62 A Promise Fulfilled

After another day of battle with the rebels led by Guilbert, the overall outlook of the battle finally turned for the worst, for Guilbert that is, on the final day that his troops had continued the fighting. Arrows stopped raining from the castle walls and the battle turned into a melee from both groups. When they clashed just outside the gates, the 'sleepers' that infiltrated Guilberts ranks finally came into being and decimated the enemy army from the inside. They first dealt with the ones who looked stronger. These 'sleepers' were part of Night Prowlers and they successfully did what was tasked to them. When they retreated to the shadows after the backline was thrown into chaos, the forces of the kingdom gained momentum and pushed the enemies into retreat. Guilbert was the first to notice that the battle was going unfavorably for him and so he retreated on his horse. Too bad for him, Giselle's troops that had been hiding in the empty houses that the citizens evacuated from, came out and brought the hammer of justice on Guilbert, capturing him and presenting him to the king.

It has been a week since the battles and the rebellion ended. A civil war that started and ended without Clay making his move personally. The capital of Acadria celebrated their victory with a feast and merrymaking. They were worried over their homes needing repairs, but surviving a rebellion was something that one just had to celebrate. The people celebrated as simple decorations were set in the castle courtyards close to the castle gates of the palace. A stage was set up at the center beside the fountain; its back towards the palace entrance. Clay had already disappeared by the time Guilbert was captured. In fact, he just flew high up and monitored the situation calmly. He let them celebrate before cashing in on the king's debt. This celebration was also used by the king to announce his abdication with reasons that say, "I have failed to rule the kingdom effectively by allowing a civil war to happen, as it stands I deem myself unworthy to be your king. However, as my daughter is the one who captured the culprit, although he was my son, I no longer count him as part of me, so he will be executed publicly. My daughter then will take over the position of Queen of Acadria from henceforth. The crowning ceremony will be held a month later after the initial repairs to our homes are done. Please be assured that the Acadrian Royalty will compensate you for your loss this time. That is all!" The king finished with his speech that left the venue with gaping mouths. Even Giselle was surprised. She did not know that Clay had a hand in this battle, better yet, he was the one who orchestrated the beginning and the end of this battle. So, this battle looked pretty much generic if one were to analyze the flow of events.

The whole of Acadria celebrated the success of the defense against the rebels.

"Woo!" Celebrated the people. Some of the residents of the capital even shed tears of joy for the minimal damage they took from this potentially disastrous war by the nobles. Even the king admitted his inability to stay and rule the kingdom after allowing the nobles to raise their hands towards the crown. They were overjoyed.

***

Clay did not have anything else to do so he hid himself in the chamber of the king for the whole month's duration. Awaiting the coronation of Giselle as the new queen.

As for her siblings, they were sent to other kingdoms as envoys of peace or to study. They were all stripped of their power to influence Acadria in any way other than underhanded means. The king assigned Night Prowler agents each among them to protect them as well as monitor them. That was the last deed that the king did to preserve his bright but foolish children.

Clay did not interfere with this as this did not directly affect his promise with Giselle and this would help her consolidate her power easily since the resistance from her siblings are cut off.

"I have to say Old King, your last move is impressive. Clearly stating your stance. That's nice. I shall give you my proposal next. The next time I appear in front of you will be the time when our kingdoms become one through marriage. I shall take Giselle as my wife, that makes you my father-in-law in this world. The benefits you and your family will gain from this will be beyond your imagination, unless of course you or any of your family become foolish and scheme against me. The ceremony will be tomorrow is it? I shall appear in the grandest fashion for the world to see."

After saying so, Clay disappeared from the place and reappeared in the skies above the palace. The stage was set, the promise was to be fulfilled the next day.

***

Dawn, the next morning. On the same balcony where Clay escaped this palace on his first day after killing some men in the hallway just outside it. Giselle was standing there and staring at the distance, the direction where the Forest of Despair was located. Beyond the horizon she could she currently was that dreadful forest that any human in the realm was afraid of even stepping foot in. That is where Clay, resided currently.

She was wondering what he was doing and how strong he'd have grown from fighting the monsters inside the Forest of Despair. Surely, that's why he had the guts to establish a kingdom inside that dreadful forest and even gave safe passage to refugees and merchants that visit. That was one thing that certainly sustains the kingdom to function as is. Founding a nation is hard if there's no funding coming in and out of your kingdom. The traffic of money is just one of those things that are essential in establishing a kingdom and Clay had done so all on his own. She slightly felt lonely that he could do whatever he had intended without needing any help from her.

