The next few days went by very quickly. Nothing of real note happened despite the usual. I decided to take a break from adventuring as well since my schedule was filled up with other things.
The wedding, of course.
I'd done it.
I kept my end of the agreement and managed to remain in the King's good graces.
As of now, I was finally fifteen years old.
In one week's time, I would be the husband of the most wonderful woman I had ever met.
Granted, it didn't say much, considering I had never really been with any girls, but I digress. Since I aged, Isabella put a stop to all of her studies and began working diligently on planning the wedding.
She wanted to make that day absolutely perfect for the both of us.
Unfortunately, due to my rather humble upbringing, I didn't really have an eye for the finer things. To be honest, I would have been okay with a very simplistic wedding with a few friends.
However, I was dealing with nobility and royalty. They had other plans...
I spent quite a lot of time from that point on being repeatedly harassed by people that had been hired to decorate and tailor a suit for my wedding.
It made perfect sense since I was still growing that I would need new clothes. I was just about as tall as Isabella now. Maybe just a centimeter or so shorter.
As the days went by, I was fitted for a new suit. It was much nicer than my old one and fit just as well. The same emblem was also emblazoned on the left breast just as before. The Iratus family crest. Another thing we had to worry about was security.
Arvild had been sending letters to Isabella occasionally for the past week.
Love letters, no less. It got to the point where she would just burn them instead of reading them. She was more sick of that bastard than I was.
Aside from the minor interruptions, things proceeded smoothly.
There was a parade to be planned as well...
Understandably so, many people were interested in who the lucky man that was marrying the Princess was. It was the great pleasure of the nobles to announce their extravagant lives and flaunt their wealth. Isabella and I didn't care for such things, but went along with it anyways. It would make her mother happy and I still wanted Queen Evryss to like me.
Eventually, we were to rehearse the wedding itself.
I discovered far too late that rings worked differently than I originally thought.
Apparently, an engagement ring was supposed to be given to symbolize that someone is betrothed to you.
A wedding ring was given at the wedding ceremony itself.
I spent thousands of gold on the wrong ring!
I was devastated when I heard it, but Isabella just chuckled. She knew the entire time and didn't say a word!
"I don't care too much for the fine details with this sort of thing. I'll just have them present this ring to me during the ceremony. No sense in wasting money on a ring I won't be wearing anyway, right?" She said at the time.
Truly, I was blessed to be paired with such a woman.
At the end of each day, Walter would pull me to the side and give advice about proper etiquette for a wedding.
* * *
As the day approached, news of the Princess being married off spread like wild fire.
I had time to visit Jorgan's diner for once as well.
Everyone was doing well. I wanted to invite them, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough space.
The nobility had muscled their way in and took up all of the available spots to attain favor from the Princess.
It had the opposite effect.
We were both furious.
She brought it to the King's attention, but he was unable to do anything. The nobles wanted to have their place at the wedding, otherwise they wouldn't be compliant with other things.
I wasn't even in politics yet and I was already sick of it.
Despite this, I was told that they would be given special positions at the parade. That was fine with me, at least.
But I was now sitting at two days before the wedding ceremony. Isabella and I were on our way to speak to some of the nobles about the marriage itself.
They were interested in learning about the one that won her over.
It should also be mentioned, that between the news of Isabella's soon-to-be husband around the city, and the nobles we would shortly be speaking to, few people knew who I really was.
They knew my name and many nobles knew about Vengeance, but very little else.
As Isabella and I walked towards the reception area, I frowned.
Noticing my expression, Isabella turned to me and spoke.
"Mizik, are you alright?" She asked.
"Mostly. Just feeling nervous about meeting all of these super important people..." I replied.
"Just try to relax. Most of them only think they're important. They don't need over-inflated egos."
I chuckled at the comment.
She was absolutely right, though.
"I'm mainly just tired of being harassed all the time by people like them. I don't want to talk to them if they're just going to berate me," I said.
"I won't let them do that. If they do, I'll have them thrown out. Perhaps even blocked from attending the wedding. I won't tolerate any disrespect towards my beloved," Isabella said with a warm smile.
Thank you.
"Then I guess we should be going," I said.
With a nod, Isabella led me to the reception area.
After we arrived, the two of us stood on small stage. Isabella waited quietly in front of a podium.
