Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

“I said, you can call me sister-in-law.”

Aaron almost spat out his water.

"Hahaha, is it really necessary to react so strongly? What are you thinking?" Helena burst into laughter.

“No… it’s just that… I’m older than you, and I think it’s a bit strange to call you that…” Aaron had no idea what the princess was thinking.

"Do you think I lack authority? Humph."

"His Highness has always been very approachable."

"Is that so? Actually, I was just pretending. I'll show my princess-like authority when necessary." Helena smiled happily.

Aaron didn't say anything, because regardless of their status, the other party was just a twenty-year-old girl.

However, given her identity as a princess of one of the most powerful countries in the world, he should avoid getting involved with her in any strange way. Besides, she is his elder brother's fiancée, and it is not appropriate for him to get too close to her, both emotionally and logically. Moreover, if he were to get involved in a royal marriage and become embroiled in a royal scandal, it would most likely be Helena who suffers, while he would be doomed.

If Helena doesn't care about these things, then so be it. Aaron can treat her like a little girl who hasn't figured out her identity yet, and just see her as innocent and naive.

But Helena was well aware of the impact of her identity and always brought it up, which made Aaron feel even more threatened. Perhaps she really liked this feeling of "danger," or perhaps she just saw it as a dangerous game, but either way, he was in danger.

Besides, he does have a "fiancée," but he doesn't know if she's his protector or her stimulant.

“I think my brother really likes you, don’t you think?” Helena suddenly said while Aaron was lost in thought.

"It is an honor to have won the prince's favor..."

“You don’t know, he rarely shows this kind of attention to anyone. I also think you’re great, unlike many other people I’ve met.”

"is it?"

So what do you think of your brother's suggestion? Are you interested?

Aaron was taken aback.

Helena continued, "Actually, the army he described isn't as scary as he said. I often go over to visit them. And you don't actually have to go to the battlefield. You're a hero in Birmingham, and they won't let you die so easily."

It turned out that the other party still wanted to be his advocate, but the person he persuaded had changed to the princess, and he used a gentler approach.

"Fine, it's okay if you don't agree, but you'll still come to the celebration, right?" Helena didn't force her, but changed the subject instead.

"A celebration?" This was the first time Aaron had heard this news.

"Oh, so you didn't know that."

Helena said, "The Kingdom will hold a celebration in Lodoron in a week, mainly to celebrate my engagement to Simon. Of course, there will be many other things at the celebration, such as a naval review and a service. Many nobles and bishops will also come, but the main purpose is to celebrate my engagement to Simon." Helena's tone was casual, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

It was a national-level celebration, and he was even invited, which was unimaginable before.

“You are a hero in Birmingham, you saved tens of thousands of Birmingham people, even your mother has heard about you, and people will be looking forward to your participation,” the princess said.

Chapter 129 Royal Celebration

"So, are you interested?" Helena asked.

"Let me think about it," Aaron said.

Helena sighed, "Fine, you don't want to go to the military headquarters, but you don't want to attend the celebration either? You don't even want to come and have some fun?"

“Even friends would attend each other’s engagement ceremony, right? Besides, we’ve already put your name on the guest list,” Helena muttered under her breath, dissatisfied. “Are you really that disrespectful?”

"Your Highness, please pay attention to the road ahead while driving."

"Hmph, I'll throw you off the cliff so I won't be angry with you here." After saying that, the princess not only didn't slow down, but accelerated instead.

Sitting in the car, Aaron was somewhat persuaded. Helena was right; even friends would probably attend each other's engagement celebrations, although Aaron still felt a little uneasy.

"We've arrived. Get off the bus."

Before getting out of the car, Helena tossed the invitation to him: "I've already delivered the invitation. Whether you attend or not is up to you. I don't want anyone to gossip about it."

Aaron looked at the invitation in his hand, but in the end, he put it away.

Helena parked her car in front of the restaurant, and before they could even get out, the restaurant's messengers came out to greet them. It was evening, and the streets were bustling with people, but there was still a circle of empty seats around Helena. People looked at Aaron and Helena with surprise and curiosity, guessing their identities.

They waited outside the restaurant for a while, and then the second steam car drove up. This time it even caused a commotion in the street and attracted mounted police wearing white gloves to maintain order. They set up a fence so that the public could only watch from outside the fence. As soon as Simon got out of the car, the mounted police chief greeted him with a smile. As for Leopold, who was standing next to him, the mounted police were not yet qualified to know him.

Heavy cannons roared beneath Lodoren, salutes rained down from the sky, white doves took flight, the gates of Sheldon Palace swung open, and the celebration began under the ancient sunlight.

The celebrations often began with a naval review. Distinguished guests were invited to board the royal yacht moored in the deep waters of the strait and pass through a fleet of twelve warships commanded by Vice Admiral Sir Anthony Mattson. Each time the yacht passed one of the warships, Sir Anthony would command the warship to respond with a salute. The salute at sea was repeated more than twelve times. The names of these twelve warships were all etched in history. It was these ships that laid the foundation for the Kingdom of Dok's maritime dominance. The approach of each warship would elicit gasps of amazement from the people on shore.

