Chapter 330: Comparable to the Sun King
Johnson Kembel, this is Irene's father, heir to the Duke of Argyll.
He suffered from hemophilia, and for a long time, hemophilia became a nightmare for European royals and aristocrats.
Due to marriage, hemophilia was prevalent among European royal families for a period of time in the last century...
Whether from Irene's perspective or from the perspective of maintaining the alliance with the British aristocracy, Milo has to care about the other party.
However, Johnson recently fell ill and has been admitted to the ICU.
Even if Milo wanted to see him, visit him, and show concern for him, he couldn't do so for the time being.
So he went to meet Duke Edward Howard.
At about ten forty the next morning, at Norfolk Castle, a Gothic Revival manor house in the suburbs of London.
This huge castle, which was started more than 230 years ago and was designed and improved by several generations of architects, took 43 years to complete. It is one of the symbols of the Howard family's glory. It is in no way inferior to Fred Castle of the Campbell family and is one of the top castles in England.
Castles are a product of the European Middle Ages. In addition to being used as residences for nobles, they also served as military defenses and political divisions. The Norfolk Castle is a square-shaped structure, except that the four corners are cylindrical arrow towers, and the top of the tower is crowned with a conical spire. There is also a tower in the middle of the three-story castle, with a flag flying on top of the tower.
Milo and his companions walked along the straight red gravel road and arrived at the gate of Norfolk Castle. The one who greeted them was Duke Edward Howard, whom they had just met yesterday.
The arrival of the Earl and the Marquis did not require Duke Howard to come out, but Duke Ian Campbell was of equal status to him, so when he received the notice from the servant, he came out to greet them in person.
"Sir Kenbel, Sir Blackburn, and the beautiful Irene, welcome!"
"Good morning, Sir Howard!"
"Sir Edward, my greetings!"
…
The three people greeted each other in different ways. Duke Ian Campbell was obviously more casual, Milo was neither humble nor arrogant, and Irene, as a junior, greeted Duke Edward Howard in a proper manner based on the interests between nobles.
"Come in!"
"Erin, Mia, Heidi, Henry, and Wilbur are all upstairs. I'll have someone take you upstairs to see them. They will definitely be very happy to see you."
Duke Edward Howard was in a very good mood and spoke to Irene with a warm smile.
"Thank you! I haven't seen Mia and Heidi for a long time. I miss them so much!" Irene said expectantly.
While chatting and laughing, Duke Edward Howard accompanied the four people into the castle.
The huge castle hall had been temporarily renovated and decorated, and there were already many well-dressed men and women inside. Milo took a quick look and only felt that a few of them looked familiar, but he did not recognize most of the nobles.
But it doesn't matter. Duke Ian Campbell had already said before he came that he would introduce him throughout the journey.
Afterwards, Irene headed for the stairs while Milo began to socialize.
The guests who were eligible to be invited to attend the coming-of-age ceremony of the first heir of the Howard family were all nobles with a certain degree of strength. Ordinary barons and viscounts were basically not present.
These nobles brought their own outstanding children here, hoping that their children could build connections on this platform, or even find their ideal partners, thus facilitating marriages between their families.
Milo only took a quick glance and saw many young and beautiful girls wearing dresses like Irene, with white sandy gloves on their arms, white veils on their heads, and some jewelry on their bodies, showing their beautiful side.
However, these noble ladies are beautiful, just look at them. Milo doesn't plan to flirt with them. It would be better to spend more time communicating with their fathers.
As time passed slowly, more and more distinguished guests arrived and the atmosphere became more and more lively.
At half past eleven, Milo had just finished talking with a count when he heard someone calling his name softly.
It was Irene's voice.
He looked in the direction of the voice and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Irene was walking down the stairs with five beautiful girls, each wearing an elegant dress. Most importantly, two of them looked exactly the same.
Milo walked over calmly, bowed slightly to the beauties and said hello: "Hello, beautiful ladies, I'm Milo!"
"This is my friend. He's an American, the famous Milo Blackburn!"
Irene came out from among them and introduced Milo to them.
Milo clearly noticed that some people had smiles in their eyes and looked at Milo and Irene with somewhat ambiguous eyes.
