Eileenburg (26)
wedding
Xiaowei pushed open Mi's door again. The air in the room was slightly cool. Ailian was curled up in the quilt. She had been alone last night.
"Miss, we need to get ready to leave."
Ailian remained buried in the covers, unwilling to move. On the dressing table beside the bed were two pages of sheet music, written in Mi's handwriting. Xiaowei gently reached out and put the sheet music away: "Miss, you need to get up and do your makeup. Duke Swei's carriage has arrived."
Ailian reached out from under the covers and groped around, saying, "Mi, help me up." Xiaowei went over and helped Ailian up, placing a warm towel on Ailian's face and wiping away the tears in her eyes. Ailian hugged Xiaowei's waist like a wounded little animal nestled in her mother's arms, saying, "Xiaowei, Xiaowei."
Ailian quickly dressed in her white wedding gown and walked towards Duke Swei's carriage. Duke Swei very gentlemanly alighted from the carriage, extended his hand for Ailian to place her palm on the back of his hand, and gently helped Ailian into the carriage. Xiaowei and Xiaobai followed behind, watching Ailian in her magnificent wedding attire.
The carriage entered the Sun City Ring Road, with more and more carriages joining it. When it reached the Royal Ring, Grand Duke Sway had to alight. He extended his arm, allowing Elaine to place her wrist on his. Grand Duke Sway was dressed in Sun City's traditional groom's attire—a brand-new white shirt with royal floral medallions on the cuffs. Elaine wore Sun City's traditional bride's dress—a wide white gown adorned with pearls. Grand Duke Sway and Lady Elaine led the way into the Royal Ring, followed by couples dressed in identical gifts. The Royal Ring was carpeted in red, like a New Year's celebration, and the newlyweds followed Grand Duke Sway and Lady Elaine all the way to the Sun City Lord's Palace.
In the June Festival of the Flower Kingdom in 507, there was the largest mass wedding in history. There were 126 couples of citizens from Sun City, 118 couples of passersby from Star City, and 159 couples of merchants and couples from towns around Sun City. Including Grand Duke Swei and Ailian, a total of 404 couples got married in June this year.
After the Lord of Sun City presented wedding certificates to all the newlyweds, King Derek and the Angus Palace also offered their blessings, and each couple received a pair of rings meticulously crafted by royal artisans.
After the wedding ceremony concluded, royal protocol officers and a guard of honor escorted Aileen and Archduke Sway's carriage into the Derek Palace, where King Derek and Queen Angelis greeted the newlyweds in front of the Nice Tower. Queen Angelis placed the crown on Aileen's head, kissed the tip of her hair, and said, "Welcome, my sister-in-law."
King Derek finally returned to normal, and he patted Swie on the shoulder with a pleased expression, saying, "You finally got married, kid!"
As the band's music began, the first dance of the first royal ball was not led by King Derek and Queen Angelus, but by Eileen, who had changed into a gown, who danced gracefully under the guidance of Archduke Sway.
"What a beautiful couple!" Queen Angelis exclaimed.
“We are still a little inferior to what we were back then,” the king said, raising his glass to the queen.
“Oh, Your Majesty, this is the first long-lived princess in the royal family.” Queen Angelis smiled and shook her head. “I’m old.”
"The Queen's beauty is as captivating as ever." The King gestured, and Ailian and Sway finished their dance. The Queen and King danced together, and the Queen leaned on the King's shoulder, whispering praise, "Your Majesty's charm surpasses even that of the past." More and more men and women filled the dance floor, and soon the banquet reached its climax. Countless fireworks lit up the night sky, and even the blue moon lost its luster for a moment.
After their marriage, Eleanor lived on the estate of Grand Duke Sway, as was customary. Grand Duke Sway built a new Dahlia Castle for his new wife, and the royal court remained stable. The Queen, despite her poor health, persevered, while His Majesty the King became increasingly irritable. Most unexpectedly, Lady Aldrich suddenly disappeared. After visiting the palace twice, Earl Aldrich nominated his brother's eldest son as heir to the title. Soon after, Earl Aldrich also passed away, and the couple quickly vanished from the nobility, as if they had never existed. Their business soon found new hands.
