Sylvester and the Masan Prince's eyes met almost instantly. Sylvester was interested in him to see if there was any secret about his identity. Was he even an actual prince or a spy? Meanwhile, the Prince's eyes showed envy and discomfort with Sylvester being close to Isabella.
But, for now, the ceremony was to occur first. King Harold Gracia stood up from his throne and walked forward to hug his sister. But before the man could hug Isabella, Sylvester hugged him instead.
He aimed to send the message to the King's imbecilic brain, "Your majesty, have you not learned your lesson? Did what transpired in your land not open your eyes? You are not the spearhead anymore. You're merely the stick now that does nothing but support the blade. Church advisors will arrive soon. Until then, don't ruin your legacy. Don't you dare marry Isabella to any pathetic lowlife out there? Now, smile and wave."
Sylvester could feel the fear in the king. After all, Sylvester was something to be feared at this point, especially by kings. But the man was smart enough and kept smiling. Then went to hug his sister.
After that, the ceremony started, which involved some rituals, some prayers and finally, the ceremony where a crown was placed on her head, along with many noble lords of Gracia Kingdom kneeling and swearing fielty.
It was a tedious ceremony, but after a few hours, it was over, and the feast started. Thankfully, it was not as dull at the feast since a few musicians played the flutes and some sort of single-string guitar-like crude instrument that sounded more like a cello.
The real socialisation started as a large hall was turned into a place for the feast. There were servants everywhere, women trying to woo some eligible lords and vice versa, while the clergymen silently ate without drinking any alcohol.
At the end of the hall was the main table of the King, overlooking everything. But only the King was sitting there alone, as Isabella had joined Sylvester and the rest at a different table.
Sylvester was busy, however, as he had not one but two bellies to feed. One was his own, and the other belonged to a cute furry boy. Miraj, albeit he didn't need much food, he still ate just for fun and taste. Yes, he was very greedy.
So, every now and then, a little paw would rise from underneath the table onto Sylvester's lap, asking for more meat and banana.
"Isabella, you look stunning. Here's my gift to the future queen of Gracia." Felix forwarded a small wooden box to Isabella. Though he didn't act like a pervert or such, instead, he appeared calm and serious.
Isabella didn't mind and took it. "What's in it?"
"It's just something I picked up long ago when I fought a couple of village raiders. It's a finger-sized effigy of a demon popular in the folk religion of Desert Tribes. This effigy is supposed to keep your enemies awake at night and slowly degrade them mentally. Who knows how much truth is in it, but it's pretty interesting." Felix explained his rare and meaningful gift.
Isabella kept it. "Thank you, Felix."
"Ah, it's nothing." Felix shrugged and got back to eating. He was certainly playing the double game of not acting too strangely.
Sylvester, meanwhile, was looking around at the various guests. He could see a few faces whose Blood Idols were in his possession. There were even a few counts, and he couldn't be happier about it.
'If I play my cards right, I can turn the entire Gracia Kingdom into my playground, and then, I won't ever have to worry about my coffers being empty.' He thought and glanced at Isabella, who was talking with Lady Aurora.
'I can't ever let her fall into hands that may misuse her against me. She's too naive and kind for her own good. Teaching her my craft to some level can help, but too much could harm in return if she starts questioning me.'
"Excuse me, may I have a dance."
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a male voice near him, but it had a different accent. He looked, and sure enough, there was the fifth prince of the Masan Empire, extending his hand towards Isabella.
"Sure."
Instead of flustered Isabella, Sylvester stood up, grabbed the Prince's hand and dragged him to the side where the crowds of nobles were shaking around and started dancing, holding the Prince's waist as if he was a woman.
The brown man looked fairly smart and had long black, curly hair. His eyes were also brown, with some dark circles or cosmetics. He had a short beard, and there were tattoos on his face, not many, but just a few lines.
Strangely enough, he wore thick gold ornaments around his neck and earrings with purple diamonds. The man didn't shy away from showing his wealth.
"It's nice to meet you, your highness. May I know your name?" Sylvester asked while dancing. It was comical in others' eyes, but Sir Dolorem, Bishop Mizar, Elyon, and Lady Aurora knew what Sylvester was doing.
"Likewise, Lord Bard. I am Ibrasil Mirmasan, the fifth son of Emperor Zenith Hu'ul Mirmasan. It's a… pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Sylvester continued to move around. Although prince Ibrasil was a strong and tall man, it wasn't hard for Sylvester. He could feel the nervousness in the Prince's heart.
"I must say, you're quite brave to appear here after what transpired in Duchy of Colorwood and recently to the King's brother. The witch confessed to everything, and your famed Shadow of Masan left behind enough clues for me. So, tell me straight, why are you really here?" Sylvester asked him while glaring into the man's brown eyes. For those inexperienced, it was a strange view. For the experienced warriors, it was a standoff.
