Chapter 3: Flash Marriage
The two men walked onto the stage and faced the pastor.
The pastor must be very experienced. He didn't say much. He nodded slightly to the two of them, then raised a thick book in his hand and read: "As an apostle of God, today, I will be here to witness the marriage of the two newlyweds on behalf of the gods..."
"Alice Jones, are you willing to be Mr. Gervase Gale's wife?"
"I do!"
"Mr. Gervase Gale, will you be the husband of Ms. Alice Jones?"
"I do!" Gervis was very honest. Although he was yelling in his heart that he didn't want to, now that it had come to this, if he dared to say no, the Countess would definitely kill him and not bury him. Even his father would not be able to escape. He also thought about his system tasks. If he couldn't complete the tasks, he didn't know what the consequences would be. What if he was wiped out or turned into an idiot? These were not what he wanted.
"Congratulations to both of you. Under the witness of our Lord, you have officially become a legal couple. The glory of the Lord will always cover you!" Under the presidency of an experienced pastor, the wedding of the two was officially completed.
From this moment on, they were officially married, and this was done under the witness of a church priest. Their marriage status was completely legal in the sense of aristocratic law.
Because there is no such thing as a marriage certificate in this world, and ordinary people don’t need to go through such formalities. They just need to set up a table and invite relatives and friends to come and eat.
But it is different for the nobility, because there is an additional issue of inheritance of the title. If two people do not get married under the witness of a church priest, then the inheritance rights of their children will not be protected by the laws of the nobility.
The law stipulates that the first male child born to a legal couple has the first right of inheritance. Therefore, if the couple is not legally married, even if the child born is the oldest, it is still an illegitimate child. When the nobleman becomes a legal couple with someone else and gives birth to a child, then even if the illegitimate child is the oldest, his right of inheritance will be ranked behind all the children born to legal couples, including girls.
bite!
Mission accomplished!
Reward: 1 energy point.
Because it is the first time to release the task system, an extra kiwi fruit will be awarded. The redemption mall is now open.
Suddenly, the system's voice came into Gervis's mind, and Gervis was shocked. However, with so many people present, he dared not act rashly, so he could only suppress his excitement. He had to wait until everything was over and find a place where no one was around to check again.
When the priest finished presiding over the wedding, he walked down the stage under the guidance of the servants. Instead, Alice stood in the middle of the stage, facing the crowd below.
"Thank you all for attending the banquet tonight. Now I have a few words to say. I know some of you may hate Gervis because of what happened tonight, but now he is married to me. I don't want any of you to do anything childish and outrageous in the future. If anyone does this, it is a provocation to the dignity of my Jones family. I hope you can remember this."
Alice spoke clearly and concisely, without any hesitation. In particular, she knew that the younger generation among the retainers had already regarded Gervis as an enemy, so she warned him in a serious tone that her words were directed at those young people.
Although she and Gervis were only nominally married, if any of her husband's retainers or descendants made things difficult for him or slandered him behind his back, it would be considered as insubordination, a serious crime. Nobles could tolerate their subordinates oppressing civilians and robbing neighbors, but they would never allow them to insubordination, because this was the bottom line and represented the common interests of all nobles.
If someone really didn't know the seriousness of the situation and went to cause trouble for Gervis, then Alice would have to seek justice for Gervis whether she was willing or not. She was just saying some harsh words now, just in case, to avoid trouble in the future.
After hearing Alice's words, everyone in the audience looked solemn, including the barons and viscounts, who clearly agreed with Alice's words. As for the young men, although they were quite jealous of Gervis and their hatred for him did not diminish at all, they dared not look at Gervis anymore.
Hearing Alice's words, Gervis couldn't help but look up to this 20-year-old female countess. As expected, she was worthy of being an old noble. Alice was only 20 years old and had such a superior aura. However, Gervis felt more and more like he was being kept by the female countess. This style was wrong. I am the man. Gervis felt a little disgusted.
But he was still a little grateful to Alice, which would help him avoid a lot of trouble in the future. Although all these hatreds were brought upon him by Alice, she was beautiful and said nice things.
No matter which world they are in, people with outstanding looks will be more likely to gain recognition from others than ordinary people.
After saying that, Alice changed the subject and her tone became soothing. She continued, "Gervis does not have a title yet, but since you have become my husband, I will grant him the title of baron, and I will grant him the territory in the southwest corner of the territory, from the Dead Leaf River to the Ghost Forest, as his barony!"
Buzz...
As soon as Alice finished speaking, noisy discussions broke out from the audience. Everyone was whispering to each other.
