Dekan's Wedding

After bidding farewell to Avalon, Dekan and his group once again embarked on their journey south.

One month later.

Because crossing the territories of the former Northern Nations meant exceeding the current control of the Salon Empire, and even though the war has ended, most of the Central Nations that have not yet been annexed are still deeply mired in fear of the Salon Empire.

Adhering to Dekan's instructions to maintain a low profile, Isabel ordered the Imperial intelligence department to strictly block all information regarding Dekan's return in the capital that day.

The Salon Empire's public pronouncements only covered the final battle between the Salon Empire and the Resurrection Church, the change of empresses, and the end of the war.

Even the Southern Kingdom, with its most advanced intelligence network, only knows the story after the empire's unification.

If they continue to travel into the kingdoms in the Elector Duke's chariot, it may not only cause conflict and panic, but also lead to misunderstandings between the kingdoms and empires that have already ceased hostilities.

However, the Salon Empire has always emphasized one-stop service.

They had already reached an agreement with the Norton Kingdom.

Before Dekan and his group even reached the borders of the Central Nations, the commander of the Fourth Army Group was already waiting in the target city-state, having prepared a carriage belonging to the Happy Group for Dekan.

Even though the speed will decrease significantly, we're not far from our destination. We should be back in Royal Capital Norton about two weeks.

"Then, Your Elector Duke, I wish you a pleasant journey ahead."

The commander of the Fourth Army Group led Dekan and his entourage to the area belonging to the Happy Group and saluted Dekan.

"Thanks."

Dekan thanked him briefly, then wearily opened the car door, preparing to continue his journey.

It wasn't that he had felt bored during the previous part of the journey.

It was far too long, exceeding the length of a comfortable journey.

But the moment he opened the car door, Dekan's eyes lit up. There sat Croix inside, smiling and waving at Dekan.

Dekan quickly sat down next to him, his face seemingly free of fatigue.

Seeing my long-lost friends again will definitely alleviate a lot of boredom.

As the person in charge of liaising with Isabel and Pritzker on the Norton Kingdom, Croix is the one who knows Dekan's movements best.

Aside from some work at Happy Group, Croix arrived early to pick up Dekan and take them back.

Soon, Dekan and his group set off again.

The scenery outside the window, unfamiliar yet beautiful, came into view one by one.

Although Croix was quite surprised by Ikatinos's situation, he knew Eve Croix didn't need much of a brief introduction from Dekan to get to know Ikatinos.

"Lord Croix, I am truly gratified to see that you and our teacher are still such close friends in this lifetime."

Ikatinos nodded to Croix, her tone exceptionally sincere.

"Uh, just call me by my first name..."

Croix scratched the back of his head. No matter how respectfully the former empress of the Salon Empire addressed him, he still felt very uncomfortable.

Furthermore, in the previous Shadow World, Eve only used honorifics when she first met Dekan's friends, except for Lunn, whom she consistently addressed with honorifics.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries...

Croix finally looked at Dekan.

"Dekan, there's something about Cornelia."

However, judging from Croix's expression, it wasn't something urgent or particularly serious.

"Please speak, it's alright."

Dekan didn't mind others hearing it; they were all on his side.

He could probably guess something was related.

It's nothing more than a connection to Cornelia's hometown, the Southern Kingdom called Vihart.

Back when Dekan teleported away from the Philoven Kingdom with Sion and Agamemnon, Dekan had already investigated the kingdom's turmoil and hidden dangers.

"Here's the thing, Cornelia is actually the king's daughter, as you probably already know. To protect Cornelia and her mother, the king has never brought them into the royal family and has tried his best to find a way out for Cornelia, such as sending her to study in the most harmonious and stable Norton Kingdom in the central region."

"But then, just as the Kingdom Association was collapsing Cornelia returned to the Vihart Kingdom. Cornelia's mother also fell ill, so the king, just to be on the safe side, ultimately brought them back to the palace for protection."

After listening to Croix's account, Dekan nodded.

In her previous life Cornelia was the daughter of a lord of a Holy Kingdom, and the Holy Kingdom corresponds to the Kingdom Association in the present world. After discovering this, Dekan began to suspect that Cornelia was at least a noble lady.

After investigating some intelligence through his own connections, Dekan put in some effort but still managed to discover clues that the King of the Vihart Kingdom was trying to hide.

However, Dekan could easily understand all that the kingdom had done.

The deeper problems beneath the surface of the Vihart Kingdom are perhaps clearer to Dekan than to Sion, who possesses far more intelligence, or even to the people of the Vihart Kingdom.

Because Delois had witnessed similar things before.

If you were to ask which human kingdom is Delois's home, besides the Clan Territory of Lunn, it would definitely be the home that Clodia and the old lord gave him.

However, the territory didn't look as wonderful as it did when Delois returned more than twenty years later.

Inside the carriage, Croix continued speaking:

"The factionalism and internal strife in their country have lasted for far too long. It could even be said that the Royal Capital has difficulty controlling those few powerful families. And this problem has intensified and erupted after the dissolution of the Kingdom Association."

