Chapter 723: Cake and...
Chapter 723: Cake and...
Lyon glanced at the messengers still scrambling for cake and then at the female cleaner, who had managed to silently secure the largest piece for herself. He couldn't help but quip, "What exactly did you come here to do?"
"I, burp, came here on a diplomatic mission, of course!"
Sensing Lyon's disdain, the female cleaner patted her slightly protruding belly and pointed at the messengers with a disgruntled expression.
"Look, that's our Minister of Foreign Affairs from the Northern Kingdom. He's my deputy."
"..."
So, while your deputy is busy fighting over there, you, the official messenger, are here feasting, huh?
Lyon shook his head, speechless, at the female cleaner, whose mouth was smeared with cream and who was stuffed to the point of humming. Giving up on debating with this foodie, he turned his attention to scanning the banquet hall, searching for the armored elder.
Noticing that Lyon had stopped paying attention to her and was now looking around, the female cleaner curiously asked, "Lyon, what are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for the Minister of Funerals."
"Huh?"
"The old man who you mentioned when you went backstage to find me and got yelled at."
"Oh, right!"
After Lyon's reminder, the female cleaner, who had been eating to her heart's content, finally remembered the armored elder. Instinctively, she shrank her neck a little.
After searching for a while, Lyon didn't find the armored elder in the banquet hall, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion.
"That's strange. Given the armored elder's strict nature, he should be keeping a close eye on the banquet hall, ready to cut the cake for the guests at any moment. Why isn't he here? Could it be... Wait a minute!"
When Lyon realized the armored elder's expertise in cake-cutting, he suddenly understood. He quickly turned back and grabbed the female cleaner who was trying to sneak away.
"Ah!"
The female cleaner let out a small shriek as Lyon pulled her by the wrist. Mustering her courage, she spoke up, "Let... burp... go of me! If you don't, I'll scream for help!"
"Don't be ridiculous! What could you possibly accuse me of?"
Lyon scoffed and, with a firm grip, dragged the female cleaner back. His face darkened as he asked, "Where is that old man? What did you do with him?"
"I didn't..."
"You're lying!"
Without needing the black sheep's soul vision, Lyon saw right through her lie. He pulled her along, saying with displeasure, "If he was fine, he wouldn't let anyone touch the cake! Tell me, where is he?"
"He..."
"Enough! Stop making up excuses!"
Lyon couldn't help but sigh in exasperation as he watched the female cleaner's eyes dart around, clearly searching for a way to cover up her actions. "I'm not here to get you in trouble. I just want to ask him if there's a backup cake tower. It's just too odd to have a wedding without cake... Hurry up! Where is he?"
Oh, so you want another cake, huh?
Seeing that Lyon wasn't going to cause any trouble, the female cleaner breathed a sigh of relief. She led him around the dance floor in the center of the main hall and, under a large table covered with a tarpaulin, she pulled out the armored elder, who was tied up with ropes.
After being freed from under the table, the armored elder had endured, the first thing he did was not to confront the female cleaner but to stare longingly at the cake tower, tears streaming down his face.
If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn't have taken over the wedding arrangements from Veronica... Waaah... I'm going to retire when I get back! I'm done being a minister! Never again!
"..."
Wow, he's really taken a hard hit.
Despite disliking the armored elder's penchant for trouble, Lyon couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy as he saw the elder lying on the ground, his face streaked with tears.
Look what you've done!
"It wasn't me... He started it!"
Feeling wronged under Lyon's accusatory gaze, the female cleaner spoke up in her defense, "I just wanted a bite of cake when I was carrying the tray, but this old man suddenly started yelling at me and told me to leave. Out of respect for his age, I didn't argue and went around to cut half a slice for myself. That's when he lost it and tried to hit me with his cane!
For your sake, I endured several blows without fighting back and only tied him up and hid him under the table to calm him down. I was being very reasonable!"
"..."
You call that reasonable... Is it possible that the cake was meant to be cut first by me and Veronica, symbolizing our sharing of happiness with the guests? The armored elder must have been furious that someone touched this 'key prop' of the wedding banquet.
"Never mind."
