56: Mother And Son

Mother And Son

The wedding ceremony started with the bride entering the wedding hall.  1

Though this was an arranged marriage with a political agenda, a decision made by their parents for them, it was obvious that for Princess Meira, this was a wedding she wanted with the man she had feelings for. 

Maybe it was simple attraction, maybe it was yet to develop into love, but still, the way her eyes brightened at the sight of the man waiting for her at the end of the aisle touched the hearts of many guests. 

As for Prince Lenard, he was nervously waiting in place. The moment his gaze landed on his bride, his entire face turned crimson red. This made Arlan almost laugh out loud, and his mother had to pinch his arm so that he would remain well-behaved.

Standing in front of the altar, the bride and the groom exchanged their  vows in front of King Armen Ilven of Abetha. 

  After the  King of Abetha declared them husband and wife, the crowd erupted in loud cheers.

The teary-eyed Julien looked at her eldest son. " I want to see you getting married as well."

Arlan had nothing to say to his mother other than offering her an apologetic gaze. 

"I mean it, Arlan."

Seeing the genuine concern in his mother's eyes, Arlan did not want to say his real thoughts to her face.  He simply caressed her hand. " It is Lenard's special day, Mother.  Let's be happy for the brat." 

Julien agreed and smiled as well. " Don't call him a brat, at least not on his wedding day."

Arlan merely shrugged, but for some reason, he remembered overhearing a certain village girl calling him that. He somewhat imagined Julien admonishing the black-clothed girl, telling her not to call him a brat. 

"Who are you staring at?" Julien asked. She followed his line of sight and saw a handful of young noblewomen in that direction. "Did any young lady get your attention?"

"Hmm."

"May I know who?"

"I believe her name is Julien Cromwell."

That elicited another pinch on the waist. Arlan laughed. "When my beautiful mother is next to me, how dare I look elsewhere? The beauty of the Queen of Griven far outshines all the ladies in this hall."

Julien chuckled. "Sweet talker."

Although Queen Julien was not his birth mother, for Arlan, she was his real mother. This lovely lady single-handedly raised three children without discrimination and bias. She tried her best to never let them miss their birth mothers and she was so far successful. That was also the reason why Alvera, Arlan and Lenard grew up more harmoniously than most real siblings from other families. 

—

A lavish banquet followed to celebrate Lenard and Meira's union.

For this party hosted by the Ilven Royal Family, not only acquaintances from the groom's and bride's families participated. It was opened to all the nobles of Abetha, as well as their families. This was made to promote the strengthened alliance between Abetha and Griven.

"Your Majesty, congratulations on Prince Lenard's wedding."

"This young couple is indeed a match made in heaven. It reminds me of when King Armen and Queen Niobe wedded…"

"Surely, Prince Lenard and Princess Meira will be blessed with a child soon…"

As the mother of the groom, Queen Julien's table was crowded with people giving well-wishes, most with the intention to forge connections. There were some high nobles who were eyeing the unmarried Crown Prince of Griven, especially those families that have daughters eligible to marry the prince.

A group of noblewomen, composed of duchesses and marchionesses, took this as an opportunity to praise their daughters in front of the Queen of Griven. 

"Alas, look at how happy Princess Meira is. I would die with a smile on my face if my youngest daughter could also meet a man as perfect as Prince Lenard. My youngest daughter is sweet and bright, a little darling of our territory."

"Speaking of daughters, my Elizabeth is a little lacking. She is only sixteen this year, yet she is so good at household management, our vassals listen to her opinions. It would be lovely if she is like your daughter who always attends social parties to mingle, instead of burying herself with work."

"You do not know, I only have daughters as children. All of them are beautiful and obedient, but it pains my heart to think all of them will leave my side once they marry. The only comfort I have is that they find a husband with a good background who will truly cherish my sweet angels." 

The Queen of Griven merely silently listened to them praise their daughters in a roundabout way, knowing deep inside that these matrons were deliberately leading the conversation to a topic of Arlan's lack of a Crown Princess.

"...I wonder what kind of lady can catch the eyes of Crown Prince Arlan?"

"Seems like the prince is so busy handling his duties that he is not able to give time for these things."

"He is a responsible Crown Prince and the Kingdom of Griven is blessed to have him."

"Such an incredible man deserves an equally incredible woman."

"However, is it not tradition that the Crown Prince needs to marry before he can ascend the throne? Or is the Crown Prince planning to break tradition as well, like that scandal in Megaris eight years ago?"

On the coming-of-age celebration of his second son, the previous King of Megaris, King Theron, suddenly abdicated from the throne and passed it to his son Drayce Ivanov without explanation. It was a scandal because not only was Drayce not the firstborn prince, he was also without a wife. 

Marriage was an important aspect to inherit a noble title, not to mention the throne. It was a shared custom of many kingdoms that people of high birth be engaged from birth or a young age, and be married with their betrothed as soon as they come of age. To ensure the prosperity and continuation of the royal bloodline, it was even socially imposed that the rulers accept many wives in their harem. 

The current King of Griven, King Ailwin Cromwell, was an orthodox man. Though felt it was time to pass the crown to Arlan, because of the strange situation of his missing betrothed, Ailwin temporarily set aside his desire to renounce the throne.

Julien maintained her calm expression, not letting go of that pleasant smile from her lips. "My  son always acts on his own wishes. Not to mention we still honor the agreement with the Verners, both my husband and I will defer to Arlan's choice on the matter of his marriage."

"That is true. A capable young man should find his own woman, but as his mother, Your Majesty would also like to find a qualified lady for your son, don't you?"

"What kind of young lady do you think Prince Arlan will like?"

"What kind of young lady does Queen Julien hope for your son?"

"Your Majesty, I believe you will find my daughter pleasing to the eyes…"

"Your Majesty, my niece…

pqdm.com