Between the endless rows of somber steel ramparts, a spectacular display of colorful flags and ribbons had transformed the scene into something extraordinary.

Street lamps and candles glowed brilliantly, while nearby residential areas were equally illuminated with light.

A band playing trumpets and beating drums paraded slowly down the lively streets,

with citizens following behind, playing cheerful melodies and genuinely celebrating this important festival.

Joyful music echoed through the streets as residents waved flags from their windows, their faces beaming with delight.

Colorful ribbons occasionally fluttered down from the sky, like vibrant petals raining from the heavens.

Despite the late hour, shops on both sides of the street remained open.

The jubilant citizens of the royal city had creatively decorated their stores with colorful flags and ribbons.

After half a month of repairs, the royal city was completely renewed.

The damaged buildings had all been restored, either to their original appearance or rebuilt entirely.

The city's residents all knew that the destruction of the royal city had mainly been caused by the beastkin invasion, which had freed the beastkin slaves.

The enraged beastkin slaves had gone from house to house setting fires, resulting in the city's extensive damage.

But after a period of reconstruction, most royal city residents' lives had returned to normal.

Only a small portion of the wealthy and the lords were affected.

As members of the upper class, they felt somewhat troubled by the loss of their free labor force.

Without those beastkin slaves serving as free labor, their expenses inevitably increased.

They were forced to squeeze out a tiny portion of their vast assets to hire workers to maintain the normal operation of their estates.

Was this good for them?

No, it wasn't.

After all, these noble gentlemen found it painful to part with even a little money for these lowly commoners.

Watching their money fall into the hands of those commoners bit by bit, the noble merchants felt as if their flesh was being carved away.

Soon, ornate carriages drove through the colorful streets, stirring up ribbons of various colors as they headed toward the royal city gates.

The carriages stopped in front of the palace, and the nobles who disembarked exchanged polite greetings.

The nobles questioned each other, their faces bearing identical smiles.

"Mr. Joseph, it's been a long time."

"Count Edmond, indeed, it's been a while. Your health...?"

"Still as robust as ever. Compared to me, you look even more vigorous."

"Mr. Vincent, you..."

While the nobles exchanged pleasantries with familiar smiles on their faces,

The towering and profound black tower was now decorated with colorful ribbons and twinkling lights.

Its original coldness and majesty were somewhat softened by the festive atmosphere.

In the great courtyard, long white tables were placed tightly together.

They were laden with delicious food and red wine, with countless candles illuminating the entire courtyard.

Various bright candles were placed on the tables, making the entire courtyard brilliantly lit.

Today was the wedding day of King Augustus and Queen Hilda.

Most of the nobles present were well aware of the truth.

The kingdom now appeared weak and lifeless.

The once magnificent royal family now had only Augustus, who existed in name only.

The nobles all acknowledged the former dignity of the Samuel royal family,

At the same time, they were willing to support the future Samuel heir, the future king after Augustus.

But these promises were merely verbal.

The current Augustus had lost his authority, a fact beyond dispute.

The entire kingdom's operation was now directed solely by Grand Duke Balo.

The Samuel royal family existed in name only.

In reality, whether the Kanter Kingdom was surnamed Samuel or Balo made little difference.

So, the nobles' attendance at this wedding was ostensibly to give face to the Samuel royal family.

But in reality, they were giving face to Grand Duke Balo.

Attending the wedding banquet also meant choosing sides.

After a while, various diplomatic envoys also entered the banquet venue.

The lords waiting outside appeared very enthusiastic when they saw these imperial envoys.

They proactively approached these foreign friends to greet them.

The diplomatic envoys responded warmly:

"Thank you all for your companionship this past month. The hospitality of the Kanter Kingdom lives up to its reputation."

"When the time comes, please visit the Empire. We will certainly receive you with warm hospitality."

Hearing this, the noble lords burst into laughter.

They chatted cordially together, creating a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere.

This wedding banquet had been prepared for half a month.

The grand event of marrying a queen needed to be luxuriously organized, with no room for carelessness.

Although such events typically take half a year or even a year to prepare, due to the urgent circumstances, the time had to be compressed.

Over the past month, diplomatic affairs had been arranged very properly.

Once the king's wedding was over, these nobles from the Empire would embark on their journey home.

Soon, several more carriages drove into the vast courtyard in front of the castle, loaded with gifts.

Many nobles looked surprised, as they were already familiar with the emblems on those carriages—the Casidra Auction House.

Looking at the carriages full of gifts, the nobles exclaimed in admiration:

"As expected of the Casidra Auction House, they're truly generous."

Bodyguards opened the door of the rear carriage, and a beautiful woman in formal attire stepped out.

It was the female auctioneer from the previous auction.

