Chapter 250: Request to Enter the Palace

Isolde smiled. “That was a long time ago. Do you still remember?”

Anthony suddenly stared at Isolde. “Back then, I swore you’d either become my wife, or I’d chop you up.”

Vincenzo pushed his head forward. “Have you drunk too much?”

Anthony’s eyes reddened instantly, and he shouted at Vincenzo, “So what if I’ve drunk too much? Does that mean I can’t talk? She can’t be my wife, but can’t I even say anything?”

“Oh, looks like you’re getting fired up now, huh?” Vincenzo, seeing the soldiers looking over, quickly stood up to drag him away.

Oliver stopped him. “Let him speak. If we don’t, he’ll choke on his words.”

Anthony glared at Oliver, his face full of anger, but in an instant, his shoulders slumped. “Forget it. After all, I can’t compare to you. It’s understandable she didn’t like me.”

Isolde looked at him. “Anthony, we grew up together. Although we’ve fought since we were kids, back then I really thought of you as an enemy. But after returning to the capital, I realized our grudges were actually laughable. Now, when I think of those times, when I think of you, I feel like it was a beautiful chapter in my life. I will always remember the days when I played with you. We will always be good friends in my life!”

“Really?” Anthony was a little embarrassed. “Do you really treat me as a friend?”

“Of course!” Isolde said.

Anthony immediately stammered, “But I always bullied you in the past…”

Isolde looked at him and thought of how he had been beaten up by her. Was he sure he was bullying her?

Oliver looked at the two of them with a warm gaze. He wasn’t jealous; in fact, he was happy for Isolde. It would be such a good memory to have such a friend whom he had known since he was young.

Ashley stood up. “Everyone, enjoy your drinks. I’m a little drunk. I’ll go back and rest first.”

With that, she left without waiting for a response.

Hattie watched her retreating figure. “This woman is so strange and manipulative. She’s not someone to be underestimated!”

Vincenzo said casually, “What do you mean by someone to be underestimated? It’s said that she was sent by her grandfather to infiltrate King Kamari’s side, but we’ve dealt with Mr. Charlic before. He didn’t even know that King Kamari was planning a rebellion. As for this woman, I’ve heard she killed King Kamari’s consort and demanded that he make her his consort in exchange for helping him with the rebellion.”

Oliver frowned. “This woman is scheming and can’t be trusted. We have to be on guard.”

Isolde looked at him. “You guys had a mole, which allowed King Kamari to quickly receive the news. Do you know who leaked the news?”

Oliver said, “I roughly know that one of my subordinates has been in contact with Ashley a few times. He…”

Isolde nodded. “Mm, he’s dead, so there’s no point in investigating further. But Ashley is someone we still need to keep an eye on.”

Vincenzo looked at Oliver. “Great Marshal, you’ve really gone through a lot this time. You’re really lucky to be able to return alive.”

Oliver looked deep in thought, letting out a soft sigh. “Yes, it was truly perilous this time. I honestly thought I would not survive.”

Isolde felt a chill at his words and instinctively grasped his hand. Oliver grasped her hand back. The two of them looked at each other with hazy eyes.

The army arrived in Argentum on the first day of October. Since they had sent someone back to report their itinerary, the King ordered all the officials to welcome them at the city gate. Oliver, Isolde, and the others were welcomed into the palace together. Naturally, Ashley followed them.

The King’s eyes shone with excitement when he saw Oliver. He had always regarded him like a nephew, and when the news of his death had spread, the King had been genuinely saddened for quite some time.

“Thanks to the blessings of the King, I have not failed in my duty. Zloimond has now returned to peace,” Oliver said, kneeling on one knee, and stepped forward to report.

The King personally helped him up, his voice filled with joy and excitement. “Good, my dear minister, you have worked hard!”

Isolde also stepped forward to pay her respects. “Your Majesty, I report that the head of the traitor, Kamari Conway, has been taken and the remnants have been eradicated. After much hardship, the people of Zloimond have returned to peace. They are all singing the praises of Your Majesty’s wise and just rule.”

This wasn’t flattery. Compared to the coldness of King Kamari, the North Campth army’s quick help, timely relief, and distribution of food truly warmed the hearts of the people.

The King had already learned about these events through spies from the queen dowager. He had originally thought that, regardless of victory or defeat in the civil war, there would be resentment among the people. However, he was surprised to find that Isolde had managed to use the natural disaster to strike down Kamari and simultaneously win back the hearts of the people. He was overjoyed.

What made him even happier was that the officials had finally come to genuinely respect both Oliver and Isolde.

In his joy, the King awarded merit to the soldiers. Oliver, having narrowly escaped death and destroyed the armory to reverse the battle, was praised for his great achievements. He was promoted to the title of Grand Marshal of the Protectorate, with a reward of one thousand taels of gold.

Isolde was granted the title of Princess Cromwell and awarded a monetary reward of a thousand taels. Furthermore, the King made a decision to bestow upon the Princess the title of Soaring General, making it the first time in the Eryndral Empire’s history that a woman was appointed as a general after a battle.

Anthony was also granted the title of Heroic Cavalry Commander. He knelt on the ground, murmuring to himself that this title of Cavalry Commander should be a good position, but he couldn’t understand why he was given the title of Parrot Cavalry Commander. He thought that even being named Crow Cavalry Commander would be better than the parrot’s gossiping title.

Vincenzo was appointed as the General of Martial Valor. Kolton, Lucas, and others received separate honors, but their official titles and rewards would be conferred upon their return to the capital.

The King granted ten thousand taels of silver to reward the North Campth Army and issued compensation to the families of the fallen soldiers.

The King issued an edict stating that the spirit marriage between Oliver and Isolde was inappropriate, as both were still alive. Therefore, he granted them an official marriage and instructed the Imperial Astronomers to choose the best date for the ceremony.

The Imperial Astronomers immediately consulted their calculations, setting the wedding date for the third day of November, leaving one month to prepare for the wedding.

The rewards for Isolde and the silver for Oliver were entrusted to Anthony to be distributed among the families of the fallen soldiers.

This news spread, and the North Campth Army held Isolde and Oliver in the highest regard. Leading an army was about making the soldiers submit; if they did not, one could not command.

Only more than two thousand soldiers from the 3,000-strong North Campth Army returned. These two thousand soldiers became Isolde’s first group of subordinates. This group of soldiers would eventually accompany Isolde on her southern and northern campaigns, earning great military achievements. But that was a story for another time.

After the reward ceremony, the King naturally did not forget Ashley. Ashley had killed King Kamari, taken his head, and thus had made a great contribution. However, when the King mentioned rewarding her, she knelt on the ground and humbly requested to enter the palace and serve as a lady-in-waiting.

The meaning behind her words was clear to everyone. She wanted to serve the King.

The King was momentarily stunned. He had heard of her grandfather’s reputation and had previously sent people to Zloimond to invite him to court. However, Finnian had politely declined several times, saying he was just a commoner and couldn’t adapt to the busy life of the capital. He preferred to stay in Zloimond, enjoying tea, coffee, and storytelling in the local teahouses and taverns.

The King regarded Finnian as a modest scholar, but now his granddaughter wanted to enter the palace. The King could not help but find this strange.