Grand Lord of the South (3) Illustration
Grand Lord of the South (3) Illustration
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The nobles of southern Britannia were deeply influenced by the Elf royal family. Thus, they had a custom of creating small sanctuaries with artificial gardens at their residences.
Haven was no different. A forest sanctuary existed atop a rocky hill within the city. Befitting its wealth and breadth, it was of considerably large scale.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"No. This is something the bride must do entirely on her own."
Varda, who had climbed to the sanctuary together with Eugene, strolled through the garden and gathered twigs and leaves.
"It is a custom shared by Rui Amor and the ancient kingdom, is it not? The wearing of a floral crown made from natural materials."
"Yes. To those who revere the 1st Era and those who revere the 2nd Era alike, it will establish your authority."
It was not only kings who wore crowns upon their heads. Great nobles who enjoyed sufficient power also wore various ornaments upon their heads.
In Varda's hands, there was already a floral crown gradually taking shape.
"I like it. It looks light, for a start."
For Eugene, a born soldier, light weight was a value above all else.
"It isn't only light. A crown made in the elven way is special."
"In what way?"
"It is alive. Much like your Wandering Castle."
As her delicate fingers tapped it, the twigs moved of their own accord and adjusted their shape. So that it would fit Eugene's head well. So that it would enhance his dignity more handsomely.
There was no need to measure the size of his head. She was, after all, a woman who had touched Eugene's face, his cheeks, his head countless times.
As her friendship with Eugene gradually turned into affection, the places Varda touched had also risen upward. Now she knew even his minor features well.
"As the seasons change, this crown will change its appearance as well. In spring and summer, it will be a pale green to herald new beginnings; in autumn, it will be beautifully colored with fall foliage; and in winter, it will shine a noble silver-white."
"It seems I will properly feel the passage of time each month."
Even if he were lazing about, a glance at the crown's changed color would jolt his senses awake.
"Oh..."
Varda, who had been gathering materials, stopped. In her hand, she held a chrysanthemum that had yet to bloom.
It was the flower she had meant to pin on Grace before leaving the Emerald Forest. But in the end, it was a flower that never saw the light.
As Varda's lips quivered, the chrysanthemum bud overcame time and blossomed resplendently.
"Let us adorn the crown with this. So that she may watch from the sky."
"Yes."
Eugene embraced Varda from behind. She always seemed as if the wind might blow her away, but at this moment, she looked lighter than ever.
And Eugene's mother had also been fond of chrysanthemums.
* * *
Around the time the floral crown was completed, the wedding schedule was announced throughout all of Britannia.
"Hang the tapestry here, so that when they enter they can naturally see the Castle Lord's life story."
Cassandra directed the beastkin servants and maids as they decorated the entrance to the banquet hall.
Overflowing with political ambition, she had long enjoyed frequent discussions with Eugene about propaganda.
-Would you be willing to fund the production of a tapestry? We would make a picture of the process by which you rose from a knight in Kingdom's End to this point.
In the past, Cassandra had wanted to create an ornament that would make Eugene's banquet even more special.
-It's a good idea, but wouldn't it take too long?
-That is precisely why it has value as a luxury item. It will overawe every noble who comes to see it.
-Hmm.
A tapestry was an artwork crafted by weaving colored threads into embroidery. It took a few years at the very least, and sometimes more than decades. To capture Eugene's journey, especially, would require weaving over several generations.
-There is no need to worry.
Cassandra waved her index finger stylishly and winked.
-For there is a secret method that compresses three hundred years of work into three months.
-As expected of Cassandra! I knew you would never make an impractical request.
-Heh heh! Look! These little ones are the secret!
-...
Eugene, who had been clapping, froze. Before him sat a barrel teeming with hundreds of spiders.
-Among our clan's witches is a specialist in insect enslavement. Spiders fed a special potion can spin colored thread. As they say, one hand cannot beat ten, but before the embroidery woven by hundreds of collaborating spiders, nothing is impossible.
-I, I see.
Thus, the tapestry that would hang at the entrance of Eugene's wedding was completed.
