Chapter Ninety: My Wealthy Fathers-in-Law

Louis glanced at Kate, who was still staring at him in a daze, and smiled. He reached out to touch the golden moon goddess statue mounted at the front of the antique car, then said to the vehicle, “Don’t worry, Miss Kate. It’s all right now. I think perhaps it merely had a little temper of its own, because Mr. Jim was driving too slowly. The moon goddess is eager for us to be done with that fiend.”

Kate was stunned. So this really was the moon goddess’s will? No, no, I understand now—Lord Louis is deliberately comforting me. It seems we truly have run into something uncanny.

The driver swallowed and muttered a few more penitential words under his breath.

Helen: That great fraud. It’s a pity he never became a priest.

Soon, everyone got back into the car.

The blessings from Priest Louis seemed indeed to work. Once Jim started the antique car up again, nothing else went wrong.

Of course, it might also have been because Driver Jim had strictly followed Priest Louis’s advice this time—the car was certainly not going slowly. It was easily doing fifty or sixty.

The roads were fairly good. After more than an hour, a prosperous little town appeared in the distance, though the vehicle did not go into it, turning instead at a fork in the road.

Passing through stretches of farmland and then a lovely green woodland, the road grew smoother and smoother. Far ahead, a sweep of landscaped grounds appeared, then a small lake. By this point, gardeners and servants from the estate could already be seen.

There were also more and more carriages on the road. They seemed to be servants from the manor and castle out shopping or running errands; when they saw the vehicle, they all greeted it warmly.

After a while, a wall of trees appeared ahead. In that tree line stood a large gate, and beside it were a guard post and armed sentries on patrol.

Seeing the vehicle from afar, the guards hurriedly opened the gate.

Beyond the gate lay the inner grounds of the estate: parkland, gardens, and even a small artificial lake. The lawns were immaculately level, and here and there one could see a towering redwood or a sprawling oak. Some people were walking packs of prized hunting hounds for their master, while knights led fine horses and instructed the master’s retainers and relatives’ children in horsemanship and arms.

And in the very center of the distance stood a magnificent castle.

It was square and massive, its outer facade a classic Gothic style with tall spires. Every floor had high ceilings, and rows upon rows of great windows, through which one could occasionally glimpse people moving about.

Behind and to one side of the castle was an area of many buildings separated by another tree wall. Those were likely the stables, warehouses, and similar quarters, as well as some of the servants’ lodgings.

There was also a small fountain in the plaza before the castle. When the antique car went around it and stopped at the entrance, Louis saw several other tractor-like old cars and carriages parked not far from the castle doors.

This was the home of Kate, this little rich lady.

No wonder so many reporters kept their eyes on her. After all, this young widow was her father’s chief heir—and so young and beautiful besides. Anyone wishing to marry her would probably have to queue all the way from the manor to the town.

After getting out, Louis looked at the castle before him and silently marveled. From the exquisite sculptures on its outer walls, to say that this could be built for forty thousand gold galleons... ha.

Louis could not help but glance at the “small” church not far from the great castle, a structure made by linking together three buildings. On its wall, more than a dozen knights were chatting and joking.

The “castle” in the magical secret realm was currently being built to the scale of this “small” church. It covered more than two thousand square meters, and contained more than a dozen toilets alone. There was also a large wine cellar—and with the craftsmen’s finishing work, it was actually quite grand. Without twenty or thirty servants, it could not be run.

If one added a wall, there would still be room inside for a small training yard for knights.

In the Middle Ages, this would have been a place only a wealthy baron could afford to live in—but if Earl Crowley were set in the Middle Ages, he would have dozens of such baronial vassals and retainers.

This sort of “little castle,” placed before the one they were looking at now, was like a public lavatory beside the Capitol.

Louis looked up and saw that there were still many armed guards along the battlements and towers at the top of the castle. A knight in red, seeing the guests looking up, gave a friendly hand over the chest in salute.

This enormous castle, together with the rest of the estate’s buildings, was enough that if any disaster befell the nearby towns, they could cram people in and use it as a shelter.

It was truly vast, and truly magnificent.

“Louis, Louis.” Helen tugged at Louis’s sleeve and asked softly, “Where does Miss Kate’s fire dragon live? I want to go see it later... why can’t I see the connected part of the castle?”

The connected part? Wasn’t everything before her the castle’s connected part?

Louis suddenly understood what Helen meant—she could not see the castle in its entirety, and had mistaken the rear for a separate expanse of buildings.

Louis blinked hard, his mouth falling open as he looked at the true little rich lady beside him.

That’s going too far, you rich little brat!

