Mitra Kingdom, Royal Capital.
Lia, accompanied by Charl, walked down the resplendent corridor of the Royal Palace and entered Lucy’s bedchamber.
Lucy’s room was unchanged.
The only difference was the absence of nobles trying to curry favor or get close to her. Since Shien and Lucy’s official engagement, she was no longer a single princess, but a betrothed woman, a royal soon to be married. With the royal family’s approval, no noble dared to pursue the Kingdom’s Treasure anymore. It would be not only stealing someone’s fiancée, but also slapping the royal family in the face. Therefore, however unwilling, those nobles could only give up, no longer daring to pester the engaged Lucy.
Of course, there were always those who refused to give up, and those foolish, arrogant nobles. While not daring to pursue Lucy openly, they secretly plotted and schemed. If not for Shien being backed by the Demon Race and the God Race, with Airi, the Dragon Demon, even declaring that harming him was equivalent to offending the Demon Race, some might have already acted against him. Even so, some nobles, taking advantage of Shien’s absence, had set up traps targeting the Buztout family.
However, recently, those plots had all come to nothing.
“After all, those guys wouldn’t dare to act against a Hero,” Lia said, walking down the corridor of the bedchamber.
Now, the fact that Shien was the Hero was known throughout Omnipotence.
This naturally caused strong reactions from the Human Race, the Demon Race, and the God Race. The Demon Race and the God Race were deeply connected to the Hero, their overreaction to the Hero’s reappearance after a thousand years understandable.
As for the Human Race, their reactions were also varied and intense.
The Mitra Kingdom was no exception. After all, this was the Kingdom of Heroes. Learning that a Hero had appeared among their nobles, and that this Hero was the fiancé of the Kingdom’s Treasure, the infamous Earl Buztout, caused a strong reaction from both the citizens and the nobles. Those nobles who had been plotting in secret were terrified and withdrew their schemes upon hearing this news. The Hero’s title was too intimidating, especially in the Mitra Kingdom, where reverence for Heroes was deeply ingrained.
However, recently, another undercurrent emerged in the Mitra Kingdom, stirring up those nobles again. Especially today, a piece of news further fueled their malicious intent.
Lia came here because of this.
“What do you think Lucy’s reaction will be, Charl?” Lia asked, sighing.
Charl, who was silent, naturally knew what she was referring to. But asking her this question was a bit much.
“How would I know Princess Lucy’s reaction?” she said with a bitter smile, “Ever since returning from her last trip, she’s been staying in her bedchamber, even in her room, not going out. Many in the royal family are discussing whether she was affected by Earl Buztout and the Dragon Demon’s matter.”
This had been a hot topic in the Royal Palace recently. Even Lia still found it unbelievable.
“Engaged to a Demon Lord?” she said, as if having a headache, “It sounds like a nightmare.”
“Indeed,” Charl agreed, “For the natural enemy of the Demon Race to marry a Demon Lord, one of their apex beings, when this news first came out, everyone thought it was just a political ploy by the Demon Race to appease us.”
“But now it’s confirmed,” Lia said helplessly, “Sara, the Moon Demon, even made a public declaration with the other Demon Lords, saying that Airi, the Dragon Demon, will officially be engaged to Earl Buztout. How could this be a ploy?”
“Many will probably cause trouble after hearing this news,” Charl said in a low voice, “After all, Earl Buztout’s official fiancée is Princess Lucy. This Dragon Demon appearing halfway, this is troublesome.”
The situation was indeed troublesome.
In this world of Omnipotence, marriage wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Although polygamy was allowed, usually, there would only be one official engagement ceremony for the principal wife. Once the engagement ceremony was held, the position of the principal wife was basically confirmed. And after the principal wife, whether it was a concubine or a secondary wife, there wouldn’t be another engagement ceremony, only the wedding ceremony.
Therefore, after Shien and Lucy held their official engagement ceremony, Lucy’s position as Shien’s principal wife was basically set.
But now, with Airi’s sudden appearance, things became complicated.
“That’s the Dragon Demon, one of the Six Demon Lords, an apex being of the Demon Race. In terms of status, even kings are inferior to her, only the Three Goddesses of the God Race can be considered her equals,” Lia sighed, “For such a person to marry, how could she possibly be a secondary wife?”
Generally, the principal wife’s family background and status had to be the most prominent. Otherwise, who would accept someone with a lower status above them? If a woman with a more prominent background was about to marry into the family, they might even depose the current wife and give up the position of principal wife.
Such matters were originally unrelated to Lucy. In terms of family background, who could be more prominent than a princess? Moreover, Lucy wasn’t just any princess, but the Kingdom’s Treasure, a direct descendant of a Hero, inheriting the Holy Sword and favored by the God Race, even blessed by Lildas, the Goddess of Fate. Such a woman, practically the most unattainable person in the Human Realm, how could anyone have a more prominent background than her?
But now, such a situation had occurred.
Lia could imagine the current chaos in the Royal Palace and outside. “The beloved Kingdom’s Treasure, officially engaged, now faces the possibility of being deposed?”“How could the royal family allow this? How could the citizens of the Kingdom allow this?”“But if they don’t, how can the Demon Race be appeased?”“Marrying a Demon Lord to a former enemy is already controversial. Now that the matter is settled, fine, but she can’t even be the principal wife, having to be a secondary wife to a princess of the Hero’s Kingdom?”“How is this possible?”
Because of this, the royal family held an emergency meeting, with Ancil, all the royal family members, and even high-ranking officials discussing the matter. Lia wasn’t present because she was sent by Ancil to see Lucy’s reaction.
But thinking about it, even Lia felt anxious.
“That damned guy, my Lucy isn’t enough for him, and he still has to mess with someone he shouldn’t. Does he think he can do whatever he wants just because he’s the Hero?” Lia didn’t know how many times she had cursed Shien.
But she also knew that Shien and Airi had been together for a while now. For that notoriously ruthless Dragon Demon to willingly act as a human’s protector, there had to be something going on between them.
Moreover, compared to this matter, the chaos among the three races was the most important issue. Lia knew that if not for this sudden engagement, the news of the Hero’s reappearance would cause even greater conflict between the God Race, the Human Race, and the Demon Race.
Everything was fate, and no one could be blamed.
“Sara, the Moon Demon, this must be the plan of that renowned strategist of the Demon Race,” Lia sighed for the umpteenth time, “I can’t believe they’re willing to do this.” Having a Demon Lord marry a human, the Demon Race was truly playing a dangerous game. If not for this drastic measure, it would be difficult to quell the unrest among the three races.
“I just hope nothing happens to Lucy.” This was Lia’s only concern.
Charl remained silent, unsure what to say.
With heavy hearts, the two arrived at the inner chambers of Lucy’s bedchamber.
“We greet Her Highness, Princess Lilia!” The female knights of the Holy Sword Knights knelt before Lia.
“Where is Lucy?” Lia asked directly.
A female knight immediately replied, “Her Highness has been in her room for several days, and she instructed us not to approach, not even to bring her meals.” Her tone was worried.
Lia’s heart sank, and she couldn’t help but worry, “Could she really be that devastated?”
Even Charl was concerned.
Lia rushed towards Lucy’s room without even knocking, pushing open the door and entering.
“Lucy!” she called out.
Instantly, an indescribable aura enveloped her. It was both solemn and sacred.
“—!?” Lia’s expression changed drastically.
“Y-Your Highness…!?” Charl, who followed her in, was also shocked.