After the naval review, people returned to Shelton Palace, where the celebrations for the nobility officially began; the crowns and the papal seven-tiered crowns, jewels, leather, silk, satin, velvet, men's rings, medals, sword hilts, shepherd's staffs, women's veils, brooches, bracelets, necklaces, feather-adorned caps, waiters' gaudy uniforms, knights' gleaming silver shoulder armor, thorns and roses on the banners on both sides, golden jasmine and laurel blossoms on the tables, the priests' breastplates, enormous feather fans…

Royal celebrations often resembled operas, with all the nobles dressed as heroes or goddesses. Under the blazing sun, they wore dazzling costumes and tried their best to appear elegant, as if an audience was watching them. Those who behaved elegantly were the best actors on stage, radiating noble brilliance and displaying grace in every word and action. The actors on stage admired them, and newcomers could only learn by imitation. Commoners could only watch them with envy from below the stage.

Aaron and Freya were also among them; they participated in the naval review and boarded the royal yacht. They were supposed to be heroes or goddesses in the celebration, but Aaron secretly slipped away halfway through.

*

Scherdon Palace.

Aaron waited anxiously outside the lounge, constantly looking up at his watch.

He was waiting for Falk.

The Iron Earl's charm in social settings is no less than that of a rare beauty. Countless people stare at him, hoping to establish a relationship with him. Everyone wants to get close to him. They approach the Iron Earl cautiously, afraid of not being elegant enough. When Aaron entered the banquet hall, he realized that he was surrounded by wolves, with countless eyes watching him, as if he himself had become the prey.

Therefore, Aaron could only wait quietly for Falk outside the banquet hall. But in the blink of an eye, Falk walked into a lounge, and Aaron could only wait at the door again. He saw that Falk was facing a middle-aged couple dressed in unique clothes. As soon as he entered the room, Falk greeted them in a language that Aaron could not understand. Looking at the flags outside the lounge, he realized that this was a diplomatic matter. The middle-aged couple in the lounge might be ambassadors of a small country, or even the king or queen of a small country.

Since it was a diplomatic matter, Aaron had no choice but to wait obediently outside the door, hoping that Earl Iron would come out soon. The middle-aged couple seemed to be well aware of Earl Iron's charm and were quite talkative. They talked for more than ten minutes, and the second hand of the clock must have turned countless times before Earl Iron finally left the room.

As soon as Falk came out of the room, he walked into the new corner. Aaron gritted his teeth and followed him. After turning the corner, he saw the Iron Earl walk into a lounge in an empty corridor. He gritted his teeth again and decided to follow him in, but he bumped into the Iron Earl at the door.

Count Iron looked at him coldly. Behind him was a bright and clean lounge with seven or eight leather chairs arranged in a row. Each chair had a middle-aged man sitting on it, and they all looked up and silently watched Aaron.

They were all middle-aged people, and while the people outside the palace were dressed like heroes or goddesses, their attire immediately brought one back to reality. They were all wearing black formal wear, and the brooches and flowers on their chests indicated that they were also there to attend the celebration. When they scrutinized Aaron, their gazes were as unfathomable as their clothing. The key point was that when Aaron looked at them, he felt that they all looked familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before...

Aaron quickly found out the answer, as Falk promptly began introducing them: "This is Lord Palmerston, Chancellor of the Exchequer; this is Lord Enright, First Lord of the Admiralty; this is the Foreign Secretary; this is the Secretary of State for Defence; this is the Home Secretary..."

After the introductions, Falk looked at Aaron and said, "You're also coming in to discuss the country, right?"

Facing the gazes of Falk and the several people behind him, Aaron's body froze. He couldn't quite remember what happened afterward, only that he turned his stiff body around and silently retreated. The Iron Earl entered the room behind him, and the door slowly closed behind him.

Chapter 130

The rooms at Shelton Palace were so complex they were like a maze. Aaron tried to go back the way he came, but got lost in the many turns and somehow ended up in a lounge.

The lounge was dimly lit, and a sinister portrait of a human face hung on the wall facing the door. At first glance, one might mistake it for a forgotten art warehouse or studio. However, the room contained more than just paintings. In the corner, there was a mannequin wrapped in bandages, which was thoughtfully placed on a bed with its body covered by a canvas. On the table next to the canvas were old paint palettes and many undried paints. For some reason, the paints in the palettes were predominantly red, and there were also many white cloths stained with red paint nearby.

Aaron felt increasingly uneasy as he looked around. Just then, he heard the sound of a match being struck behind him. Aaron instantly got goosebumps. In the light of the match, a pair of unfriendly eyes slowly emerged from the shadows, staring intently at him.

"Hey."

"Hey!"

On her third call, Aaron finally reacted, stiffly turning around to look at the girl expressionlessly. The girl looked at him with dissatisfaction and said, "Why did it take so many calls to get a response!"

"I think I'm already showing a lot of mental fortitude by not yelling for help," Aaron said, looking at the girl. "Don't ask for so much."

"what?"

The girl didn't understand what Aaron meant.

"Is this a murder scene?" Aaron ignored the girl and looked around.

