Andrea shook her head. After the incident that happened 15 years ago, she had lost all the rights she had concerning Arien. She had no right to interfere in her son's life anymore. She was already pushing her limits when she asked the former king if she could take responsibility for Astelle during the upcoming event. Any more than this and he would completely shut her out.
In Balstead County, Astelle's and her family had already come to terms with the fact that Astelle would be getting married King Arien.
Though the news has not been made public, there is no doubt that the entire kingdoms across the 9 seas would hear the news within the coming days. So the Count and his family started making arrangements.
"Father" Edwin, Astelle's second older brother rushed to his father with a letter in his hand.
"What is it?" The count asked
"It's a letter for Astelle. It's from Renox. Where is Astelle?" Edwin asked.
"She's with your mother. Let's go" . The both of them went to Astelle's room. Astelle was listening to her mother and her three sisters Brianne, Regina and Adrianna talking about their expectations for the upcoming wedding. Ever since the letter came, the entire family had changed. It went from thinking about how the county would survive the next winter to their relationship with the kingdom of Renox. It seemed that her family had hopes that this relationship would make the county better.
Astelle had previously guessed this, which was one of the reason she accepted this marriage. Though she was the leader of one of the most efficient organization, she lacked resources, plus she wasn't the only one operating a mercenary and spy organization, there were others in the business as well. It is a very competitive market.
Grenwade is a very poor kingdom due to the lack of resources it can offer. Not only that, the poor mangement of the current king and his cabinet also contributed to the poverty of the kingdom. The only resource in Grenwade is the Blue Lily. The Blue Lily has medicinal properties which can be used to cure some diseases and infections but the demand for it has gone down drastically because other rich kingdoms like Renox and Feidis have created medicines and do not require the Blue Lily.
The kingdom was living on the edge. Some even predicted that it would be extinct in the next 10 years due to mass immigration to Grenwadian citizens. They were living in absolute poverty.
Astelle had no reason to refuse this marriage. If it worked then so be it but if it didn't, she had no problem with it either. She can just divorce the king and go back with a well of wealth. She had nothing to loose.
"Astelle. It's for you" Edwin said as he handed the letter to Astelle. Astelle opened the letter and read it.
"King Arien's mother is inviting me for the annual Feast of Kings at Renox"