chapter 153: Chapter 153

The wedding officially began the day after the bride arrived.

Early in the morning, the guests gathered in the grand garden in front of the mansion enjoyed the prepared food and praised Roden.

As the wedding took place in Pendia, not many guests could attend from Libert, but the lineup of Pendian guests was so impressive that their presence was more than grand enough.

With everyone present, from royal knights to high-ranking officials and prestigious nobles, one could have convened parliament right then and there.

The musicians sang various songs that featured Roden’s name; although Shan was usually the main protagonist of such songs, having his name mentioned even as a supporting figure was a great honor for a knight.

Mages who came from the Magic Society decorated the surroundings with various illusion spells.

While enjoying the food, acquaintances of the couple-to-be stepped forward to enliven the atmosphere by competing in skills.

Of course, as shedding blood was inappropriate for such a day, the events were limited to light sparring with wooden swords or spears, musical performances, and archery contests.

“Damn it, I lost.”

“Hup!”

Since Shan did not participate, Lug, wielding a long wooden spear, easily took first place in the weapon sparring match.

With his tall stature and long limbs, when he thrust out with the long spear, he boasted a reach no different from a ranged weapon, so ordinary people could not possibly stand against him.

Ravana managed to keep up fairly well, but unfortunately, without drinking the Berserker’s Elixir, her skill was a step below Lug’s.

“As expected of the Giant Knight.”

“It is no wonder the Lord Protector publicly declared him as the only skilled person who could spar with him.”

While admiring this, the people had no doubt that had Shan stepped forward, he would have defeated Lug.

He had refrained from participating so that an overly predictable result would not dampen the people’s excitement.

Afterward, a musician from Beshalia won the musical contest, receiving praise from everyone by turning the Pendian army’s conquest of Ruman into a song.

People rejoiced, saying there was now one more song to be sung across all of Pendia.

The final archery contest was claimed by Hakan, who had come from Horais.

He displayed the skill to shoot three arrows from a hundred paces away and embed them all dead center into the target.

Even this was him holding back because he was competing against Pendians who were not particularly adept at archery; had he intended to show his true skill, he likely would have accomplished a similar feat while mounted on horseback.

“Truly amazing!”

“Indeed, as they say, the people of Horais have extraordinary skill with the bow…”

As everyone marvelled, Hakan wore a boastful smile, only to glance back at Shan standing behind him and speak.

“Even so, someone like me is nothing compared to the Lord Protector.”

“Are you saying the Lord Protector is skilled in archery as well?”

“Yes. We matched skills once before, and it was truly no contest. There is probably no archer even in Horais as outstanding as the Lord Protector.”

Not long after becoming a royal knight, Hakan had requested an archery duel with Shan.

Although he had been overwhelmingly defeated in jousting, he wanted to show that he was not behind in archery at least.

Of course, this duel also ended in an overwhelming victory for Shan.

Shan had toyed with Hakan while freely unleashing all sorts of mounted archery techniques he had learned from the semi-horse archers who had previously come as mercenaries.

However, he had not walked away empty-handed from that duel either; specifically, he had learned the trick to imbuing projectile weapons with Fighting Spirit.

Hakan knew a method of imbuing Fighting Spirit in a slightly more refined manner than what Ranta had taught.

“Ooh…”

People looked at Shan with wondrous eyes, but none dared to ask him to demonstrate his skill.

How could they commit such impudence toward the Lord Protector?

Shan, too, did not step forward to boast of such talents.

Because the main protagonists of today were, after all, not himself, but Roden and his wife, Venoa.

After spending quite some time enlivening the atmosphere among the guests in that way, it was only in the afternoon that Roden and Venoa, having finished their preparations, made their appearance.

“Looking great!”

“He looks handsome!”

“When on earth did he shave his beard!”

As if Venoa had shaved him herself, Roden flushed with a neat face for the first time in a long while as he received the people’s playful compliments.

Roden, wearing the monster hunter’s attire that was Pendia’s traditional wedding garment, and Venoa, wearing a luxurious Libert-style wedding dress adorned with all sorts of accessories, looked mismatched yet strangely harmonious.

It was like a beast kidnapping a noble lady, so to speak.