"Good heavens, how in the world did they weave such a thing?"
"The Castle Lord slew all the monsters shown here?"
Beginning with a giant wild boar, to the wendigo and bugbears, the episode of sinking a ship with a javelin, the Codon Castle bulldozer incident, the taking over of the Wandering Castle, and much more.
Faced with a life story that could not be believed to be the achievements of a single man, the nobles entering the banquet hall could not contain their admiration.
The entrance became so congested with the crowd admiring the tapestry that it nearly reached a standstill.
"Every single one of them is having an amazing reaction. Truly outstanding, Cassandra."
"I thank you for the praise, but I feel as though I've made the porridge only to serve it to someone else. It's a somewhat complicated feeling."
Cassandra sighed. She had thought it a contest with slim odds, and indeed Varda had gained the honor of being the first bride.
But that was only the first time. The future design Eugene envisioned encompassed countless uncharted territories.
To encompass them all, a large family would be needed. Whether that meant wives or children.
For now, she stepped back and offered her blessings, but a day would surely come. A day when Cassandra would be the lead, blessed by all.
* * *
"There are far more guests than I expected."
Though it was the wedding of a great lord, they had anticipated only the southern nobles would attend. After all, a fierce fight was raging up north.
Yet there were quite a few guests from the midlands as well, and even from the north.
"Your Excellency. This is the fourth marriage between a human and an elf recorded in history. And with the princess of a 1st Era royal house, no less. To some, it must feel like watching a fairy tale come to life."
Baron Foster spoke with a deeply moved expression.
"Had I known this would happen, should I have dressed in the Britannian fashion?"
"It does look a little peculiar, but it doesn't seem like it will be a problem."
Eugene wore the gold-embroidered traditional garb he had donned for the great festival of the dark elves. Rex and the other members of the Black Hand Tribe had strongly insisted on it.
-Sir Eugene! What do you intend to wear on the wedding day, if I may ask?
-Well, I was thinking of wearing something reasonably recommended by the city weavers' guild.
Normally for such events, one wore clothing handed down through the family for generations, but naturally, Eugene had no such thing.
-Then you absolutely must wear this.
-Umm.
-D-do you dislike it?
They pleaded so earnestly that Eugene himself found it awkward to refuse.
"Are nomads not synonymous with strength? In turbulent times, there is no being more steadfast than a strong lord."
Baron Foster consoled Eugene, who was examining his attire from various angles.
"It is proof that you are beloved by a warrior clan renowned across the continent. On the contrary, it will be a fine display."
"What a smoothly rolling tongue you have."
"Ha ha ha! To survive as a noble of Cornwall, skill with a sword alone was hardly enough."
The banquet adorning the wedding was magnificent. The city of Haven itself was prosperous and a hub of transport and trade, so there was an abundance of goods to mobilize. The Wandering Castle joined in as well.
"Y-your Excellency. My head suddenly..."
"That's what naturally happens when you hastily gulp down ice. I told you to eat it a little more slowly."
The shaved ice made from a combination of honey, milk, sap, and fruit enjoyed tremendous popularity among the invited nobles.
"Is this a gem? How can it be so dazzling?"
"No, it's ice. It's a mermaid carved from ice!"
The nobles curiously observed the large ice sculptures that Walker and his disciples had carved.
Eugene could always use large quantities of ice and had put it to good use at various events.
A noble banquet, as a rule, rose in dignity and was praised the more lavish it was. Here, lavishness was determined by how expensive and how unique something was.
And Eugene was a lord who could satisfy both values to their maximum—no, beyond it.
"Wargoats! Wherever did you capture these precious creatures?"
A vassal noble living in the mountainous region trembled with emotion upon seeing the monster goats.
"When I participated in the Gord tournament, there was a time I had to go subjugate monsters in the Shield Mountains. I was fortunate enough to capture them there. They truly grow by the day."
"But they are remarkably docile? Wargoats are gentle for monsters, but not to this extent."
"I happen to have the world's finest tamer."
At the animal-experience corner on the outskirts of the banquet hall, Homi and the Black Hand Tribe's tamers stood by.
