Chapter 275 "I fell in love with you instantly..."
Another month passed, and my newspaper was finally published! I stood on the spacious stone terrace, watching countless birds carrying thousands of copies of the newspaper in their beaks, flying in all directions. They couldn't fly very far, but they could reach the furthest post station within their reach. The post station owner would take the waterproof cloth bag from the bird's beak, remove a small portion of the newspaper, and hand over the rest to a delivery carriage that ran a fixed route. The carriage would then deliver the newspaper to the royal cities along the way, finally arriving in the capital, where the last portion of the newspaper would be handed over to a special newspaper deliveryman.
Thanks to my deep understanding of the distribution process—I'm grateful for Worston's help here—I met one or two veterans in print media during my internship at his family's clothing company. With their help, I was able to intern at a newspaper in New York, where I learned about distribution under the guidance of experienced mentors. I also personally observed the distribution process, which gave me a thorough understanding of it. In addition, I formed a small group to study the map of the continent and established contact points in major capitals, transit stations, near important tribes, and in the capitals of various countries. Ultimately, this enabled my newspaper to be successfully distributed.
The newspaper achieved a success I could never have imagined! I thought it would fail—no one would pay attention, or it would be criticized or boycotted—but to my surprise, it was extremely popular. The kingdom's political and economic news, the dramatic stories among the nobles, and the controversial cases hit people's sore spots and itch spots, causing a sensation throughout the continent.
Of course, it was welcomed by lower and middle-ranking nobles and some cultured wealthy merchants and commoners. High-ranking nobles mainly focused on the kingdom's news and were not particularly interested in other things.
Just as I predicted, entertainment options on this continent are scarce, and nobles have little to do besides balls and cultural salons. Now, with the addition of reading materials that combine culture and entertainment at a very low cost, it has naturally become popular among nobles and intellectuals.
"Now the whole continent is talking about your newspaper, and our royal city has become famous overnight," Aurora said excitedly to me. "Mother, you've succeeded."
I was busy preparing the second issue of the newspaper in my study, flipping through the case files as I replied, "Write a proposal for the agricultural products you want to attract investment for, and I'll translate it into the newspaper."
Aurora immediately went to discuss it with her son.
During dinner that evening, Mia excitedly told me that she had heard the man and woman in "The Story That Isn't a Story" had reconciled. After the newspaper published their story, it caused a sensation across the continent, and many nobles came forward to act as mediators. In the end, the man relinquished custody but retained visitation rights.
"They reconciled so quickly?" I exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, I just heard about it today. His Majesty Bernard told me.” Mia was extremely excited. “After their story spread, nobles went to their house to persuade them to stop.”
Aurora suddenly produced a gold-embossed invitation. "Mother, King Hya invites you to his son's wedding ceremony. King Hya only has this one son. I don't know if it's because he played too much in his early years and ruined his health or something else."
"I don't have time to go." I took a bite of my fruit and vegetable salad.
"He also invited King Bernot, Princess Arnie of the South, and the Treasurer of the North. He had originally invited the Grand Chancellor, but the Grand Chancellor was too busy with internal strife to attend. It was more of a trade negotiation meeting than a wedding, as the Westerlands intended to sell off last year's unsold agricultural products at low prices."
"Then go ahead."
“My name wasn’t on the invitation,” Aurora sighed. “I can only go if you go, as part of your entourage.”
This is where Hya's cunning lies. He had anticipated that I wouldn't come, so he only wrote my name on the invitation. If Aurora wanted to come, she would have to beg me to make sure I did.
The summer night breeze was warm, and the wedding banquet in the Western Kingdom was as lavish as it had been years before. When the palace attendants pushed open the doors, they announced, "Queen Aurora and Lady Lana of El City have arrived!"
All eyes were drawn to the woman beside the crowned queen. The woman wore an elegant butterfly updo, a subtly luxurious sapphire necklace, ocean blue crystal earrings, a silver sapphire bracelet, and a diamond brooch. She wore an ivory-colored, layered, fish-shaped train gown, exuding a serene and natural charm.
The nobles' eyes lit up with excitement, and they whispered among themselves. Then they heard a servant shout, "King Bernot of the East has arrived!"
King Bernard, wearing a golden crown and a pure black military uniform, stood tall and swift, like a high wall beside the woman in the ivory fishtail dress.
The woman was clearly annoyed that he caught up so quickly, and rolled her eyes at him.
He smiled gently at her, completely unconcerned.
King Bonot was the most handsome man on the continent when he was young. Even in his old age, he still had the beauty of his youth, but he had gained some vicissitudes, wrinkles and experience, making him look old and profound. His ice blue eyes were unfathomable.
Compared to his dazzling youth, he is now profound and melancholic, his radiance withdrawn inward, as if accumulating some kind of power, giving the feeling of boundless energy.
It is rumored that the woman with superpowers is still his mistress, and the two have reconciled.
