The Illuminati's mobilization of the Silencers did not delay their
routine business
of officiating weddings.
Three days later, at the engagement ceremony of Gaokan Crownguard and Miss Fiora Laurent, the Illuminati's The Capital diocesan bishop stood beaming at the officiant's position.
Because the Crownguard Family had always been relatively low-key and their estate in The Capital was limited in size, this engagement ceremony was arranged to take place in the Illuminati's cathedral—there was no other way, the number of guests coming to offer congratulations was simply too many!
Even if nobles were utterly incompetent in their official duties, they were always perfectly clear when it came to scheming.
The Crownguard Family, which had always had a poor relationship with its collateral branches, was now overtly supporting a relative from Silvermere; perhaps this represented a change in their attitude?
One should know that, for the past decade, the cooperation between the Crownguard Family and the royal Lightshield Family had been a bit too close for the nobles' comfort.
Exemplary Noble might sound like an impressive title, but for ordinary nobles, it was akin to
someone else's child
.
The Crownguard Family's attitude of
I'll fight the battles, but I won't claim the credit; if the nation is in trouble, I'll charge forward
made many nobles feel extremely uncomfortable—even though Augatha's methods were smooth and brilliant, the Crownguard Family still felt somewhat out of place among the nobility.
As a noble, if you don't accumulate wealth, don't seek credit, and don't promote relatives, what do you want to do?
Contend for the throne?
If it were about gaining fame to contend for the throne, that would be understandable; Demacia's throne is not a perpetual lineage, and although the Lightshield Family has produced several kings in a row, a temporary pause and some maneuvering at this time would not be out of the question.
But…
The Crownguard Family, on the other hand, was famously loyal, and had few descendants; the current generation only had Garen—considering Garen's famously simple-minded personality in The Capital, this was not at all the behavior of someone vying for the throne.
This made the nobles of The Capital somewhat uncomfortable.
Augatha had complained about Peter, saying his straightforwardness led to poor popularity.
But in reality, the main reason for this poor popularity should be that Peter didn't know how to blend in…
Under such circumstances, if given the opportunity, nobles would be very happy to cause some trouble for the Crownguard Family—it's just a pity that this family was truly formidable; the male members were practically a lineage of loyal martyrs, and the ladies were all adept at social maneuvering, making it impossible to find trouble.
Present-day Demacia was not yet at the point where
unwarranted charges
could be made.
Therefore, when the Crownguard Family was mentioned, who knows how many nobles would secretly grumble,
The King's loyal dog
!
And this time, the Crownguard Family, this
King's loyal dog
, finally began to help its collateral branches seek status!
How could such news not excite the multitude of nobles?
The Crownguard Family is finally going to be like us, a member among us!
This is how it should be; nobles should be responsible for their own families!
It was based on this expectation that, even though this was only an engagement ceremony for a collateral family, almost all the nobles of Demacia Capital turned out.
Come, join us, be like a true noble—stop being the King's loyal dog!
.........
Due to their expectations, there was a degree of genuine sincerity in the polite smiles of the noble guests.
However, as the protagonist of the ceremony, Fiora didn't even manage a polite smile.
This was her engagement ceremony.
But she was like an outsider.
She was not the one making the decisions.
And the person she was engaged to was a playboy she completely disdained.
Although Fiora's father, Sebastian Laurent, thought highly of Gaokan and believed that Gaokan's social skills could help him rise quickly in The Capital's noble circles, in Fiora's eyes, Gaokan was a good-for-nothing.
An absolute good-for-nothing.
His abilities might qualify him to be a private in the Dauntless Vanguard or a squad leader in the Rangers, but Fiora completely looked down on that level.
Even during their first meeting, because of Gaokan's habitual flippancy, Fiora immediately and mercilessly gave him a taste of his own medicine—under the guise of a sparring match, she effortlessly knocked his sword away.
If the other party hadn't been a guest, Fiora would have even scratched that smirking face of his on the spot!
It's just a pity that this show of force seemed to have the opposite effect.
