Chapter 12 God's Punishment
Chapter 12
12.1
The reception room of the Oplensi Castle was located in the west wing of the castle, an exquisite vaulted hall. The gray stone bricks were inlaid with the "Star Compass" emblem of the Ebrard family. Silver-gray curtains hung from the glass windows, occasionally swaying slightly with the movements of the male and female servants.
When Euridice and Lorenz walked into the reception room, Duke Ebrard and Duchess Beatrice were already waiting for Prince Constance in the reception room.
Duke Luce Abrad was still wearing the dark green dress he wore in the temple, standing in the main seat of the reception room. He was not wearing a sword, but only holding a scepter of the Abrad family. He looked a little absent-minded, and his fingers were fiddling with the "Star Compass" ring on his hand.
He was probably still worried about his youngest child, thought Euridice.
After all, Lucien Abrad, the arrogant and domineering young nobleman, is still imprisoned in the temple dungeon.
Standing next to the Duke, Duchess Beatrice Carragher maintained her usual elegant posture, with her chin slightly raised, revealing a noble and inviolable look.
Compared to the absent-minded Duke Lucey, Lady Beatrice looked calm and composed, as if she had forgotten the existence of Lucien Abrad. She even changed into a dark green dress to better match the Duke's attire.
Several knights from the royal city were already outside the reception room preparing for Prince Constance's arrival. When they saw Euridice and Lorenz, they saluted them and said:
"Good day, little Count Oplenci, and the Countess."
Olidisi smiled at them and said, "Good day."
Lorenz walked over to Duke Ebrard, and Euridice walked over to the Duchess.
The living room was filled with a subtle silence - the silence brought by Lucien, the "sinner punished by God"; and Euridice's voice broke this silence.
"Hi," she said. "Long time no see, Beatrice."
Olidisi's voice was so brisk that everyone present couldn't help but look at her.
Lady Beatrice paid no attention to her. Euridice paid no attention either.
She smiled and said, "The Prince of Constance came to Oplency because you asked him for help, didn't you, Beatrice?"
The Duchess paused slightly, and Euridice shrugged. "The Caragaran family you come from has long been allied with Prince Constance, hasn't it? Lucian has been punished by God, and who better to save him than Prince Constance? I have to say, you're really quick to react, Beatrice Caragaran."
After Euridsi finished speaking, the Duchess had no time to respond. The knights outside the reception room door had already shouted: "Prince Constance came to visit Oprunsi——"
12.2
When Prince Constance stepped into the reception room, everyone's attention was almost instantly drawn to him:
There's no other reason, Prince Constance, he's just a very charming man.
The young prince had a pair of beautiful lake blue eyes. When he smiled, his eyes were curved, and the corners of his mouth had a naturally lazy upward curve, which made him very likable.
Prince Constance is very handsome, and his handsomeness is different from Lorenz's "chivalrous" sincerity and integrity. It is a romantic, humorous and amorous handsomeness: you know he is a frivolous playboy, but you can't hate him.
The romantic prince was not wearing a prince's robe, but a sky-blue velvet cloak. His long hair was not combed up, and it fell softly on his shoulders.
It was beautiful long golden hair, but it was not completely golden. Instead, it was mixed with many clear strands of ice blue.
That is not a dyed color, but a symbol of bloodline:
Blonde hair, from the young Lucinda King;
The ice blue is the mark left on him by the Queen's partner, the handsome Prince Rokolan.
In the entire ethereal continent, only the three children of the royal family have this strange hair color that is a mixture of gold and ice blue.
Among the three royal children, Prince Constance was obviously the most likable one; when the nobles present saw him, they all saluted, but Prince Constance smiled and raised his hand, indicating that everyone did not need to salute.
"There's no one watching here," he winked. "Given our friendly relationship, there's no need for all those complicated formalities. Right?"
The prince said this and smiled slightly. His smile was like a mountain stream, so lovely that it made people relax their guard involuntarily.
Duke Abrad smiled and said, "Good day, Your Highness. It is an honor for Oprunsi to host His Royal Highness Prince Constance."
Prince Constance also smiled and said, "Your Excellency the Duke's demeanor is even more admirable than before."
The prince said, turning to the Duchess: "The Duchess is also radiant."
Olidisi looked at the hypocritical and laughing scene in front of him and felt amused:
Prince Constance and the Ebrard family did not have any special friendship, at least not yet; however, the "divine punishment" suffered by Lucien Ebrard gave both sides the opportunity to exchange interests, so everyone was as warm to each other as old friends who had not seen each other for many years.
This kind of aristocratic hypocrisy is really disgusting, she thought.
The Duchess smiled and said, "Your Highness, it's getting late. Let's enjoy Oplensi's dinner while talking about recent events."
The dinner was held in the north wing reception room of the Oplensi Castle; the long banquet table was made of carefully polished dark red wood and placed in the center of the reception room.
On the long table, candlelight illuminated the beautiful and exquisite silverware and porcelain, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Duke Abrad walked to the host seat at the long table and sat down.
"Your Highness, please take a seat." He extended his hand gracefully to Prince Constance.
Prince Constance was seated at the head of the guest table, opposite Lady Beatrice. Lorenz sat below Prince Constance, while Euridice sat next to the Duchess.
The five people at the long table all had beautiful smiles on their faces, but the atmosphere at the table was a little subtle.
Prince Constance glanced at Euridsi and smiled meaningfully: "This must be the Countess of Little Oplensi."
Olidisi said calmly, "Yes, I am Olidisi Aquitas. It is a great honor to meet you... Your Highness."