"Milo, let me introduce them to you. They are all my good friends."
"She is Ruth Connor, the daughter of Marquis Connor."
"Hello handsome Mr. Blackburn, I'm Ruth, it's an honor to meet you!"
"Hello, beautiful Miss Ruth."
"She is Duke Howard's eldest daughter Mia, and this is her twin sister Heidi."
The girl named Mia showed a gentle and quiet smile and greeted Milo, while her sister Heidi, who looked exactly like her, blinked her eyes and seemed lively and playful.
…
After the introduction, Milo remembered the names and appearances of Irene's five friends with his strong memory.
However, he also noticed that the six golden flowers gathered together also attracted the attention of many people in the hall.
Some of the young men were still eager to come and talk to a certain girl.
It just so happened that the coming-of-age ceremony of the Duke of Howard's eldest son, Henry Milne Fitzalan-Howard, was about to begin, so some young people with ideas had to regretfully suspend their actions.
"Milo, Mia and Heidi are beautiful, right? They are all single~"
As they stood by, ready to watch the coming-of-age ceremony, Irene suddenly whispered in Milo's ear.
Milo was about to say that they were beautiful, but he reacted instantly, looked at Irene who was smiling, and said with a smile: "Irene, how can they be as beautiful as you?"
"I don't believe it. You kept secretly watching them." Irene said in a low voice with a slight smile on her lips.
Milo explained calmly, "You introduced them to me just now, but now I'm just wondering which one of them is the older sister and which one is the younger sister."
"How do you tell them apart?"
Irene couldn't help laughing. She covered her mouth and whispered, "It's really hard to tell them apart, but there are some subtle differences in their bodies. In particular, sister Heidi has a mark... Look at their pendants. The silver-white one is sister Mia, and the lavender one is sister Heidi."
“Oh, there is a difference.”
Milo indeed discovered that the pendants on their chests were different colors.
…
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the coming of age ceremony for my child, Henry Mir Fitzalan-Howard..."
Duke and Duchess Edward Howard personally presided over their son's coming-of-age ceremony. Milo looked at the blond boy next to him.
It has to be said that Henry Mir Fitzalan-Howard was a handsome man. If he had a more romantic personality, I wonder how many girls' hearts he would have broken.
Who wouldn’t be confused when he reveals his identity as the first heir to the Duke of Norfolk?
Milo remembered that according to the historical trajectory of his previous life, Henry Mil Fitzalan-Howard would inherit the title of the Howard family and become the 19th Duke of Norfolk.
There was nothing much to say about the coming-of-age ceremony. Milo just followed the crowd and clapped when it was time to do so. After Duke Howard stepped down from the stage, accompanied by the melodious and gentle music, the time for free socializing came again. Those who wanted to drink drank, those who wanted to dine ate, and those who wanted to dance danced.
Under Irene's expectant gaze, Milo took her hand and walked into the center of the dance floor.
While Milo and Irene were dancing, Duke Howard, who was drinking, asked Duke Ian Campbell beside him meaningfully: "Sir, it seems that your precious granddaughter is in love with Lord Blackburn?"
Duke Ian Campbell glanced at Duke Edward Howard and said expressionlessly: "I don't know the situation. You know my character. I respect the privacy and freedom of children."
After saying that, Duke Ian Campbell took a sip of red wine and retorted: "I only have one Irene. You have two. And you, Edward, you are too strict with them."
Duke Howard remained calm and argued, "I just love and care for them. This world is too complicated and my daughters are so innocent. As a father, I must protect them."
"I don't want my daughter to suffer in the future. If you want to marry my daughter, you must pass my test first."
Duke Ian Campbell shrugged and said, "Your eldest daughter may listen to you, but your youngest daughter is lively and not easy to manage."
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Duke Howard smiled calmly and said, "My daughter is very obedient..."
Before he finished speaking, Ian Campbell's joking words rang out: "Really? Look over there!"
Duke Howard immediately looked in the direction Duke Ian Campbell pointed, only to see that Milo and Irene had already left the dance floor, and his little daughter Heidi was inviting Milo to dance.
