met free Chapter 26 Death is not good at dancing
Chapter 26 Death is not good at dancing
Over the next few days, Claude invited Aure to participate in various activities every day.
Watch performances, admire the gardens, attend tea parties...
However, in each of these events, Aurelia did not find an opportunity to be alone with Claude.
Attempting an assassination in such a situation would only expose oneself and achieve nothing.
Aulet chose to remain hidden in the shadows; she still had much to investigate and consider.
Whenever she had free time, she would stroll around Platinum Castle.
Understanding the castle's layout would help her devise an assassination plan and even plan an escape route.
If possible, Auréliz would not want to risk her life to assassinate the king; deep down, she still hoped to see Natalie again.
Understanding the composition of the royal family, as well as the important institutions and officials of the court, was also part of Auréli's studies.
This intelligence could help her assassination mission, or at least it shouldn't be allowed to become an obstacle.
Count Pena, too, has been busy these days.
He was in daily discussions with the royal family to finalize the dowry, betrothal gifts, and wedding date.
Of course, what Pena was most concerned about was what kind of treatment he would receive after becoming the king's father-in-law.
It goes without saying that the lord of the Montero Hills will be granted the title of duke, as the royal family would not allow their in-laws to be of low status.
As for other privileges, those require negotiation skills to strive for.
Every evening, Pena would tell Aurée about the day's progress.
Aurée thanked her father for his efforts in Rosa's voice, but ever since she learned that Pena was also one of her husband's murderers, she no longer felt any pity for the future of the Montero Hills.
That afternoon, Pena surprisingly found Aurée during the day:
"Rosa, I'll take you somewhere."
Aurée nodded and set off to follow.
On the way, Pena said to Aurée:
"My little darling, your wedding date has been set."
"When?"
"Two months later, on September 17th, that will be an auspicious day."
For the devout Aurelia, she certainly knew what day it was.
The Lord created seven humans by His own hand: three men, three women, and one genderless priest.
Isidore and Alicia got married on September 17th.
After these two divine children united, they never separated again, thus this day is rich in the meaning of "loyalty".
However, Claude was a man devoid of loyalty, Aurelia thought disdainfully.
At this moment, they arrived before a large hall.
"Father, where is this?" Aure asked.
"Heraldry Institute".
As Pena spoke, she pushed open the door to the hall.
The two went inside, and the enormous array of emblems displayed in the room immediately caught their eye.
The only thing in the hall that could rival the number of coats of arms in terms of sheer quantity seemed to be the countless books.
At the same time, Aure also saw a man.
He was in his early thirties, with chubby cheeks and a mustache.
His beard had a slight sheen, suggesting that he had taken good care of it and applied shaving oil.
He stepped forward and curtsied.
"Count Pena, we meet again. Ha, Your Majesty, I didn't expect you to grace us with your presence."
Pena said seriously:
"My daughter is not yet married, so it seems somewhat inappropriate to call her Queen."
The man smiled slyly:
"Hehe, Your Excellency is overthinking it. The wedding date has already been set, hasn't it?"
"There are many people and many powerful figures in the palace, so it's best to be careful to avoid giving others cause for gossip."
Perhaps realizing that Pena was serious, Aure saw the man nod and bow to Pena.
At this moment, Pena introduced to Aurée:
"This is the Chief of the Heraldry of the Royal Household, Jonas Farrell, who is the youngest leader in the history of the Royal Household."
Aurée immediately curtsied:
"Please take care of me, Lord Jonas."
Jonas must have been in office for a short time; Aurelia had never met him before.
Jonas was also present at the initial banquet at the court, but Pena did not introduce him by name.
It's estimated that Pena didn't know Jonas at that time.
"Oh! It is my honor, Your Majesty... I mean, Miss Rosa."
After Jonas bowed, Pena got straight to the point:
"So, how are the preparations for that matter going?"
"Of course, Count Pena! After receiving your instructions, I worked through the night to begin the process. Although the exquisite object will take some time to be made, the detailed design drawings are currently on my desk. My lord, my lady, please follow me."
Then, Jonas led the two to a desk deep inside the hall.
In the center of the desk was a large sheet of paper with a shield-shaped coat of arms drawn on it.
The main body of the coat of arms is the Sinclair family's gold-on-silver coat of arms.
However, the book depicts a hilly landscape in green paint.
Therefore, the coat of arms includes the main elements of the Sinclair and Montero families.
Pena nodded repeatedly: "Excellent!"
"Of course, I designed it exactly according to your requirements," Jonas said proudly.
Pena turns to Aurée:
"Rosa, this emblem of the Book of Hills will be the symbol of your marriage to the King, and your children will inherit this emblem."
Pena's implication was that her children could neither inherit the royal platinum or the Montero family's verdant hills.
Of course, the situation might change if Rosa had given birth to a son for the king and the king's two eldest sons had met with an accident.
However, since Aurelia is currently playing the role of Rosa, this situation is unlikely to occur.
But Aure smiled and thanked Pena for everything she had done for her.
Pena was pleased, and to pass the time, he asked Jonas to show them the coat of arms.
Jonas said he could recognize 100,000 coats of arms.
Aurée had no doubt about this; whenever they stopped in front of a coat of arms, Jonas would always be able to tell them the name and history of the coat of arms.
The coat of arms of the lords of the kingdom's main territories are naturally placed in the most prominent position in the coat of arms courtyard.
Aure found the Crimson Forest Crest of her maternal family, the Capello family.
They then went on to specifically search for the Lynes family crest.
She eventually found the light gray plateau emblem, but the shield was displayed upside down.
Aurée asked:
"Why is this emblem upside down?"
Seeing this, Jonas laughed:
"The former master of the plateau, Duke Lyons, was a traitor who reversed the shield emblem to humiliate the family."
Aure was furious and almost cursed out loud.
"You are the traitors!" Aure's heart was in turmoil. "My husband is so loyal!"
Aure's thirst for revenge grew even stronger.
She remembered that Pena was also one of the lords who participated in the highland campaign. She had always wanted to find out what happened on the highland back then, but she had never had the chance.
Perhaps now is a good time, so she asked:
"Father, I remember you also fought there."
"Yes, it was a tough battle. The plateau is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If Jasper Lines had not met with an accident, the allied forces would probably have won a Pyrrhic victory."
Aurelia was startled: "You mean a sudden accident?"
Pena nodded:
"The defenses on the plateau were inexplicably thrown into disarray. We seized the opportunity, quickly stormed into Fort Gorlin, and saw Jasper Lines on the verge of death. He was already beyond saving, but he was a true man. I saw no fear in his eyes."
Aulet was heartbroken and remained in a daze for a long time before asking:
"What did he say at the end?"
Pena shook his head and said:
"He seemed to have said something, but I didn't hear it. The last person to contact him was Bob Capello."
My brother? Aure was incredibly surprised. Why was he there?
But Aurelia was more concerned about another issue at the moment, and she mustered up her courage to ask:
"Jasper...how did he die in the end?"
"He had no external injuries, but his skin was covered with black spots, and he groaned in pain from time to time. In the end, he died bleeding from all seven orifices."
Aure was stunned.
She remembered that when she and Natalie were captured from the library by three warriors, the warriors died in the same way.
She later learned that the cause of death was probably related to Mr. Mosley.
The manner of death in the two incidents was strikingly similar!
Aurelia was thrown into chaos.
Mr. Mosley...the curator...
Could he be my enemy as well?