The Herb King

Aethelwolf held Samira's hand as they chatted with the guests.

"King Aethelwolf, this is a gift from our Singler Household. Congratulations to the both of you." Jade Kristine smiled as she opened a golden box filled with all sorts of precious gems and stones. The value of everything added altogether was in the tens of millions!

"Thank you for your gift, Miss Jade." Samira smiled gently before she nodded to a servant who was following them.

The servant immediately took the golden box after getting Samira's signal.

While they were chatting, Nocturna's group walked towards them.

"Sir Aethelwolf, I'd like to speak with you. This is important." Nocturna muttered in a serious voice.

Hearing this, Aethelwolf glanced at Samira and saw her smiling as she nodded her head.

"Go on. I'll take care of the guests. You can come and see me later after everything has been taken care of." She whispered to him.

Aethelwolf nodded and said. "Alright." He then followed Nocturna's group.

"We can talk here. What do you want to tell me?" Aethelwolf said while calmly looking at Nocturna. He opened up about an alliance with her last time and he hoped that he would receive a favorable response. After knowing about the impending catastrophe, he felt the need to further strengthen his forces. The Mystic Island was only the first step to his plans.

Nocturna looked at him and answered. "I have already talked with my father about the alliance you proposed. He told me that he wants to see you first." It was the first time her father didn't outright reject an alliance proposal, but she wasn't that surprised since Aethelwolf was the person who returned their Holy Treasure.

"Is that so?" Aethelwolf leaned on his chair as he pondered deeply. He knew a few things about Nocturna's father. His name is Estes, a top expert who was ranked second in the Heavenly Might Rankings. Estes only fought once and it was against the first ranked Argus. No one knew how their battle ended, but Argus who was unknown at that time suddenly became the top one in the Heavenly Might Rankings!

Aethelwolf also wanted to meet Estes and see what kind of person he was. According to the information that was known about him, he was someone proficient in healing spells and magic.

"There will be a competition for the younger generation next month and only those below the age of twenty-five are eligible to join. Each empire can send five participants while the big empires can send ten participants. The results of this competition will decide if an empire is worthy to be part of the Holy Rankings and enter the Frigid Snow Dimension. Sir Aethelwolf, my father wants to see you next month in this competition. He knows that you still have a lot of things to do this time so he didn't rush your meeting." Nocturna said.

The Holy Rankings was the ranking of the top ten empires in the Regalis Continent. The strength of the experts, the talent of the younger generation, the economy of the empire, and a few more things are calculated.

"The Leone Empire already has you and its economy will also boom because of your presence. The only thing left to consider is the talent of the younger generation. If the Leone Empire manages to clinch a spot in the Holy Rankings, you will have the chance to enter the Frigid Snow Dimension again." Nocturna added after seeing that Aethelwolf was still silent.

"Fine. I'll bring the best young talents of the Leone Empire to join the competition, but tell me first. What kind of competition is it going to be?" Aethelwolf asked curiously.

Nocturna heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing his words. She then took a deep breath before she answered. "The competition is divided into three parts. First is the martial arts competition, the second one is the pill refining competition, and the last part is a team treasure hunting competition."

Aethelwolf furrowed his eyebrows when he heard this. He wasn't worried about the martial arts competition and the pill refining competition, but the treasure-hunting competition was different. Since it was a team competition, the big empires would have the advantage in numbers.

"Alright. I'd appreciate it if you tell me more information about the competition." Aethelwolf wanted to enter the Frigid Snow Dimension again and look for something that could help the ancestor of the Ancient Fairies escape from her seal.

Nocturna smiled as she took out a document from her storage ring. "This is a piece of detailed information about the competition. I also compiled the list of participants who would be sent by other empires. There might be some small discrepancies in the information, but it's negligible. I hope this will help you, Sir Aethelwolf."

Hearing this, Aethelwolf was speechless. "Isn't this cheating?"

Nocturna shook her head as she chuckled. "The big empires also have this information. Just treat it as a gift from your future ally." She muttered.

Aethelwolf took the document from her and placed it inside his storage space. "Thank you." This was very valuable for the Leone Empire since they have no information about the other empires.

"I've already delivered the message to you, Sir Aethelwolf. It's time for us to leave. I hope you'll have a happy wedding night. We'll see you again next month." Nocturna stood up and bid him farewell.

Aethelwolf sent them off. "A competition for the younger generation. Who should I choose among those little guys?" He muttered as he thought of who he would send for the competition.

Soon, the ceremony ended and all the guests left the castle. The spacious banquet hall became empty and only the members of the Lassiter Household and the Reynolds Household remained.

Samira leaned on a chair with an exhausted look on her face. "Gosh. That was tiring." She protested weakly.

"Are you alright?" A gentle pair of hands suddenly massaged her shoulders, making her jolt in surprise.

"Aethelwolf?" Samira looked at him in shock.

"Still calling me Aethelwolf? I'm your husband now." Aethelwolf smiled teasingly.

"H-Husband."