Chapter 247: Stressed by the Midsummer Festival!

Henwell and Melissa’s wedding was originally scheduled for next year’s Midsummer Festival.

It could have taken place this year, but Marcus is now the Grand Duke of the Eastern Territory.

So the MacLeod family has a ton of things to deal with.

Likewise, Jansen can’t change the fact that he’s become a Grand Duke either.

He needs to quickly manage the different factions within the Phoenix family to avoid drifting apart from Henwell.

Both families’ heads have a lot of affairs to deal with for the foreseeable future.

So, the wedding has to be pushed back to the eve of next year’s Midsummer Festival.

But after Henwell’s strong objections, it was finally moved to the Harvest Festival instead.

Coincidentally, that’s right after Henwell’s 24th birthday.

As for the Midsummer Festival—this weird, inexplicable holiday—Henwell’s nearly developed a stress disorder over it!

Ever since arriving in this damn world, not once has the Midsummer Festival brought Henwell any luck.

On the contrary, it’s been nothing but bad luck!

At his birth, Henwell’s father went off to fight in the preview version of the War of the Six Kings.

After the Midsummer Festival on his seventh birthday, the War of the Six Kings broke out again, and Henwell was captured.

Then came the struggle to survive on the battlefield, and just before the Midsummer Festival at age nine, he was sold to the Forge Furnace training camp.

On the eve of his eleventh Midsummer Festival, Henwell was transferred to the Bloodhorn Arena, starting a brutal three-year gladiator career.

Before his fourteenth Midsummer Festival, Jansen bought him, bringing him to Peace Haven as Arius’s substitute.

At sixteen’s Midsummer Festival, Henwell fought tooth and nail, carving the Path of Honor with his blood, becoming the lord of Blood Hill.

After just two peaceful years, at eighteen’s Midsummer Festival, he joined the marriage alliance envoy.

Before his twentieth Midsummer Festival, the marriage war broke out, and he barely escaped the Ika Kingdom.

Before his twenty-first Midsummer Festival, he fought the war for his brothers’ corpses.

Before his twenty-second, right after the Midsummer Festival, he faced the Ika Kingdom’s counterattack.

And this year’s Midsummer Festival? Another mess stirred up by Newwood.

So no matter what, Henwell refuses to hold his wedding around the Midsummer Festival next year.

He’s realized he’s just cursed with this blasted holiday!

No one could argue with Henwell, so they reluctantly agreed to have the wedding during the Harvest Festival instead.

With a clearer mind, Henwell begins to handle the affairs of his return journey.

The kingdom’s transformation has elevated many nobles, and a fresh wave of military-merit aristocrats emerges.

Peace Haven must seize this moment, riding the kingdom’s rapid growth to secure as many benefits as possible.

For starters, Henwell’s massive clock orders are already fully booked.

Not to mention other commercial products, thanks to his constant adjustments and planning, Peace Haven’s goods have evolved from cheap and rough to exquisite and refined, all while maintaining competitive prices.

This wave of orders will massively boost Peace Haven’s commercial development.

At the same time, it will cultivate a large group of skilled artisans, which is crucial for Henwell’s plan to expand his talent reserves.

On his way back, Henwell deliberately detours to Cloud Tree City to pay respects to the late Count Evans, who tragically died during the transformation ceremony.

Evans had just been made a count before passing away—a truly sorrowful fate.

Alongside Evans, his heir also perished, leaving the Gilbert family effectively heirless.

The noble council has sent representatives to supervise and arrange the selection of the new Gilbert family count.

After arriving at the Gilbert family castle outside Cloud Tree City, Henwell mourns Count Evans.

This old nobleman and Henwell had a decent relationship.

They crossed paths on the Path of Honor, and Evans ‘helped’ Henwell locate his long-lost grandson.

Since then, Peace Haven’s trade began to expand into Cloud Tree City.

Under Evans’s guidance, Peace Haven’s caravans developed quite well within the Gilbert family’s sphere of influence.

During the later war for corpses with Ika, Marcus stood up for his prospective son-in-law.

As an important member of the noble alliance in the southern territory, Evans lent some support, making his position clear.

In the following year or two, Henwell and Evans grew closer.

They launched more trade collaborations, and many projects were put on the agenda.

Among them was carving out several square kilometers within the Gilbert family’s lands for Henwell’s industrial processing zone.

Now that Evans is gone, the cooperation must continue, and previous trade terms will need renegotiation.

However, the Gilbert family is facing a major headache right now: the issue of succession.

First, Evans’s eldest son should have inherited the countship.

But this guy was granted a baron title early on, effectively losing his right to inherit the main family’s noble rank.

His own son can’t inherit the grandfather’s title either.

Second, the heir of the second son was killed alongside Evans by the Berserker Demon—their remains tossed into the creepy house as summoning materials.

That second son’s own son is only fifteen now and legally has the right to inherit the countship.

But the Gilbert family has just been promoted to count rank, with their territory expanded.

They need a capable head to take charge, and a fifteen-year-old kid obviously can’t shoulder that responsibility.

Finally, there’s Evans’s third son, Pimir.

He wasn’t granted a separate title but isn’t the heir either.

Still, with no designated successor, he’s in the running to contest with his nephew.

Pimir is in his thirties and mentally sound enough to be a transitional family head.

But he’s got serious drawbacks.

His reputation is terrible—chaotic private life, and he’s done plenty of outrageous things.

Almost no one within the family supports him.

The Gilbert family members don’t back him, but someone does.

The kingdom’s noble council sent representatives to oversee this matter, essentially backing Pimir.

The council’s envoy is from the royal faction of nobles.

Clearly, they want to use this chance to pry out a wedge in the southern noble alliance.

Right now, the situation is this: on one side is Doklak, the fifteen-year-old son of the deceased heir, with most of the family behind him.

On the other side is Pimir, Evans’s third son, supported by the royal faction.

Both sides are locked in fierce debate, neither willing to budge.

Each side boasts of their candidate’s strengths while tearing down the other’s worth.

When Henwell arrives, he sees this ridiculous spectacle.

As a major power in the kingdom, Henwell is allowed to sit in the council chamber and listen to their quarrels.