Chapter 523 - 522: Reception

The guests from the royal capital have finally arrived.

Everyone in Cecil Castle—from officials in the Administrative Office to every commoner in the city—had made full preparations.

As early as half a month ago, the news that the Duke of the North and the Saint Princess would simultaneously visit Cecil had been spread through newspapers across the southern borders. For the recently unified and newly established order of the Cecil Principality, this was a momentous event.

Ordinary people might not understand the political significance or entangled interests behind this, but at least they could recognize the legal legitimacy of the principality and the orthodoxy of the Cecil name on this land—even if Gawain was not very concerned about this—yet people of this era were still accustomed to believing in it.

Thus, it became a major event, prepared according to the standards of a major event for half a month. In this increasingly cold winter day, a grand welcoming ceremony was waiting in Cecil Castle for the guests from afar.

A procession of seven Magic-guided Vehicles was traveling on the north-south avenue—this was the earliest completed section of the modern road network Gawain meticulously crafted, centered around Kant Castle on the "Cross Axis Line"—and the smooth and wide cement road surface allowed the new-style vehicles to travel more steadily, while the expansive winter fields on either side eased the mood of every person in the vehicle. Grand Duchess Victoria sat in the second vehicle, gazing quietly through the crystal window at the end of the wide road.

The road surface was paved with some kind of artificial material, resembling the "petrified mud" created by the Alchemists of the north but undoubtedly cheaper; otherwise, the Cecil Clan wouldn’t use it for paving roads.

Neatly arranged Magic crystal lamps lined both sides of the road, indicating that Cecil’s avenue was traversable at night as well, but the street lamps in the wilderness were far from the city... How did the Cecil Clan charge these Magic crystal lamps? Could it be related to the legendary Magic Web?

From rocky ridges Fortress to Cecil Castle, nearly eighty percent of the entire route was this standard wide road; only a few parts were old cobblestone or flagstone roads, and those old roads were also clearly under construction—this indicated that the ambitious founding hero intended to connect his entire principality with this kind of road.

The duchess thought of the "Cross Avenue" (King’s Road) constructed by Anzu before the Fog Month uprising, which spanned the Plains of the Holy Spirits from east to west, north to south. Although in the later stages of the Fog Month uprising, rebels used the Cross Avenue to attack St. Soniel long and hard, the fact showed that such an interconnected and standardized transportation system could have a surprisingly significant impact on the kingdom’s development.

As long as the ruler could maintain centralized power, unhindered roads would only aid the kingdom’s development. However, the authority of the Second Dynasty drastically declined, and the King’s Road was thus fragmented by local feudal lords. But in this southern region... Cecil had already risen, and no one could resist the authority of the Cecil Clan. Their "Principality Avenue" quickly spread across the wilderness...

If royal authority could be restored, the top priority should be to reorganize the King’s Road, even if by force, to end the division of the roads by local lords—the duchess gazed southward, but her thoughts were on matters of the Plains of the Holy Spirits.

"We’re almost there," said Knight Margarita softly, interrupting the duchess’s thoughts.

She looked up and saw an unfinished city wall stretching across the wilderness ahead, with the road leading directly to the outpost before the wall. In the several unfinished gaps in the wall, she could see a vast area of houses and buildings.

"Is that Cecil Castle?" she looked into the distance, "It really is quite large..."

"No, that’s just the northern banks New City—and it’s the unfinished part," Margarita gently shook her head, "We have to pass through this area, cross the mechanical bridge, to reach the Riverside Square of Cecil Castle."

Victoria’s eyes flashed with a hint of puzzlement, yet she asked nothing—she felt she had asked enough questions on this trip, and whatever she saw next, it was better to judge with her own eyes.

The procession passed the outpost and entered the northern banks New City of Cecil. As soon as they entered the city, Victoria saw the huge banners hanging on either side of the road:

Welcome to Cecil.

This novel way of welcoming amused her, and soon enough, this sense of novelty turned into surprise.

The giant banners were fixed on three-story buildings on both sides of the road, spanning the entire street. Magic crystal lamps wrapped in colorful drapes connected along the road, extending forward. The neat buildings lined the roadside like guards, and in the open spaces between those buildings and the roads, crowds had already gathered—on this cold winter day, thousands of warmly dressed, healthy, and lively people gathered along the road!

When setting out from the royal capital, Victoria had never thought she would witness such a welcoming scene—even after seeing the magnificent rocky ridges Fortress, the vibrant Carol City, and Kant Castle, she hadn’t expected such a welcome.

It was winter, after all!!

Yet the number of people along the roadside only increased. As the procession of Magic-guided Vehicles entered the city, the lead vehicle sounded its horn—a loud honk made by some balloon and brass pipe device—and the people gathered beside the road cheered loudly. It was unclear whether they were cheering for the guests or for those vehicles.

And as the horn resonated, rapid and orderly hoofbeats echoed from the small roads on both sides. Several teams of brightly armored knights appeared from the side roads. They wore pristine white armor, donned robes bearing the Cecil insignia, and held banners, swiftly closing in on the procession and jogging alongside it at a reduced pace.

Victoria watched the spectacle outside the road in amazement, but an almost instinctive sense of propriety and etiquette prompted her to respond most fittingly—she opened the car window as Margarita taught her and nodded slightly to the knights and citizens outside.

The procession approached the riverside district. Shadows of people who had long been ready appeared on the buildings flanking the road, scattering petals from above like winter snowflakes down on the procession, landing on the knights escorting the convoy. Ahead, at the end of the road, Victoria could already see the mechanical bridge gradually lowering—

Was that a steel-constructed bridge?