After realizing Fiora's astonishing swordsmanship, Dili became determined to have her as his daughter-in-law.
He and Sebastian hit it off immediately, and the two quickly settled the marriage.
For Dili, he gained a capable daughter-in-law; with Fiora's swordsmanship, she was bound to achieve great things in the military in the future.
For Sebastian, the Laurent Family had climbed onto the Crownguard branch—the current Laurent Family was no longer the family that produced swordsmen frequently three hundred years ago; in the knightly dueling competitions of the past century, the Laurent Family had no achievements whatsoever, and the dazzling Sword Dance Waltz was becoming increasingly unsuited to the current era; if they didn't make changes, the decline of the entire family would be a matter of time!
If there was an opportunity to latch onto a powerful family, then it naturally had to be firmly grasped!
And so, a political marriage of mutual benefit was decided upon.
As for Fiora, the person involved, she was almost the last among everyone to know the news—many guests even received their invitations earlier than she learned of her own engagement.
Fiora naturally refused to accept such magical realism of Destiny.
One must know that, ever since childhood, she had always rebelled against the various expectations placed upon her.
Her mother found the finest craftsmen in Demacia to make lifelike dolls for her, but Fiora gave the dolls to her maid, then turned and picked up her elder brother's sword, even coercing him to secretly teach her swordsmanship.
Her father hired skillful tailors and avant-garde designers to custom-make splendid gowns for her, but Fiora herself made a scarecrow, put the clothes on the scarecrow, and used them as targets for practicing thrusts and parries.
Fiora was proud of the Laurent name, but she yearned even more to prove with the sword in her hand that Laurent was second to none!
Then, at the age of eighteen, she learned the absurd news of her impending engagement—Fiora could not accept it no matter what.
She tried to reason with her father, she swore that she would use her sword to win honor for the family, and that she did not need to gain status through a marriage alliance.
But Sebastian turned a deaf ear to her words, only nagging her about becoming a noblewoman after marriage and so on.
Finally, the father and daughter parted on bad terms.
It was the night before the engagement, and while the family members were busy preparing for the ceremony, Fiora was wiping her sword.
Now, she appeared at the engagement ceremony, expressionlessly watching the jubilant guests.
She didn't know what these people were happy about, nor did she want to know.
And the guests, in fact, didn't care about Fiora's own thoughts; even if her face was like ice, no one cared.
Many noble marriages occurred after breaking up true loves.
No one cared about those poor lovers.
.........
According to their status, more and more guests arrived.
Finally, with the formal entrance of Luxanna Crownguard, the representative of the Crownguard Family's main branch, who had just turned thirteen, and the arrival of the King's envoy bearing the Lightshield emblem, the Bishop, as the officiant, formally announced the start of the engagement ceremony.
To the accompaniment of the choir, one part of the ceremony after another proceeded in an orderly fashion; Gaokan was exceptionally excited, while Fiora was like a marionette.
In the parents' speeches, Dili and Sebastian both expressed their approval of each other's children and praised the glorious history of the other's family.
And one engagement token after another was displayed to the guests—Fiora expressionlessly looked at these
dolls she once loved most
and
books she read the most
, feeling an unspeakable sense of ridicule in her heart.
No, it should be absurdity!
When did she ever play with dolls?
And what favorite books did she have?
Unfortunately, no one cared.
Finally, amidst enthusiastic applause, the engagement ceremony reached its final stage.
The Bishop, clad in a black robe, stood between Gaokan and Fiora, asking the last two questions.
"Mr. Gaokan Crownguard, are you willing to diligently prepare for marriage and make a marital promise?"
Gaokan's eyebrows danced, and even though he feigned composure, Fiora still saw his eagerness.
"I do."
"Ms. Fiora Laurent, are you willing to diligently prepare for marriage and make a marital promise?"
Fiora smiled for the first time, a smile like a spring breeze blowing over a snow-capped mountain, gentle yet still bone-chillingly cold.
"I—refuse!"