NOVEL NEXT Chapter 200: Marriage law, tick ✔
Aurelia accepted the booklets. Unexpectedly, they were written in Angian, so Aurelia read the titles with a glance. She frowned. “What are these?”
“These are information booklets,” Iris said in calm tone. “They explain the existence of matters such as men who like men and women who like women. This booklet in particular makes reference to the legality of those marriages in the Rosewood fief of Sedaveria. Earl Rosewood has recently set up a new wedding planning team, so there are many who believe these booklets are to encourage people to hold their marriages in the Rosewood fief.”
“And what do you think?”
“I believe the true purpose is something different. I have acquired information that their marriage law will be amended to allow same-gender marriage across Sedaveria,” Iris said.
Aurelia inexplicably remembered how Pollux had told her that Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood were very good friends, and that dealing with one was the same as dealing with the other.
The marriage law in Sedaveria wouldn’t be changed for no reason.
Aurelia flicked through the booklets, scanning over the easy-to-understand diagrams.
Iris sipped her drink.
Aurelia closed the booklets. “Do you believe these booklets or the Sedaverian law change will have a negative impact on Angio?”
“No,” Iris said.
“Then it’s not important,” Aurelia said, putting the booklets down on the coffee table.
There was an unreadable look in Iris’s eyes. But a heartbeat later, that look was gone, while Iris’s expression was otherwise exactly the same.
“The agricultural improvements in Sedaveria are more of a concern,” Iris said. “I should make those gentlemen work harder.” Her lips curled up in jest.
“Not everyone can work as hard as you,” Aurelia said.
And thus, the conversation changed to work.
Eventually, Iris took the tray and left, leaving the booklets on the coffee table.
Glancing at the booklets again, Aurelia’s suspicions returned. Earl Rosewood wouldn’t have them translated to Angian for no reason.
However, if Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood were married, it shouldn’t have a negative impact on Angio. Rather, Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood would need to work hard to reduce the negative impacts on Sedaveria.
Aurelia put the booklets away and went to bed.
She couldn’t fall asleep straight away.
In past nights when she laid in bed, unable to sleep, she had thought about the emptiness of her bed. She had thought of choosing a consort, who could share her life. But ultimately, she didn’t trust any of those gentlemen-in-waiting enough. They paled in competency and work ethic compared to Lady Iris Helios.
Tonight though, her thoughts were different.
The booklets.
Iris’s fleeting expression.
Aurelia knew Iris better than anyone else. Iris’s work was outstanding, detailed, and well-thought through. Iris’s expression control was superb.
Yet, showing her the booklets, even though they weren’t important on a kingdom-wide scale? Mentioning same-gender marriages specifically, even though there were many other points in those booklets? Showing her that brief ‘lapse’ in expression?
Iris was implying something to her. She was implying that she was one of the types of people mentioned in those booklets.
Aurelia’s stomach tightened. Did Iris like women? Was that why she refused to marry a nobleman?
Did Iris want the legalisation of same-gender marriage in Angio as her reward? Should she help Iris find a suitable partner?
Did Iris have a secret female lover already?
Aurelia felt a burst of discontent at the thought. She didn’t want someone to take Iris and monopolise her time. Iris was her lady-in-waiting; Iris was the Chief Executive of her Queen’s Board; Iris was loyal to her.
At some unknown time, Aurelia fell asleep.
Over the next few days, she studied Iris’s expression whenever they talked, but Iris’s expression and demeanour was as usual; and her work quality was as usual. Given Iris’s workload, she wouldn’t have time to entertain a secret paramour.
It was Iris herself who had said that those booklets weren’t of much concern. She must have simply wanted to share a little bit about herself.
Aurelia was sure there was more. But if Iris didn’t offer, Aurelia wouldn’t pry.
And if a small part of her thought that, if neither of them found lovers in ten or so years, she wouldn’t mind partnering up with Lady Iris Helios and solving the problem of an heir some other different way…well, that was her own secret.
Prior to the next Sedaverian Imperial Council, Queen Mira showed the marriage law amendment proposal to the councillors in the Imperial faction.
Subsequently, the proposal was distributed to all councillors, and the news spread across the kingdom.
