Chapter 68: Ceremony of Triumphant Return (1)

Huh? Whats this? This feeling that shes going to swallow a dozen guys as a dessert?

When Princess Leila, with her MAX Seduction trait, decided to go all out, Milton couldnt focus.

How about now, Count Forrest? You still wont marry me?

No, thats its its not a matter of like or dislike

You dont want to? Or

Princess Leila gently pressed her soft body against his as she whispered in his ear.

You want to?

Milton lost all rationality. He reached out and locked Princess Leila within his arms.

Hey!

Shocked, Princess Leila gasped as Milton suddenly hugged her tightly against him.

Did I tease him too much?

But at the same time, she couldnt help but wonder if all mens embrace felt this warm and safe. She had been through a lot in her life, including almost dying, but this was the first time she had been held in a mans arms like this. A firm chest and thick biceps, the warmth spreading throughout her bodyPrincess Leila lost herself for a moment. Once she regained her sanity, she panicked.

Count, thats enough now

At that moment

My Lord, theres a matter that needs to be reported

Jerome entered the barracks.

Ah? Jerome? This is uhI mean this isnt

Sir Taker! Ah you came. This is all a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding about

Seeing the two so flustered, Jerome calmly spoke.

Ill come back later, My Lord.

When Jerome left, Princess Leila turned to look at Milton.

Do you think he misunderstood?

Thankfully he doesnt say much but he most likely did.

They both sighed deeply.

* * *

Ten days since the Southern Army set camp.

Within those ten days, more and more nobles in the Capital were advocating for the Ceremony of Triumphant Return.

Your Majesty, please allow the Ceremony of Triumphant Return for the Southern Army and Count Forrest.

Now is the time to show benevolence towards the people and not a monarchs sternness. Please allow the Ceremony of Triumphant Return, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, its well known that Count Forrests achievements are more than enough to warrant the Ceremony.

Originally, only a small part of the nobles had wanted the Ceremony of Triumphant Return. But then, Princess Leila had convinced a few nobles, and they in turn convinced other nobles that a Ceremony was essential in appeasing Count Forrest who was currently camping outside the Capital. Fearing for their own lives, the nobles insisted that Count Forrest be given carrots and not the stick the Ceremony must be held. With most of the nobles insisting on the Ceremony, King August was backed into a corner. But he still didnt allow the Ceremony of Triumphant Return to be held.

Im not finished yet. This is still my country.

King August was greedy and not capable of being a king. He wasnt stupid but he only used his intelligence to stay in power. Because he had lived decades of his life like this, King August refused to change his thinking. He knew very well that if he held the Ceremony of Triumphant Return, then he would no longer be at the center of power. Thatswhy, hewould never permit the Ceremony to happen.

But, it was also unreasonable to ignore the nobles petitions. Rumors had spread that if the King didnt hold the Ceremony, then the Southern Army would attack the capital. The rumor spread as though it was a fact. Not only the nobles who had been influenced by Princess Leila, but also the nobles who feared for their lives, they all insisted that the Ceremony of Triumphant Return be held. He couldnt continue to ignore the nobles' petitions when the royal power had been weakened by the civil war.

Eventually, King August decided to go into seclusion. He used a sudden illness as an excuse to hide away inside his palace and refused to meet with the outside world. He believed this was the best option in this situation.

Itll be impossible to hold the Ceremony if Im absent. And even if the nobles hold one, it wont be one that I recognized.

Like a poisonous snake hiding from view, he hid in his palace and fiercely calculated the situation. The only thing he could recognize was Princess Leila, a current favorite of the people. Since there was no way he could win against her, he could only retreat. But the wind couldnt always be in her favor. Eventually, there will be a weakness on the other side, and thatll be the time for his counterattack.With such thoughts, King August went into seclusion.

Theres no other choice. We should just hold a Ceremony of Triumphant Return ourselves.

The nobles moved as expected when the King went into seclusion.

To be truthful, there were more nobles in the Capital who didnt want to hold the Ceremony. Until a few months ago, Milton Forrest was just a barbaric noble from the South that they hadnt even heard of, but now, he was praised as a hero of the country. Far more nobles in the Capital were envious of his achievements and didnt want to recognize him than those who sincerely praised and admired him. But, no matter what they thought, they couldnt possibly speak it out loud when the mere presence of the Southern Army camping outside the Capital was like a sword pointing towards them. In the end, the nobles decided to hold the Ceremony of Triumphant Return while the King was hiding in his palace sick. And they informed the Southern Army of this.

* * *

It all happened as expected.

After reading the letter from the nobles, Milton turned towards Princess Leila. Most of the letters contents were useless, but the main point of it was that they were holding the Ceremony of Triumphant Return and pleading with him to no longer be angry and to enter the Capital. It wouldnt be wrong to consider it a letter of surrender.

Looking at Princess Leila who had induced this situation, Milton thought to himself.

Shes one scary lady. Anything she wants, she ultimately gets.

Feeling Miltons gaze on her, Princess Leila glanced at him.

Can you stop looking at me like Im terrifying?

Are you sure you cant read peoples minds?

Hmm Maybe I cant? Maybe I can?

Princess Leila laughed at Miltons troubled expression.

Im just joking. Youre just easy to read, Count Forrest.

Really, Your Highness?

Anyway, you cant be like this in front of other people. People think Im a pure and elegant woman.

Then youre saying youre not actually a pure and elegant woman?

Princess Leila burst out laughing.

Does it matter? Anyway

Princess Leilas face turned serious.

Both the nobles and my father are acting as I wanted. So now, we should move onto my next plan.