Many well dressed men and women were seated around tables in the room and most of them were eying me.
A lot of them had hair of the same color as Isabella.
I'd asked about it before and found that they were from house Victoria. Queen Evryss' family.
And as I looked around, I couldn't help but notice that some of the women seemed to be sizing me up...
I felt like a piece of meat, to be honest...
I couldn't fully tell, but I believed they were staring at my eyes and the Iratus emblem on my chest.
"Greetings, members of our wonderful government. It is a genuine pleasure to welcome you all to this event. As you are all well aware, within two days, I will be marrying this gentleman here. His name is Baron Mizik Iratus," Isabella said politely.
She spoke with much more authority and dignity than normal. I was in awe of her.
"Excuse me, Princess Isabella, but I have a question for you," a particularly large man in a very expensive suit said.
"But of course. Duke Oswald of Lorelei, you may speak when ready," Isabella said.
Duke...Oswald!? The slimy bastard that kicked me out of my home town!?!?
"Yes, quite. That boy there is named Mizik Iratus? Is he the same Mizik Iratus that was wanted on three counts of murder in my city about a year ago? The one you and Sir Walter personally pardoned?" Duke Oswald asked.
There were a few gasps around the room, but Isabella simply smiled.
"Indeed he is. These acts were done in self-defense and thus, I have decided to ignore them. Besides, I believe Mizik also provided you with the service of executing your diseased Knight Captain. The one who turned into a monster and threatened to destroy your entire city as a result of his contact with the Black Ooze, that is."
"A fair point, your Majesty. But would you not be happier marrying someone with a bit more...political clout? On top of having a less colorful past?" Oswald said as he motioned to the younger, although just as overweight man sitting next to him.
The other man looked to be slightly older than myself and gave Isabella a slimy smile. He waved at her and raised his eyebrows.
I could almost see a twitch of disgust from Isabella.
"Duke Oswald and his...son...Garmal. If I recall correctly, I declined your marriage proposal on the grounds that I have no desire to marry based on political reasons and did so no less than three times during my visit to Lorelei, recently..." Isabella stated. Moments later, she looked away from the almost lewd gaze of Garmal and muttered to herself. "Among other things..."
"Am I to take this as an insult to our position as the leading parties of Lorelei? That you would rather marry a criminal with little to no political background instead of my wonderful son?" Duke Oswald said as he raised his voice.
Suddenly Isabella's voice became deadly serious and heavily authoritative.
"You will not insult Mizik to my face. Mizik may have had a difficult past, but who I marry is none of your concern. Any political power you have is completely irrelevant in the face of the Albatross royal family and marrying that deviant you call a son would be utterly pointless. Mizik is the wielder of the Legendary sword 'Vengeance' and a member of the Iratus Family. He is far superior to you in every way. If you are determined to take offense to the things that I say, you are more than welcome to leave. Otherwise, you may remain seated and try not to cause such a fuss. If you insult my beloved again, I will have you forcibly removed and prohibited from attending the wedding. Do you have any more questions?" Isabella said.
Wow. That actually sent shivers down my spine...
"No...no more questions. Sorry, Garmal, you'll have to pick someone else," Duke Oswald said as he turned to his son.
"But father, I wanted the-" Garmal began
"Silence! You've made a fool out of me enough as is!" Oswald said angrily.
Garmal seemed to sink low within his chair and kept his mouth shut.
"I would like to speak with the groom!" A voice in the back said.
"Why, of course! Please do!" Isabella said as she resumed a more cheerful demeanor.
She turned and motioned me up. A man approached from the back as she did so.
I looked at the man and nearly froze from shock.
Nothing about him seemed too unusual, it's just...
He was a tall, very handsome man looking to be around thirty. His hair was medium-length and crimson red. It was very well-groomed.
He wore an immaculate suit and stared at me with sharp eyes that could have cut deep into my soul.
Lastly...
His eyes shone with the color of emerald green...just like my father's.
Just...like mine.
On his left breast, was the Iratus family crest.
The man gave a swift bow and looked up at both Isabella and I.
I couldn't figure out why, but I felt an overwhelming pressure coming from him.
"Greetings. I do not believe we have met. My name is Archduke Tyranus Iratus. When I heard my cousin, whom I've never met, was to be married to the lovely Princess Isabella, I simply had to drop everything to come see," Tyranus said.