They had prepared the special beasts obtained from the hunts and subjugations so far, as well as exotic animals purchased from Samur and Sicily.
Young boys and girls of noble families flocked there, laughing brightly as they looked on.
"Wa, waat! A-wat! Wa-wa-wat!"
One young master, mounted on a wargoat, holding its horns and taking a ride, could not keep his mouth closed. He wanted to laugh from sheer joy, but kept getting startled and let out strange sounds.
"Hmm. Sooft."
There was also a girl burying her face in the fur of a muzzled dire wolf, hugging it tightly.
"Cute."
A lesser panda had its paws raised high as if ready to fight the little one trying to pet it, in a standoff of wills.
Uhuuung-!
There were also eagle owls and black vultures that the tribal witches used as delivery messengers.
But above all else, the existence drawing the most popularity was a separate one.
"This fellow is the divine beast that His Excellency rides!"
Might, who had been resting in the stable, was also forcibly dragged out by a 'General mobilization order. You work too!' from Eugene.
"So big."
A young noble child looked up at Might, tall as a castle wall, eyes sparkling. But soon the child made a tearful face at the adults blocking the view ahead.
While it was basically a corner crowded with children, the World Charger alone had rough-and-tumble knights flocking to see him in droves.
Grrrrr.
Might bared his teeth as if uncomfortable, but no one backed away. That was how firm the trust in Eugene and Homi was. On the contrary, his ferocity excited them all the more.
"His teeth are longer than my fingers, aren't they?"
"Look at this enormous mouth. It's no joke that he chewed the head off a Barsian warhorse."
"Only a warhorse? With a body this size, he'd send a bear straight to the underworld in one blow."
The overwhelming majority of knights rode horses, but a very lucky few rode more special creatures. These were things like wargoats, unicorns, or the two-legged lizards said to be ridden by eastern nobles.
In truth, these mounts often fell short of warhorses in practical terms like endurance, speed, and obedience.
Yet there was one reason they were still envied. The part where they demonstrated incredible combat power even on their own.
Even if the mounted knight did not strike directly, they could, if need be, gore with their horns or bite to kill the enemy.
In the face of that thrill, debating efficiency was meaningless. It was what every knight yearned for, second only to an Etherje sword.
"What about a bugbear? Seems like he could even take on a bugbear."
"Even so, a mid-size monster would be difficult, I think."
VS play was a festival for all men, transcending eras and ages. The assembled knights and nobles debated on what grade of monster Might could fell.
Kyarrrrr-!
"Goodness!"
"Hey, even so, comparing a divine beast like this to a hobgoblin is a bit..."
Even Might, who had been sitting idly, threw a tantrum when compared to a monster of such a mismatched caliber.
The spacious banquet hall also included spa facilities. Thanks to the water sources within the city, the honored guests were able to immerse themselves in a wide, clear bath.
Haven. The name "Heaven on Earth" was not simply because the city was prosperous.
In Britannia, a land of much lime-ridden water, it was one of the few cities where clean water could be used without limit.
The nobles had come to congratulate Eugene and Varda and to make their presence known, but soon they were thoroughly absorbed in the banquet itself.
Such a display of prestige led to loyalty.
"Your Excellency. Please accept my sword, I beg you."
"Your house has always declared neutrality, has it not?"
"I believe eternal neutrality is impossible in times of upheaval. If I must serve someone, I wish to offer my sword to the most noble one."
'So this is why nobles go out of their way to indulge in luxury.'
Eugene's hospitality did not end with a mere display of House Meyer's wealth.
It hinted at a power that transcended those things. A power that could not be bought with money or authority. A might that only fate could bestow.
"I have always wished to serve a just monarch. Please, accept my fealty..."
Throughout the banquet, Last Autumn was drawn from its scabbard time and again.
Even those who had intended to become vassals from the start, those who had been wavering, and even those who had no intention of doing so.
As if drawn by an unknowable force, they all knelt before Eugene.
* * *
The wedding proceeded more like a monarch's coronation than a typical marriage ceremony.
