The next day came by and Camelot only became even more crowded. After all, the most influential kingdom in Britain was about to make an important announcement. Banners of different colors started to fill the streets, each followed by rows of trained knights busy guarding the nobles.
Right as the sun rose, Gwen had to leave to prepare, while Emery received a bird message from Gaious.
Thanks to Emery showing off his Wizard of the Divine Order badge yesterday, King Uther found out he was in the vicinity, then The King of Logress invited him for a meeting in the morning.
Considering the unexpected invitation, it was not a formal meeting and, if anything, it felt like a casual breakfast talk. Ulther invited him to extend his courtesy to Emery as a great wizard.
If he were being honest, Emery had no interest in coming, but he remembered the disturbance he felt in his spirit reading yesterday, so he decided to warn the king of a potential threat. Thanks to that, Gaious along with a dozen Logress golden knights were prepared.
The king mentioned what he knew about the brewing problem between the 7 kingdoms, all of which Emery had heard before, before he asked about the progress with the legendary sword.
"Merlin, all these troubles will be gone if Arthur could pull the sword. So, when will it be possible?"
To be honest, Emery had no answer to that question and there was no way he could tell the king that Arthur had hit a bottleneck. Fortunately, the king saw how Emery had helped his son increase in strength far beyond what any other golden knight could ever achieve. Thanks to that, Emery's simple request for patience was received easily.
This anointment was partially forced by Emery's actions, but the king also revealed that he followed Emery's plan to concentrate on the Divine Order matter. By giving full authority of Logress kingdom to his son, he could resolve it without baggage, while supporting his son from the background.
At noon, the ceremony started. A massive stage was set in the castle courtyard, in front of thousands of nobles, knights and citizens from all around the seven kingdoms.
It was a royal ceremony that involved kneeling in front of the crown and an oath to the people.
According to what the others said, it was supposed to be a majestic sight to behold. But, Emery had no interest in such matters.
His eyes kept looking around, searching among the masses for any potential threats.
Without him realizing it, the ceremony was over. But as usual for any high-profile event like this, the after-gathering was just as important.
All the high-ranked nobles were gathered in a wide hall. This was a ceremony where each noble would show their support to the kingdom.
Emery stood in the corner of the room alone. Even though he wore his best formal dress, his 'best' was nowhere near comparable to any of these high-ranked nobles.
He could feel and see people's stares on him, as if they were wordlessly telling him he didn't belong here. If only he came as Lanzelot with full-on knight armor, he would surely be much more welcome, but today, he was just Emery Ambrose, a low-ranked noble.
He didn't really care much for formalities like this, but he couldn't help but be reminded of Gwen's coming of age ceremony, a feeling that only amplified when Gwen came into the hall wearing a golden dress. Now that she was more mature, her beauty and charm became even more glamorous.
Gwen was looking at him, but right when she was about to walk toward him, she was quickly surrounded by the high-rank nobles.
Thanks to everyone crowding all around her, the corners of the hall were quieter. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a young noble approaching him.
He looked at the direction of said noble and quickly recognized him. It was Abe, the younger Fantumar. Unlike last time, he gave Emery a bow of respect.
Now that Emery was officially recognized as a wizard, Abe referred to him as Master Emery.
"What is it, Abe?"
"I came here to extend my gratitude, for you have supported the princess and helped fulfill her duty."
Emery's brow twitched, he could barely restrain his dislike when he heard about it. But, there was clear sincerity he could feel from Abe's words, so he decided to just nod wordlessly.
Abe leaned on the wall next to Emery and looked at the princess. "I have to say, even now, she always captivates the hearts of the people."
Emery followed his gaze and saw how confident Gwen was acting. She talked, negotiated and listened to their grievances.
Knowing what happened in the past with the Fantumars and the character of his father, Emery decided to warn Abe.
"Abe, I hope you harbor no bad intentions towards her."
The young noble looked at Emery, smiled and said.
"Master Emery, for quite some time, I have loved the princess with all my heart. I even betrayed my own father for her sake. I will never hurt her and I only want what is best for her. That is why I came here, to support her. You should do the same."
Emery glanced at him, raised his eyebrows and asked. "What are you saying, Abe?"
Once more, Abe gave him a respectful bow.
"Master Emery, if I am allowed to be so frank. Look at her and look at us. She was not born for the sake of people like us. She was born as a queen, be it for Lioness, or perhaps more."
Right after the words left Abe's mouth. King Arthur as the new king of Logress walked into the hall and sat on the main table, right in front. Immediately, all the guests looked at him and gave the new king their highest respects.
"I hope you understand what I mean"
Abe gave him another expression of respect, before leaving to talk with the other nobles. From what little Emery could hear from where he stood, Abe was convincing them to support Lioness.
Emery was once more left alone in the corner. He found himself to have no place to stay in this ceremony. But then more people have come, The emissary from all the other kingdoms with their knights and entourage. This made Emery once more worried about the spirit disturbance he felt before.
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,
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