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Chapter 28 War Council in Marriage
🕑 Added 2023-11-22 06:13:55 +0000 UTCThe cathedral in Duke Slane's territory was quite distant. We had to travel south, passing through 15 villages and 2 cities. The journey itself took two weeks, twice as long as the journey to the capital. It was mandatory for noble weddings to be held at the Cathedral of Mana. The reason the Cathedral of Mana was located in Slane territory and not the capital was that we were once a vassal of the Eastern Kingdom. When we were granted independence, the cathedral was moved there because the royal family feared its influence.
However, all nobles in our country were familiar with the teachings of the Mana religion. It was the source of mage elitism and commoners' disputes. The doctrine asserted that mana was the source of all, claiming that god is mana and mana is god. Consequently, those who could control the most mana were to be revered, and in return, they were expected to provide bountiful harvests for all.
Yet, I let these teachings pass from one ear to another. Today marked the day of my brother's marriage. Brother Zach was to marry Duke Bron's second daughter, Catherine. Despite being an arranged marriage, Catherine had never visited our house. Zach informed me that he had met Catherine at the academy, describing her as a rather slender woman with a few pimples on her face. She might not be the most attractive person, but she wasn't bad either.
"Greetings, Miss Elidranthia, Miss Alicia," the bishop greeted Alicia and me first. Through my mana sight, I sensed that he was a mage who didn't even bother suppressing his mana. Had he suppressed it, I wouldn't have been able to tell he was a mage.
"Greetings. It seems my reputation precedes me. I apologize for my rude behavior of not knowing your name," I bowed, adhering to the etiquette I had learned.
"Greetings, I am Alicia. I serve Lady Elidranthia as her maid. Please greet the man of the house before me," Alicia also bowed gracefully, politely declining the greetings.
"Very well, if the lady mage says so. This is your brother's blessed day. I am glad to witness yet another loving family with their mages," the bishop bowed to me and then addressed Zach and my father. "Greetings, Count Shadowstep and Zach Shadowstep. May this be a joyous day as a husband and wife are united by the threads of mana. May mana guide you on the righteous path."
"So, that's how the actual church behaves. Our priest wasn't so..." Alicia muttered, but she held her criticism. I couldn't agree more.
"We still have a war in the west. Moreover, troubles are arising in your territory, Lady Mage," an old man suddenly addressed us. My father immediately bowed his head.
"Greetings, Duke Bron." When my father said the title of the man before me, I quickly bowed in respect to him. He is Duke Bron! I never knew.
"G-g-greetings, Duke Bron," I stammered as I tried to mimic the way my father addressed him.
"Hmm... I heard my grandchild, Abel, was in your care. I am glad to see that you didn't discriminate just because you have an abundance of mana. It is rare to see a person like you," he smiled. "I hope your relationship with the family will be everlasting."
"Of course," I replied. I didn't plan to leave my family anytime soon.
The cathedral resembled Christian ones, minus the crucifixes. Stained glass cast a rainbow light flowing from the windows. The floor was made from polished marble, and ceramic art adorned its beautiful white surface. When the bride and groom entered the hall, multiple light mages cast holy light, bathing them in ethereal beauty. The floor itself was adorned with feystones, glowing like rainbows. It was as if the couple walked into heaven, blessed by the god himself.
"No wonder it is so expensive..." my father muttered. Our family was a new noble. When he married, our family was only a knight and was exempted from marrying in the cathedral. Zach's wedding was our first noble marriage. Our finances were improving, but my father moaned that he had to take another loan from the government just to pay 30% of this wedding.
He couldn't let Duke Bron pay for everything. However, even his share alone cost him more than 300 gold. Zach gave a wry smile. Even when Catherine is the one marrying into our house, he couldn't selfishly be thrifty and abandon noble customs.
"Catherine was more gorgeous than I thought. Brother Zach spoke of her like some ordinary woman," I muttered.
"Clothes make the person," Alicia said. We eyed her carefully, and she pointed out several tricks the seamstress and the makeup artist did to make her more appealing. The wedding gown was loose in several areas, and the bust was padded. Moreover, the makeup was thick, too.
"Alicia, how old are you?" I asked rhetorically. I never used makeup, and neither did she. How come she knew such tricks? I was returned with a glare more sinister than my usual red eyes. It was like a demon spawned forth behind her.
"Eli, how old are you? You need to start learning those things," Alucard, my third brother commented. When I heard the question thrown back at me, I winced, and Alicia giggled.
The wedding went by as planned. After an oath of marriage, the light mage sent a twirling light down at the couple. It looked like fairies were blessing the union of the two houses. Meanwhile, Prince Ludwin also attended the wedding, and he occasionally glanced my way. His gaze sent shivers down my spine.