However, considering Cornelia's relationship with the nobles, they ultimately dared not be too arrogant. Some time ago, the Norton Kingdom was embroiled in the siege of the Imperial Vanguard Force, and its main fighting force was unable to spare any resources.

The other Southern Kingdom willing to support Cornelia have already sent their aid to the front lines of the Norton Kingdom, leaving no one to attend to the Vihart Kingdom.

It was at this time that those powerful and influential people, as if they had found a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, began to use any means necessary to completely devour the kingdom.

The First Prince, who has always refused to compromise with any powerful figures and is upright, was attacked and Severe Injury, and the culprit has yet to be caught. Meanwhile, the Second Prince, who has always pretended to be shrewd and maneuvered among the powerful, has now been completely brought under control.

Dekan sighed as he listened to Croix's words.

In many places, history is nothing more than a strange repetition.

When Delois encountered that down-on-his-luck middle-aged lord, he too had been driven to desperation by the powerful figures within his own territory.

Although he was indeed the lord of that territory, he was at best a figurehead lacking real power.

Many years ago.

Many nobles who lost out in the power struggle in the Holy Capital eventually came to that southern territory, where the depths of the main city were filled with unfathomable malice from humanity.

This even surprised Delois at one point.

The decisions of the powerful and wealthy can easily affect the future of the territory, but they don't care and continue to use their power to fight.

Despite being a seemingly prosperous and thriving place, many residents starve to death every year.

The law was rendered meaningless, and even the lords, under the real power of the nobles, appeared to be mere puppets.

The families who truly held power were indifferent to the survival of their territories; they carried out tyranny to satisfy their own desires and interests.

At first, the lord was quite apathetic, adhering to the principle of living one day at a time.

However, his eldest and second sons were both ambitious young men who were constantly vying for control of the territory and even began to clash with the interests of the powerful and wealthy.

The final result was unsurprising: the lord lost both of his sons.

But he didn't even dare to seek revenge, because he still had his only remaining young daughter.

Those powerful and influential people are cautious and cunning, and they even have well-trained high-ranking guards by their side.

Unexpectedly, those powerful figures remained relentless and had already begun considering replacing the puppet lord.

Final.

Just as the powerful and wealthy sent assassins to kill the lord.

The lord encountered Delois, who happened to be passing by.

The lord, who had given up hope, disregarded all consequences and successfully made a deal with Delois, gaining Delois's interest.

The fate of both Delois and this territory began to change.

No matter how evil those powerful and influential people were, none of them escaped the fate of being played with like infants by Delois.

Or perhaps their hounds were incredibly powerful, but before the legendary demon Delois, those humans appeared pitifully weak.

Under the lord's rule, that territory gradually regained its true prosperity.

In the present Vihart Kingdom, with the existence of the Kingdom Association, even if those powerful nobles are incredibly powerful, they can no longer act as recklessly as they did in the previous life.

Even though the Kingdom Association cannot interfere too much in the internal affairs of its member states, it is not as Corrosion and inactive as the Holy Capital Kingdom Association back then.

But who could have imagined that the Kingdom Association would one day suddenly disintegrate?

The malice of that group of powerful people suddenly seemed to spiral out of control and went berserk.

Dekan: "What about Cornelia? Those guys will probably try to deal with her too, right?"

Croix: "... The other side clearly misjudged her combat strength. Who would have thought that an eighth-tier spy would be captured by a sixth-tier princess and have twenty-two bones smashed with a book... and even have her employer revealed through interrogation..."

Outside the car, Clay couldn't help but say, "I think Cornelia has the potential to become a spy. I'll teach her a couple of tricks; they'll be very useful when we're out stealthing."

Mie looked completely puzzled.

Your kingdom's secret agents' primary criterion is that their strength must be maxed out, right?!

"Now that those powerful and wealthy have been outmaneuvered, they should be more restrained, right?"

"Dekan asked."

Croix nodded:

"Yes, so later these powerful figures didn't dare to be too open about it. After all, what they wanted wasn't an open rebellion, but rather to control the monarchy in a respectable way. Eventually, the stalemate gradually turned into various intrigues and power struggles."

"However, the situation gradually devolved into a stalemate between the two sides, because the Second Prince was ultimately under control, which made the king feel as if his weakness had been exploited in the negotiations. Cornelia the vivid memory of the attack on the First Prince. The nobles continued to press on."

"The method ultimately chosen by the nobles..."

Croix paused here, observed Dekan's expression, and then continued:

"Various families have expressed their desire for their heirs to marry into the royal family, wanting to resolve the issue of the royal family being swallowed up in a compliant manner."

"Besides constantly pressuring the king, they did find a reasonable and justifiable method, because according to the royal tradition of Vihart, if a noble of equal status wanted to marry a prince or a princess, even the king could not obstruct it; he would have to promise a fair contest."

"This tradition was originally intended to prevent the king from being arbitrary and forcing couples to separate, but they've turned it around and are using it like this... It seems they want to control the First Prince, the future heir to the country, or completely trap the Second Prince, but whether they dare to make a move on the young princess is anyone's guess..."

