Night World Players

Chapter 236 The Wedding, The Day of Drawing the Sword (Part 2)

"By the way, did you guys see the headline in the Star Daily?"

"Yes, I see... I never imagined that Hiltina was actually the first princess of the Granville Empire—"

"In fact, she is His Majesty Aaron's chosen successor, the future Empress of the Empire, and the next Holy Sword Wielder."

Although it was the end of the semester, at this moment, both students and professors at Starry University were completely distracted by a huge piece of gossip, and had no time to care about trivial matters such as final exams.

The Empire's First Princess, Hiltina von Fresberg, is about to get married.

His Majesty Aaron has already proclaimed to the world that on the day of the wedding—

That was the moment when Hiltina inherited the holy sword, which only past kings were qualified to wield, and was officially established as the future empress of the empire.

Although Star University is not affiliated with the Empire and maintains a relatively independent and detached status, its main campus is located within the Empire's territory and is adjacent to the capital. Many students choose to go to the capital for rest and entertainment during their weekends off, so they are naturally quite concerned about news from the capital.

Not to mention the female protagonist of this shocking scandal—who is from Star University... As one of the twelve seats on the round table on the Star Obelisk, coupled with the various rumors and gossip about her being a "strategy master" during her first year, Hiltina was already a well-known figure within Star University.

As a result, from student dormitories to the main library, from the Ruins Courtyard to the Ash Courtyard, almost all teachers and students were talking about similar topics.

"Although we only learned about Hiltina's background now, it's actually quite normal when we think about it."

"If it weren't for the fact that she was a princess of the empire, with resources supplied by the royal family, how could that 'conquest demon' have achieved such an outrageous record in her first year—that's simply not something a normal person could do."

"I wonder what kind of person the groom of this wedding, the lucky man who is about to become Hiltina's husband and the Imperial Prince, will be."

"However, to be chosen by the imperial family, he must be an extraordinary figure. To be able to subdue that 'Strategy Demon' is something most people wouldn't even dare to dream of."

The information released by the royal family to the public did not include any information about the groom's identity.

Therefore, most onlookers can only rack their brains and use their imagination to guess what kind of person this man who is about to become an imperial prince will be.

The impact of this wedding extends far beyond the Empire and Star University.

Instead, it caused a huge uproar throughout the entire Western Continent.

The Granville Empire, with its many titles such as "Kingdom of Knights," "Land Blessed by Dawn and Starlight," and "Divine Blessing," is one of the most powerful and prosperous nations on the continent, and its every move attracts the attention of the entire continent.

At this moment, with the news that the successor to the Holy Sword and the future Empress had been officially established, and with newspapers spreading throughout the continent, countless gazes, whether overt or covert, benevolent or malevolent, were all directed toward the imperial capital.

The Holy Kingdom of France, the Papacy, and the Alliance of Princes all sent envoys to the capital to witness the ceremony…

The wedding itself is not important to these powerful figures; what they truly want to witness is the deeper meaning behind the wedding.

The inheritance of the Holy Sword also signifies the succession of imperial power.

……

"Little Shia, you should know about the recent uproar... Little Tina's wedding."

Inside a quiet courtyard at Star University.

A ferret lay lazily on the sofa, its fluffy tail occasionally swaying as it rolled up a few dried fish from a subdimensional space and stuffed them into its mouth.

Opposite Dean Yin was a girl with long, flowing ice-blue hair and an aura of cold indifference.

"Although the royal family opted for an extremely high level of secrecy to prevent the tomb keepers from finding out—the identity of the groom would not be revealed until the wedding day itself..."

"But if you were someone in the know, you should be able to guess who Hiltina's husband is."

Dean Yin blinked curiously: "Little Xia, don't you care about this?"

As a seasoned gossip expert, Dean Yin felt he could keenly sense the scent of sensational gossip.

"I'm a little concerned about it."

Akshia nodded, then shook her head.

On that seemingly expressionless, delicate face, as exquisite as ice and snow, a rare ripple of emotion was revealed.

"However, if I cared too much, it would put him in a difficult position, so I made myself not care."

She raised her head slightly, gazing at the setting sun in the distance with her dark purple eyes.

Then, she gently reached out, and accompanied by silver-blue light spots gathering in mid-air, an ancient book quietly appeared between Akshia's pale fingers.

This is an old children's book, which looks quite old, but it is well preserved, and even the creases are hard to see.

Akshia's pale fingers gently brushed across the old book.

"The fairy tale between him and me has come to a perfect end."

"As for the story after the finale... for me, as long as I can stay by his side and see him safe and sound, that's enough."

"I don't care about other things, and they're not important to me."

"Little Shia, you..."

Dean Yin looked at the girl before him, who was as calm as an iceberg, and showed a look of great disappointment at her lack of ambition. However, in the end, he still gave up.

As the socialite of Star University, Dean Yin is not only Rust's best buddy and Hiltina's best friend, but also Akshia's best confidante.

Therefore, it was well aware that this girl, who harbored the Star Grail of Death within her body, was likely to become an Angel of the Death Sequence in the future... Due to her background and childhood experiences, her personality and emotions were extremely indifferent, unlike ordinary people.

For her, worldly moral values ​​didn't matter much... Perhaps in Akshia's eyes, having a close relationship with a married man wasn't a big deal.

"So, what about you, kitty?"

Dean Yin had just sighed inwardly, feeling that he had missed a dramatic scene, when he suddenly saw the delicate, icy blue characters gathering in mid-air.

"Kitty, why are you here?"

"Normally, don't you stick to his side all day long, unwilling to leave even if it kills you?"

