Europe, Eagle Fortress in Argao.
Otto's wedding to the second daughter of the Duke of Lower Lorraine had entered its final preparations, and Eagle Fortress was undergoing a massive renovation.
Craftsmen from Milan, Prague, and Aachen gathered together. While repairing the castle, they also built a gigantic tournament ground at the manor beneath the mountain, capable of holding over a thousand spectators.
Count Werner had not initially intended to make such a grand affair of it. But as news arrived that Lothar had been crowned king overseas, the Habsburg family had practically become a new great house in Europe. Distant relatives, fellow vassals, and even the Hohenstaufen Imperial Family, who might not have visited in the past even after receiving invitations—or at least would not have come in person—would all be attending. The scale of the wedding rose again and again.
To that end, Werner had nearly emptied his purse. Even the valuables Lothar had previously sent back with merchant caravans had all been poured into it.
"That vain old fool Gottfried spends all day boasting about marrying into royalty, yet the moment he has to pay a little, he starts crying poverty."
Werner was rather annoyed. If not for the Duke of Lower Lorraine's big mouth, this wedding would not have drawn so much attention.
Otto sat to one side, responding halfheartedly to his father's grumbling. He knew his old man was now "suffering and happy at once." Anyone who tried to persuade him to keep the wedding simple would be the first person that little old man got angry with.
At that moment, a knight strode excitedly into the Lord's Hall and presented a letter. "My lord, young master, a letter from His Majesty Lothar."
It was the latest news, specially delivered after merchant ships from Cyprus arrived