The ceremony had begun.
People from all over the kingdom who were lucky enough to afford the cheap tickets made their way inside the castle, after checking in with the knights guarding the entrance.
The ballroom was filled with the chattering noise of people communicating amongst themselves. Those of noble lineage were granted VIP positions, while those who had paid for the ticket remained at the back.
One of the nobles was a prince from the Kingdom of Welfor, Valyrxa Luciano. He and his father had been allied with Calot for years, helping them in tis of war with weapons and armor.
Hearing that the King of Calot herself had hosted Calot's first ever public ceremony, he needed to attend to see what it was all about— and, in addition, the rumors of a man called the Traveler defeating two gods in less than a year caught his attention.
Levuna Federican, another noble, a duke from a small kingdom just behind Calot, also made his presence known. Being a small nation with a low count of soldiers, they signed a treaty with Calot. In exchange for Calot's assistance if they were ever attacked, they would provide accommodation and financial support to the citizens of Calot if ever needed.
About six more nobles in a relationship with Calot were present.
rlin and Mordred, dressed in beautiful dresses, arrived at the party a few hours early, greeting all the special guests.
anwhile, Artoria was standing in the hallway, a maid helping her fix her hair as she listened to the voices and music playing in the ballroom.
"I guess they have begun," she blurted out.
The maid stepped back after she was done, and only left once Artoria gave her the signal with a wave of her hand.
"Where is Ha Joon? We are both supposed to be present at the sa ti." Artoria looked around, clearly getting upset… until.
Her eyes widened when she noticed Yukio and Sinex walking around the corner, and then, Ha Joon followed.
Artoria could barely blink, she felt if she did, she could miss the wasted second to observe Ha Joon. He was dashing, his smile, his eyes, his handso face— everything made Artoria wish that she had gotten married to him sooner.
Getting close to her, Ha Joon uttered, "Artoria, did I keep you waiting? Sorry, I had to take care of sothing."
"Hmm…" Artoria could barely open her mouth, her eyes fixed on him.
"Artoria?" Ha Joon pulled closer, "Are you okay? Your face is all red."
"Oh, that face…" she blurted out.
"Eh? There's sothing on my face?" Ha Joon used his fingers to rub the side of his skin.
Artoria imdiately looked away, her back turned to him as she took a deep breath, trying to fight her embarrassnt.
"Co on, the people are waiting for us."
Ha Joon smiled, "I guess they are."
Sinex and Yukio stood to one side, giving Artoria and Ha Joon the space they needed.
"Let's go."
"I'll follow your lead, Milady. I've never been to one of these before." Ha Joon moved forward a bit.
"Then it's a good thing you have ." Artoria smiled a bit before she began to walk forward.
After a few seconds, she had arrived at the balcony, looking down at the crowd with Ha Joon following behind her.
Suddenly, all the murmuring that had been resounding in the ballroom went silent, all that was left was the sound of the soft piano playing.
They all looked at the sight of the beautiful King, Artoria Pendragon, and her handso soon-to-be husband.
Standing at the top of the stairs and looking down at the masses, Artoria calmly raised her hand and waved at them.
"Thank you all for joining . I do believe this is the first ti Calot is throwing such a ceremony since the passing of my late father," she began.
The place was dead silent, not a single person making a noise to interrupt her.
"As you all know, recently Calot was under attack from one of our many enemies. Although we didn't falter like they intended, we still had a grave loss. Even I wasn't any help to my people."
While she was talking, knights had begun to move around, even Sinex joined the patrol, making sure no one was planning to assassinate them.
"I threw this ceremony as a way to celebrate our success and victory over our enemy. The battle we won will forever be told in the history to co."
Valyrxa shook his wine, a smile on his face as he listened and observed Artoria.
Ha Joon could barely look the people in the eye. Every ti he accidentally looked at one person, they would imdiately beco infatuated, then either faint or start looking at him weirdly, which were mostly the females.
Artoria continued, "But not the history you think, not the one where Calot won against a god, no. This is one where this young man behind saved all of Calot."
Valyrxa's smile faded for a bit.
"Not only did he single-handedly defeat a god, he also managed to bring back the people of Calot from the dead, a feat that has never been done by any human before."
The gasp in the room was loud as people looked at Ha Joon with both confusion and amazent.
Ha Joon, on the other hand, looked to the side, whistling nervously.
"He is simply that amazing. I have never encountered any man such as him before. Without him, Calot would probably be no more. Which then brings to my second announcent: the Traveler, Ha Joon Kim, as a reward for saving Calot, will marry , Artoria Pendragon, as soon as possible."
The shock on the people's faces was evident, not a single noise, except the thud of a lady who fainted.
'Damn, I knew they'd be surprised, but not like this….' Ha Joon carefully observed the crowd.
But before he could process it, they all did sothing he didn't expect.
They cheered!
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