"Holy crap! They're like old folks eating poison! They're all tired of living!"

Sion exclaimed in surprise from the side.

It's one thing for these nobles to scheme for power.

You can rebel all you want, but don't actually think about your beloved who's causing you so much pain!

Do you really think he'll never come back in this lifetime?!

Ikatinos's expression gradually darkened, and the way she clenched her fingers seemed to suggest that if she could retrieve her original body, she would curse and kill all these ignorant nobles.

Such an arrogant nobleman is unheard of in the Salon Empire.

"So what did the king promise in the end?"

After a moment of silence, Dekan asked in a calm tone.

These nobles were indeed quite gamblers.

Since the Empire has already attacked, and even the Empire isn't afraid of Dekan returning, what else do they have to fear?

As for their already established feud with Cornelia, they no longer needed to consider the possibility of Dekan's return.

"The content of the competition was ultimately chosen by the King to be used to create cards, which were then made public to eligible young men and women worldwide. The winner could marry into the royal family, or choose to forgo the competition and receive a large sum of money."

Croix shrugged helplessly.

It's hard not to suspect that the king's words contained an element of intimidation towards those families.

After all, when it comes to the world's best Card Crafter, besides Avalon and Mie, the one that comes to mind most easily is Dekan.

The reason this group of powerful figures dared to be so arrogant was because, with the war so close and Dekan still missing, they were almost certain that Dekan was dead.

The king was also trying to manipulate the mentality of these nobles. "You should all seriously consider the consequences of his return every day."

"So how are those powerful and wealthy people feeling right now?"

Dekan asked again.

Although the Imperial intelligence service has blocked information about Dekan's whereabouts.

But now that the empire and the kingdom have suddenly ceased hostilities, even if Dekan doesn't return, these nobles will have to face the wrath of Cornelia's friends.

After all, the Norton Kingdom not only wasn't destroyed by the Empire, but its entire population was now available.

"Those nobles are panicked and have become very polite now, but they are still desperately trying to win the contest promised by the king. In their eyes, you haven't returned yet, and as long as they can arrange a marriage between their family members and the First Prince or Second Prince, at least their family can be spared."

"This is, after all, a promise made by the King, and the details of the competition have been made public to the entire nation. It will officially take place soon. Nobles can participate in person or send their family's chief Card Crafter to participate on their behalf."

"Although none of the Card Crafter from the Southern States were willing or dared to help these nobles, some Card Crafter from the exiled Northern Nations dared to take on this challenge. Furthermore, since the king did not restrict the participation of people from other countries this time, many Card Crafter even volunteered to participate, mostly to uphold justice, and a small number were attracted by the king's offer of a high Gold Coin reward for giving up the option of marriage."

"Of course, we initially decided to send the top-tier Card Crafter, Ice Princess, to help Cornelia. After the truce with the Empire, we further refined our strategy to help Cornelia take revenge on those nobles, regardless of victory or defeat. Of course, considering the authority of the Vihart royal family, we didn't intend to ignore any rules and take action as soon as we arrived."

Croix explained.

Those powerful and influential people are probably trembling with fear right now.

After all, judging from how Cornelia's friends conquered the Shadow World, they've never really liked following the rules.

"Hmm... If Ice Princess makes a move, it should be a sure thing even without my intervention."

Dekan stroked his chin and sighed, expressing his high regard for Ice Princess's card-making skills.

But now that he's back, it'll definitely be up to him to take action personally.

"Not necessarily. Even top- Card Crafter can't create epic cards on the spot 100%. Besides, some of the three major families have even found top-tier Card Crafter..."

Croix paused here, as if she had thought of something strange.

"I'm also a bit puzzled by Ice Princess's condition. Lately, she's been practicing card making like crazy, and she's been crying while she's making cards... Judith also said that Ice Princess often breaks down in her room and cries her heart out..."

"Wow—she really cares this much? I'd better thank her properly in person."

Dekan said with deep gratitude.

Mie, standing nearby, twitched at the corner of his mouth as he listened.

Should we send Ice Princess to help Cornelia make cards?

If I win, I can personally bring Cornelia back and let Cornelia be with Dekan.

Losing would not only make me feel guilty towards Cornelia, but I would also worry that I might accidentally reveal my feelings for Dekan and be misunderstood by others as having deliberately lost because of scheming.

Given Ice Princess's introverted personality, if she really lost, she would probably cry on the spot and even try to atone with her death.

If Dekan hadn't returned, Mie couldn't even imagine what Ice Princess's mental state would be like now.

******

Author's Note:

At this moment, an imperial duke is rushing to the Southern Kingdom to marry a woman. Although he could choose not to marry her even if he won, if he backs down now, our beloved teacher Da Tong would be laughed at for the rest of his life, right?

I'll try not to take any more days off in the next few days and finish writing the present world part of Volume 6. As for the Shadow World part of Volume 6, it should be quite short, since the story of the Holy Kingdom has been told pretty much. In other words, Volume 6 is already more than halfway done.