By and large, the proposal followed the changes already made in the Rosewood fief—raising the age of marriage, changing the conditions for divorce, and explicitly allowing marriages between two people of any gender. Different people had different concerns, and Earl Rosewood was once again a hot gossip topic.
“Earl Rosewood released those booklets, and now this? Do you think he’s like that?”
“When did Earl Rosewood become so close to Her Majesty? I recall previously that Her Majesty had a distant attitude towards him!”
“Earl Rosewood is on the rise, I’m telling you!”
“I don’t think Earl Rosewood likes boys. Don’t you know that he meets with Duke Schauss’s daughter on a regular basis? Duke Schauss accompanies his daughter every time as a chaperone!”
Duke Schauss: “…” He didn’t expect his vigilance to be turned against him and fuel a new rumour that Earl Rosewood and Cassiopeia were seeing each other romantically!
“Tch, what’s more important is, what are we going to do with my son’s planned wedding? If the new law passes, we’ll have to delay it until the bride is older!”
“Changing divorce laws, it’s as though Her Majesty wants everyone to split up and disrupt the fabric of society…”
When the time came and Queen Mira presented the proposal at the next Imperial Council Gathering, no one was surprised. Most councillors had already worked through their biggest feelings and were roughly capable of polite debate.
“I disagree with this proposal, Your Majesty!”
“And to which part do you disagree precisely?”
“Page 1, paragraph 3, page 2 paragraphs 3-5, page 4, paragraph 5…”
Queen Mira received strong requests from removable of certain paragraphs, and changes in wording in other paragraphs. With the strong debate, Queen Mira didn’t call a vote, and the Imperial Council Gathering concluded without the marriage law amendment passing.
The marriage law changes were a big topic among adults, but Alexius didn’t care about it. He knew it would pass eventually because his Imperial Mother was handling it.
No, what he cared about was the team duelling tournament, which was going to start in a month!
After several rounds of brainstorming with Ayden (and Rian, but he ignored Rian), Alexius had settled on a grouped tournament structure, based on the strength of the magically strongest team member on each team of four. The magical strength sorting would allow weaker teams to fully participate in the tournament and showcase skills and tactics, instead of being immediately crushed due to pure strength differences.
Teams had already preregistered their interest, so Alexius knew to expect over 200 teams. As such, he had decided on having five groups, with about 40 teams per group. There would be a knock-out tournament structure within each group to determine the winning team within each group. After the winners of each stream were determined though, they would also compete to determine the overall winner.
Now that it was a month before the start of the tournament, all teams had to properly register, and all team members had to take a test to determine their magical strength ranking. The magical strength test was based on the amount of magical energy one could input into a crystal ball in three minutes.
Alexius came along to watch Ayden’s team be tested.
Ayden had teamed up with Rian (blegh), Baltasar (fine), and Prince Pollux (good!).
Alexius had wanted very much to be on Ayden’s team too, but ultimately, he was loyal to his friends, and they had been training as a team of four for over a year now.
“Your Highness, would you like to go first?” Ayden was saying to Rian.
“Ayden, you can go first,” Alexius and Rian said simultaneously. They turned and frowned at each other.
“Thank you,” Ayden said.
Ayden placed his hand on the crystal ball.
“Please start whenever you’re ready,” the attendant said.
Ayden nodded.
Immediately, the crystal ball lit up.
Alexius’s eyes grew round, and then he had to shield his eyes.
“Cough, my Lord, please stop before you break the instrument…”
“Have I reached the maximum load capacity yet?” Ayden asked.
“Not yet…”
“Tell me when I reach it and I’ll stop.”
The poor attendant had to monitor extremely carefully. Unlike the very initial sharp rise in detected magic, the progress now was slower, as Ayden eased up. “My Lord, please stop. You have reached the maximum level.”
“Alright.” Ayden let go of the crystal ball and the bright light faded.
“Ayden!” Alexius said excitedly. “You’re so strong!”
“I’m next,” Rian said, stepping forward and blocking Ayden from view.
Alexius huffed. “Go on then.”
Then, to Alexius’s utter dismay, Rian also reached the maximum level that the crystal could test.
