“This guy... is too presumptuous,” Nightingale said, appearing from the mist, displeased. “What does she even mean by that?”
Indeed, since the incident where Tiexa dealt with the nobles and after talking with the Northern Pearl, her attitude had subtly changed, as if giving off a sense of letting herself go—though as far as Roland was concerned, this wasn't a bad thing.!
“Hmm...” he pondered for a moment. “Can you judge the truthfulness of her words?”
“It's true enough,” Nightingale pouted. “At least she wasn't lying about hoping you'd take care of yourself, otherwise I would have controlled her and asked her everything.”
“In that case, let her be,” Roland laughed. “If I had to guess what everyone was thinking, it would be too tiring. I don't have that much energy.”
Nightingale, who had been indignant, suddenly paused, then turned her head away, pretending to be nonchalant. “Y-you have a point... it's enough to worry about one or two people usually.”
Hmm, your level of disguise is practically wearing your heart on your sleeve. Roland barely managed to suppress the urge to smirk, clearing his throat and saying, “Then let's go back to the office. There's still a lot of work to be done.”
Such as putting the two types of internal combustion engines that had passed the finalization trials into use—having a power source was only the first step. How to mass produce them and manufacture matching mechanical equipment were all urgent challenges to overcome. In addition, there was the design and assembly of armored trains, the continuous production of biocolloids, and the expansion of more factories and armies, and so on...
But compared to another matter, he could put these tasks aside for a while.
Although it itself did not have much significance, completing this formality was essential for gathering minyi.
From the moment Livia arrived in Neverwinter City, it meant that all the conditions before the enthronement were ready.
*******************
A week later, the Neverwinter Castle District was opened to the public for the first time. Under the guidance of the police and guards, thousands of screened people gathered inside and outside the courtyard, excitedly awaiting the arrival of the new king's coronation. Outside the Castle District, the streets were decorated with lanterns and streamers, and people were bustling about—even though snowflakes were still falling, they couldn't stop people's enthusiasm for the celebration.
For this grand ceremony, the Lord's Castle was also temporarily remodeled.
The outer wall of the front courtyard was removed and replaced with a fence that did not obstruct the view; the furnishings in the courtyard were also removed, and a flat lawn was laid. As long as one went up the long slope to the Castle District, one could have a panoramic view of the entire ceremony site.
Long, red flags with black borders were hung on both sides of the castle, stretching from the roof to the ground. This color scheme was particularly striking against the backdrop of the snow-covered landscape, adding a sense of weight to the not-so-magnificent castle.
The biggest change came from the second floor of the castle.
As if overnight, a brace was built on the bare facade, giving the second floor a semi-open-air terrace. The front of the terrace faced the front courtyard gate, and there was no doubt that the king would receive the blessings of the people here.
Only Minister Karl, the designer, knew that the quickly completed platform structure was the work of witches—Ms. Agatha extended an ice wall from the castle wall, and then Soroya xiaojie "painted" a stone brick layer, making it an indistinguishable part of the castle.
And in this kind of weather, the thick ice wall was enough to support it for several days.
...
At this moment, the interior of the castle was a different scene.
“Your Majesty, are you ready?” Wendy's voice came from outside the bedroom door. “All the ministers and guests have arrived and are waiting for you to appear.”
“I know, I'll be ready soon,” Roland replied, turning to look at the girl in a pure white formal dress. “What do you think?”
“Wait a little longer... I'm still a bit nervous,” the other party was Anna. She stood in front of the window, overlooking the noisy crowd below through the curtains, her blue eyes showing obvious fluctuations. “Are you really going to come on stage with me? The master of ceremonies said that there has never been such a thing in past coronation ceremonies.”
She didn't
She wasn't as fearless as he thought, Roland realized. Although Anna had always faced him with a smile, when this moment really came, she would still have worries and confusion. Her outstanding achievements in learning and her love of new knowledge filled her with confidence most of the time, and when she devoted herself to creation and manufacturing, she shone like a genius. But apart from these halos, she was just a twenty-year-old girl who grew up in a remote town.
Now that she was about to face the scrutiny of thousands of people, it was impossible not to be nervous, right?
Thinking of this, Roland smiled and said in the gentlest voice, “Then I'll be the first to break the rule. Or do you want me to come alone to crown myself?”
“Of course not,” Anna shook her head. “I'm just...”
Roland stepped forward and opened his arms to hug her. “Then let me put it another way.”
“Put it... another way?”
“Yeah,” he took a breath and asked in a deliberately serious tone, “Anna xiaojie, I want to hire you to be my wife, would you be willing?”
“Pfft,” Anna couldn't help but laugh. “No way! I'm not a prisoner in a cage now, and...”
“And what?”
“The contract period is too short.” She punched Roland's shoulder hard, then extended her right hand wearing white gauze to him. “Thank you, Roland. Take me down.”
Roland steadily supported her palm. “As you wish.”
...
Opening the door, the two slowly walked through the corridor, down the stairs, and into the hall on the first floor.
The hall, which had been bustling with noise, immediately quieted down. Everyone divided into two rows, bowed slightly, and welcomed Roland's arrival.
He walked along the line—on the left were the witches of Neverwinter City. He saw Tilly, Ashes, Nightingale, Wendy, Lightning, Agatha... Familiar faces came into view. Compared to the homeless refugees three years ago, they had now reintegrated into the new social order and were gradually becoming an integral part of the human kingdom.
On the right were city hall officials and representatives from various places, such as Barov, Edith, Tiexa, Karl, Kaimo, Tassaa, Yokko, and so on... They jointly formed the power structure of the Graycastle Kingdom, transforming from obscure ordinary people into rising political stars.
According to convention, the enthronement would be an extremely tedious process, but for the witches and officials of Neverwinter City, Roland's position as monarch was already a foregone conclusion, so this process was greatly simplified.
He took Anna's hand and walked to the center of the hall—there was a stone table placed there, with two golden crowns standing on the table.
Both Wimbledon III and the Hermes Church no longer existed. He declined the master of ceremonies' request to do it for him and decided to crown each other with Anna.
The enthronement and coronation of the queen took place simultaneously, which was unprecedented in Graycastle.
The master of ceremonies naturally expressed his objection, but it had no binding force on him, who held great power, and Barov unexpectedly stood on his side.
Roland bent down and first let Anna put the crown on him, then gently placed the other crown on her head.
When the two turned around, everyone knelt down on one knee.
“Long live our King!”
In the midst of the crowd's shouts, he took Anna's hand and stepped towards the platform built at the end of the hall, passed through the hollow dome, and ascended the castle's terrace.
A surging wave immediately swept through the courtyard below!
Before he could raise his hand to signal, the long-waiting crowd had already vented their heartfelt respect.
“Long live His Majesty Roland!”
“Long live the King!”
“Long live Neverwinter City!”
The cheers were deafening and soared into the sky. The crowd seemed to have exploded, and ribbons and petals sprinkled from the terrace, dancing in the cold wind, temporarily overshadowing the momentum of the ice and snow.
In the distance, the First Army's camp also heard the roar of artillery, echoing the long chimes of the city's bells—at that moment, in this meeting place of the desolate wilderness and the Western Region border,
The King of Graycastle was born.