Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 414: Royal Wedding Feast (1)

The palace of Angmar in Monarch City opened wide.

A royal palace is, by nature, the dwelling of a queen.

And for its grand gates to open wide was a rare event—so rare that people flooded in like clouds, filling the gardens and banquet halls of the court to the brim.

As a result, the storage rooms were thrown open as well.

━Ahh... this is honey candy...! Ever since the Nymph Relief Foundation went bankrupt due to embezzlement...! This is the first time I've eaten something so delicious...!

━It’s so sweet and tasty...! Today’s newlyweds know how to treat their guests...!

Of course—

More people attended the wedding than expected, and naturally, that led to some issues. Disputes between guests, or running out of pre-prepared food.

Especially because imps and nymphs from all over the country had swarmed in, all the honey that had been stockpiled had run out.

At this rate, if the sugar-deprived imps and nymphs started rampaging, the wedding venue might be torn to pieces.

━Ah-! We invited the nymphs... and now they’re demanding honey candy...! If we don’t make more honey candy fast, they might start grumbling...!

━The honey’s already gone...! This is a disaster...!

“Comrade, what do we do? I already sent Gargargar and Tartartar to the nearby shops. But at this rate, it’s going to be nowhere near enough...!”

Seeing Marmar anxiously flailing around, I felt like I had to do something.

To think that jars of honey—enough to feed Monarch City for over a month—were depleted in just half a day. Maybe I had underestimated today’s situation.

So I leaned in and whispered into Marmar’s ear.

“Have someone bring me jars filled with water.”

“Jars filled with water...?”

Marmar tilted her head in confusion, clearly not understanding. But since there was no better alternative, she followed my instructions.

Before long, several large jars filled with water were set before me. Gazing at them, I suddenly remembered the tail of the imp Mormor sticking out of a flowerpot.

It would’ve been nice if he could’ve been here today. As I was lost in that thought, people began gathering before me to see what the groom of the day was doing.

━Why jars of water?

━No idea.

Judging by the murmurs, they were curious and confused by my actions. I hadn’t offered a single explanation, so that was to be expected.

I lifted the lid of one jar and showed it to the crowd.

“Everyone, look here. What’s inside this jar is clean spring water. But—if I simply close the lid and chant a little incantation...”

—Yap.

Shff.

I reopened the lid I had just closed.

And inside, the sloshing water had turned to shimmering golden honey.

The nymphs gasped in amazement.

━The water turned to honey...!

━It’s honey water...! Teonoa must be a honey water nymph...!

━Hooaeeeh...! This is a scoop...!

The little creatures buzzed excitedly as they stared at the jars filled to the brim with honey water. Honestly, turning water into honey with magic was pretty easy for me now.

Compared to real honey, it lacked nutritional value, but it was better than nothing. And as a spectacle performed before a packed crowd, it worked beautifully to liven up the atmosphere of the wedding.

━An incredible spell.

━It’s more miracle than magic.

━He’s going to be a good husband.

Nice—another crisis cleverly averted. Now then, what was next? I glanced at a nearby clock and thought it must be nearly time for the brides to make their entrance, as the guest banquet was wrapping up.

That’s when I heard people murmuring behind me.

━It’s a grand and splendid wedding, no doubt—but seeing the groom’s side of the seating so empty is a bit unfortunate.

━Well, that’s to be expected. After all, the groom today is Angmar’s...

The groom’s side, huh?

My eyes turned to the sparsely populated tables. The seats were split between bride and groom sides, but the groom’s side looked especially bleak.

The reason was simple.

Unlike the brides’ side, which had extended families pouring in, I had no one in this land I could truly call family.

All that sat on my tables were the paper spider Bael and the chipmunk Kongkong, cracking open fancy peanuts.

But you two are more than enough for me.

Right then—

Whirrrrrrr-

A flute?

A sudden, exotic sound echoed through the space.

Turning my head, I saw a man stepping down from a grand palanquin, accompanied by an unfamiliar foreign band. As he appeared, the crowd began to stir.

━It’s a procession from Turki. That’s Prince Kasim.

━Kasim? I heard he’s been traveling the world?

━Apparently, he’s quite close with today’s groom, Lord Teo.

Whether he minded the gossip or not, Kasim, wearing a splendid golden turban, strode toward me with open arms.

“There he is, today’s star! Everyone, look—the groom of the day stands before us!”

And with that, he embraced me and patted my back. Men of Turki really had no concept of personal space.

Normally I’d hate this, but today, that embrace felt rather solid and reassuring. Thump, he grabbed my shoulders and said,

“Teo Angmar. I do have an eye for people, don’t I?”

“Kasim, it’s Teo Gospel of Angmar. Teo Angmar and Teo Gospel of Angmar are two very different things.”

“Ah, such humility—my brother has a virtue I lack. Still, you look far more ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) confident than before. I like it. You shine now.”

Kasim held out his palm and gestured to his procession.

