Chapter 3: The Anomalous Mishap

Under the gloomy and dusky sky above that are now painted with countless and indistinct stars; a grand mansion stood out. The lofty manor’s exterior is none other than the Fuhrer household. Within these walls, a slew of servants, whether maids or not, were busy preparing for their master’s banquet that is to be held today in the palace.

It was said that it was the declaration of the engagement of Marquess Fuhrer’s illegitimate son, Neilson Fuhrer, and Princess Fiona. Although it is yet to be announced in public, everyone was aware of this news and it is already spread within the nobility.

It was indeed absurd for a noble to marry a bastard born from an illicit affair. Nonetheless, Marquess Fuhrer has no male heir for years, with his contribution from years ago at the civil strife in Northwest territory, he earned the title of Marquess of Tecy and obtained the Tecy County; made him formidable today.

Thus, the appearance of the illegitimate son garnered disapproval from many but no one would say it out loud as Marquess Fuhrer was now favored by His Majesty.

Consequently, his illegitimate son is also unbelievably talented in swordsmanship. Neilson is one of the best knights that entered the palace and received his title in knighthood at the age of seventeen. Hence he was called now as ‘Sir’; an address exclusive to knights. With this kind of talent that is closely similar to Marquess Fuhrer, the doubts became lesser and the nobles thought that…

It is really indeed the son of Marquess of Tecy.

There is still dissatisfaction, as Neilson’s behavior is undoubtedly crude; expected for a commoner birth, his bearing is adequate, and frivolous. His reputation reached to the point of disgrace, everyone knows him as a casanova; who breaks young maiden’s hearts with his handsome facade.

Yet, the formidable Marquess of Tecy, Marquess Nicholas Alby Fuhrer, overlooked his conduct. As a result, who would do otherwise? Especially now that an Imperial marriage between the Fuhrer’s, and Winstanley’s of the imperial family will be held today.

The lavish interior of a specific chamber, that was filled with masculinity, a man wearing a luxuriant tunic that nobles usually wore stood in the middle of the room; surrounded by servants assisting him in dressing. His clothes are indigo with visible silver embroideries that filled most of his tunic. On the other hand, his dark slick hair is now combed beautifully and neatly.

He watched as the servants finished preparing and aiding him to wear this cumbersome clothes. He is a knight through and through, his rough skin feeling the smooth clothes made out of expensive types of cloth is quite unbearable to him.

He is used to wearing a gipoun and fustian under his armor for comfort. Although he has infamy within the nobility being known as casanova, he rarely attended banquets or balls hosted by nobles. Most of the time he was staying at Tecy County and guarding it under his father’s command. As it is situated far from the capital, there are few nobles who live in rural areas, thus there are less reasons for him to attend.

A knock from the door resounded amidst the clomping noises of steps of the servants inside the chamber. A robust tall middle aged man who is wearing glasses appeared and then looked towards Neilson, his name is Mason, the steward of Fuhrer manor.

All the commotion inside came into a halt as his voice that held authority resonated the entire room. “Greetings to Sir Neilson,” He observed his surroundings, seeing Neilson is done and well-dressed he changed his words and said. “The carriage is already waiting, and prepared to set forth.”

Neilson only gave a nod and loosened his collar a little bit before he stepped outside his chamber. Mason witnessed Neilson’s misconduct without expressing any disdain on his face, yet felt dissatisfaction in his heart. He is the steward of the Fuhrer household, he is a noble serving under Marquess Fuhrer.

Compared with this man, their status is vastly wide yet he needs to bow and be courteous towards this commoner. But due to him being the only male heir, that came out of nowhere, of the Fuhrer family, he is the key to the continuation of the prestige of Marquess Fuhrer.

Otherwise he would have long shown that Neilson’s ambition of climbing higher is nothing but a ridiculous dream; that the only young master he recognized was Sir Connor Wilson Fuhrer, the nephew of Marquess Fuhrer.

That is only his thoughts and no one knows about it. Mason still did his job with his splendid service and tact, knowing what is to be done and not be done. For instance, just like now, he still led Neilson outside the manor like a loyal and dedicated servant.

As they walked through various halls of the manor, they finally reached the outdoors where the two opulent carriages were prepared for the Fuhrer family. Within one carriage, only four people can fit inside, thus he asked the servants to prepare two carriages. Of course, there are also other Fuhrer family members that will attend, other than the marquess and Neilson, it also the marchioness and her two daughters.

Marchioness Ellene, Lady Janet Frances, and Lady Mirriam Kaitlyn are the family members of the Fuhrer family before the unwanted appearance of Neilson occured. Since the day of his identity confirmed, the relationship of the marquess towards his family turns detrimental.