The first wedding anniversary of Eleanor and Grand Duke Sway falls on Juneteenth. This year, the number of newlyweds on Juneteenth surpassed last year's, as Prince Ryan and Miss Beatrice were married again on Juneteenth at the Lord's Palace in Suncity. The baby born after last year's Juneteenth wedding, like this year's newlyweds, received royal gifts.
Grand Duke Sway and Ellen attended the wedding of Prince Ryan and Beatrice. After the wedding, Ellen found Grand Duke Sway at the riding stable.
“My lady,” Eileen regained her aristocratic bearing, “I would like to stay at Eileen Castle for a while.”
“Oh, of course, madam,” Archduke Sway said, leaning forward on his horse. “You may go whenever you wish, but you must return before the New Year. You know, there will be a banquet at the palace.”
"Of course." Ailian bowed and left.
Grand Duke Sway sighed as he watched Ailian's retreating figure, "This woman has been abandoned."
“My lord, please don’t say that,” the captain of Duke Swei’s guard said in a deep voice, “Miss Mi makes me feel ashamed.”
“Oh, my dear, please don’t do this,” Grand Duke Sway said seductively. “This is something we agreed on long ago. Who knows what’s going on between them? That’s why I don’t like women—they’re fickle, heartless, and cold-blooded.”
"Sir, please maintain a gentlemanly tolerance and gentleness towards the ladies."
“My dear, I thought you were going to talk about knights.” Grand Duke Sway spurred his horse away nonchalantly. “Why are these chivalric romances so popular? Women don’t need protection; it’s just an excuse men make for themselves.”
"Queen Angelis would be pleased to hear you say that."
“Let me tell you, my sister-in-law, the Queen, is not a woman at all,” Grand Duke Sway shook his head. “My dear brother regrets marrying such a woman so much.” The captain of the guard looked at him strangely. Everyone said that King Derek and Queen Angelis were deeply in love and jointly managed all affairs of the Flower Kingdom. King Derek shared power with Queen Angelis; so many people wanted such a husband but could not have him.
Grand Duke Sway reined in his horse: "It's fortunate he married such a woman, otherwise this Derek Palace would have to be renamed the Adventurers' Palace." Grand Duke Sway thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That wouldn't be bad either."
"My lord, please don't forget your royal status." The captain of the guard was always exasperated by Grand Duke Swei's unbridled tongue.
"Alright, what benefits has this identity brought me? Constant assassinations, endless tests; I never know what kind of face the person standing before me truly looks like." Grand Duke Sway turned to look at the captain of the guard. "I've always been curious, why are you willing to follow me all this time?"
“I don’t know either,” the guard captain shook his head. “Maybe it’s my duty. After all, I used to be a soldier, and protecting you is my mission.”
“My dear, you know I don’t want to hear this.” Grand Duke Sway rolled his eyes at the captain of the guard.
* * *
Ailian cheerfully called to Xiaowei, "Quick, pack your things, we're going back to Ailian Castle."
"What's wrong, Miss?" Xiao Wei never changed how she addressed Ai Lian.
“I need to stay at Ellen Castle for a while, and I’ll be back before the New Year’s celebration,” Ellen pleaded in a softer tone. “Xiaowei, I’ve already spoken to the Grand Duke.”
"Miss?" Xiao Wei said with a hint of helplessness, "You know that place is being monitored all along."
“I know, I know, I also know that those people haven’t reported any progress for two months. The higher-ups have forgotten about them.” Ailian waved her hand dismissively, then turned to look earnestly at her old servant: “Xiaowei, we all know that Mi won’t be coming back.”
"Miss, I'll go prepare right away." Xiao Wei sighed and turned to instruct people to prepare the carriage.
The Queen watched from the second floor as Eleanor and Beatrice said goodbye: "She and Beatrice get along quite well."