“My sister couldn’t attend, but she sent plenty of gifts. Jars of specialty honey from the desert Bashikir bees that nymphs love.”

“Oh.”

It came at the perfect time—just when we were running low on honey. But the crowd’s eyes weren’t on the honey jars—they were on the golden chests filled with jewels.

━They say Turki’s jewels are priceless?

━I’ve never seen so many treasures in one place. Incredible.

I said,

“Isn’t this a bit too much?”

Kasim chuckled.

“It’s five weddings’ worth. After all, you’re marrying five women today. Isn’t it only right to give five times the blessing? Even I haven’t pulled off a five-bride wedding before.”

He said that and clapped my back hard. It stung a little, but somehow, it gave me a strange burst of energy.

Before long, he moved to sit among the groom’s side guests. The Angmar family and the Tanak family of Turki were distant relatives—technically, that seat suited him.

Did he come all this way just to give me some face?

More than honey jars or boxes of jewels, what meant most to me was simply that a relative was sitting at one of my tables.

And Kasim wasn’t the only one.

Elderly men wearing colorful cone-shaped hats descended from the sky on cloud-like platforms. The peculiar and eye-catching sight had people pointing in wonder.

━Look, it’s the sages of Highlord.

━The sages—weren’t they all war heroes?

As the murmurs said, these were magicians known as the sages of Highlord. Among them, the white-hatted Archmage Hynax approached me and bowed.

“To the greatest mage—Teo Gospel of Angmar, congratulations on your wedding. For two different people to meet, fall in love, and marry—that itself may be the greatest magic and miracle of all.”

“Thank you. But, uh... you arrived riding clouds. How’d you do that?”

Flight magic is surprisingly complex and difficult. I’d basically given up on mastering it. Seeing them descend on clouds made me incredibly curious.

Hynax replied,

“We’re still in our prime, after all. With five old men putting their heads together, flying on clouds isn’t such a stretch... Ahem. Anyway, congratulations on your wedding, our disciple, Teo Gospel.”

They were my magical mentors. Back when I stayed at Ark, they’d helped me a lot. I guess this is what it feels like when your teachers attend your wedding.

That’s when the black-robed mage Lord Felto began trembling all over. I instinctively tensed up.

Felto had lost his mind after peering into the truth. Everything out of his mouth was typically doom, chaos, or slaughter. Was he about to utter another grim prophecy?

But when he finally opened his mouth, the word he spoke was surprising.

“Marriage...! Marriage...!”

He could say something other than death and destruction?

While I was still puzzled, Hynax scratched his forehead and said,

“Lord Felto’s been married three times and divorced three times. For him, no word is more destructive or terrifying than ‘marriage.’”

“R-Right...”

“We’re all married men. Raised kids, sent them off to marry too. If you ever need advice, come by the Gracia Mountaineering Club.”

With that, they took their seats among the groom’s guests. My side of the tables looked a little fuller now.

Naturally, the murmurs about the groom’s guest list began to die down.

Just as I was taking a satisfied look around—

I locked eyes with a man. A hardened, sharply dressed man with graying hair.

He met my gaze and slowly approached. Maybe he had been waiting for me to notice him.

He spoke.

“Teo Gospel.”

“Finance Minister Belmot Douglas.”

“‘Finance Minister’... What a title. I’ll speak plainly. Congratulations on your wedding.”

Belmot had once hated the false monk Teo Gospel with a passion. To the upright ministers of Angmar, I had literally been a treacherous sycophant.

But now, he slowly bowed his head.

“Lord Teo, I owe you my life. My daughter Clara’s too. We were the ones who failed to see the truth.”

“Is that the stance of the Dawn Society?”

At the mention of “Dawn Society,” a flicker of confusion passed over Belmot’s face.

The Dawn Society had originally been a revolutionary faction within Angmar.

Though the world thought they had all been captured after Belmot’s defection—because I knew the true story, I understood just how stubborn and persistent they really were.

Belmot said,

“Yes. It’s the consensus of all the Dawn Society. We intend to disband. With things finally stabilizing, who would follow a revolution now?”

And with that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

I watched his retreating back, then looked to the sky.

The sun was nearing its zenith.

Everything around me was noisy and lively.

━That time, to that Punch-noa, my other master said this..., Nymph-ya, you’ve become too strong...!

━Hooaeeeh—!

━Look at that—casting water magic of that level without a water source...! The sages of Highlord are something else...! I’ve never seen a performance like this!

The chatter of imps and nymphs and the voices of guests grew louder and louder.

And then—my vision spun.

Was this what it felt like to be the Little Prince drifting through the desert?

If I collapsed now like the Little Prince bitten by the snake, would I return to my home star?

As I was having such foolish thoughts—

A new wave of murmurs rose.

Turning my head, I saw a red carpet unfurling along the floor, and one by one, white dresses began stepping onto it.

Except—

“...What is that?”

The sight before me was nothing like I expected.