The matriarch of the Fuhrer family expressed her covert aversion towards Neilson and also the same for the marquess. Knowing that such a thing could not be avoided, Mason dutifully did his work by separating the couple; the other carriage rode by the marchioness and the two young ladies, while the other one was the marquess and Neilson.

Neilson was ushered by Mason to enter the carriage on his right, he looked briefly towards the left carriage before he swiftly entered inside and took a seat. He saw his father, Marquess Fuhrer, sitting across from him. They have the same features such as having a black hair and eyes, but Marquess Fuhrer’s hair has few visible strands of white, indicating his old age.

There are also noticeable wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. Although he is in his mid fifties, his handsome features are still evident and his robust figure that was trained by constantly participating in war in his youth, is not withering in the slightest.

He is also wearing a blue tunic, but it is slightly lighter in color compared to what Neilson is wearing. His father’s hair is neatly combed and arranged tidily, his manly demeanor exuded more due to him wearing glasses that are made of gold.

As Neilson briefly observed his father’s current appearance, the carriage started to move as it was prepared to go into the palace. Silence ensued within their carriage, as if the pair were not father and son.

After the unknown amount of time, Marquess Fuhrer opened his mouth. “There will be a change of plans.” Neilson, who had been looking outside the carriage window, suddenly turned his head at the front. “The banquet today is supposed to announce your engagement with Princess Fiona, but it is not yet known to the public, it is a means to surprise everyone although it is already obvious.”

Neilson, who does not like beating around the bush, asked bluntly. “So what has changed?” He looked at his father who sighed and closed his eyes as if having a throbbing headache.

“The supposed engagement party will not happen, it is His Majesty’s orders.” Neilson doubted his hearing ability for a moment. His Majesty is the one who insisted this engagement be announced immediately and today, it is not going to happen?

It is absurd from Neilson’s perspective and it also seems the same for his father. He knows this marriage with Princess Fiona is a political one, at the same time he is quite satisfied. Marrying such a famous beauty, who would resist? The benefits are too many to refuse, if not then would this marriage happen in the first place?

“Will the engagement be canceled and not effective anymore?” Neilson asked. Just thinking of it made his head hurt for a moment. He has arranged the necessary preparations for this day and gathered the materials needed. Due to the emperor’s unexpected whim, he could only swallow the inconveniences that were brought to him by the order of His Majesty.

“The engagement is still effective, the announcement will only move a little bit later.” Neilson caught the key points of his sentence and started to think of many possibilities.

If the engagement is still not put into void, then there is a disruption happening that makes the announcement delayed. Then what exactly happened? Who on earth has the ability to change the emperor’s plans at the last minute? Only the empress could do that, do not tell me… 

Neilson abruptly raised his head and his expression became serious, accentuating his handsome features. “Does Her Majesty take action?”

Marquess Fuhrer shook his head but his expression is the same as Neilson. He let out a derisive laugh before he answered. “It is not the empress, to be precise it is her dutiful son.”

Neilson's eyes widened for a moment before he hurriedly said. “The crown prince is in seclusion to finish his ceremonial rites in the Cathedral of Divine Luminescence, for the preparations of receiving a formal title. He is now heavily guarded, the church is nothing but a cage for him; every move of his will be reported and monitored.”

His statement is very obvious. It is not impossible for the emperor to counter his plans by knowing something in advance.

“Indeed, but the case is different now; he came to the palace secretly.” His father’s words left him, again, in shock and confusion.

The cathedral, which is a thousand miles away from the capital, will take, at least, two months and a half of journey; if in a hurry, one could ride a horse without stopping and buying a horse on the way, will take one month in full speed. Still, it is impossible, even a knight could not endure such fatigue without any proper rest and meal.

Unless…

“So His Royal Highness planned this for a very long time.” Neilson let out a breath as he slumped down on his seat, without caring of his bearing in front of his father. Marquess Fuhrer silently watched his son’s crude behavior but neither commented nor reprimanded him. “Does His Royal Highness not fear not being able to complete the ceremony?”

“The details are still unknown and I only received the message not long ago. But we need to be careful around the prince.” Neilson nodded his head as he listened to his father’s orders.

“The engagement party will now turn into a welcoming party for the crown prince who has finished his duties in the Cathedral of Divine Luminescence.”

…

A/N: I am now continuing the novel, with new word styles and so on. The plot I decided to make this time is quite thick and juicy, so it will take quite a bit of time to realize the title. Please wait patiently as the author is currently working hard now.

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