“Miss Mi is also very close to Petrus. It is said that she and Zara are good friends, and Petrus calls her ‘Mama.’” Wen handed a cup of tea to the Queen.
“Zara and I are good friends, but Petrus has always kept her distance from me.”
"You are the Queen."
"Is Ailian not pregnant?"
"Both Archduke Sway and Lady Ellen attended the New Year's celebration."
"Why do you still call her Lady Ellen?" the Queen shook her head. "That's not a long-lived species. I thought Ellen must be pregnant to let that Mi leave." The Queen pondered as she watched Ellen's retreating figure. That Miss Mi was the Queen's envoy sent by Anne.
“Long-lived species always obey the words of their destined ones,” Wen said, standing beside the Queen. “Perhaps Mi is not that destined one. According to the habits of long-lived species, Ai Lian has two long-lived seeds, so she will surely find a way to have a child.”
"Perhaps there's a reason we don't know."
In Lincheng 17, Fried brought the latest news: Miss Beatrice will be marrying Prince Ryan in June.
"Autumn, now we can look forward to the Queen." Yana read the letter again. Today is June Festival, and Yana is holding a celebration simultaneously in Lincheng 17 and Weicheng 17 in the name of Linzhen 17. One-third of the residents of Lincheng 17 have already moved out, and several villages have been newly built between Lincheng 17 and Linzhen 17. If it weren't for deliberate explanation, the villages between Linzhen 17 and Lincheng 17 would not be much different from the villages between Lincheng 17 and Maicheng 17.
"What do you think? Should I have Colin marry a countess in Sun City?" Qiu flipped through the official documents; Beatrice needed his support.
“How old is Colin?” Yana shook her head. “We should speed up the opening of the passage between Linzhen 17 and Weicheng 17.”
“No, that won’t work.” Qiu shook his head. “We can’t expand any further now. You need to hurry up and expand Lincheng 17. The Shali people no longer enter the pass through the border post. They’ve learned to skip the garrison city and plunder Lincheng directly.”
"Where did this news come from?" Yana's expression turned serious.
"The message from Galina says that Sun City is discussing whether to increase the number of border posts or shrink the border."
“Shrinking the border?” Yana couldn’t believe it. “That’s the Derek Wall, which took a hundred years to build.”
"Adding borders requires the Adventurers' Guild's approval." Qiu put down the document. "Betrice is under a lot of pressure now that she's become the Crown Princess."
"Then what about us?" Yana's hand trembled slightly. She was also worried about Bertram. Most importantly, this matter required a decision from all the city lords of Lincheng and Weicheng. They had to stand on Bertram's side.
“I have already written to Beatrice. Fried is on his way to Sun City and hopes to arrive before the council makes its decision.”
What did you write in the letter?
"Stone Forest Formation, set up a Stone Forest Formation outside the Derek Wall."
"That's unrealistic; we don't have that many people."
“I know, and I also offered a fallback suggestion: link the citadels together, and deploy patrols between the stone forest formations. This way, the manpower of the citadels can accomplish these tasks, and the citadels can also be connected to the city.”
"You want to control all the citadels? That's impossible!"
“I want the Acropolis and the neighboring cities to join forces.” Qiu raised his hand to stop Yana. “I know it’s impossible for all the Acropolis and the neighboring cities to be of one mind. But I want this whole wasteland area, from Acropolis 12 to Acropolis 37, to be connected as one. Yana, you know this isn’t difficult. With 25 Acropolises in our hands, Bertram will have confidence. She’s not like Queen Annis; the Adventurers’ Guild has always stood by the Queen’s side.”
"Autumn, this will be difficult."
“I’ve calculated it. If ten years isn’t enough, I’ll use twenty. If twenty years isn’t enough, I’ll use thirty. I’ve already decided on the next city lord. It will be Di. Weicheng and Lincheng must have the ability to contend with Tai*Yang*City, instead of just feeding the Shali people with human lives.”
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