Knowing that the Northern Kingdom's wedding customs didn't include cake-sharing with guests, Lyon didn't bother explaining the situation to the female cleaner. Instead, he crouched down and helped the sobbing armored elder to his feet, removing the handkerchief from his mouth and gently asking a couple of questions.
Despite his stubbornness and rigidity, the Armored Elder was surprisingly organized in his actions. Considering the possibility of damage during transportation, he had even prepared a smaller version of the cake tower as a backup.
After learning about the existence of the spare cake tower from the choking elder, Lyon immediately sought out a waiting Minister of Protocol. He wanted the official to bring out the backup cake tower, but received a strangely lax response instead.
"Your Highness, perhaps you should calm down for a moment," the Minister of Protocol suggested with a serene expression. "If you think about it, a wedding without a cake isn't a big deal. It won't affect your relationship with Her Majesty Veronica, so it's actually quite fine like this."
"What?" Lyon frowned slightly, about to ask again, but suddenly realized something. He turned to look at the female cleaner beside him.
"It was him who started it. I was just helping him calm down..." The female cleaner explained sheepishly, then took out a glass spray bottle from her pocket and sprayed it into her mouth twice. She then exhaled towards the Minister of Protocol.
The Minister of Protocol shuddered and suddenly snapped out of his daze, looking alarmed. He bowed repeatedly to Lyon, saying, "Your Highness! I... I wasn't myself just now..."
"I know, it wasn't your fault," Lyon reassured him gently. He instructed the minister to fetch the cake quickly and then turned to the female cleaner beside him, asking curiously, "Is this your Anomaly Artifact? What's its effect? Does it charm humans?"
"No," the female cleaner shook her head. "This is actually my bloodline ability. I can force people to calm down through blood, breath, or other mediums. Those who tried to stop me from eating the cake were all affected by my breath..." She paused, then added, "Oh, and about the new cake that's coming, can I..."
"No."
"You're so stingy!"
The delegates, who had been arguing heatedly, were unaware of the minor commotion regarding the cake. Like Lyon earlier, they were still debating how to divide the large cake from the Corlock Kingdom.
As the discussion dragged on without a resolution, the delegates' arguments escalated, and their words became increasingly heated, hinting at a tense atmosphere.
"Your Majesty Veronica!" After several attempts to challenge the North Kingdom's Minister of Foreign Affairs finally lost his patience. With a cold expression, he delivered an ultimatum, "Before this trip, His Majesty Harvey instructed me that if necessary, the three legions stationed at our border could provide me with maximum support. I believe you understand what I mean!"
"Is that so?" Queen Veronica's smile faded as she faced the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had openly threatened war. She looked at him calmly and asked, "But I recall you are only the deputy. Are you sure that Princess Melisande, the second heir to the royal family, would support this decision of yours?"
"Of course!" The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had already received assurances, scoffed. "Princess Melisande trusts my abilities and judgment, just like His Majesty Harvey. I can vouch for that!"
"You can't take responsibility for that." Queen Veronica sighed inwardly, knowing that this moment had been inevitable. "Princess Melisande is the primary envoy and the second heir to the royal family. Let her come and speak to me!"
"Very well."
As Queen Veronica's demeanor cooled, the Minister of Foreign Affairs straightened up. He turned to look at where the female cleaner had been standing, intending to use her status as a princess to initiate a formal diplomatic meeting and issue a war threat to Queen Veronica. However...
She was nowhere to be found.
Oh, right, following Her Highness's habit, she's probably gone to find food.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, well-acquainted with the nature of the Eistow royal family, instinctively looked towards the dining counter. To his surprise, she was not there either.
Your Highness?! Realizing that he hadn't even seen her at the food counter, the Minister of Foreign Affairs grew anxious. The other delegates also noticed something amiss and began searching for Princess Melisande.
After scanning the entire banquet hall, they finally spotted Princess Melisande at a round table beneath the cake tower in the distance.
Princess Melisande sat upright in her chair beside the cake tower, her mouth open in anticipation. The prince, who had also been missing for quite some time, looked at her with exasperation and roughly stuffed a piece of cake into her mouth.
"Just this one piece. I don't want to overfeed you and make you sick!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
┌(。Д。)┐? ┌(。Д。)┐? ┌(。Д。)┐?
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