Once the two sat down, the guests’ gifts were placed before them next.

The variety was wide, ranging from flowers crafted out of gold to finely cut gem necklaces and weaponry.

Originally, daggers were fairly common gifts on such occasions, but as the rumors had already spread publicly, no one was audacious enough to bring edged weapons.

Queen Cheryn also presented several potions as gifts for her trusted royal knight: one to help give birth to a healthy child, one to prevent morning sickness, and one to harmonize the mind and prevent melancholic feelings.

As each and every one was a precious gift, Roden and Venoa expressed their heartfelt gratitude.

And what left everyone astonished was Shan’s gift… none other than the jade throne, which had been sliced in half and clumsily pieced back together.

The treasure once used by the King of Ruman was so massive and heavy that multiple servants had to strain themselves to carry it in.

“No way, did he really bring this…?”

Considering its symbolic value, it was an item worthy of being kept as an heirloom forever, yet giving it away was enough for everyone to realize how highly Shan regarded Roden.

Amid everyone’s shock, Roden also looked with a flabbergasted expression at Shan, who was beaming with a proud smile.

“Do you like it?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Seeing him look so proud, it was hard to say that this was a bit excessive, so Roden offered his thanks somewhat reluctantly.

The jade throne, which had once symbolized the ruler of the South Sea, grandly asserted its presence among the gifts.

Afterward, the Bishop of Libert stepped forward, offered various words of blessing and advice to the couple, and finally declared that their marriage was completed.

Callion watched from behind, his eyes welling with tears.

For him, who had always yearned for social advancement, the marriage of his only son to a lady from a historic count’s house held tremendous significance.

Because it meant he would not end as merely an upstart noble, but would be incorporated into an ancient, prestigious house, even if they were foreigners.

After the two shared a kiss and placed necklaces upon each other, the bishop spoke with a playful face.

“Then I shall now bless the two of you in the name of the Goddess. May this be of great help in being fruitful and multiplying.”

Not only did he say so, but he actually prayed and bestowed a blessing upon the two.

Receiving the Blessing of Vitality, Roden and Venoa flushed bright red.

Because it was obvious where they were meant to use the physical strength replenished like this.

In particular, Venoa, who was accustomed to the quieter and more solemn Old Faith believers-style weddings, looked as though her bright red face might burst.

Amid everyone’s jeers and cheers, the wedding concluded as the two stepped inside the mansion.

The guests conversed while enjoying the reception with a light drink at their seats.

“Wow, it really turned out like this in the end.”

“Indeed. Though to be honest, it feels like a bit of a shame for young master Roden.”

Even if she hailed from a high noble family, in the eyes of the Pendian nobles, a bride in her late twenties was simply far too old.

Though of course, it was something they could never say to their faces, as the parties involved would be offended.

Shan also conversed together with Cheryn.

People kept their distance without approaching so as not to interrupt the conversation between the Lord Protector and the Queen.

“Still, it is a relief that the Libert delegation returned early.”

“Mm. Had those bastards come here, they might have tried to cause trouble in troublesome ways.”

Unless a certain line was crossed, it was improper to chase away guests who had come to celebrate a wedding.

However, the delegation that came this time had fallen for Shan’s scheme to drive a wedge between them and left early, failing to disrupt the wedding.

Shan rejoiced over this while also finding it a bit unfortunate.

Had those bastards truly tried to do such a thing, he would have beaten them black and blue.

Though he would not have killed them, as that would ruin the wedding.

“So, did you learn well how it’s done this time?”

Just then, Cheryn spoke as she placed a finger on Shan’s chin.

As a languid yet strangely heated gaze approached, Shan cleared his throat with a quiet cough before he knew it.

“Certainly.”

Imagining their own wedding that would take place about a year from now, the two looked in the direction where Roden and Venoa had disappeared.

*

After taking a few days of vacation following the wedding, Roden reported for work with his face as neat as ever.

People who were accustomed to his usually bushy beard found the tidy Roden unfamiliar, yet gradually adjusted to it.

What the marriage of the two brought was by no means small.

Through this wedding, Count of Meln, a lord of southern Libert, firmly established himself as an ally, and the magic tools sold to him returned as immense supplies and funds.