The next plan? I didnt even know you had another plan, Your Highness.

Princess Leila gave him a meaningful smile at his question.

Look forward to it.

What What are you planning?

You were just about to say plot werent you?

Shes a vixen. No matter what anyone says, shes a vixen.

Pouting, Princess Leila crossed her arms.

Well, fine. Ill tell you first since you have to stand on the stage as well, Count Forrest.

Whatre you ordering me to do, Your Highness?

Thats

Princess Leila began to explain the scenario she had planned. Having heard her scenario, Milton sighed.

Are you really going to do that, Your Highness?

When you do something, you should do it thoroughly.

Milton didnt have any good memories with King August. Although the meeting itself was short, it still didnt have a good impression of him. But for the first time, Milton pitied King August.

Tsk she really knows how to properly screw people over.

* * *

Southern Armys Entrance

Although there had been some friction, in the end, the Ceremony of Triumphant Return was held and the Southern Army entered the Capital.

Hurray! Hurray for the Southern Army! Hurray!

Hurray for Count Forrest!

Hurray for Princess Leila!

All the ordinary citizens of the Capital came out to throw flowers and welcome the return of the Southern Army. To them, the Southern Army were the forces that had saved them from the rebels, Milton Forrest was a great hero, and Princess Leila was the only hope in the current royal family. This was the result of Princess Leilas informants securing the publics sentiments in advance. Milton confidently rode his horse forward amidst their enthusiastic welcome. Waiting beyond the ordinary people were the knights and nobles.

Praise be to Milton Forrest, the hero of our country.

Kneeling on one knee, the nobles greeted Milton. Usually, nobles and knights didnt kneel for anyone besides their own lords. However, the return of a hero was the exception. Although temporary, a Ceremony of a Triumphant Return was an event where even the king looked up and paid homage to the recipient. They knelt and bowed their heads at Milton.

Wonder how many of them are actually sincere.

While that silly thought crossed his mind, Milton gazed at them with a smile.

There were moments where you had to be submissive in politics. For them, this was probably one of those moments. For him to expect sincerity right now went beyond being unreasonable to being absurd. Milton finally reached the stage after riding past the kneeling nobles.

The Ceremony of Triumphant Return would be over once Milton stood atop that stage, received his medal and was recognized by the King. However, King August was using an illness as an excuse and had secluded himself in his palace. And so, an elder noble appeared in front of Milton to take on King Augusts role.

But

Wait a minute.

Princess Leila suddenly appeared and intervened. She reached out her hand to that elder nobleman.

It is the Kings duty to award the hero of the Ceremony with a medal. Since he is secluded in his palace from a sickness, Ill take over his part.

The nobles eyes widened in panic as Princess Leila spoke.

Your Highness, the nobles

Weve come this far, and you plan to ruin things now?

Princess Leila was subtly warning the nobles who were trying to make excuses as her eyes drifted towards Milton whose face had turned unpleasant. She whispered so that only the nobles could hear.

Dont forget that the Southern Army is inside the Capital now.

The nobles didnt dare say anything in response. Although they didnt believe the Southern Army would make such an extreme decision, they also couldnt help but worry, what if they did? In the end, the nobles politely handed her the medal. Then, Princess Leila took Miltons hand and walked up to the stage together.

And

For saving the country from the brink of ruin, I honor Count Milton Forrests achievements and award him this medal of glory.

She then personally pinned the medal onto his clothes. This was a bit different from the original ceremony. Instead of looking up towards him from the ground, she had given him the medal on the same stage. She took Miltons hands and turned to speak to the people from the stage.

Praise the great hero who saved the people from danger. This is a command from me, Leila von Lester, a member of the royal family and as the next heir to the throneof LesterKingdom.

As she commanded with a voice filled with dignity, the people all cheered enthusiastically.

Wahhhh!!

Hip hip hurray! Hip hip hurray for Count Forrest!!

Hurray for Her Highness, Princess Leila!!

Hurray for Lester Kingdom!!

Drunk from the atmosphere, the citizens all loudly cheered. But the nobles were devastated. Their expression looked as though they had bitten stone as they were eating soft fluffy bread.

Just nowdid she say the next heir to the throne?

Wecompletelylost. This was her intention from the beginning.

Who knew itd end like this.

This was the Ceremony of Triumphant Return. It was a national event that held a great deal of authority. And at such an event, Princess Leila had announced to everyone watching that she was the next heir to the throne. If no one objected to such an announcement made during an official event, that statement would soon be taken as an official declaration. With King August missing the event, and the First Princes defeat, Princess Leila had taken the opportunity to announce that she would be the next monarch as the only attending member of the royal family.

No, it was more subtle than that. She had actually said she was the next heir to the throne, and not the next monarch. Technically, what she said was the factual truth since she did have the right to inherit the throne. The only problem was that she had taken the opportunity to imply that she would be ascending as the next monarch when the current king wasnt there. But did she really have to grab this chance to say it here? At the Ceremony of Triumphant Return? At an event filled with the Southern Army?At asituation where the people were all enthusiastically cheering? It was insane.

The only person who could make such statements was the current monarch, but King August hadnt attended the event in order to flaunt his authority and undermine the ceremony. He really should have attended and formally opened the Ceremony of Triumphant Return himself. But because he hadnt, there was no one who could refute Princess Leilas remarks, and as a result, her declaration became valid and official. The nobles were hesitant and were glancing at each other, but in the end, began to clap one by one. No one could stop the exquisite trick that Princess Leila had played on the Lester Kingdoms political sphere.