"I wonder if our promise still stands. I don't even know if he knows I'm alive still. However, my crowning will certainly inform him of our promise, and he'll come knocking on my doorstep as soon as he hears. I can't wait to see the look on your face!" Giselle made a fist pump and imagined Clay's face of surprise and defeat.

***

The ceremony was already done preparing and only the stepping down of the king and the crowning of Giselle were left. When the king made his official abdication a sound like booming thunder resounded above, in the skies. A visible dispersion of the clouds happened, and many people were afraid of this omen, however even after waiting for some time for an unexpected event to occur, nothing happened and so Giselle's crowning ceremony proceeded. The king's crown was taken off him, and the queen's crown was presented to him in a pillow and a fine silk cloth to cover it with.

The king then took off the silk to reveal the late queen's crown. His wife had died after birthing Gillian, who was after Guilbert. King Gracius had loved her wholeheartedly, after her obligation to give him a son as heir she had never made any statements or claims to be the only wife, instead she understood the duties of a king and encouraged her husband, the King, to make more children with other noble women to establish bonds by blood with them. The Ducal houses were one of those that saw this need and supported this. However, when she died, the mistresses quarreled among themselves to claim their rights, which led to their children looking at each other like wolves looking at prey.

Seeing her crown now going over to his child, Giselle, becoming queen, not out of unfilial treachery but out of loyalty to the family and her country, he admired her. Instead of the late queen's children, it was the child of the least who was born out of a Marquis household that understood the late queen's intentions.

The King held the crown and as the ceremony dictated, Giselle had to bow down and receive the crown with her head. The king then made a speech,

"I, as the previous king of Acadria, hereby pass on to you the responsibilities and burden of taking charge over our kingdom with all that you have and with every fiber of your being. Do you, Giselle vi Acadria, solemnly swear to uphold justice and peace in this kingdom for all generations as its queen?"

Giselle answered not out of script but out of heart. And said, "Yes, I do. For my fellow men and our kingdom!" As the king heard her answer, he put the crown on her head and pronounced, "Rise your Majesty! I present to you, Giselle vi Acadria, Queen of Acadria. Long live the queen!" He shouted at the top of his lungs and the people that were gathered in the courtyard of the palace all stood in awe for a few seconds before bursts of clapping and shouts for joy resounded and thundered throughout the venue. It was such a resounding praise for the new queen.

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And when the moment of joy had reached its peak, another thundering sound exploded from the skies. The people all looked up and this time, there were no clouds that dispersed but the figure of a person slowly descended from the skies towards the courtyard's fountain just below the balcony where the ceremony took place, it was Clay. Dressed in fine clothes that boasted style and fashion from the modern era cosplay generation. This level of cosplay would have made world renowned cosplayers to be amazed. He wore a robe that fluttered around as if a fiery flame around his body. The robe had been embedded with gemstones that formed a pattern at the chest that looked like a sword that had pierced the darkness with its shine. It was the emblem of Claiomh Solais, the sword of light, Clay's kingdom.

His hair was kempt like a royalty according to his "knowledge" and his body emitted majesty like no other king in this world could imitate.

"Your majesty…" Clay kneeled on one knee in front of Giselle and greeted. Then he continued to say, "… I have come to fulfill our promise. I see that you have received my gift already. I hope you like it as my wedding gift for you, your Majesty Queen Giselle. With our union, brings the unification of mine and your kingdoms of Claiomh Solais, and Acadria. This shall bring about glory and prosperity for many years to come!" With a voice that was filled with dramatics and magic, Clay announced their engagement to the whole world, or at least to the whole of Acadria.

With his, proposal that did not sound at all like a proposal, especially to those who knew the inside story, the whole venue was completely silent for a good few seconds before some of the citizens of Acadria realized what has just been said.

"W-What!? Queen Giselle is already engaged to the King of Claiomh Solais, that newly risen kingdom to the north? Is this real?"

"Idiot! That's not the issue here, that guy, I'm sure I've seen him in posters somewhere sometime ago… Ah! He is the Hero Clay! He was being hunted by prince Guilbert, a year ago for a crime he did not commit!"

"What!? The Hero Clay? So, the king of Claiomh Solais is the Hero who had been summoned in our Kingdom and was accused by the previous prince wrongly? He had finally come back. This is great news!"

"The greater news would be that this unification is not just a piece of candy but a big piece of dog shit! Our Acadria must have stepped on a mountain of dog shit some generations ago to have windfall like this!"

The courtyard was filled with discussion and Giselle who was up in the balcony had to be woken up with an elbow by her father to respond.

"C-Clay! Hero Clay! You have finally come back! I accept this union between kingdoms through our marriage. May this union being about prosperity and growth to both our kingdoms in the years to come!"