First came the baron families. From all directions, the barons entered the main castle through the single great road, their luxurious carriages carrying their nobility.
The commoners watched everything from the sides of the road. Here in the Valerius Archduchy, there is a rule — 'do not bow to anyone, except to whom your heart wants to' , so they all stood tall, watching each and every carriage enter their lord's home.
Every commoner rained flowers onto the road from their baskets.
Then came the other noble families viscounts, counts, margraves, and many others entering Valerius Castle in their own luxurious carriages.
A single herald announced each of their entries into the Archduchy. This time, alongside the other nobles, Count Arkwright also came to attend the ceremony.
Although his children had done many bad things, the Valerius family had forgiven them due to the good deeds of Count Arkwright himself. But the Count had not forgiven his son, he confined him to the family estate and spent the last few days training him to become a better person. And as for his daughter, she too was being trained to become a good human.
Margrave Thorne also entered the Archduchy in his own carriage. For him, it was just another ceremony of an ancient family ,it didn't matter to him what they did during it. The last time he attended was during Aleric's ceremony. And the main event is actually held inside the ancestral land, where no one can enter except members of the three families.
After they entered the main castle, three beautiful and powerful carriages came down the road. They belonged to three ducal families from under three archduchies: Duke Aerion Aetherion of Aetherion Duchy, Duke Malric Duskryn of Ravencroft Duchy, and Duchess Ilyra Vaelthrone of Moonspire Duchy were the ones inside those three luxurious carriages.
A 19th-year Ceremony from the Valerius family is not just a ceremony for the Valerius alone. From ancient times, the three old families Valerius, Blackwood, and Sylveria have all been connected through this ceremony. This ceremony holds their secrets and their roots... so it is a sacred ceremony for all three of them.
Whenever a ceremony is held for someone, they attend it together and perform the necessary rituals.
After that, a dark carriage entered the road. That dark carriage was huge as big as a house. Beautiful black horses with wings hovered down from the sky, carrying the carriage, and landed gently on the road. Many flags fluttered above the carriage, bearing a silver star entwined by a huge black serpent.
The people gasped just by looking at that crest. It was the Sylveria Family's carriage... and the crowd cheered with even more enthusiasm.
The herald announced their entry into the Archduchy. Before the cheering had even stopped, another dark carriage just as big as the first one emerged from the shadows, carried by dark Imogis. A black tree was engraved on the main flag of the carriage.
The people started cheering once again. It was the most fierce force in the whole Luminus Imperium ,the Blackwood Family.
The herald announced their arrival as well, gulping down his own saliva in nervous awe.
The carriage door of the Sylveria house opened, and the first person to step out was a middle-aged, beautiful, queen-like figure. Her presence alone made the other nobles gasp for air... she was Silas's maternal grandmother, Nytheria Sylveria — the strongest Wizard in existence in everyone's eyes.
Behind her, the future Archduke of Sylveria, Duke Auren Sylveria, stepped out with his wife, Duchess Elara Sylveria.
After they emerged, a beautiful girl around the age of twenty came out. Her presence alone outshone the beauties of the whole Imperium. She was the sole daughter of Duke Auren, Margravine Serephina Sylveria.
Archduchess Lysandra and Archduke Cassian immediately came out of the castle.
Cassian felt a little dumbfounded the moment he saw Nytheria. No matter how much he had probed himself, no matter how perfectly he had managed the Valerius Archduchy, he knew his mother-in-law would never truly accept him. How could she? She was a level 90 Wizard, the strongest in the Imperium and he was still stuck at level 85.
Lysandra didn't care about any of that. She immediately rushed forward, her dress fluttering, and threw her arms around her mother.
"Mother! Brother! Sister-in-law! How are you? Did you forget your little sister, your own daughter?"
Her voice was half-accusation, half-pout, loud enough for half the courtyard to hear.
Nytheria, still every inch the ice-queen, simply raised a perfect eyebrow. The pressure of her presence made the nearby guards take a step back, but her eyes softened just a fraction as she looked at her daughter.
"Forget you? Lysandra, you ran off to Valerius and haven't written a single letter in three months. I was beginning to think Cassian had locked you in the treasury."
Yes Lysandra gone to meet her family a few months back, but came backs suddenly when she missed her husband and children without telling her mother or brother, she stick out a tongue at response...
Duke Auren sighed, already used to this. He stepped forward and gently pulled his sister into a brief, stiff hug.
