Once they've reached the railing that overlooks the gardens, they all stop and Rae steps forward to stand beside the King. That makes everyone who knows the pair smile for their good fortune, and the King begins his introduction.
"We welcome you all to the official announcement of the formation of the Royal Harem. Let us begin by introducing the new Head Consort, Rae, eldest Daughter of Dutchess Morgan of Skyview.
It was not easy to choose a leader from among such fine candidates, but the Ladies saved us the trouble and chose from among their own ranks a leader who they believe best suited for the duties of public engagements.
As you know, we have been the best of friends all our lives, and it is an honor to welcome Rae to the Royal Family. Please give her your most earnest of welcomes."
The crowd breaks into cheering at the announcement, and Cain takes a good look around to see if there is any sign of a threat. Gwen certainly had her assassins spread throughout the crowd, but there's no harm in taking extra precautions.
The announcement that a locally born human is leading the group seems to have been enough for any among the Nobles who still harbored doubts, and all the faces look genuinely happy, with the exception of a few groups of young women.
That's understandable though, with only four out of thousands being picked, and only two of them from Skyview, the dreams of life as a princess have been crushed for a great many unwed noble daughters.
Looking more closely, Cain notices that more than a few young men look a bit dejected at the young ladies being taken off the market, but after the war, there are many more female than male children of the nobility surviving, so it shouldn't be too difficult for any who aren't an absolutely horrible person to find a suitable match.
It looks like that's what Misha is doing right now in fact, introducing the prime choices among the young noblemen to Mary and Paige. Cain takes a quick look in on her thoughts, seeing that they are mostly about finding the perfect husband for the ladies, in order to peacefully eliminate the competition, so he just leaves her to her work.
Really, the worst that could happen is that she succeeds in finding a suitable match and one or both of the ladies lives happily ever after.
Well, there's a chance that she might find a charlatan with a good mask, but since they're so much higher level now than the youth of Skyview, that shouldn't pose much of a problem, should the Elves wish to get rid of the nuisance.
Cain missed the others being introduced as he was distracted, but the applause as the speeches are finished brings his attention back. He adds his applause to the noise, and the party really starts to get into full swing.
Today marks celebration day one of ten, so everyone is fresh and ready to party, the enthusiasm level extremely high as the Nobles celebrate the King's coming of age.
[What one smells better, rose petals or lilac blossoms] Gwen sends him a message out of the blue.
[I think Lilac, why?]
[We're getting the King's bedroom ready for the evening, but the servants couldn't make up their mind. We needed a tie breaking vote.]
Cain isn't sure what the King's preferences are, and he's not about to go digging through his mind for those sorts of thoughts, so Cain decides that the 50/50 chance is close enough.
[As long as nobody is allergic to either, you should be fine.] He finishes the conversation, feeling Gwen turn her attention away from him and on to whatever task they're taking care of.
The rumors turned out to be even more widespread than Cain had expected, with the events involving the Guild laid squarely at his feet. The assembled Nobles and dignitaries all agreed on two things though, the Darklight Host was running things behind the scenes on the eastern side of the continent and that King James was an ally of the Guild.
Some of the variations of the rumors were pretty outlandish, like the claim that King James was dead and replaced with a Puppet, or that Cain himself was over level 600 and simply hiding his true power. The supporters of that theory claimed it was the only explanation for the sudden changes in level they had seen him exhibit.
Cain was listening to all the gossip about himself mixed in with the chatter about the Royal Harem when he heard one version that made him smile. That Demon noble claimed that the massacre at the Blood Sands Castle wasn't Duke Cain at all, but the Demon King and his protégé, who had a defense pact with the Darklight Host.
The Succubus was laughed at, her story dismissed as too outlandish, so Cain went over to talk to her.
"You're half right you know. King Aggramor was there. As was his protégé. But she's the daughter of one of our Guild Officers and a member of the Darklight Host herself." Cain whispers to the dejected Demon.
Cain turns to leave, but the Succubus grabs him. "Wait, tell them that. The honor of the Succubus Maids is at stake."
Her voice was loud enough that the Nobles who ridiculed her could hear, so they all turned to see what was going on.
"I wasn't personally at the recent battle at our Guild Castle. But what I can tell you is that King Aggramor was there, visiting with one of our young Guild Members that he is quite fond of. The actual details are, of course, confidential." Cain explains and a fresh round of rumors spread through the crowd.
Misha had gathered a pretty sizeable group of ladies by the time midnight came around and King James took his leave, along with the guests of honor. Nobody expected to see them again anytime soon, so the less party minded attendees began to disperse.
The party at the palace would still be going on in the morning, and all through the next week, but for now they would be moving a portion of it back to the Manor in Long Fang Valley.
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