vstars Chapter 198 A New Beginning of Life
Chapter 198 A New Beginning of Life
Spring 1449: Count's Castle
As the sun rose from the horizon, the residents of the Earl's Castle went out to celebrate John and Matilda's wedding. In order to let the residents fully devote themselves to this day that was no less than a festival, John specially held banquets in every square in the city, and everyone could enjoy the dishes from John's chefs.
Inside the castle, John was putting on his gorgeous uniform with the help of servants. He was both excited and nervous. Beside him, his eldest brother coaxed his son Wilson and comforted John:
"Take a deep breath and treat it as normal. I did the same thing at the beginning. I'll be almost recovered by the time you're on the platform."
As he spoke, he raised Wilson and said:
"Come, Wilson, give your Uncle John a little encouragement, and soon you'll have brothers and sisters."
At this time, although Wilson, who was a few months old, did not understand what his father was saying, he still made babbling sounds to John and stretched out his chubby little hands to touch John's face.
Looking at Wilson's innocent face, John couldn't help but imagine what his future child would look like, would he have blond hair and blue eyes like him, or would he inherit Matilda's black hair and purple eyes.
In the next room, Matilda was being made up by a makeup artist. John's mother and Lady Reginali were sitting next to her. Lady Reginali said:
"My daughter, don't be nervous when the time comes. Just answer when the priest asks you."
"I know, Mom." Matilda said while looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a white dress and had some foundation on her face, making her skin look whiter.
Just as John stood up to see how Matilda next door was dressed, a guard pushed the door open and came in. After seeing John, he immediately reported:
"My lord, there are two Yoda carriages approaching in the south of Franche-Comté. The Yoda in the lead claims to be an envoy from the Yoda Empire, coming to attend your wedding and bring gifts."
"The Yodas gave me gifts?" John was very surprised when he heard this. For all the things I did, the Yodas didn't kill me, but they gave me gifts? This is a typical case of a weasel paying a New Year's greeting to a chicken with no good intentions.
"How many of them came?" John continued to ask.
"Three people, a messenger and two grooms." the guard responded.
"Ok?"
John fell into deep thought again. Logically speaking, if it was an assassination, three people would definitely not be enough. Even if it was a reckless suicidal attack, with John's protective means, they would at least have to use a crossbow for a long-range kill, or use small hidden weapons such as flying knives to throw at John at a short distance.
"Send someone to check their bodies and the carriage carefully. No bladed objects can be brought in." After thinking it over, John decided to let them in. If it was a gift from a king, it shouldn't be particularly shabby. Maybe he could make some money by reselling it to a Is merchant. Even if there were any hidden weapons or poisons in the gift, they would be discovered by Cyril during the inspection.
Secondly, Emperor Yoda is the monarch of Count Reginale. If he refuses to accept the gift and angers the other party, then Count Reginale will probably not have a good time when he returns to Yoda. Don't hold a funeral after the wedding.
After giving the instructions, John looked at himself in the mirror, dignified, upright and heroic. He was very satisfied and began to look forward to the upcoming wedding.
Outside the Earl's Castle, Pros was reading the densely packed text in the book in his manor, and his brain almost froze. Because John wanted him to preside over his wedding, but when Pros opened the book about marriage and saw the plot of the priest presiding over the wedding, he found that the priest had to say three pages, and it was just the basic version. For the wedding of the nobles, the text and process were even more complicated.
"How can I possibly memorize this? There are only three hours left." Looking at the clock that John brought to him, Pross was sweating profusely. These people were all his family and relatives. If he didn't perform well, he would be scolded to death by his own family.
Even though Pros had a relatively good memory when he was a child, his memory gradually turned into amnesia after he went to seminary. Sometimes he didn't even know where to find things, let alone now that he was caught on the spot by an article.
"My Lord Bishop, should we go and prepare the church first?" The servant beside him suddenly said, which frightened the struggling Pros. He came to his senses and said:
"Well, prepare the carriage to go to the Earl's Castle."
The venue for John's wedding was set at the cathedral in the Earl's Castle. After years of renovation, it has become a landmark building in the Earl's Castle. Pros holds mass here every week and comforts the citizens.
At this time, there was a lot of noise outside the church. Carriages were parked in front of the church. Soldiers were maintaining order outside the church and watching the distinguished guests getting off the carriages on both sides of the carpet leading to the inside of the church.