"You are the Archduchess of Valerius now, Lysa. Act like it for at least one minute," he muttered, but the corner of his mouth twitched.
Duchess Elara was the only one who actually coaxed her properly. She laughed lightly and took Lysandra's hands.
"We didn't forget you, dear. We brought your favorite Moonveil tea, and your mother's been complaining the whole ride that you never visit Sylveria anymore. She just won't say it out loud."
Lysandra turned back to Nytheria, her eyes watering now for real. "See! Mother, you miss me!"
Nytheria finally sighed, that rare, long-suffering sigh of a level 90 Wizard who could level cities but couldn't win an argument with her daughter.
"I miss the quiet," she said dryly, but she reached out and brushed a stray hair from Lysandra's face. "Come. You are making a scene in front of the whole Archduchy."
Cassian, standing awkwardly to the side, cleared his throat. "Mother-in-law... welcome to Valerius."
Nytheria looked at him, up and down, once.
"Hmph. Level 85. Still."
Before they could go inside, a hearty laugh burst out of the Blackwood carriage.
"Nytheria, stop criticizing my son!"
A powerful aura swept over the courtyard as a middle-aged, handsome man stepped out of the carriage, alongside a middle-aged woman of extreme beauty.
Cassian stared in horror. "Father! Mother! Where were you?!"
His mother, Selene Valerius, sneered and glanced at Lucian Valerius standing beside her. "Don't tell Cassian! I got angry with your father and went back to my family... and this shameless person even followed me there, dumping all the responsibilities of the Archduchy on you."
Lucian laughed out loud. "Hahaha! Dear, how could I stay without you? I just went to bring my wife back... but who knew you'd still be mad at me after all these years."
Cassian's lips twitched. He knew his father was still alive, but he didn't know where he was. He only knew his mother had been at her parents' house.
Nytheria sneered, "Same old man, acting like a child."
Selene immediately walked over to Nytheria, grabbed her arm, and said, "Yes! See, sister Nytheria! He's bullying me..." She pointed her finger at Lucian.
Lucian just chuckled and scratched his head. Even as a level 90 Saint himself, he couldn't coax his Saintess wife.
Another sneer came from the carriage. "So all the old people decided to attend the ceremony this time, huh?"
A handsome middle-aged man stepped out of the Blackwood carriage. Behind him came Duke Cedric Blackwood and Duchess Isolde Blackwood, with their son, who was around the same age as Serephina ,Margrave Ronald Blackwood.
Nytheria sneered again. "Who are you calling old? You're the old one, Varric."
Yes, it was Archduke Varric Blackwood.
Varric smiled wide. "Where is that old man? Your husband?"
Nytheria's expression didn't change. "As if you don't know."
Varric nodded. Nytheria's husband had taken the Sylveria army to hunt down the demons who orchestrated the attack on their territory, and even Varric's own wife was busy with that mission as well.
Now that all the most powerful people in the Imperium were together except for the Emperor himself, whom no one here cared about at all. The crowd was busy looking toward the entrance of the city, waiting to see if another guest would arrive.
Then, a small carriage appeared. It was still luxurious, but smaller than the others. A single flag hovered above it, bearing a silver wolf standing alone on the crest... and the carriage was pulled by huge wolves as it entered the road.
The people went crazy instantly. It was the carriage of Valerius. So the person inside was absolutely their lord, Silas. Yes, inside sat Torin, Aleric, and Silas.
Aleric chuckled, "See, brother! The people have already accepted you as their Duke."
Silas frowned. "I don't want that position. That position is for you. And you have always been the owner of that position. I'll reject Father's offer..."
Aleric shook his head. "No! I'm already disowned by the family..."
Silas didn't let him finish. "No. Family rules can be changed. I'll change it this time. That's why I came here for the ceremony."
Aleric just chuckled at his brother. Yes, their family rules could be changed, but the procedure was not simple at all. To change a rule, all three families had to give their votes... and meeting that condition was far from simple.
Beside them, Torin sat quietly. All the villagers had come here before them. Torin had also wanted to come with them, but Aleric and Silas had stopped him. They had forced him to come in their own carriage instead.
The carriage was showered with beautiful flowers by every person in the Archduchy, with words of cheering continuously rising for them...
The carriage stopped at the huge doors of Valerius Castle, the wolves lowering their heads in perfect unison. The herald is an old man who had served the Valerius for forty years, his family served the archduchy for generations. He stepped forward, his voice cracking with excitement before he steadied it with magic so the whole city could hear...