Yulan Calendar, Year 10001, March 24th. Capital City, Yulan Empire. It had been almost one month since the monumental battle between Ace and Linley. And in that time, all anyone could speak about were the happenings of said day. From the battle itself to the opening of the Necropolis of the Gods. But surprisingly, the topic most people spoke about, even if only on the down-low, was the wedding between Lance and Milianna, and more importantly, its hidden implications.
In the War God’s newly built Temple, O’Brien marched outside with a vicious look on his face as the temperature in the surrounding area rose to unreasonable levels. It looked like he was in a hurry, but before he could set off, the High Priest suddenly appeared in front of him.
“Catherine,” O’Brien scowled. “What are you doing here?”
“Where are you going?” Catherine asked back indifferently.
“What does that have to do with you?” O’Brien snapped back, clearly not in the mood for socialising. “You may be stronger than me, but you are far from qualified to intervene in my personal business.”
“That may be true,” Catherine nodded, her voice just as calm as ever. “But let me warn you right now, if you try to attack Lance the night before his wedding, not only will I not support you, but I will also dissolve our partnership and let you fend for yourself.”
O’Brien didn’t respond. He simply glared at the beautiful deity in front of him, clearly still enraged, but thankfully, a hint of reason had returned to his thinking.
Seeing that, Catherine couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Truth be told, she looked down on this ally of hers. If not for the pressure the Pavilion placed on her and her Empire, she never would’ve agreed to ally with him. Unfortunately, without him, she could only face being conquered.
Not wanting to spend any more time in his presence than necessary, Catherine’s body suddenly disappeared, causing O’Brien to stand there alone and stew in his misery.
“Lance, Ace, Milianna…” O’Brien growled as he turned in the direction of the newly established Gol Kingdom. “One day, I will show each of you a fate far worse than death!”
.
.
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The next day, the newly established City of Gol was a hubbub of commotion. Today was the day the King and Queen of the Gol Kingdom would officially be crowned, but more importantly, it was the day said King and Queen would get married.
Despite having the eyes of everyone on the continent on them, the air in the city could only be called joyful and harmonious.
It should also be noted that this City of Gol wasn’t the same city that Cirulus had taken over originally on behalf of his young master. No, this was the area that had once housed the magicite mine.
After officially laying claim to it, Ace had the area renamed the City of Gol, but considering it was called a city, it was unbelievably small. So small, in fact, that even calling it a village would be a stretch.
In this so-called ‘City’, there were no more than 20 small and simple-looking cottages.
After discovering the secret pocket dimension, Ace decided he would transform the surrounding area into a place where he, his friends, and his family would reside. Aside from them, due to the existence of the pocket dimension, those from the Pavilion, Baruch Clan, and the Rohault Empire would take up residence there.
The citizens of the soon-to-be Gol Kingdom saw this City of Gol as something of a Holyland – even more so when Ace declared that any Gol citizen who managed to break through to the saint realm would be allowed to relocate there as well.
Still, even though there were usually very few residents, today, at the wedding and coronation of the new King and Queen, there were a lot of people who had come to pay their respects, all of whom were men and women of significant standing in the continent.
Usually, with statuses such as theirs, they would be the main characters wherever they went, but today, each of them had been reduced to mere support characters as they watched the special day.
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Seeing Lance on the stage, grinning from ear to ear as he stood across from a woman who, despite being a mortal, could already compare to the likes of Arianna and the High Priest, most could only sigh with a heart full of envy.
Milianna could be described as a breathtaking, nation-toppling beauty on the worst of days, but today, in her flawless white dress, her beauty was something else. They may not have understood what Milianna saw in such a seemingly ordinairy man like Lance, but they did understand what Lance saw in her.
Many thought that if they had the opportunity to marry such a beautiful woman, they too would do so, even if it meant offending a deity.
As expected, the wedding and coronation went off without a hitch. The only thing of note was that despite what he had said a month prior, Beirut hadn’t made an appearance.
After the ceremony concluded, the party was taken to a grand hall created solely for the purposes of today’s festivities.
The mood during the party was peaceful and joyous. Even though there were a few individuals who had deep conflicts with one another, that day, they didn’t dare to show it and potentially ruin the mood.