In particular, the fact that their navy joined forces with Beshalia’s navy to firmly control the newly acquired islands of the South Sea, including Licharzo Island, was also a major advantage.

Moreover, in an emergency, Count of Meln’s fief also served as a staging ground for the Pendian army to land.

Assuming a holy war was waged against Libert-Ajun, the difficulty of breaching Solod Castle was not something that applied only to the enemy’s side.

Although there was the drawback of having to assist in their defense, conversely, being able to choose the sea route when attacking from this side was a huge benefit.

Externally as well, good news continued unabated.

After the delegation that had been manipulated by Shan returned, Count Balik conducted a massive purge and interrogation within the Steel Lion Corps.

As a result, it was discovered that the scheme of invading several of Count Balik’s territories (including Willow Village, where Shan had lived) and stirring up civil war had been orchestrated by the capital nobles.

A portion of the high-ranking leaders within the Steel Lion Corps had accepted large sums of money to secretly carry out the commission.

The outcome went without saying.

Count Balik was furious that a domain governed by a noble under his command had been suddenly attacked, and Duke of Morayen could not let it slide after taking a hit over something he had never done.

It was like setting fire to the two who were already growling at each other over the position of king’s regent, so to speak.

However, now that the fight itself was revealed to be a rift driven by the central nobles, Count Balik and Duke of Morayen ceased their feud and joined forces to first eliminate the capital nobles who had manipulated them.

When Cheryn shared the news delivered from the spy via the communication artifact, Shan let out an exclamation of awe and spoke.

“Does this mean… things worked out well?”

“For now, yes.”

Since Pendia was on a strong upward trajectory while Libert was scrambling to maintain the status quo or in decline, delaying the war as long as possible was for the better.

Now that the two grand nobles and the capital nobles would clash once again, it could be said that they had bought a considerable amount of time.

“However, those guys aren’t fools either, so once the purge is finished, they’ll turn their eyes toward us. Within a few years at least.”

If they were foolish enough not to realize that failing to check Pendia as it endlessly expanded its national power at this point would make it uncontrollable, it would be difficult to maintain power as grand nobles.

Of course, due to the nature of bloodline inheritance, it was not as though foolish individuals never held power, but at least Count Balik and Duke of Morayen were not such people.

“Well, in any case, you can be pleased for now.”

As Cheryn offered a bright smile while saying so, Shan felt better just by looking at her and smiled back.

However, before long, news arrived that was more than enough to completely chill this heartwarming atmosphere.

“…Are you saying the prince of Ajun divorced Princess Cassia?”

“So I’ve heard.”

In the late afternoon, Cheryn, who had summoned Shan and Roden, showed them a single sheet of paper.

Written upon it was the content stating that the Kingdom of Ajun had recently annulled the marital relationship between their nation’s successor and Princess Cassia.

After inventing the communication artifact, Cheryn had dispatched spies carrying them to various places, establishing a communication network on the Ajun Kingdom’s side as well.

Of course, it was difficult to infiltrate inside the royal palace to access secret court news and the like, but even bringing back rumors from the marketplace was of immense help.

Just like right now.

“Since Conrad has completely fallen with no chance of recovery, she must be of no further use to them. From what I hear, they don’t even have a child yet.”

Biting her lip so hard that it almost bled, Cheryn spoke softly.

Still, looking at it from another angle, since her utility was gone, a possibility had also arisen to bring her back for a suitable price.

Unlike a current crown princess, the value of a former crown princess was objectively not very great, after all.

However, the ‘gift’ that arrived several weeks later destroyed even such a hopeful perspective.

“This is… what?”

“That… they said it is Princess Cassia’s hair.”

At Cheryn’s voice, which was cold beyond measure, the official who had brought the item answered in an intimidated manner.

Though it was not his fault, it was because he felt apologetic for having to deliver such horrific news to his sovereign.

Receiving the box, Cheryn immediately opened the lid.

Inside was packed full of golden hair that almost looked pale, with bits of scalp and traces of blood remaining at the ends.

It seemed to have been roughly cut off using a sharp blade.

“M-May I read the letter?”

“Read it.”