A carriage with a black eagle printed on the door slowly stopped in front of the church. The man who got off was John, the hero of the wedding. Seeing this, the soldiers became even more upright, holding rifles, and watched John enter the church.
The church was already crowded with people at this time. Fortunately, the church was large enough so that it was not crowded. Matilda was standing on the platform. In John's eyes, she was as white and beautiful as a white swan.
"Matilda." John walked forward but didn't know what to say, so he went forward and hugged Matilda. Matilda's face immediately turned red when she was suddenly hugged, and she hugged John's waist in panic.
"John has grown up and knows how to fall in love." Jules sighed upon seeing this, and the other Hohenzollern family members agreed unanimously. In their eyes, John was like a nerd when he was a child. He either stayed in the study or slept every day. Not to mention falling in love, he didn't even go to play with other children who went out.
"A little flower stuck in the crack of a stone." Count Reginale sighed when he saw this. In his heart, that lovely and filial daughter was just a distant relationship with him. Seeing Count Reginale saying such discouraging words on such a happy occasion, Lady Reginale next to him immediately stepped forward angrily and pinched his lower back.
"what!!!"
Count Reginale was almost pinched to the point of crying out, but luckily he covered his mouth in time to prevent any louder noise. He covered his mouth with one hand and his lower back with the other and turned his head to see who it was, but he saw Lady Reginale's face full of anger, which scared him so much that he quickly turned his head back and left.
After a while, John let go of Matilda, looked at the shy girl in front of him, rubbed her head and got up to leave to meet his parents and relatives. As a result, he saw Count Reginale as soon as he turned around. Before John could say hello, Count Reginale hurriedly trotted past him, as if he was avoiding someone. Seeing this, John could only go and chat with other people.
After walking around, John suddenly remembered that he seemed to have missed Pros, who presided over his wedding. After careful searching, John finally found Pros, who was reciting in a compartment at the back of the church.
At this time, Pross was reciting all kinds of sentences in his mind that seemed strange to John, and his hands holding the book were shaking constantly.
John could see that Pross was under a lot of pressure because of hosting the wedding. If this continued, he would definitely not be able to host his own wedding.
Thinking of this, John stepped forward and patted Pros on the shoulder. The latter quickly stood up after feeling touched. When he saw that it was John, he patted his chest and wiped the sweat from his head and said:
"I was so scared. I was saying that it was a private cubicle so how could I possibly run into other people?"
"Compared to this, I want to ask you what you are doing and why you are sitting in this little corner with a book in your arms and muttering to yourself." John asked him.
"Isn't this so that I can be more fluent by then? But now I feel like I can only memorize a small section." Pross explained to John frustratedly. In his opinion, he had no chance of being a wedding host.
"No, no, no, you're going in the wrong direction." John shook his head and continued to explain to Pross:
"The purpose of hosting a wedding is to send good wishes to the couple and their families, and to bless the healthy growth of their future children. It doesn't need so many long paragraphs. As long as you can bless everyone with joy in your heart, then the hosting is considered a success."
Pros thought about it for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was true. However, he still said nervously:
"But this is our family wedding. My parents and so many relatives will be watching me. If something goes wrong, then..."
"That's exactly why I told you not to worry," John retorted.
"Although our Hohenzollern family is not wealthy or has a family history of hundreds of years, we have the key to reviving the family: talent and unity."
"It is precisely because the members of the Hohenzollern family support each other that the family has accumulated talents in various industries. Everyone knows clearly that only by being tolerant to others can others treat themselves with tolerance."
"As far as I am concerned, as long as you can sincerely express your blessing for Matilda and I's wedding, I will be very satisfied. As for making some minor mistakes, that's acceptable."
"Really?" After John's analysis, Pross became confident. After assuring John that there would be no problems at the wedding, he continued to host the wedding.
Time passed by, and soon it was time for the wedding to begin. Everyone sat in their seats. Pros quickly stepped forward and stood on the stage, while John and Matilda stood on both sides of Pros. Seeing that everyone was ready, Pros cleared his throat and said loudly in a solemn voice:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to attend this wedding despite your busy schedule."
"The protagonists of this wedding are John of the Hohenzollern family and Matilda of the Reginale family."
"Although they have only known each other for two years, the things that happened during that time have made them appreciate each other and get along with each other. Finally, today, they have chosen to take a step further and become husband and wife with love as the bond. At this exciting moment, please allow me to express my sincere blessings to them."