"From the Dead Leaf River to the Dark Forest? That place used to be a viscount's territory, right? This territory is too big!"
"Yes, Viscount Major's territory, but that was more than thirty years ago. Ever since the Viscount Major's family's castle was breached by orcs in the season of winter, and all the members of the Viscount Major's family were killed by orcs, the place has been deserted. No matter how big it is, it is useless."
"The Dark Forest is too dangerous. Farmers can only grow one crop a year, and they can't even support people. Although it's an area the size of a viscount's territory, the population seems to be less than 2,000 people."
"But the Viscount Castle over there seems to still be there. Even though it's a little run-down, it's better than having to build it at my own expense."
“…”
Some young people who didn't know the inside story were so upset when they heard that Gervis not only got the beauty, but also got the title and the territory. But when they heard the elders' comments, they felt better instantly. Although Gervis got the territory, it was too dangerous and could not be developed at all. A territory that could not be developed meant that it could not support people, and a territory that could not support people was useless.
Gervis stood behind Alice. Although he couldn't hear the discussions of the audience clearly, he could hear words like orcs, castle breached, and winter. The more he listened, the worse his expression became.
When I heard that I had been awarded the title of baron, and even the fiefdom, I was so happy that I lost my mind. I thought that I would be a noble lord in the future and live a shameless life. I thought that I had achieved my wish. But I didn't expect that I fell from the clouds again before I was excited for two seconds.
"Oh my God, are you kidding me? Three twists and turns aren't enough, how many twists and turns has this already?" Gervis had the urge to cry.
Alice was not in a hurry. She ignored the noise from the audience and waited for more than a minute. The viscounts and barons finally finished their discussion and the audience quieted down. The Earl was still standing on the stage, so he must have something else to say. They did not dare to keep the Countess waiting too long.
When there was no more discussion from the audience, Alice continued, "Thank you all uncles for taking the trouble to come to Rose Castle to attend the dinner. Now that my wedding with Gervis is complete, I am a little tired, so I will not entertain you anymore. Let Gervis entertain you. Please help yourself!"
Although Alice's words sounded rude, the barons and viscounts knew that what Alice said was true. The old earl suddenly disappeared, and the new earl hastily inherited the title, so he must have a lot of things to deal with.
After saying that, Alice came to Gervis and whispered, "You stay here to entertain them first, I'll send someone to find you later!"
Then, surrounded by the maids, they left the hall. Like a gust of wind, they came and went quickly, leaving Gervis standing on the stage alone and worried.
After the countess left, there was no need for Gervis to entertain anyone, and the hall suddenly became noisy. Young and middle-aged people alike walked to the long table filled with food and began to taste the delicious food.
Especially the young people, they seemed to have turned their grief and anger into strength. After all, it was rare for them to eat so many delicious foods. At the beginning, they did it to maintain their image, but now that the beauties have been taken, they don't have to pretend anymore. In fact, they are upset in their hearts, and they hate why they are not noticed by the earl like Gervis.
There were viscounts and barons present, and Gervis felt that he did not have the ability to entertain them. He was not in a very good mood, but when he saw that everyone had started eating, he felt relieved.
"Grevith, I'm proud of you! Why don't you seem happy? Cheer up, you are the protagonist tonight!" Just when Gervis was alone and worried, Gandalf came over with a happy face. He said to Gervis happily that he didn't expect so many good things to happen to his son at the same time.
"Father, what's going on with my territory?" Hearing his father's words, Gervis did not answer anything else, but hurriedly asked about the territory.
"Oh, my timid Gervis, I was wondering why you were unhappy. It turns out you were worried about the territory. Don't worry. Although your territory has some minor troubles, you don't have to worry that much. The danger only occurs in the winter. At other times, your territory is as safe as the Gaelic Territory."
Gandalf was a tall and strong man, a junior silver knight, and had a loud voice. When he heard what Gervis said, he patted Gervis' arm and laughed out loud.
After being hit by Gandalf, Gervis almost jumped up. His father was unreliable. He was just an apprentice knight. How could a silver knight hit him randomly? If his arm was broken, it would be impossible to reattach it.
"But……"
"Don't worry, I will tell you slowly after the banquet. Now I am going to drink with those old friends. You should be happy too. You will be a real noble in the future! Do you know how worried I was about you before? It is really the blessing of the gods! Be happy, Gervis. This is definitely a great thing for you!" Gandalf interrupted Gervis before he said anything else, and then walked towards the place where several barons gathered in the hall.
(End of this chapter)
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