By the time night came, the party was already well underway. Every visitor who was going to make an appearance had long since done so; as such, Cirulus, who, despite having broken through to the saint realm, was the one who announced the arrivals of the various gifts, had been told to stand down for the night so he could also enjoy himself.
It was for that very reason this final guest was able to enter without the whole room being alerted. Even so, he was noticed by a few people.
Those who noticed him had suddenly gone silent, simply staring in awe at the black-robed middle-aged man who calmly strolled through the hall.
One by one, more and more people began to notice the man’s presence. At first, they didn’t understand why their friends had gone silent all of a sudden, but upon following the line of sight of their friend, they also acted in a similar way.
Eventually, the hall quietened right down, many not daring to even breathe loudly.
Looking up, Milianna and Lance hurriedly stood to their feet to greet the late arrival. Only for the man to chuckle.
“Please,” Beirut waved his hand. “Don’t let me disturb you. I’m sorry I came late, but getting my hands on your respective gifts took longer than I would’ve liked.”
As he said that, Beirut produced two storage rings, one on each outstretched hand.
“We can’t accept your gifts, Lord Beirut,” Lance said hurriedly. “We’re just grateful for you gracing our special day with your presence.”
“You can’t accept?” Beirut frowned slightly. “Are you looking down on me?”
Even though it was such a minuscule action, one that didn’t even cause his aura to change one bit, everyone felt fear grab hold of them.
“No, of course not. It’s just unexpected,” Milianna replied gently as she took the two rings, keeping one for herself and handing the other to her husband. “But since you, Lord Beirut, are willing to present us with gifts, then how could we possibly be so rude as to refuse them.”
“Haha, delightful!” Beirut exclaimed whilst stroking his beard. “Now, ignore me, and please carry on.”
Those present could only watch in envy. Anything gifted by an expert like Beirut was bound to be completely out of the ordinary. Still, they didn’t dare say or do anything other than stare with curiosity and envy whilst suppressing their greed.
Lance, who was still pale and sweating from the thought of offending Beirut, suddenly felt a gentle nudge from his side as a small but dainty hand entered his own.
Looking over his shoulder, Lance saw the sweetest of smiles facing back at him.
“Are you okay?” Milianna asked softly.
“Mmh,” Lance smiled warmly back. “With you by my side, how could I, Lance Gol, be anything but happy?”
Just moments ago, he felt fear for his life, believing that he had genuinely offended the most powerful existence on their Continent. He had faced many scary, life-threatening situations, but that was easily one of the scariest. And yet, despite the fear he felt, as soon as he met his wife’s gaze, all the fear he had previously felt seemed to dissolve. ‘I really am the luckiest man alive!’
“Lance Gol?” Beirut asked curiously.
It was uncertain whether he did it on purpose, or if he just happened to end up there, but after leaving the newly wedded couple, Beirut ended up by the table of Ace, Amira, Killian and the others.
“Mmh,” Ace nodded calmly despite speaking to such a powerful existence. “Lance agreed to take our family name.”
“Isn’t your name Gol D. Ace, and your mother’s name is Gol D. Milianna,” Beirut mentioned curiously. “How come Lance’s name then is Lance Gol and not Gol D. Lance?”
Beirut’s question was one that the rest of those present – or at least those who didn’t already know – were also curious about. This was already the second time Lance had announced his new name – with the first being when he was saying his “I do”.
Still, as curious as they were, they felt it was inappropriate to ask, but with Beirut being the one to ask, how could they not listen in?
“The “D.” in our name is for Descendant or rather Direct Descendant,” Ace explained, not seeming to mind who heard. “Just like how Killian and Leona have taken our surnames without the “D.” if one marries into, or gets adopted into our Gol Clan, they will only inherit the name Gol.
But only those who are Direct Descendants of our Gol family and awaken our Gol Bloodline can inherit ‘The Will of D.”.
As he said that, a small and nostalgic smile appeared on Ace’s face, he never understood the meaning behind “The Will of D.” from his previous world, but it didn’t stop him from recreating it and giving it his own meaning in this life.
“The Will of D. huh,” Beirut mused aloud, an intrigued and mysterious smile appearing on his face. “How apt.”