Feeling the gazes upon her, she smiled lightly and said to the nobles in the courtyard:

"These are gifts from our auction house to celebrate the King and Queen."

"Just a small token of our regard."

Only the Casidra Auction House could call such abundant gifts "a small token."

No one was surprised that the Casidra Auction House could present such gifts.

The financial power of the auction house was well known to any country that had cooperated with them.

Even when the commercial street in the kingdom was destroyed, the Casidra Auction House only felt a slight pinch.

It was said that the Casidra Auction House had also received the blessing of a deity, ensuring their countless wealth.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic ministers maintained calm expressions.

These worldly old men had seen and experienced much.

The Casidra Auction House conducted extensive trade with countless countries.

But only the Carenthia Empire had not allowed them entry.

Although the reasons behind this were thought-provoking, the fact remained.

After all, they were diplomatic envoys of the Empire, and despite its influence, the Casidra Auction House was still just a group composed of merchants.

Naturally, they couldn't find common ground.

But the people from the Casidra Auction House were quite sociable. The beautiful female auctioneer proactively approached the diplomatic ministers.

With a smile on her face, she asked:

"Excuse me, has Councilor Viktor not arrived yet?"

The diplomatic ministers looked at each other in confusion:

"Uh, does the Casidra Auction House have some business with Baron Viktor?"

The female auctioneer explained with a smile: "Yes, regarding the previous compensation issue, we need to speak with Councilor Viktor in person."

"Our auction house has everything prepared."

This was indeed a reasonable request,

After all, it involved ten billion Geo, which was by no means a small sum.

They silently calculated: ten billion Geo was enough to prove the financial power of the Casidra Auction House.

To offer compensation so readily was indeed generous.

Just as the diplomatic ministers were about to respond:

"Baron Viktor probably still needs to..."

However, their words died in their throats as the nobles present suddenly became serious.

All eyes turned in the same direction, expressions of shock on their faces.

The carriages of the Balo Grand Duke's family and the Laurien family advanced side by side, arriving at the palace.

To be precise, the Laurien family existed in name only.

Now, it should be called the Kravina family's carriage.

After all, the entire Shulbon was now Viktor's territory, and even the only heir had changed her surname to Kravina.

But when these two carriages advanced side by side, all the nobles and wealthy people present knew who had arrived.

The escorting knights stepped forward to open the two carriage doors.

Two young women stepped out of the carriages simultaneously.

Aurelianne wore a white formal dress with exquisite patterns and luxurious silver jewelry inlays, making her look like a princess embodied from moonlight.

Pricis wore her usual exquisite black formal dress, her cold beauty forming a spectacular contrast with Aurelianne's elegant grace.

These two graceful young women captivated all the nobles present.

But not a single person dared to approach them for conversation.

Not to mention that Aurelianne was an imperial princess of noble status.

Grand Duke Balo was Aurelianne's maternal grandfather.

Who would dare approach her? They'd have to be mad.

As for Pricis, the crowd equally dared not provoke her.

Only the noble lords of distinguished status knew about Pricis's race.

Most people only knew she was Laurien's daughter, who had changed her surname to Kravina due to certain circumstances.

It must be said that just the surname 'Kravina' alone was enough to make countless people stand back and watch.

But, since Aurelianne and Pricis had already arrived at the scene,

Why wasn't Viktor seen in the carriage?

Suddenly, someone looked up at the sky, their gaze becoming fixed.

"Hey... what's that?"

As the voice rang out, everyone couldn't help but follow his gaze toward the sky.

At that moment, they all saw it clearly.

Above in the sky, a bright star was falling, like a meteor suspended in the night sky gradually descending.

After the long silver tail swirled in the air several times, it quickly wrapped in a cold aura heading toward the ground.

Everyone's eyes widened.

Because they noticed that this meteor was actually heading straight for them!

The meteor moved incredibly fast, almost too fast to see clearly.

It's over!

Only this thought remained in the minds of those present.

And the meteor, with its trailing tail, had already fallen before them.

Whoosh—

The comet landed, but it didn't stir up a massive air wave.

Instead, it induced a gentle breeze.

As the light cyan glow gradually dissipated, the meteor returned to the night sky.

And Viktor, replacing the star, appeared before everyone.

Upon seeing Viktor, the nobles froze in place.

Just now, that meteor...

Was it Viktor?

Before everyone could recover from their shock, the female auctioneer from the Casidra Auction House had already excitedly shouted:

"Councilor Viktor!"

She excitedly walked in Viktor's direction, but suddenly, she felt a cold gaze glance at her.

It made her body freeze.

Because at this moment, Viktor's emotionless eyes were already looking at her.

With a cold voice, he said indifferently:

"I'm sorry, but please keep your distance."

"I'm engaged."

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