Eurydice uttered the word "Your Highness" clearly, and her eyes became deep, staring straight into Prince Constance's lake blue eyes. Prince Constance's eyes narrowed slightly.
As he was talking, the appetizers for the dinner were served on a silver tray by the waiter:
The mussels were drizzled with tomato sauce and truffle mayonnaise was placed on the side, with the freshly baked bread emitting a lovely aroma.
"Ah, mussels in ketchup from Oplenci." Prince Constance looked away with a delighted smile. "Oplenci's seafood is famous in Kaderinburg. We are so lucky."
All the appetizers have been served. The waiter poured red wine for the host and guests. Everyone raised their glasses and said, "Goddess, we thank God for his gift."
The atmosphere of the banquet was very harmonious. The prince admired the dinner dishes with a relaxed look, looking like an aristocrat who was just on "vacation".
It wasn't until the main course of the banquet—slow-cooked lamb and charcoal-grilled steak—was served steaming hot that Prince Constance changed the subject and asked casually, "Why don't I see Lucien?"
The silver knife in Oulidsi's hand paused slightly.
——Finally here.
The Duchess sighed softly. "Lucian... I don't know what he did to bring down the divine punishment of the goddess Themis. He's now imprisoned in the temple's dungeon."
Prince Constance pretended to be surprised: "Oh, divine punishment?"
Lady Beatrice shook her head regretfully: "Yes, divine punishment."
She said, looking very sad: "I don't know why... when Lucian was worshiping the goddess Themis, the statue in the temple shed tears."
The Duchess consciously or unconsciously concealed the details of the "blood and tears", and Prince Constance did not seem to notice the Duchess's concealment.
The handsome and affectionate prince put down his knife and fork and sighed, "Lucian is still a child. What can he understand or do? Why not let the Abrad family donate some money to appease the wrath of God?"
When Prince Constance said this, Euridice knew clearly:
Prince Constance meant to pardon or reduce Lucien's sentence.
In exchange, the Ebrard family, which has accumulated considerable wealth, has to pay a monetary price to Prince Constance.
Euridice understood what he meant, and the Duchess naturally understood it too.
It's just money. Lady Beatrice breathed a sigh of relief calmly and was about to agree with a smile -
Olidisi's smile was like a knife, cutting into the joyful atmosphere of the banquet.
She smiled and said, "Does Her Majesty know about the divine punishment?"
12.3
When Oulidisi mentioned "Her Majesty the Queen", the expressions of those present changed slightly.
Supreme King Lucinda, who unified the Ethereal Continent, possessed undeniable majesty in the empire; simply by mentioning her name, people unconsciously restrained their frivolous smiles and turned serious.
Prince Constance coughed softly and said, "There's no need to disturb Mother with such trivial matters."
Olidisi smiled: "Really?"
—Prince Constance certainly wouldn’t want Queen Lucinda to know about this.
On the surface, Prince Constance's visit to Oplenci was of course just a "courtesy visit" to maintain the friendly relations between the royal family and the nobles.
However, when the Abrad family's wealth flowed into Prince Constance's pocket under the pretext of "charity", the matter quietly changed.
Of course, this matter could be a big thing or a small thing: if it was a small thing, it would just be normal communication between princes and nobles - everyone sat together to talk, drink, and give each other a few precious spices and cloths to maintain their feelings.
However, if someone wants to make this a big deal, then this is a prince who is cultivating his power, consciously or unconsciously: he is building a network of contacts and accumulating strength.
Oledsi scoffed softly.
Prince Constance, she thought ironically, he is certainly cultivating his own power and amassing his own strength.
Otherwise, if a prince goes to great lengths to "rescue" a child from a noble family with whom he has no personal relationship, is he really doing charity?
Obviously not.
Prince Constance is the king's second child and has an older brother, so he is not the first in line to the throne.
When a prince who is not heir to the throne starts to build his own network, things can get very tricky.
Therefore, this matter obviously cannot be made known to His Majesty the King.
So, when Oulidesi smiled and said, "Does Her Majesty know about the divine punishment?"
Prince Constance could only say, "There's no need to disturb Mother about such a small matter."
However, Euridsi seemed not to understand Prince Constance's hint, and instead said with a smile, "How could such a serious matter as divine punishment be concealed from the king of the empire? That was the horrific spectacle of the statue shedding tears of blood. This has never happened in the Ethereal Continent in all these years."
As she spoke, she twirled the red wine glass in her hand with a half-smile. "What's more, to appease the wrath of God, the Ebrard family will donate a considerable amount of money to charity. How can such a great thing not be known to His Majesty the King?"
Before Prince Constance could speak, Lady Beatrice's face darkened.
However, before she could speak, Euridice suddenly took out an envelope from his pocket with a smile and waved it in front of Mrs. Beatrice.
"I will tell the king about this myself," she said.
As Euridice said this, the smile on Prince Constance's face gradually disappeared.
He stared at Oulidisi, but Oulidisi seemed not to notice his sharp eyes. Instead, he leisurely opened the envelope in his hand and slowly showed the king's invitation to everyone at the table.
"Look," she said, "I have been invited to the feast for High King Lucinda's birthday in a lunar month. Then, I will tell Your Majesty completely and honestly about this divine punishment and its solution. After all, who would dare to hide anything from the great High King Lucinda?"
Prince Constance and the Duchess stared at Euridice.
Euridice smiled broadly. "Now, tell me, dear Prince, how do you plan to deal with Lucien Abrad, the sinner punished by God?"
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