Rian released the crystal ball and looked at Alexius. “What level did you reach?” he asked. His voice was friendly but his eyes were taunting.
Alexius’s lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t want to admit it! He couldn’t reach the maximum level, even though he had tried really really hard.
“Next, please,” the attendant called out.
“Your Highness,” Baltasar said to Prince Pollux.
Prince Pollux inclined his head and went forward to test. His scores were more normal, at the level below Alexius; Baltasar’s level was lower again.
“Thank you, you’ll find out your initial placement in a few weeks,” the attendant said.
“Thank you,” Ayden said. He turned to Alexius. “And thank you for organising the tournament.”
Alexius perked up. “See you for afternoon tea tomorrow!”
Ayden nodded and smiled faintly. “Hm, see you tomorrow.”
Alexius didn’t stay to watch the other teams test. Instead, he went back to check all his plans for the tournament. He didn’t want to let Ayden down. This first-ever team-duelling tournament in Sedaveria was going to be the best tournament!
At the next Imperial Council Gathering a month later, after the rest of the agenda was complete, Queen Mira presented the updated marriage law amendments and opened the floor to more discussion.
To be honest, everyone knew that the law would eventually pass—the Imperial faction formed a majority group in the Council. Queen Mira had accepted feedback previously to make other councillors feel valued.
As expected, after half an hour of discussion, Queen Mira turned to Deputy Prime Minister Marchioness Cloud.
“All those in favour of the new proposal, please raise your hand and say ‘aye’,” Marchioness Cloud called.
There was a wave of hands and ‘ayes’ across the hall.
“Now, those not in favour of the new proposal, raise your hands,” Marchioness Cloud called.
Marchioness Cloud scanned the room. Prime Minister Duke Mauveine gave her a nod, to which she nodded back.
“The majority of the Council has voted in favour. Consider the marriage laws to be amended from this point forth,” Marchioness Cloud declared. Her gavel tapped on the block, and thus the amendment passed, overwriting any localised marriage laws, including the ones in the Rosewood fief.
Queen Mira returned to her seat.
After the long gathering, and the lost post-gathering chats with other councillors, Queen Mira left the Parliament to find Ayden and Rian waiting for her.
“Your Majesty,” Ayden greeted, bowing.
“Good afternoon, Imperial Mother,” Rian said warmly.
“Happy?” Queen Mira asked.
Rian smiled. “Thank you, Imperial Mother.”
Queen Mira gave Rian a pointed look. If you’re grateful, be nice to your little brother.
Rian blinked, receiving her implicit message.
Queen Mira then looked at Ayden.
Ayden nodded, understanding that it was his role to make sure that Rian played nice with Alexius.
Rian stepped forward, disrupting the looks between his lover and his Imperial Mother. “Imperial Mother, I’d like to present you with a gift today.”
He held out an elegant slim box. Queen Mira accepted it. Inside, there was a fountain pen with swirled glass nib. Beautiful, but not as functional as the fountain pen with internal ink reservoir that Ayden had given her a few weeks ago.
Queen Mira closed the box and smiled. “It’s very beautiful.” Then she turned to Ayden. “Ayden, it’s been a while since we caught up. Will you be free for morning tea in the next two weeks?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. I’ll coordinate a time.”
“I look forward to it. Rian, I would like to meet Earl Rosewood in private.” With that, Queen Mira boarded her Imperial carriage with her close staff, leaving behind an indignant Prince Rian.
Queen Mira: Now, Rian will hold his wedding with Earl Rosewood in the Capital, as is proper.
King Edric: …When did we agree on this?
Queen Mira: ? When did I need your permission? Does Rian even consider you his father in heart?
King Edric: ….….…….…..…..…
Rian: I can’t believe my Imperial Mother just—!!
Ren Xiyang: *pat pat pat Rian on the head* There, there, it’s only a morning tea. I sleep with you almost every night.
Rian: *long suffering sigh*
CHAPTER 200!! WE’RE AT CHAPTER 200!!! Over 400,000 words!!!
And look, Anti-Re is writing a fanfic of this story, set in Modern AU! 😆😆😆😆
These Side Characters Have Companies to Manage!
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