A hint of confusion suddenly appeared on Akshia's usually icy and beautiful face.

"Could it be that he abandoned you, kitty?"

"First of all, I've said it many times, I'm a ferret, not a cat."

"And then, I'm not that guy's pet, so how can there be any talk of abandonment?"

Dean Yin, somewhat exasperated, stuffed a small dried fish into his mouth: "But ever since that guy met Aaron and Ophelia in the capital, he really did drive me away."

"He locks himself in the Ash Courtyard day and night, keeping it completely secret from me, and I have no idea what he's up to."

“I see.” Ice-blue characters appeared in mid-air, and Akshia nodded as if she had just realized something.

She stretched out her fair finger and pointed at Dean Yin, who was somewhat embarrassed and angry.

"A stray cat abandoned by its owner."

"You son of a bitch, who's the stray cat?!"

“Little Shia, I think you’ve been corrupted by that guy too.”

Dean Yin immediately lost his temper.

"We're breaking up! We're breaking up!"

……

The capital city, the inner city, the royal palace.

The afterglow of dusk streamed through the glass windows, falling upon the magnificent palace and casting dappled patterns on the marble floors.

Hiltina stood before a large silver mirror, her chestnut hair cascading down like a waterfall.

"Sister Wang, this outfit suits you perfectly."

"It has shed some of its usual sharpness and gained a touch of gentleness."

A brown-haired girl in a dress stood behind Isadora.

With nimble, pale fingers, Ophelia gathered Hiltina's cascading chestnut hair and braided it into a princess braid.

A moment later, Ophelia clapped her hands with a grin.

"Okay, that's it."

"If Brother Last saw this, he would surely be captivated by the huge contrast between Sister and her usual self."

Ophelia stared at the large, full-length silver mirror for a long time before finally nodding in satisfaction.

"I will also be attending the wedding banquet tonight as a family member, so I need to change and dress up."

"Well then, Sister Wang... I'll be going now. See you at the wedding."

Ophelia lifted her skirt and gracefully gave a curtsy before quietly retreating.

Within the vast palace, only Hiltina remained.

Hiltina silently gazed at herself in the mirror.

The main color is pure white, but the skirt hem and the trim on the chest are outlined with bright red patterns, like blooming roses.

The high collar and cinched waist are made of a soft, cloud-like material that gently drapes to the ground, creating a long, morning-like hem.

At the collar, the pattern of a black eagle is engraved with gold thread, exuding a majestic and noble aura.

Her chestnut-brown hair, inherited from her mother, was braided into a princess braid and now fell smoothly over her shoulders.

As Ophelia said, when she put on her wedding dress, she shed the sharpness and ruthlessness she had as a night traveler, and in her place became a charming noblewoman, as radiant and beautiful as a summer flower.

With such a presence, she would undoubtedly become the center of attention at any aristocratic banquet.

In fact, as a princess of a country, this is the image that Hiltina should have—to be cherished by the royal family like a pearl, to dazzle everyone at balls and banquets, and to navigate between nobles and powerful ministers with elegance.

Instead of charging to the front lines as a warrior, as she had done before, walking alongside death, and keeping company with steel, corpses, blood, and fire—this was a crude act that was clearly contrary to Hiltina's royal status.

However, gazing at the elegant and infinitely beautiful noblewoman in the silver mirror... Hiltina always felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

It was as if something important was about to be forgotten.

The ancient and deep sound of bells came from afar, waking Hiltina from her reverie.

She silently got up, pushed open the door, and went out.

At the end of the long palace corridor lies a spacious open-air courtyard.

Although it's called a garden, it's actually as vast as a grassland, a grassland scattered with all kinds of brightly colored flowers.

The sword that was pierced into the rock, or rather the stone into which the sword was pierced, lay quietly at the edge of the grassland.

The dim light of dawn shone on the garden, and the whole world was silent except for the rustling sound of the breeze blowing across the grassland.

"He who draws this sword will be the king of this country."

This is a royal doctrine that Hiltina had heard countless times since she was very young.

Although the "Holy Sword" is nominally controlled by the imperial royal family from generation to generation, in reality, most of the past monarchs have been unable to pull the Holy Sword out of the stone... All they can do is, as the rulers of a country, barely borrow a portion of the power of the sacred relic.

However, the number of those who truly gained the Holy Sword's approval and were able to pull the sword from the stone is extremely small in royal records.

So no matter how hard Ophelia tries, how precocious, how shrewd, or how calculating she is... no matter how much she achieves in the field of mechanics—

But as long as Ophelia has not received the Holy Sword's approval, Aaron will never change his choice of successor to the throne.

The Holy Sword holds such profound significance for this nation, just as the "Library of Fools" is for the Shore Keepers and the "Monument of Eternal Night" is for the Tomb Keepers.

Hiltina crossed the silent garden, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, and walked to the rock.

Then, quietly place your hand on the hilt of the sword.

She knew that once she drew the sword, there would be no turning back... She had to bear the weight of the fate of millions of people in the entire empire, a weight befitting the holy sword.

That was a duty that contradicted the beliefs of the "Forest Ranger"—

"To become a qualified monarch, one must learn to choose between values," "Saving one group means abandoning another," "The way to make everyone happy and redeem themselves has never existed from the beginning"... These are the philosophies called "King" that her father, Aaron, had told countless times.

However, if she did not draw the holy sword, then Hiltina could only watch helplessly as the boy died in the secret war waged by the tomb guardian quasi-angels.

She had no choice and no other option.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew up, a whistling gale.

The next instant, crimson light illuminated Hiltina's eyes.

It was starlight that pierced the twilight sky, dazzling like blood.

(End of this chapter)