"Greetings, Duke Bron, Count Shadowstep. And you too, Elidranthia," Prince Ludwin finally greeted us after the wedding ceremony. We were in recess for two hours until the wedding reception. My mood soared when barbecues were mentioned as one of the foods presented. I could see the chef roasting barbecues live. Prince Ludwin's greeting ruined my cheery atmosphere, though. He must have come here for trouble again.
"You haven't replied to my invitation to the tea party I held with my sister. Will you come? I am sure she will appreciate the gesture. I also want to get to know you more." His voice was sweet and alluring, and I unknowingly nodded.
"Yes." I couldn't refuse him. When he started to get close, Alicia took my hand.
"Lady Eli! Let's taste the new pudding! It was made with seaweed imported from the west!"
"Huh? Oh, yes. Let's go to the pudding!" My reply was a mess, but I thanked God Alicia came to the rescue. With plates filled with pudding and cakes, we went to congratulate Brother Zach and Catherine. He was engaged in a serious conversation with Father.
"Brother Zach! Congratulations on your wedding! May I call you Sister Catherine?" I intervened and greeted Brother Zach and my new sister-in-law.
"Is this Elidranthia?" Catherine asked Brother Zach. "Hello. Yes, you may call me Sister Catherine."
"Zach! Now is a good time; will you please go to the meeting room? I didn't have enough time. Let's talk it out before I return to the capital," Duke Bron said, and we were immediately brought to the meeting room, leaving attendees to dine on their own. Catherine, still in her wedding gown, took a seat. A family meeting was imminent. He would probably talk about that, huh?
"So, why is our wedding hastened? Duke Slane and Duke Luca couldn't attend because you selfishly moved the schedule. Only half of the invited guests came to this wedding," Catherine expressed her dissatisfaction.
"Zach, this is currently a secret. But it will be revealed soon enough. That's why your family could all hear it. This is the news: We have found out through our intelligence network that the Elderan Empire is preparing to cross the northern woods.
"I see." Zach widened his eyes but then silently nodded.
"Oh, you aren't surprised?"
"I am surprised. However, I haven't seen any monster assault this month. I thought something was going on in the forest, so it was them. I started to connect the dots. They prepare such a force to clear it? Moreover, there was a spawner in the forest. Will they be able to do it?"
"They have destroyed the spawner." Here are the three elites that have done it. Duke Bron slid a picture on the table. Father and Brother Zach looked at it in awe.
"Whoa, who took a picture of this? I just knew we had an intelligence department a month ago. Is it from that organization?"
"That was me, brother," I commented in my mind. However, I played dumb and looked at my plate. I still need to finish my pudding.
"Yes. They were attacked during scouting…"
I rolled my eyes; I wanted to complain to R25B about this. They spun an entirely new tale about me. They claimed this was not done by reapers but by their own intelligence department. Then, they went on to assert that it was carried out by a group—resulting in many casualties—and involved three dangerous individuals. The part where they insisted it was their own intelligence department seemed absurd to me. Both of them were aware that Duke Bron employed reapers to gather that intelligence. Ah, but perhaps Prince Ludwig didn't know. I suppose Alucard and Richard, my second and third brothers, are also in the dark.
"We thank you for the information, Duke Bron. However, I am ashamed to say that we are not prepared to engage against a committed attack by foreign countries."
"We're not?" I asked him. We had hundreds of knights and tens of mages. How many did he think the enemy nation would throw at them?
"Eli, real wars against nations don't rely on mages and knights alone. We need expensive magic artillery and probably a planted magic bomb, too. Several hundreds of them. Those wooden palisades would do nothing against the enemy's cannons. We need a stone wall with magic resistance. And we also need more horses."
"Yes. I plan to move the first battalion toward your county. You have two months to prepare to receive them."
"Huh? The first battalion? That would mean half of the royal guards!" The second prince, who had been silent, finally protested. "We didn't even know if they would attack for real."
"Well, we didn't know if they would attack for real. But we still need to prepare."
"Absolutely not. If they are going to attack, we should defend the capital or at least move the army to a more defensible city. Such as Alrisa."
"That would mean sacrificing County Shadowstep; moreover, our grain production would also suffer. We couldn't do that. If County Shadowstep falls and they make a beachhead there, they could attack the entire western provinces. Our fortress in the western front will face a pincer attack."
"Ugh…" Prince Ludwin groaned. "Alright. We have no choice in this matter. Go on with the plan."
"Thank you, Your Highness." They continued with the war council, but it fell on my deaf ears as I savored my pudding.
The war has nothing to do with me yet. I still have school now. I could ignore their words for now. It was not my problem but Zach's and Father's.
Little did I realize war was everywhere.