Varda's bloodline and Eugene's power. A supreme lord combining both was being born. For that was the core of this event.
It was also a ritual to soothe the many people of southern Britannia. For it declared that their homeland was now safe.
Deng-geu-reong! Deng-geu-reong!
The great bell in the spire of Haven announced that the appointed hour had come.
From the lesser fallen nobles who ruled only a few servants, to the great lords who governed entire cities—more than a hundred banners fluttered in the wind.
"The guardian of southern Britannia and the rightful lord of Haven! The Castle Lord and standard-bearer chosen by the last relics of the Ancient Kingdom! He is the Grand Lord who shall lead you all!"
Marbas, wearing a ceremonial uniform, cried out. The voice of the summoner, laden with power, bore a force that stirred the souls of the guests.
Eugene and Varda, holding hands, knelt on one knee and bowed their heads.
"O gods. Look with favor upon this noble pair."
Marbas placed the floral crown he held upon Eugene's head.
Thus, it was proclaimed to all under heaven that Eugene and Varda were now husband and wife, for all eternity.
As the couple turned toward the guests, still holding hands, thunderous applause poured down upon them.
Nobles and commoners, knights and soldiers, farmers and serfs, merchants and laborers—all who had come to witness the wedding were swept up in overwhelming emotion and raised a great cheer.
* * *
The bridal chamber after night had fallen.
"Your Excellency! Count! The prayer of witnesses is a sacred tradition!"
The priests, their arms seized by dwarf warriors, cried out.
In the Apen Peninsula, Britannia, and a few other regions, a special rite was added to the weddings of great nobles.
On the first night, when bride and groom consummate their union, chaste witnesses were to pray through the night outside the bedchamber.
"Your Excellency! On their wedding night, husband and wife must divest themselves of everything, in body and spirit, and share their love. Only when that first button is fastened so can they ever be honest with one another for all their lives."
The priests who were being dragged away summoned every ounce of their strength to halt the dwarves.
"But with that comes a vulnerability to the temptations of wicked demons! The faithful must pray in their stead to protect them!"
"I am aware. At first I thought it embarrassing, but once I understood it, I found it a truly excellent tradition."
The priests had come to safeguard this noble couple with pure faith and a heart of blessing.
"The summoner has erected a mighty barrier of protection that no evil spirit can breach. So rest assured, and return home."
"..."
However, they had never imagined being bypassed in this manner. All were so flustered they could not think of how to respond.
"Send them out."
"Your Excellency! Your Excellencyyyy!"
The priests, pleading earnestly, were dragged away and expelled by the dwarves.
Click.
After shutting the thick door, Eugene turned around.
On the luxurious bed, Varda sat upright. Her hands were demurely folded over her knees, and her golden eyes shyly regarded Eugene.
"Was it right to drive away the priests so? Some may take issue with this."
"It's not as if I ignored them outright, and I have provided an excuse, so it should be fine."
"...To be honest, I disliked it too. Letting them hear our sounds."
Varda wiggled the toes that were tucked under her bottom.
"Our sounds?"
"Hmm?"
"No, nothing."
"..."
Eugene approached the bed, removed his slippers, and climbed up.
Thump-thump.
Even though nothing had yet begun, Varda's heart pounded as if about to burst. Sitting on a bed with a man was a first in her life.
Varda knew the weight this night carried. It was a union so politically significant that one could count on one hand the number of its equal throughout the entire continent.
-I did not see my husband-to-be until I had entered the wedding hall.
-You were fortunate. My marriage was decided during wartime, and I only saw his face on our wedding night. Good heavens! There stood a fat pig thirty years my senior.
Most marriages in this world were like that, but the nobler the bloodline, the less room there was for personal feelings. The noblewomen Varda had met while traveling through Roman were no exception.
All of them took it as a matter of course. For they had received an education befitting the daughters of nobility.
But even Grace, that strict educator, had been lenient on this one point.
-My lady, you must choose your life entirely as your heart desires. To spend a lifetime with someone you do not want—would that not be too sad?
-Grace. But I am a daughter of the royal family, am I not?
-A royal family with but a single subject.