Although there was no stipulation in aristocratic etiquette that ladies could not take the initiative to invite men to dance, the fact that his daughter took the initiative to invite Milo undoubtedly showed that his youngest daughter was more extroverted, which was inconsistent with what he had just said.
His face looked a little unhappy, and he said to Duke Ian Campbell unhappily: "Keep an eye on your future grandson-in-law!"
Duke Ian Campbell laughed deliberately and said, "I can't do anything about it."
His laughter made Duke Ian Campbell depressed, and he drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp.
…
Let’s talk about the dance floor.
Milo gentlemanly placed his hand on Heidi Howard's slender waist and kept his body distanced from her.
Heidi Howard put her left hand on Milo's shoulder and held Milo's left hand with her right hand. The two of them danced on the dance floor with slow steps.
Heidi Howard blinked and looked at Milo: "Mr. Blackburn, were you secretly looking at me and my sister just now?"
Milo didn't expect her to say that, but he was thick-skinned and said naturally, "Strictly speaking, that wasn't peeking, but looking openly. I was just trying to tell which one of you was the older sister and which one was the younger sister."
Heidi Howard became interested and asked curiously, "Can you tell the difference now?"
Milo smiled and whispered, "It's clear."
Heidi Howard quickly asked: "Hey, how do you tell them apart?"
Milo looked down at the lavender pendant in the middle of Heidi's towering chest and said, "Your sister Mia's pendant is silver-white, and your pendant is lavender."
Heidi understood immediately.
Just then, Milo suddenly asked a question that made her pretty face blush.
"Miss Howard, Irene said you have a mark that clearly distinguishes you from your sister. What is it?"
Heidi subconsciously looked at her chest and blushed and said, "I can't tell you."
It seemed that because of nervousness, even her dance steps were a little messy and she almost stepped on Milo.
Milo then lowered his head to look at the snow-white color and the tempting ravine, and instantly reacted. Could it be there?
I really want to see it.
"Mr. Blackburn, are you dating Irene?"
"Yes."
"But I heard you have a lot of girlfriends. You even have a fiancée."
"Have you ever heard of the Sun King? The French one?"
"certainly."
"Then do you know that besides the queen, he also had hundreds of noble lovers? It is said that these are only long-term relationships. When he was alive, noble ladies in France and half of Europe were proud to spend the night with the Sun King."
"That's different. The Sun King is a king, and the king of the most powerful kingdom in Europe at the time."
"I am also a king. I am the king of America, the most powerful kingdom in the world right now."
His words were powerful and confident. Heidi Howard opened her mouth to say something, but found that nothing she said could describe her feelings at the moment.
The dance music ended at this time, and the men and women in the dance floor began to walk out, and people outside the venue also began to walk in.
Heidi and Milo looked at each other and could only follow Milo out of the dance floor and back to where Irene was sitting.
By chance, Milo happened to see Irene smiling and rejecting a young man's invitation to dance.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward, took Irene's hand and danced again.
Heidi rejected the invitations of several young nobles and came to her twin sister Mia.
"How was it? Did you gain anything?" Mia came over and asked curiously.
"A guy who is so confident that he's a little arrogant." Heidi said softly to her sister.
"Why do you say that?"
Heidi then recounted to her sister the conversation she had just had with Milo.
"The Sun King, he really dared to think. When Louis XIV was alive, France was the most powerful country in Europe! What is he? How can he compare with Louis Dieudonné Bourbon?"
Heidi said with some disdain.
Mia smiled and said, "If we only consider the influence of these two people on the world, Heidi, he may not be inferior to Louis Dieudonné Bourbon. He may even be more powerful than Louis XIV. Have you forgotten? Our father said that he is one of the ten most powerful people in the United States. More importantly, he is too young. When all those old people die, he will be middle-aged at most, which is the prime of his life."
"So if he says he's the king of America, from that perspective, he's not wrong."
"If it weren't for his power, do you think Sir Ian would let his second heir date a foreigner who already has a fiancée?"
"Heidi, I know what you want to do. But he's really not suitable, and you'll upset your father."
(End of this chapter)