Then Prosper paused and said:
"Now, let's start the wedding vows."
Then he looked at John and asked:
"John, will you marry Miss Matilda, live with her according to the precepts of the Bible, love her, comfort her, protect her, respect her as your own, and be faithful to her in sickness and health, in poverty and wealth, until she dies?"
After listening to this, John looked at Matilda opposite him and said in a proud and excited tone:
"I am willing!"
After listening to this, Pros turned to Matilda and asked:
"Matilda, are you willing to be married to John, to live with him according to the precepts of the Bible, to love him, comfort him, protect him, respect him as your own, and to be faithful to her in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, until you leave this world?"
At this time, Matilda also looked at John opposite her with affection, and said excitedly:
"I am willing!"
Seeing that the two agreed with each other, Prosper continued:
"Then please ask John to hand over the token to Matilda to prove the true and everlasting love between the two."
John walked up to Matilda and took out a small box from his pocket. After opening the box, John took out a ring from it.
This ring was custom-made by John from a merchant in Issu. In addition to the tiny patterns on the ring, there is also a striking blue diamond.
John knelt on one knee, then slowly put the ring on the ring finger of Matilda's left hand. After putting it on, John stood up and hugged Matilda tightly, and the latter also responded to John's love for her with a hug.
"At this moment, in the name of God, I wish the two newlyweds to live a happy and peaceful life and give birth to healthy, smart and brave offspring. Please give them your blessings, guests present."
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole audience burst into warm applause, and even Count Reginale expressed his blessings to the two of them. At this point, the entire wedding process ended.
John and Matilda walked out of the church hand in hand, and got on the carriage back to the castle amid the cheers of the residents outside.
At this time, the interior of the castle was bustling with activity. The servants placed the prepared dishes neatly on several long tables. The aroma of the dishes filled the entire hall, making people drool.
John and Matilda sat at the top, while the other guests sat at the seats below, waiting for the waiters to bring them steaming hot dishes.
At this time John said:
"Everyone, on my behalf, I welcome you all to my wedding. The distinguished guests present are all relatives of Matilda and me. After tonight, the Hohenzollern family and the Reginale family will be closely linked. Although we are in different formations, in this chaotic world, only unity can overcome difficulties and welcome the arrival of dawn. Finally, I wish all the distinguished guests a happy life in the future."
After saying that, John raised his glass to greet everyone. The guests also raised their glasses to greet everyone, and then drank it all in one gulp.
As time passed, the dinner came to an end. After the last distinguished guest left, only the two newlyweds, their guards and servants were left. The two of them walked hand in hand towards John's bedroom, tacitly understanding each other.
The next morning, John woke up from his bed. At first he felt that the bed had become a little crowded. After seeing Matilda still sleeping next to him, he remembered that he had gotten married yesterday.
After gently covering Matilda with the quilt, John changed his clothes and walked out of the bedroom. Just as he was about to see what delicious breakfast there was, a soldier suddenly ran from the corner and almost bumped into John who was sleeping soundly.
"Sir, Envoy Yoda requests to see you." Seeing this, the guard hurriedly stopped and said to John.
"They're here so soon." John thought to himself. It was the first time he received an envoy from Yoda.
"Tell him to the hall, I'll be waiting for him there," John responded, and then he came to the hall accompanied by the guards.
Soon, under the gaze of the soldiers, Envoy Yoda, dressed in red and black, entered the hall. As soon as he saw John in the upper position, he immediately bowed and saluted:
"I am very glad that you allow me to come. Here, I send my blessings to you and your lover on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of the Yoda Empire and Governor Goron."
"I thank Emperor Yoda for his blessing on my behalf, but I'm sorry that the wedding and banquet ended yesterday. However, I can have breakfast with you to show my respect for you." John responded, and then he asked:
"I learned from the border soldiers that Governor Goron was also one of the visiting envoys. Why didn't he come?"
"Um... Governor Goron is in a strategic location and is busy with work. He cannot spare the time to come. Please forgive me." The messenger said awkwardly but impolitely. He couldn't say that Goron and several men were engaging in group sex in the castle. It sounded disgusting and disrespectful to John.
"Let's skip the meal. It's my honor to be here. I wish you will have an excellent successor in the future." Looking at the White Wolf Knights beside him, the messenger felt that his life might be in danger if he stayed any longer, so he left the hall and left John alone.
Looking at the messenger's departing back, John said softly:
"What a strange messenger."