-Uugh...
-I am sorry. I did not mean to wound your pride. I only meant that if you keep your pride well, there is no need to be bound by painful duty. The late king would have allowed it. Do not be fettered by obligation.
Ironically, Varda had chosen the most duty-bound spouse of all. But it was by no means a painful thing.
For now, the kingdom and her sense of mission did not exist in her heart. Only the bliss of being joined with the one she loved filled her.
The fact that this was no selfish act—that it was also fulfilling her duty to the royal house—was a truth so sweet...
Nodding.
Varda bowed her waist toward Eugene as if paying homage.
"Please, I ask this of you."
Her voice was full of courage and trust. Yet though both emotions lay heavy as a rock, they trembled faintly.
"It is I who should say that."
Eugene answered calmly and drew closer to Varda. He crawled on his knees over the bed without rising.
"..."
Varda could not understand why, but the sight struck her as sensual. Eugene's knees parting the bedspread as he approached—it looked like a conqueror coming to spread her closed knees apart.
As the last daughter of the royal family, she had always held modesty and chastity in the highest regard.
That conviction ceaselessly commanded Varda to withdraw. Yet she compromised by pressing her knees more firmly together and clenching the soles of her feet as tightly as she could.
At last, the two drew close enough to feel each other's breath.
Mwah.
A brief kiss shared with a hand resting upon the other's shoulder.
Rustle.
By the knight's hand, the princess's garment was lowered.
Rustle.
By the princess's hand, the knight's garment, too, was lowered.
"Hoh."
"...Ahuh."
Brown eyes and golden eyes turned toward each other's nakedness.
Varda averted her gaze in a burst of unbearable shyness. Only Eugene smiled brightly as he admired the radiant bareness of his wife.
Though two graceful hands covered the elf maiden's secret place and her breasts, there was much to behold.
First, there was the waist with a sensuous curve. Unlike its bashful owner, it seemed to beckon Eugene's hand to seize it at once. Since she was twisting her body, that curve stood out all the more alluringly.
If one had to choose only one to grasp between the gold-filled hilt and Varda's waist, anyone would choose the latter. Of course, Eugene would sever that outstretched hand with a single stroke.
The navel, indented in a seductive vertical line, almost seemed to tempt him to plant a kiss of fealty.
There were also the mighty hips where a half-elf would one day dwell, and the milk-white thighs like a sea of cream.
"I feel a little wronged."
"What do you mean?"
"That it feels as though I am the only one unbearably tense."
"It's a matter of practice."
"Practice, you say?"
Eugene's hand caressed Varda's thigh.
She flinched at this kind of touch she was permitting for the first time, but she remained still. For now the man before her eyes was her husband.
"Ever since I became friends with you, Varda-nim, I've imagined this scene hundreds of times."
"Hundreds?!"
The sharp elf mage's mind went momentarily blank from shock. For in her presence, Eugene had always been proper and composed.
"Then since when exactly...?"
"Who knows."
The hand that had been savoring the firm yet soft feel of his wife's thigh moved upward. In search of an even greater softness.
"I've always wanted for things to turn out this way. That's what men are."
Squeeze.
As the man's hand cupped her bottom, Varda's eyelids fluttered and trembled.
This, too, was contact she was allowing for the first time in her life. She truly felt the reality that she had at last married and was about to consummate.
"I-I never sensed any such sign from you all the time we spent together."
"That's because I hid it diligently. Chastity. Modesty. A noble lady who treasures those virtues. I dared not defile those values."
Eugene brought his lips close to Varda's ear.
"It was so difficult hiding the wolf inside."
Chomp.
Eugene's lips caught the elf's ear. At the sensation, a massage-like caress, Varda's breath grew hot.
Her knees, which had been held tightly together, had somehow gently parted before she knew it.
In one corner of Varda's mind, the commander of modesty raged and issued continuous orders.
'Close them at once!'
'Draw them together!'
That was the command.
Yet not a single messenger ever reached her legs.
Because Varda's lower abdomen, burning fiercely, intercepted them all halfway.
{@PIC:758768}
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