Chapter 1053: Preparation

Noel and Anna stood in front of a half-finished building, watching the workers working on the roof.

"Master!" Dimitri was the first to notice their arrival and greet them.

"Yo, Dimitri. You're not going to return to the main city?" Noel smirked, teasing Dimitri.

"This..." Dimitri scratched the back of his head. On the one hand, he indeed needed to return. On the other hand, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. There was no way he would miss out or let anyone mess it up.

In addition, it would be better for him, a peak Spirit Grandmaster to protect it so that no one could destroy the venue. There were definitely a lot of people who wanted to destroy it and push back the schedule.

Noel patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about the main city. We're doing fine right now. I'll leave all the work here to you, Dimitri."

"Y-yes." Dimitri smiled.

"Where is Charlotte?"

"Charlotte is handling the decoration. Even though the venue isn't finished yet, it should be done in another two weeks. So, she has begun purchasing all the decorations and other stuff. That's right. She told me to bring you two to her later. It seems the wedding dress has arrived, so she wants the lady to test it first."

"That's good. We should know about the plan as well." Noel nodded. "But for now, let's enter the venue. I'm quite curious as well."

"Yes, follow me." Dimitri extended his hand.

Noel and Anna followed him slowly. Anna was looking at the venue carefully. She couldn't contain both the smile on her face and the tears on the corners of her eyes.

The venue was massive. It was colored white to symbolize the purity of this sacred ceremony. The gate was massive and probably needed several people to open it.

The venue extended for almost thirty meters from side to side and stretched for seventy meters back. Considering it would be repurposed for a museum, the size was alright.

As soon as they entered the building, they could see the grand hall which could easily fit more than two hundred people along with all the tables and equipment.

There were four doors in each corner. But the one that piqued their interest the most was the platform on the opposite side of the building. It was a meter above the rest and had quite a bit of space.

It would be easier for them to announce things from higher ground, so Noel thought this must be for that purpose.

"Dimitri. Can you explain them? The hall, that stage, and the other four rooms?" Anna asked.

"Of course." Dimitri nodded. "We have invited about seventy people, and they will come with one more person. Of course, there are several families that will come with more than two people like the Ezenholm family, the Stargaze family, and the Allevion family. This size should be able to host all the people inside without feeling cramped at all.

"The platform over there will be your stage. Master and milady will go up from the left and announce everything. We're also planning to use that stage to add some performances like music and dance. In fact, Eric and Erica are preparing their dance for this ceremony as well. And then you can climb down from the right to greet all the guests.

The four doors lead to the restroom, all purpose room, kitchen, and storage room. I believe Charlotte will brief you about how you should proceed during the ceremony."

"Mhmm..." Noel nodded.

Dimitri led them to the four rooms to check their readiness.

After that, Dimitri asked them to follow him to Charlotte, who seemed to be waiting in the Moon Temple.

The Moon Temple had their own grand hall, even though it was smaller than the venue. There was a red carpet leading straight to the platform where the Saintess would give the blessing.

It was such a grand and majestic feeling, especially with a big glass painting that depicted the Moon Goddess. Everything was so detailed from the butterfly wings to the moon she was holding.

Since all of them were going to sit, this place shouldn't have a problem hosting more than three hundred people. Though, most of the chairs were not there since they were usually used for healing and other treatments,.

"Welcome, Marquis. Thank you for visiting our humble temple." Paladin Lloyd politely bowed his head since Layla had returned to the main city.

"En." Noel nodded.

"Ah, Master!" Charlotte's voice echoed from the side as she rushed to them and grabbed Anna without hesitation. "Master. May I borrow the lady?"

"Sure." Noel agreed, knowing that it would be to try the dress.

Anna had a wry smile on her face, not knowing what to do. She only looked at Noel, who was waving his hand as if they wouldn't meet anymore for the rest of the day.

While walking, Charlotte said out loud, "Dimitri will bring you to your dress room where you can try your suit. There should be a few maids waiting for you there."

"Before that..." Noel pointed at the entrance. "We will be parading from the gate all the way to this place, right?"

"Yes. Charlotte will handle the details, but basically, you're going to come from the train station. We have prepared the route for you. There will be two teams dispatched for this. The first team will be handling the security of the entire parade while the second team will be escorting you.

"We'll close this temple for that day, so you shall be the first one to enter and the Saintess will be waiting for you here. After that, both of you will head to the dressing room and change into your new clothes. The rest is the ceremony you should be familiar with," Dimitri answered.

"Our priests will take care of the injuries and other details," Paladin Lloyd added.

"Alright." Noel thought for a moment. "During this time, I also want to create a festival for the common people."

"Yes. Charlotte said the same thing. It would be better to create a banquet for all the common people too. That's why we have prepared more than a hundred cooks and a hundred volunteers to take care of the food. It's only right for both the lord and his subjects to enjoy such a joyous occasion."

"That's good enough." Noel smiled, satisfied.

"The parade will start after lunch, so this ceremony should end one or two hours before dusk. You can then proceed to the banquet venue and take some rest while changing into your new clothes before greeting the nobles and families coming here. The rest will also begin their festival slightly away from this place so that the nobles who are returning won't do anything to the commoners."

"It seems that you have prepared everything."

"Yes. After this is done, you will then head to the mansion we've prepared to take a rest. The festival is said to be held for three days. You can greet the people in the second day and return on the third day."

Noel nodded with a serious expression. "Alright. That sounds good enough for me."

"Yes, Charlotte will tell you the details since she will be leading everything from the main city."

"Got it." Noel suddenly stopped when he heard a voice coming from the dressing room.

"Oh my goodness. You are so beautiful."

Noel glanced for a moment as it definitely piqued his interest. However, Dimitri calmly stopped him. "It would be best not to approach that place, Master."

"I know." Noel scratched the back of his head. If he went there, it would ruin all the surprises and excitement.

"Charlotte told me that you would definitely be surprised. She is prepared to retire right away if it doesn't satisfy you."

"Really? Then I'm looking forward to it." Noel nodded. For now, he had to refrain himself even though he couldn't really wait.

After all, it wasn't just Anna who was excited about this marriage.

"What about the guests? I mean, from our families."

"The Ezenholm family is going to arrive two days prior. It appears that they are coming with full force: your grandfather, your uncle and his wife, and their children. All three members of the Stargaze family: the marquis, his wife, and the lady's older brother will also come. From the Allevion family's side, it appears they don't plan to bring the children here so as to avoid the immature from disturbing the ceremony.

"And more importantly, the Zaecuria Kingdom is planning to send their crown prince. The king wants to come personally, but to avoid stealing the show from you, he sends the crown prince and the prime minister.

"The problem lies in the Greenwood Kingdom. They are more sensitive to the succession problem, so the king can't go nor can he send the princes and princesses to represent him since it will be seen as an act of the king supporting them in the throne battle. However, he plans to send the prime minister and Mr. Damian along with your disciple as their representatives."

Noel nodded. "I appreciate his thoughts. But we shouldn't worry for now, right?"

"Yes. We have a lot of projects with the Greenwood Kingdom, so I don't think they will mess this up."

"That's good. The nobles are also good, yes?"

"They have replied back to us. However, there is something that I'm worried about. Among the letter, there is one person that I'm concerned about."

Noel felt like he knew who he was talking about. He just patted him while saying, "It's fine. I haven't told you about it, but this is also a part of the plan."