The Prince stood straight. "I do not ally myself with the policies of my father. On the contrary, I very much believe in mutual existence and peace."
'Lies—So easy to catch these buffoons in these cases.'
"Yes, we have our entire northern part ruined by you. Yet, here you are, trying to woo the next Queen of Gracia, unable to defeat the Warsong Kingdom in the south. From the position you stand on, it's hard to believe you want peace–I'd rather say you want allies to fight." Sylvester rebuked almost instantly.
Prince Ibrasil, albeit middle-aged, felt overwhelmed by Sylvester's gaze and aura. It seemed as if the latter knew everything before he even opened his mouth. Still, he had to defend himself. "From the holy union, both of our lands will benefit. We can strengthen each other with food from the east and gold from the west."
'Ah, a weak argument of a weak man. He has ambition but no confidence. You'll be easy to scare.'
Sylvester didn't buy it and, in fact, learned valuable things from his emotions. "Holy Union? May I know what her number will be in your harem of wives? In the west, you guys openly practice polygamy, don't you? Even the church rules have been tweaked. So tell me, your highness, are you married?"
The Prince replied hesitantly. "T-Three… I have three wives as of now."
Sylvester sighed and shook his head. "I am not against what you do in your land. But you're not going to bag the queen of Gracia as your free-to-use sex slave. So put my next words in your permanent memory—Until Princess Isabella becomes the Queen, she remains in the direct protection of the Church, the Holy Father, and I. Do we have an understanding?"
Prince Ibrasil nodded his head in a second. "I understand—None shall try her before she takes the throne, Lord Bard."
"Good. I hope you'll enjoy the meal. The spicy steak is surprisingly great tonight." Sylvester stepped away and walked back to his chair beside Isabella.
"What was that?" Aurora asked from the other side of Isabella.
Sylvester picked up his glass and raised it towards Felix.
Clank!
"That was a man-to-man talk. I've 'educated' him about certain conditions and situations in this part of the world. No need to worry about marriage now, Isabella. Eat to your heart's content and worry not if you get fat." Sylvester jokingly put more food in her place.
She chuckled and ate. "Thank you, great Lord Bard."
With that, they all enjoyed the dinner to the fullest. Sylvester sang a few hymns for the people as well, but that always resulted in some nobleman crying to him and confessing his sins, asking for forgiveness.
Of course, they got no forgiveness. Sylvester reported all their crimes instead. After all, who told them to get that drunk?
But the night went well, and eventually, everyone returned to their rooms to rest as they were to head to the Holy Land in the morning. Since the road was good and Holy Land was not too far; they were optimistic about reaching home in half a day.
"Meow Meow!"
"Meow Meow!"
As always, Miraj woke Sylvester at the first light of the sun by slapping his face. The furry white boy had to go and freshen up outside and needed Sylvester to open the window.
"Fine, fine, I'm waking up. You're seriously more accurate than a clock." Sylvester muttered and sleepily walked to the window to open it.
Miraj quickly ran to it. "Don't close it! I'll be back in a jiffy."
Sylvester rubbed his face and looked around the room. "Time to say farewell to you as well. My entire house may be smaller than this room, but that's the only place I don't feel doomed."
Soon after, he packed his luggage and walked out. He regrouped with the rest and headed to the stables of the castle. Everyone was happy as they were returning to the Holy Land.
Isabella came to give them a farewell, however. She stopped them as they were loading the carriage and spoke after deeply bowing her head. "Everyone, thank you so much for everything you did for me. I know my family and my actions brought you a lot of pain and problems, and for that, I apologise. But, I promise never to waiver and always be just. I will do my best to become a queen you all can be proud of.
"I may not be as strong as you, Lady Aurora, or as smart as you, Sylvester, but I will try and make this Kingdom better for all of us." She was getting teary-eyed by the end of her short speech, telling her strong desire to be a good ruler.
"..."
However, Sylvester looked at Lady Aurora beside him and conveyed the message with a raise of brows. They realised that none of them had told Isabella about her future.
So Sylvester started, "Isabella, my mum and I are assigned as your guardian and host while you'll live in the Holy Land. You shall master your magic and learn many theories and tactics to employ when you become the queen. I know you were looking forward to finally getting some freedom and doing what you want—helping the people. But you must first get the right training."
She wiped her eyes cleaned and looked at their faces dumbly. "I what?"
Lady Aurora chuckled. "Stupid girl, you're coming with us to the Holy Land."
Woosh!
But surprising both of them, she lunged and hugged Sylvester and Aurora's necks, hanging her head over their shoulders.
It appeared Isabella had found more warmth in the arms of a few strangers she came to care so much for than her own real brother.
Sylvester sighed and patted the back of her head. 'Such emotions—such happiness. Well, mum won't be bored at home now, at least—But I wonder how she is…'
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