Isabella looked nearly as stunned as I was, but managed a reply.
"My my, it is an honor to have such a dignified man attend our wedding. You are Mizik's cousin?" She said.
"Why yes, I am. Ulysses was my uncle. I only heard about what happened recently. A terrible shame," Tyranus said just before glancing over to me. "So, you are Mizik Iratus? Tell me, Mizik, do you see anything odd on your status menu?"
What the actual hell is wrong with this guy?
Tyranus had an air that felt both gentle and respectful, yet incredibly menacing. It made the hair on my neck stand on end, to be honest.
Suddenly, I felt my heart almost stop. I was hit by a pressure and a wave of malice came over me sharp enough to slit my throat.
I wanted this guy as far away from me as possible.
"What...kind of question is that?" Isabella asked curiously.
"A question meant for your beloved, if you do not mind, your Majesty," he said.
I checked my status menu and found it to be completely normal.
However, as I did this, the feeling of extreme danger began to rise.
"My status is normal... Why do you ask?" I said somewhat nervously.
"I was curious, is all. I wanted to know if my suspicions about you were reasonable or not."
"Suspicions of what?" I asked.
I had so many things I wanted to ask this guy. I wanted to know more about my father and the state of affairs in Kalsa.
But for some reason, I couldn't speak up about it.
"I don't think you understand. You are a member of our family whether we like it or not. Whether you like it or not. I needed to see if you were worth the trouble of disposing of, but I believe I was incorrect," Tyranus said.
"Excuse me!?" Isabella said angrily.
"Hush now. Silence your voice. You have nothing to do with why I am here. This is an Iratus family issue," Tyranus said to Isabella as he gently raised his hand to her.
I opened my mouth to speak and immediately felt like I had a blade to my throat...
"Not a single word, boy. I have determined that you are as worthless as they come. You may continue existing for the time being and I will be returning to Noir now. But before I go...a word of advice... Stay away from Noir. If you value that pitiful little thing you call a life, you will not come anywhere near the Iratus Estate."
"Wh-what...?" I managed.
"I believe I have made myself rather clear. Good day to the both of you... Oh, and do enjoy your wedding. You have my blessing. If you conceive afterward, that is also acceptable. As irrelevant as it will soon be, of course..." he said.
Tyranus turned away and slowly walked out of the room as everyone stared in shock at him.
His movements reflected the demeanor of a man that could walk into enemy territory and remain completely unharmed. It was as if he thought he was invincible.
I could see a look of both fear and anger on Isabella's face as Tyranus strode casually out of the room.
"This meeting is dismissed!" Isabella shouted aloud just before grabbing my arm and pulling me away through a different exit.
* * *
When the two of us were safely away, Isabella looked at me and began speaking.
"Mizik, do you have any idea what that was about?" She asked.
"No clue... I haven't actually met anyone from my family before. But he felt...dangerous..." I said.
"I was terrified that you were about to die there. I felt like I was being crushed by his presence..." Isabella said.
"That man said he was an Archduke, right? Does that mean..."
"Most likely, yes. He is the current head of the Iratus family and the governor of Noir," Isabella stated.
"Well, if it's alright with you, I think I'll just stay in Albatross for a while..." I said.
Now I was sure of it.
I didn't want to go anywhere near that guy.
"I agree..." Isabella said
Just then, Walter appeared.
He kind of scared me, to be honest. I felt my heart leap in my chest.
"My deepest apologies," Walter said as he bowed low. "It was my desire to protect the two of you, but for some reason, I felt myself unable to move when that despicable man came along."
"Don't worry, Walter. We're fine. Luckily, he didn't seem to have any intention of doing harm..." Isabella said.
"No, I still wish to apologize. Truth be told, I doubt very much that I could have beat him in an actual battle..." Walter said sadly.
That sent chills down my spine.
That meant this Tyranus guy was stronger than both Walter and Ulysses.
And speaking of my father...I recalled the note he had left me a long time ago. Tyranus' name was mentioned as being extremely dangerous. After meeting him, I could easily see why.
"Regardless, the man has already left the castle. I doubt we'll be seeing him again," Walter said.
As the evening came to a close, I silently wondered if that were true.
The fact was that if we were going to stop the Black Ooze, I would need all the help I could get. And that meant one day, I would have to speak with him again.
Damn it all...