Perhaps terrified that he might truly be cut down for delivering such a garbage gift, Ajun’s envoy had not even come directly to Hasra, but fled after handing the item over to the lord of Solod Castle.

The official read the letter with a trembling voice.

“…Let the l-lewd whore of Pendia, who brought down the holy army through despicable means, hear this. Not content with driving righteous men to their deaths, you pollute the sacred bloodline by engaging yourself to a mere Altoan, which is truly a tragic disgrace as fellow descendants of the Great Emperor Baren. As the Hasra family of Pendia can no longer be viewed as a member of the sacred Five Families and lacks equal standing, we declare the annulment of the marriage with Cassia Hasra. If you wish to receive the former crown princess back, capture and send your Altoan savior.”

The reason they provoked them in such a barbaric manner was obvious.

If Cheryn lost her mind and committed the reckless act of trying to break through Solod Castle, that would be the best result for them; and even if not, it would at least sour her mood.

If a monarch lost composure, was that not how a nation was shaken?

The statement about exchanging her for Shan was also surely a trick to drive a wedge between the two somehow.

Yet holding the hair of her half-sister (the only one she had been close to) no expression surfaced on Cheryn’s face.

Letting out a sigh, she covered the box again and commanded softly.

“They are acting childish indeed. Convey this to the castellan of Solod. If those Ajun bastards come pulling such tricks again, tell him to simply shoot them dead.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Shooting down an envoy out of nowhere was against propriety, but since the other side had committed such insolence first, it was something they had to bear.

The officials surrounding her marvelled at Cheryn’s rational response.

Praising her as truly worthy of being called Pendia’s finest heroine.

However, Shan discerned that her emotions were in turmoil through subtle signs like the slight quiver of Cheryn’s eyes.

“Please cancel this afternoon’s meeting and rest, Your Majesty.”

“No, it is fine. I…”

Replying like that, Cheryn realized her voice was choked up and nodded.

“Very well, let us do so. Let us head to the lounge.”

After leaving the hall, Cheryn gestured to her ladies-in-waiting.

By the time they withdrew familiarly, Shan realized Cheryn was tightly gripping his hand.

A growl-like sound emerged from Cheryn’s throat.

“I’m going to kill them…”

Through Count Glusa’s remarks, she had heard that she was not faring very well.

But even if she were mistreated, there ought to be a limit; she had thought they would at least maintain a minimal degree of dignity for her as royalty.

No, to be honest, she had known that the situation was terrible.

It was simply that something she had pushed to one side of her heart because it could not be resolved right away had now been thrust right before her eyes.

Cheryn wanted to march an army right this instant, burn the entire Kingdom of Ajun to the ground, strip the royal family naked, and execute them.

Though she reminded herself that due to the presence of West Solod Castle and Libert standing firm, she could not do so immediately.

After staying silent for a long while, she spoke.

“I must go to the dungeon.”

“Please do not do that.”

Sensing that she intended to vent her anger on Count Glusa, the Ajun royal family member imprisoned there, Shan restrained her.

Shan embraced Cheryn, who wore a surprised expression.

“You are too agitated right now. Didn’t you say you’re in the middle of persuading Count Glusa? If you torment him now, all the effort put in so far will be in vain.”

“That is… true. You’re right.”

How many people could remain cold-headed in a situation where evidence of abuse against virtually their only precious family member lay before their eyes?

Yet fortunately, thanks to Shan’s intervention, Cheryn was able to regain her composure.

Letting out a deep sigh with an exhale, she spoke.

“Thank you. I almost made a wrong judgment.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Lightly kissing Shan on the cheek, Cheryn thought that she had truly chosen her companion well.

Not merely because he was the greatest knight in the world, but because it was fortunate that he was someone who understood her heart well and could hold her back.

“I must endure for now. Even if I’m angry, I have to endure it.”

However, regardless of that, the rage that had seeped into her heart did not fade easily.

Whenever she so much as closed her eyes, the image of Cassia, imprisoned somewhere with her scalp practically torn off, rose in her mind.

As if discerning her feelings, Shan whispered softly into her ear.

“Do not worry. I will bring her back.”

Seeing as they were asking for an exchange anyway, it seemed they wanted him to visit, so paying them a visit would only be polite.