She clearly saw massive gears and lever structures operating beneath the bridge. Some powerful mechanical device pushed the bridge into a gradual descent, aligning tightly as the two bridge sections clicked into place. The procession moved forward without slowing, arriving on the bridge at precisely the moment the bridge arms converged—the knights escorting the procession maintained the same pace, even the gait of each horse remained perfectly synchronized.

How long had these soldiers trained? How many soldiers like this did Cecil have?

The Duchess felt the mechanical vibrations from the magical vehicle beneath her, watching the city on the other side of the river, driven by magical power, drawing closer. She heard loud music coming from ahead, amplified by some sort of magic loudspeaker, and it was unlike any royal court music she had ever heard at a welcoming ceremony. The melody was urgent and rhythmic, reminiscent of the beats played by drummers in a marching army, yet more majestic and powerful.

Margarita’s voice came from beside her: "This is the ’Phalanx March’. I hope you like this spirited and stirring tune."

Is this the preference of that founding hero? Is this demonstrating the martial spirit?

Victoria nodded as reservedly as possible, adequately expressing her admiration and satisfaction. At this moment, the convoy had descended from the mechanical bridge, and ahead of them appeared welcoming banners and large crowds gathering.

Victoria was already accustomed to these large gatherings of citizens in the winter.

She maintained an almost non-existent serene smile, showing the most appropriate demeanor to the people outside the car window—then suddenly she saw some people standing by the roadside, pointing strange, likely magical, devices at her. Her expression momentarily froze.

However, she forcibly restrained her instinctive spellcasting impulse, because she noticed knights and soldiers wearing Cecil Armor standing beside those people—she guessed those magical devices were also a part of the welcoming ceremony. Instantly, she adjusted her expression, continuing to face everything with a slightly distant poise.

The next moment, accompanied by a series of loud explosions, one after another pale blue gas spheres shot up into the sky from the district ahead, bursting into large splendid fireworks in the sky.

The accompanying personnel in the convoy from the royal capital raised their heads, looking out the window in surprise. Even Victoria couldn’t help but display a somewhat astonished look for a moment.

But she quickly returned to her usual state.

Those must be fireworks released by the Cecil’s mages to enliven the atmosphere—Victoria thought—such fireworks are not rare for the grand aristocrats. At high-society banquets, the mages’ firework displays are always an essential item, and she shouldn’t be too surprised.

Though the fireworks released by Cecil’s mages indeed seem somewhat different from elsewhere—how did they make the Fireball Technique explode so dramatically? And how many mages did they organize to produce such a large-scale fireworks display?

"What a grand welcoming ceremony—I’ve almost forgotten it’s the cold winter," the Duchess sincerely exclaimed, "I think I’ve felt the enthusiasm and sincerity of Duke Gawain Cecil. This welcoming ceremony must have been costly."

Beside her, Dame Margarita smiled and nodded: "Important guests deserve a grand welcome."

"Welcoming those two certainly cost quite the budget," on the newly arranged Riverside Square, Aunt Heidi stood by Gawain’s side, whispering with some heartache, "Almost enough for a new Rune Forge Factory..."

"Important clients deserve a grand welcome," Gawain smiled, glancing at the budget-concerned Aunt Heidi, then turned to look at Rebecca standing on the other side, "The fireworks were well designed."

Today, Rebecca was finally dressed in appropriate noblewoman’s attire. The Cecil heir wore a light blue court dress, trying her best to maintain a composed manner beside her ancestor, but after hearing Gawain’s words, she couldn’t help but mumble: "Actually, I wanted to launch some fireballs myself—I’m sure my fireballs would’ve been larger than the howitzers..."

Gawain sighed: "We’re here to welcome guests, not eliminate them."

"I’d throw them into the sky..."

"You said the same thing before you blew up the courtyard wall last time."

"Wow—"

Aunt Heidi had to gently cough to remind the pair of ancestors and descendants beside her: "Ancestors, they have arrived."

The convoy arrived at the square.

Victoria and Veronica had witnessed Cecil’s prosperity along the way, seen the cheering crowds, and the grand fireworks. They and their retinue crossed the mechanical bridge over the White River, traveled along the wide and orderly riverside avenue. Under the escort of cavalry and countless flowers, this team from St. Soniel finally arrived before Gawain Cecil.

Everything that needed seeing was seen, and everything that needed feeling was felt.

The military band on the square played the impressive Phalanx March once again, and swirling petals—byproducts of the Cecil General Academy’s druids and alchemy department’s daily teachings—danced in the sky above the square. The magic vehicle steadily stopped at the center of the square, and escorted by gallant knights, Victoria and Veronica stepped out of the car.

"An impressive journey," the ruler of the north, Victoria Wilder, bowed in the etiquette of a younger to an elder before Gawain, then curtsied according to the rules for nobles of the same rank meeting, "Far beyond my imagination."

"Cecil has always welcomed guests, especially descendants of old acquaintances," Gawain smiled and nodded, accepting the full suite of etiquette, then he looked at Veronica beside him, "This is our second meeting at this place, Princess Veronica."

"Completely different from last time," the Saint Princess, dressed in priest robes, smiled gently, her voice melodious and pleasant, "If I hadn’t seen it myself, I couldn’t have believed a city could grow like this in two years."

"All for surviving in this barren land—humans are capable of anything to survive," Gawain turned aside, spreading his hands, "Welcome to Cecil—it’s prepared to greet you."

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