Suddenly, King Bernard gripped the woman's hand tightly, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free.
The legend must be true; the nobles chuckled and whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with ambiguity.
I was a little angry. I deliberately walked ahead, not wanting to walk in side by side with Bernard, because people would definitely think I was his mistress. In the end, he still rushed up and stood next to me the instant the hall door opened.
We walked in side by side, thankfully not as a couple, but as a trio. Aurora stood to my right, I was in the middle, and he was to my left.
The three of us walked side by side, and Hyya, dressed in her finest attire, laughed heartily from her throne. "Superpowered woman, we've finally been waiting for you! Congratulations, your newspapers are all the rage across the continent." I rolled my eyes again.
As Hya walked down from the throne with a smile, she first nodded and exchanged a few pleasantries with Bernot, then turned to me and said, "Supernatural Woman, knowing you were coming, I specially invited a special guest for you. You'll be delighted to see him."
Haiya pointed forward, and when I looked over, I froze instantly.
He stood in the crowd, seemingly inconspicuous, yet he was everything to me. Handsome, refined, and serene features, light brown curly hair, and dark brown eyes—he was the beautiful boy who had brought tears to my eyes.
He wore a long red and white robe, his posture was upright and powerful, and he had a charming and noble air. I have never seen a more handsome young man than him.
We hadn't seen each other for three months, and my heart was still pounding when we met again. He looked at me quietly, without any reaction.
Haiya laughed and said, "I vaguely heard that you found a new lover. I didn't believe it at first, but after seeing him, I realized that the rumors might be true. This is the type of woman with superpowers like, haha!"
The nobles burst into laughter, while Bernard remained expressionless and Aurora looked utterly embarrassed.
“His family is just an ordinary noble family in the Western Region. The entire family isn’t qualified to attend a banquet of this caliber, but I made an exception for you, the superpowered woman, haha,” Hya laughed. “Let you two meet. King Bernot is very strict with you, isn’t he?”
Another burst of laughter erupted.
Surprisingly, Bernard wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "I do keep a close eye on her. She can slip out without me noticing, but it's good that she knows to come back."
“King Benoit is very generous.” Hya smiled, bowed and invited Benoit to take a seat. Benoit took my hand and sat in the highest-ranking seat.
The wedding banquet officially began. Haiya's son, a thin, medium-sized young man, dressed in a groom's suit, led the petite and beautiful girl in the bride's dress to kneel and pay their respects to Haiya. They then bowed to the nobles before returning to their seats.
As the music began, delicious food and wine were served, and the nobles joined the dance floor to dance.
When Bernard asked about Princess Yanni, Hya said she had encountered a storm on her way and would be a day or two late. Aurora inquired about the agricultural trade in the West, and this brought up the topic, prompting the finance minister of the North to join in the conversation with great interest.
I quietly rose, slipped through the dense crowd of long robes and skirts, and came to stand behind my handsome young man. Almost as soon as I stood behind him, he turned around.
I smiled at him and said, "Hello, Nathan."
He looked at me without saying a word. He was shockingly thin, and his once slightly plump chin had become pointed.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you my real identity; I was afraid you wouldn't want to be friends with me," I said.
He stared at me intently, almost greedily, for a while before speaking: “I’ve been looking for you for a long time. That night, I kept looking the next day, and I was still looking the third day. I searched almost the entire royal city. I even used special channels to search every noble family in the royal city, but I still couldn’t find you. It wasn’t until your newspaper was delivered to my hands and I saw the article ‘The Story That Isn’t a Story’ that I learned you are the famous superpowered woman and the mother of the queen of the royal city.”
"Sorry!" My nose started to sting again.
“You don’t need to apologize; I’m the one who should apologize. You wouldn’t even be a king’s mistress, let alone mine? My request has insulted you.”
"Don't say that." I almost cried.
"I'm sorry!" His face was terribly pale, and his lips were completely bloodless. "Did I hurt you with my words? Don't worry about it, I sometimes go crazy."
His light brown eyes gazed intently at me, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at me. He breathed deeply, staring intently, not wanting to miss a single expression on my face.
My tears finally flowed down, and he couldn't help but reach out to touch me. I immediately grasped his hand, and he grasped mine in return. A warm, gentle feeling flowed through my palm into my heart, and at that moment I had the illusion that I wanted to hug him.
I don't know which noble lady passed by me, but she whispered, "King Bernard has arrived."
I immediately let go of his hand, wiped away my tears, and smiled as I said, "Have you married your fiancée? I should give you a big wedding gift. Speaking of which, you also deserve some credit for the successful publication of my newspaper."
“No, I’m not trying to help you. I just want to get closer to you. I noticed you the first time I saw you chasing a thief at the alley entrance,” he said. “You’re very different from the girls here. You have a unique charm, and I liked you instantly.”
My tears started flowing again.
Bernard's elegant yet cold voice rang out from behind, "You're here, huh? Why don't you dance with me?"
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