Chapter 190: New Allies : The Queen of the Skies

Three days later, invitations had been dispatched to every kingdom, to the nobles in the imperial cities of Orthus, to the knighted lords, the academy, and to every corner of the world. Even the common folk of the Orthus Empire, from the smallest villages to the largest cities, received word. The wedding of Ard and his eight fiancées was scheduled to take place in a week, once preparations were complete, and everyone was expected to attend.

Many nobles, already weary of the Emperor’s rule, sent messengers with letters declaring their intent to join the celebration, often bringing representatives of the people from their territories. Naturally, the kings of the surface realms could not attend in person, but they sent envoys with their congratulations. Meanwhile, the merman kingdom of Lenoria, the kingdom of Grimgarth, and the kingdom of Tartagia sent Elmer, Grethia, and Tatiana to represent them as crown princes and princesses.

While Ard was assisting with the city’s repairs, a massive shadow suddenly engulfed the streets. Ard looked up, his eyes widening as he saw a floating island hovering over the city. Panic swept through the soldiers, demons, and mermen working on the reconstruction. Then, several winged figures descended from the island, landing directly in front of Ard.

They were warriors of the wing tribe—bird-headed humans with wings upon their backs—along with several harpies, who possessed human bodies with winged arms and avian talons. Both the wing tribe and the harpies were composed entirely of women; not a single man was among them. The newly arrived forces lined up before Ard, while the legionnaire knights, demon warriors, and mermen stood on high alert behind him, weapons at the ready.

Suddenly, the ranks of the wing tribe and harpies parted. A small winged girl walked casually through the middle, accompanied by a woman with the head of a small eagle, wearing a crown and a magnificent gown made of scales that shimmered like golden dragon skin. Upon seeing Ard, the little girl—who was none other than Gigi—let go of the woman’s hand and sprinted toward him.

"Ard!" Gigi shouted.

"Hello, Gigi," Ard replied with a smile.

Gigi hovered as she lunged forward to hug him, the force of her impact nearly knocking Ard back until the demon soldiers behind him caught him.

"Are you doing well, Gigi?" Ard asked.

"Of course I am! Who do you think I am? Hehe," Gigi answered with a grin.

"It’s great to see you again," Ard said.

"Same here... oh, right! Let me introduce you. This is the Queen of the Soratopia Kingdom, Queen Aerinis," Gigi said, gesturing to the woman beside her.

"Greetings, Prince Ard of Fredonia. I am Queen Aerinis of Soratopia. It is a pleasure to meet you," Aerinis said, bowing her head in respect.

"Greetings, Queen Aerinis. My apologies for welcoming you under such circumstances," Ard said politely.

"It is quite alright. I have heard all about you from Gigi, and I am very pleased to join you for the sake of world peace," Aerinis replied.

"Ah... yes... thank you, Your Majesty. As it happens, I am hosting a wedding celebration next week. Since you are here, I would like to invite you all as well," Ard said.

"Huh... a party? Who’s getting married?" Gigi asked, looking confused.

"Me and... my eight fiancées," Ard answered.

"Huh? Why? Aren’t we in the middle of a war?" Gigi asked.

"I told Luca to fill you in. Did she not mention the plan?" Ard asked.

"Huh... not a word. That kid... she probably forgot or was just being lazy," Gigi muttered crossly.

"Well, let me explain it to you and Queen Aerinis. Please, follow me, Your Majesty," Ard invited.

"Very well," Aerinis agreed.

They walked into the tavern building that Ard was using as a temporary headquarters. Inside, Ard detailed his plan. Since many citizens of the Orthus Empire were living under oppression, Ard intended to draw them in as citizens of the Liberta Empire, which would be officially established on his wedding day.

The goal was to avoid bloodshed and weaken the capital. Furthermore, knowing the Emperor held special feelings for Eva, Ard expected him to be provoked into leaving his stronghold. That would be the moment for Ard and his forces to strike, backed by their growing alliances. After hearing the explanation, Aerinis smiled and nodded; her respect for Ard was evident in her eyes.

"You will make a fine Emperor, Your Majesty," Aerinis said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. So, will you attend?" Ard asked.

"Of course. I wouldn’t dream of missing such a historic moment. I will deploy my warriors to help repair this city quickly so we can put the plan into motion. Do not fear—as long as my palace stays above this city, the angel forces will not dare to attack us," Aerinis declared.

"I am truly grateful, Your Majesty," Ard replied with a respectful bow.

"There is no need to thank me. No one else in this world thinks the way you do, wanting to unite the world without regard for tribe or race. I truly appreciate that, and I have waited a long time for someone like you to appear," Aerinis said.