He first glanced at the body wrapped in bandages on the bed, then at the girl with glasses on her face, her gloves and apron stained with blood, her expression serious, and her face bare of makeup.

“What murder scene?” the girl said indignantly. “They were workers who accidentally fell and injured themselves while preparing for the celebration. Because they had broken their bones and couldn’t be moved easily, I put them here. I’m covered in blood because I was treating them.”

Hearing the girl's words, Aaron realized that the "corpse" lying on the bed, wrapped in bandages, was indeed still breathing. Although it was placed in the "studio," it was still in Shelton Palace, so the environment was quite nice. The fierce-looking woman behind him wasn't a murderer. Judging from her figure, she was even a young girl with a pretty face. She was just wearing glasses and had a fierce expression. She wasn't dressed up at all and had no makeup on.

“This is my first time at Shelton Palace. I accidentally got lost and wandered in here. I’m sorry,” Aaron said, seeing the girl’s attire and the wounded people being treated.

"Lost? This is deep inside Shelton Palace. How bad can your sense of direction be to get lost here?" The girl seemed a little speechless at Aaron, but she didn't suspect anything. She opened the door, went outside, and pointed Aaron in a few directions. "Go this way first, then that way, and then go straight from there and you'll get out. Hurry up."

“You seem to know this place quite well,” Aaron said.

The girl gave him a look as if he were an idiot: "You... never mind..."

Just as Aaron was about to leave, the girl said from behind, "By the way, what time is it? How long until the celebration starts?"

"It's 3:30 in the afternoon, and there's still half an hour before it starts." Aaron glanced at his watch, looked up, and said, but then he looked at the girl's attire and felt that she didn't seem like someone who would be attending the celebration.

"Okay, I got it, now you can get out of here." The girl put a rubber band in her mouth, grabbed her ponytail, and pushed Aaron out of the room.

After closing the door, the girl sighed, observed the injured person's condition, walked to the wall, lifted the coat cover on the hanger, revealing a princess dress underneath.

*

Aaron finally returned to the banquet hall, and before he could catch his breath, he heard a burst of silvery laughter coming from the ballroom next door. He looked over and saw that an opera performance was being held in the ballroom next door. The audience was packed, and all the people sitting there were people of high status in the Kingdom of Dok. They were all firmly seated and watching the performers on stage intently.

On stage stood an impressively handsome man with shining blond hair, a boyish stature reminiscent of a character in a dramatic poem, and a perfect smile. His performance made Princess Helena giggle, while the noble ladies in the audience murmured their reserved praises.

After the performance, the blond man bowed deeply to the audience. Amidst flowers and applause, he moved effortlessly through the crowd. He radiated immense charm as he strolled among the audience, and even Aaron was captivated by his clean smile. Yet, despite his charm, he was also elegant, graceful, and polite. Even the noble ladies were charmed by him. Aaron heard his name from them: Fabian Holmwood.

"To the beautiful princess."

He approached Helena with impeccable manners and presented her with the flower he had been holding in his mouth. The noble ladies around him were thrilled. Fabian, however, returned to the stage with a flourish and announced loudly, "Next up is a special performance dedicated to the princess!"

The curtain rose again, the spotlight fell from the stage, and the stage became dazzling once more. Fabian, who had returned to the stage, was once again radiant. Fabian's soaring voice echoed across the stage, and just by listening to his singing, one could imagine how divine the man on stage had descended to earth.

Aaron was engrossed in the man's performance on stage when he heard a familiar voice behind him: "What are you doing here?"

Aaron turned around and found Freya standing behind him.

Freya wore a deep blue gown today, with her chestnut hair styled in an updo. Her face was adorned with a slightly flushed blush. Unlike her usual style, her gown today was a Lucette-esque sexy look, revealing her delicate shoulders and back, making her appear like a young noblewoman. Her lips were bright and looked very soft, reminiscent of bouncy pudding.

Aaron didn't know how Freya found him. Perhaps she had been looking for Aaron for a long time, and after seeing him, she secretly went behind Aaron and caught him red-handed.

"Where did you go? You've been gone for so long?"

"I just wanted to use the restroom, but I ended up getting lost in Shelton Palace."

Freya seemed very interested, while Aaron appeared preoccupied. He had many things he couldn't say to Freya. For example, before attending the celebration, he had a detailed conversation with the Countess, subtly expressing that he was feeling unwell and asking if he could skip the formal celebration.

But the usually amiable Countess showed a rare seriousness. She told him that this celebration was a matter of royal honor, the guest list had been confirmed two weeks ago, and the banquet invitation list had been personally reviewed by the Queen. If Aaron did not attend, there would be serious consequences, which led to the current situation.

Chapter 131 The Idol of the Kingdom of Dok

"Lost for so long? Did you wander into the princess's room? It's a pity the princesses are all outside, and they already have men with them." Freya didn't believe Aaron's nonsense, her tone sarcastic. An unsophisticated person might find Freya's strange attitude odd, but Aaron knew that Freya's implication was that she was all alone here with no one to accompany her, and she felt wronged and needed someone to keep her company.

"Alright, come and watch the show together." To prevent Aaron from running off again, Freya took Aaron's arm and pulled him to the audience seats.