A piece of sudden news disrupted the peace of the Royal Capital.
The Seventh Princess, Elvia Rolan, was marrying a little-known mage.
Princess Elvia possessed considerable prestige among the common people and adventurers.
This sudden wedding news instantly ignited the gossip mill across the entire Royal Capital.
Refugees queuing to collect letters outside the Pariah Messenger post office on the Seventh Ring rubbed their freezing, red hands while whispering among themselves.
“Have you heard? Her Highness the Seventh Princess is getting married!”
“Is that true? Which high noble is it?”
“It doesn't seem to be a noble at all. It's some foreign mage lord...”
“A mage? That's not bad! It's certainly better than marrying one of those arrogant knight lords!”
Inside the post office, the well-dressed clerks sent to 'assist' with the work also gathered to whisper during their breaks.
Their tones carried far more scrutiny and calculation:
“The Seventh Princess's move is truly incomprehensible.”
“I thought she would marry the eldest son of the Duke of Wales. Hasn't he been pursuing her all this time?”
“Not just him. Even Knight Valk and Knight Black, candidates for the pillars of the Knights, declared that if the Seventh Princess accepted their love, they would swear eternal loyalty to her.”
“With all these options, why would the Seventh Princess choose a mage? I heard he's only a Mid-tier High Rank mage...”
“...Why do I feel like this mage sounds like someone we know?”
“Me too.”
Hiding on the second floor of the post office, Theia heard the faint chatter drifting up from below and couldn't help but freeze, her emerald eyes filled with confusion.
Elvia... was marrying Lin Gui?
When did this happen? How did she not know about it at all?
Yet, as the central figures of this storm of public opinion, Elvia and Lin Gui seemed entirely indifferent to the banquet being held specifically for their marriage.
At the very least, Elvia had put enough effort into her appearance.
She had changed into a well-tailored evening gown that preserved her regal dignity as a princess.
Her blonde hair was meticulously styled, and she wore simple yet sparkling jewelry.
As for Lin Gui...
When he appeared before Elvia as agreed right before the banquet began, she almost couldn't resist pushing him right back out the door.
Lin Gui was still wearing his old, faded mage robes.
His hair was a bit messy, the dark circles under his eyes were deep, and his face was gaunt from a severe lack of sleep.
He also faintly exuded a complex odor... a mix of dirt, grime, and stale mold.
Elvia pinched her nose in disgust and took two steps back.
“I say... what is that smell on you?! Why do you stink so bad?”
Lin Gui raised his bloodshot eyes and gave her a sluggish, listless glance.
His voice was raspy from sheer exhaustion.
“I spent the entire day crawling through sewers, abandoned secret passages, and underground caverns that haven't seen a soul in God knows how many years... of course I stink.”
For a full day and night,
he had gone without sleep, turning almost the entire surface and known underground spaces of the Carter Royal Capital completely upside down.
He had crawled from the open sewers of the Seventh Ring to the ancient secret passages suspected to exist beneath the First Ring's palace.
He had explored everything from the drainage systems beneath the bustling streets of the commercial district to the abandoned wine cellars of the noble district.
He had even boldly infiltrated the tomb area of the Carter royal family,
prying open a few stone sarcophagi...
Yet the system remained entirely silent, with no notifications chiming in.
Physically and mentally exhausted, Lin Gui had no choice but to temporarily give up.
He desperately needed rest.
He was ten thousand times unwilling to attend this banquet.
However, before the banquet started, there was an auction held specifically for the high nobility.
Lin Gui had wanted to sneak in with his 'authentic' look, but Elvia held him back firmly.
Elvia's mouth twitched as she stared at his disheveled appearance.
“You plan on going in looking like that? The guards at the palace gates will throw you out, thinking you're a vagrant!”
Lin Gui yawned and said nonchalantly,
“If they dare do that, I'll personally hand a report to the Saintess, telling her that a Holy Saint was discriminated against by the Carter royal family because of his simple attire.”
Elvia was left utterly speechless.
In the end, she dragged him along, summoning a few temporarily hired maids to practically force Lin Gui into the nearest luxury hotel.
Sometime later, outside the hotel entrance.
Lin Gui, now wearing a decent, dark robe resembling a priest's vestments with a simple cross emblem pinned to his chest, finally looked presentable.
Although he still looked thoroughly drained and the heavy dark circles made him look like he might fall asleep at any second,
once cleaned up, his sharp features took on a cool, exotic air.
Elvia looked him up and down, her eyes brightening slightly.
“Tsk, I didn't expect you to look so decent once you actually dressed up.”
As she linked arms with Lin Gui and walked into the auction's preview hall, Elvia and Lin Gui, the main characters of the hour, immediately drew numerous gazes.
Elvia displayed flawless royal etiquette, maintaining a polite smile as she handled greetings—both genuine and fake—from all directions.
Meanwhile, Lin Gui, walking beside her, remained in a half-asleep state.
To the nobles who tried to strike up a conversation or express interest in cooperation, he mostly responded with simple nods, shakes of his head, or grunts like 'mm' and 'oh.'
Elvia maneuvered skillfully between them, making no easy promises while avoiding offending anyone, defusing all their probing inquiries into nothingness.
They stepped into the main venue of the auction.
It was an exceptionally spacious and grand hall.
The dome ceiling hung high, and massive magic crystals were embedded in the walls.
Soft light cast a brilliant glow over every single exhibit.
Yet, in stark contrast to the grand scale of the venue, the crowd inside was sparse.
This auction was prepared exclusively for members of the royal family and high nobles with the rank of Count or above.
And today, almost all of the top power players in the Carter Royal Capital were present.
It wasn't because the auction itself featured any world-shaking treasures,
but because tomorrow was the day of the official visit of the Holy Church of Light's delegation.
The King of Carter had ordered that all upper-class nobles and members of the royal family must attend the welcoming ceremony.
Taking advantage of the break, Elvia whispered introductions to several core figures in the room to Lin Gui.
Lin Gui remained largely uninterested until Elvia mentioned her eldest sister, Princess Diana.
Only then did Lin Gui barely lift his eyelids to look at the elegant, middle-aged woman sitting in the very front row.
She was extremely well-preserved, but the faint lines at the corners of her eyes still showed the passage of time.
Her expression carried the poise of one who had long held power, mixed with a trace of melancholy.
Sitting beside her was an exceptionally handsome, nearly perfect man—her husband.
The Royal Capital's number one handsome man, Dominic.
However, as the Royal Capital's renowned 'Lioness' princess,
in this auction where seating was strictly arranged by power and status,
Elvia did not sit in the front row alongside the Third Prince, the Eldest Princess, or the Second Prince, who was making his first public appearance.
Instead, she sat far back in the very last row.
Meeting Lin Gui's slightly puzzled gaze, Elvia smiled self-deprecatingly and whispered:
“True power is nothing more than martial force, gold, connections, and political authority. And right now, I don't possess a single one of those four.”
“If it weren't for the fact that I still hold an intelligence network that frightens some of the people here,”
“I probably wouldn't even have the right to step into this venue.”
Just as she finished speaking,
she noticed an old Count nearby, distinguished and sporting a well-groomed beard, turning his gaze toward them.
Elvia immediately put on an impeccably elegant smile and nodded in greeting.
The old Count returned a polite smile and casually remarked,
“Congratulations on your marriage, Princess Elvia.”
before turning back naturally to converse with the person beside him,
without sparing Elvia another glance.
His attitude was polite, yet clearly and distinctly distant.
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