Ahem, no, that’s going too far, my dear little wife.

“How could the construction efficiency and cost of a wizard’s work be the same as an ordinary person’s?” Louis said with a sweet smile.

But... cough, is my father-in-law, Grand Duke Orlen, really this rich?

The castle of the K family, where Orlen, ruler of the wizard principality of Erilinda, resided, was indeed enormous. After all, they had to keep a fire dragon to guard their home—the principality itself—and the dragon was not only allowed to roam outside the castle within the country, but also had its own bedroom inside.

Perhaps you do not need to build a castle of your own...

After all, no matter how you build it, it will never be as large as the castle belonging to your in-laws, nor as lavish.

And even if you did build it, you might still have to pay taxes to your father-in-law’s house...

“What talk of taxes or no taxes? That sounds far too distant,” Louis thought, stroking Helen’s head. “Everything in my father-in-law’s house is only being prepared for me, is it not? Rest assured, fathers! I shall manage our household well!”

...

After leading Louis and Helen into the castle, Kate glanced at the clock in the main hall: nine in the morning.

She did not know whether her father had returned yet. The priests and great magi were still waiting.

The butler came forward at this point. When he saw Helen and Louis, his expression stiffened slightly, though he did not let it show.

“Has Father returned?”

“Miss, not yet. But he just called and said he had finished speaking with His Majesty. He is on his way back now,” the butler replied.

Kate could not help but feel a sudden tightness in her chest.

Her father had originally been on sick leave. But yesterday the court suddenly sent for him, summoning him away. That left the honored guests waiting here with no one to accompany them.

She should have been here to keep them company herself, but yesterday her father had already told Louis and the others on the phone to have his daughter come and receive them. Since they had at least been introduced by the Bellive family, it would not do for the host to say he would come meet them and then send only a driver.

If they felt slighted and simply left, how would she ever be able to speak to the Bellive family afterward? It would be terribly improper.

“How is everything now?” Kate asked nervously.

According to the original plan, her father had not intended to invite these two young priests—or rather, he had simply forgotten about them; otherwise, they should have been asked to arrive early, with the honored guests coming later.

After all, there was nothing wrong with making these two priests in their twenties wait a little.

But now the situation had reversed, and the honored guests had nearly been slighted instead.

“Miss, after breakfast, Sir Barnard followed your instructions and took the magi and the priests to see the mermaid in the castle. They’ve just come back.”

“And did the honored guests say anything?” Kate asked cautiously.

“The gentlemen were very interested. It was their first time seeing a mermaid, a creature from legend! I even took a photograph for everyone. They were delighted. Right now, they’re drinking tea and chatting in the half-study beside that hall.”

As he spoke, the butler proudly took out the freshly developed photograph.

Kate quietly let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, the distinguished guests had not taken offense.

A low, dissonant conversation drifted over.

“Mermaids? Louis, aren’t they everywhere?” Helen recalled the groups of beautiful ladies by White Stone Lake, who liked to eat people but were breathtakingly lovely. White Stone Lake led down to the depths of the sea, and the mermaids came every winter.

“Ahem, this is the countryside; such things are rare here.”

Kate and the butler looked over blankly. Have you ever even seen a mermaid? The countryside? This one was specially caught by Father from the sea!

Helen took the chance to peer at the photograph, then looked at Louis with a strange expression. “Louis, what is this? It’s so ugly.”

“A dugong. Anything people haven’t seen before is generally mistaken for a mermaid. Still, this fish tank does look rather large. Not bad.”

The butler abruptly gathered up the photograph with a smile of utter satisfaction—surely they had never seen a mermaid after all.

Country bumpkins. No need to stoop to their level.

Kate rubbed her forehead. The two gentleman-and-lady priests were indeed priests, but they seemed not to have seen much of the world. They must absolutely not speak carelessly later and slight the honored guests.

“This way, Mr. Louis, Miss Helen.”

Kate said no more. She smiled slightly at the two and, with the butler, led the way ahead. After passing through several corridors, the group arrived at the innermost part of the castle.

There was a spacious half-study here—a room generally used by the master to receive guests or discuss matters. It contained all manner of books, curios, and works of art.

But in this half-study, the walls were covered with all kinds of runes, divine marks, and magical arrays.

Seven very special guests were currently in the half-study, some drinking tea, others speaking animatedly. The servants in the room were all extremely careful. When Kate arrived, she too became cautious.

And she certainly should have been cautious. After all, Lord John was, at the very least, a bishop of the Moon Court, while the three magi were the tutors of the king and Queen Delphinia.

All of them were the sort of people whom even kings and queens had to treat with the utmost respect.

...

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