"Hmm... okay, I’m coming too. Is there going to be good food?" Gigi asked.

"Of course there is," Ard answered. "So the plan is, once the wedding ceremony is over, the kingdoms involved—those who agree to the founding of the Liberta Empire and wish to join it—will sign a petition. It will be kept in the Liberta Imperial archives as the founding document for an empire that will serve as a beacon for the world. Would your kingdom like to join?" Ard asked Aerinis.

"My kingdom will certainly sign it, Your Majesty," Aerinis replied immediately.

"Thank you once again, Your Majesty," Ard said.

After that, they shared a casual conversation with Gigi acting as the mediator. Afterward, Aerinis summoned her commander and ordered the troops to assist in rebuilding the city, which had only one week left for preparations. The commander immediately set to work, and a force of one thousand wing tribe and harpie warriors began the construction of Vernice—a place that would be known in the future as the city where the Liberta Empire was born.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the tavern—which was still habitable—Eva, Alicia, Beatrice, Milia, Rosalind, Pyria, Mirea, and Claudia were being kept in a room with Adeline and Irina acting as their chaperones. According to tradition, the brides-to-be were not allowed to see the groom for a week before the wedding.

Since there was nowhere else to stay, they were stationed on the upper floor. They were currently peeking from behind the wall of the staircase, watching Ard’s meeting with Aerinis and Gigi below. They looked like a totem pole of stacked heads, half-hidden by the wall, staring downward.

"Hmm... so that’s what the wing tribe looks like. They’re like goddesses from ancient Egypt," Eva whispered from the middle of the stack.

"Huh... ancient Egypt?" Milia asked from below her.

"Don’t worry about it," Eva replied, realizing she had let that slip.

"Wow... her wings are huge and her gown is so beautiful," Alicia murmured.

"Hey... she’s a queen, you know. Don’t be disrespectful," Rosalind countered.

"Can I go down?" Beatrice asked.

"Sure, if you don’t want to get married," Rosalind answered curtly.

"Ugh... fine, never mind," Beatrice replied.

"Why do you even want to go down?" Mirea asked, looking at Beatrice below her.

"I’m curious if those wings are real or not," Beatrice answered.

"Obviously they’re real, you dummy," Pyria remarked from beneath Beatrice.

"Come on, let’s get back to the room. We’re supposed to be in lockdown," said Claudia, who was at the very bottom and seemed to be supporting everyone else’s weight.

"Wait, be patient. I’m curious about what they’re talking about," Milia said from above her.

"Ow... please stop crowding me. If Ard sees us, the wedding might be off," Eva said as she began to get shoved forward.

"I can’t help it... it’s hard to see like this," Milia said.

"Ugh... why is there a tradition that we have to be locked up anyway? Where did that even come from?" Pyria asked.

"That tradition is usually meant for people from different villages. The point is to let the bride and groom prepare themselves, because marriage isn’t a game; they’ll be together forever until the very end. If there are any doubts, they’re bound to surface during that week. But the issue for us is that the bride and groom are supposed to stay in their own homes, villages, or cities. Since we don’t have anywhere else to go, we have no choice but to be locked up together here on the second floor," Mirea explained.

"Ouch... okay, we get it. Let’s go back. It’ll be a disaster if the wedding is canceled just because we broke tradition," Eva said.

"Yeah, she’s right. Hurry up—my legs are cramping down here at the bottom," Claudia added.

"Huh... hey, Princess Beatrice," Rosalind said suddenly.

"Sorry... I... I slipped," Beatrice replied.

"Wait, Beatrice... don’t pull on me," Alicia cried.

"Oh no... no... I’m tilting! Alicia... your hand... your hand!" Milia cried out.

"Aaah... we’re falling!" Pyria yelped.

"Thump!" A loud noise suddenly echoed from above. Ard immediately turned toward the stairs, but saw nothing. Aerinis also looked back, since she had been sitting with her back to the staircase.

"What was that?" Gigi asked.

"Ah... um... Eva and the others. Since there’s nowhere else to go, they’re temporarily being kept on the second floor... you understand, right?" Ard asked.

"Ah... wedding traditions. Yeah, just leave them be," Gigi replied casually.

They eventually went back to their casual conversation. Meanwhile, Eva, Alicia, Beatrice, Milia, Rosalind, Pyria, Mirea, and Claudia had fallen in a heap backward; fortunately, they hadn’t tumbled forward where Ard could see them. Adeline, standing beside Irina and Xeria—who seemed to have just arrived—stood behind the brides-to-be, simply shaking her head at the eight girls now piled on top of each other, tangled and making a scene.

"Good grief, these brides are quite the handful, aren’t they?" Adeline muttered with a shrug.