BXBX NOVEL Chapter 166
“Halt.”
As he gave a brief command, they stopped right there. Fortunately.
How embarrassing would it be to receive a proposal while the guards watched?
Kalcion passed through the soldiers’ barracks and left the campsite. Given the size of the army, they had to procure supplies midway, so they set up a campsite near the village. The village, with its lights still on, could be seen a little further away.
However, he continued towards the fields along the outskirts of the village.
Selina had no information about this village, as she had never been here before. She had hoped there might be something interesting in the village, though it seemed that wasn’t the case.
As they ventured further into the fields, they heard the bustling sound of people and the sharp grinding noise up ahead. In the middle of the pitch-black field, there was a single rock, and some people had gathered around, chipping at the rock like miners.
The people recognized Kalcion approaching and stopped their work.
“Ma, Master, you’re here?”
“Thank you for your hard work. You can go back for today.”
“Yes, of course.”
For a region known for its mines in the north, it seemed there was something valuable even in the middle of these fields.
At his command, the people retreated without hesitation.
“What is this rock?”
It was a mineral she had never seen before in the other world. It gleamed like a rainbow in the light of the torches that illuminated its surroundings. Even though it wasn’t a processed gem, it sparkled so brightly that it dazzled the eyes.
“While you were researching Songtullek’s records, I did some light exploration and stumbled upon this.”
Songtullek had left behind numerous research materials besides records for dimensional travelers. Still, no one had shown interest in them and bothered to examine them.
“At first, this stone was just plain black, so nobody paid it any mind. Though Songtullek, during his inspection, discovered it and became intrigued, leading to further analysis.”
“I see.”
“As a result, he found out that this stone is actually a star that fell from the sky.”
A meteorite, perhaps? Selina’s eyes widened in amazement at the sight of this rare and unfamiliar thing.
“In fact, I intended to present this to you as a proposal gift, but it didn’t go as planned. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break it apart… Instead, I managed to remove the black outer layer.”
When the black outer layer was removed, the brilliant rainbow-colored gem was revealed.
“Why did you choose to give me this, of all things?”
If it had originally been just a plain black stone, it wouldn’t have looked appealing as a gem.
“You said it yourself. You wanted me to pick a star from the sky.”
When had she said that…?
It seemed like today was a day for reminiscing about the past. Selina struggled to recall, and then it hit her. It was during a moment of intoxication at Count Orlen’s party when she had jokingly made that request to Kalcion.
She had said it casually, thinking Kalcion would brush it off as a mere joke. However, he hadn’t even laughed off that mere joke.
Even the promise with the joke had been taken seriously by him.
“I may not have plucked a star myself, but at least by giving you a fragment of a star, I thought I could fulfill a part of that promise.”
Ah.
It was too dazzling.
This product of the universe that had fallen from the sky. The tiny embodiment of a star that had landed on Earth.
Kalcion’s love.
It was blinding, to the point where she couldn’t even open her eyes.
As she closed her eyes, tears streamed down uncontrollably. Selina swallowed back her sobbing, stealing glances through her tears. Every blink felt like raindrops falling. Kalcion stood before her, holding both her hands, and then he got down.
“My goddess.”
A kiss on her left hand.
“My queen.”
A kiss on her right hand.
“My one and only love in my life.”
He rested his forehead on her hands, gazing up at her like an ardent devotee.
“I’ve already given everything and have nothing more to give…”
“….”
“Can you give me the right to share the rest of my life, my remaining days, and all of my being with you?”
Meeting someone who’s willing to give everything is as rare as a star falling to the Earth. It was a moment that would last long enough to fill a short life to the brim with overwhelming emotions… intoxicating happiness that couldn’t be resisted.
Tears welled up in Kalcion’s eyes as well.
“I accept. My man, my love, my brilliant world.”
Even at this moment, it seemed almost instinctual to respond with such theatrical lines, as if it were an actress’ nature.
One man proposed, and one woman willingly accepted.
Selina, the King of Selinia, before she became a world-renowned actress.
And Kalcion, before he became Duke Renbird.
Their meeting had been a cosmic miracle, and miracles created more miracles. The two of them embraced each other tightly. It was because a miracle this heartwarmingly beautiful could not be missed.
On a night when the moon had not yet risen, the starry sky shone more beautifully than ever before.
Epilogue
“Uwwooonggg!”
“Ah, could you please be a bit quieter?”
“Kuhmm, kuk, no, can Your Highness be quiet?! Kuhwaang!”
“I’m, trying, uhhuk, uugh, my best, uuhp, too… uuwaang!”
Unfitting wails resounded through the wedding of Queen Selinia and Duke Kalcion.
Fionel and Jerryel clung to each other, sobbing loudly. It was the Duke with a significantly elevated status, now upgraded to the level of a founding contributor and the king of Aclion. No one could stop them.
Except for one person, Selina.
As Selina raised her glass in a toast to Kalcion, just before taking a sip, she shot a fierce glare at the two of them.
“…Kuhp.”
“Kkuhk…”
The two of them closed their mouths, making quiet ‘kuk’ sounds instead of their earlier commotion.
Today was the day when Selina, the King of Selinia, officially held her coronation ceremony and simultaneously celebrated her wedding. When she had been a guest in Renbird, she seemed like someone who knew how to indulge in luxury, but once she became a queen herself, she became surprisingly frugal.
The coronation ceremony had been incredibly extravagant as well. It wasn’t just a simple procession; it turned into a week-long festival.
With the absence of casualties and only a few minor injuries in the war, the excitement of the festival was even greater. Originally, they had planned to conclude it in just two days, but the festive atmosphere refused to die down, and they ended up spending a whole week in celebration.
It was all fun and games when you’re enjoying yourself. The worries about money come later.
With the coronation and wedding ceremonies awaiting them, Selina made a bold decision to finish everything at once.
She was already the Queen of Selinia.
As Kalcion had assured, there wasn’t a person in these lands who didn’t know her name. That was sufficient.
“While the coronation can be grand, the wedding is all about the preferences of the couple!”
She firmly stated her preference to her courtiers, who were insisting on extravagance and grandeur.
As a result, they held a lavish parade for the commoners, but for the invited guests, the wedding of the royal couple turned out to be rather modest for a royal wedding, with only a few distinguished guest attendees.
She wanted it to be more of ‘Selina’ and ‘Kalcion’s’ wedding than a formal royal wedding.
After careful consideration, the guest list was completed. Fionelle’s name was a topic of debate until the end, but Selina decided to include it as a warning, a reminder for her to see clearly with her own eyes.
Fionel turned out to be just as expected.
Even Jerryel didn’t expect things to come to that point.
The other guests, excluding the two of them, behaved reasonably. Most of them were Aclion nobles, but they were different from the traditional nobility. After Larsen’s trial, Jerryel had not stopped at that but had purged all the nobles who had sided with Larsen.
This included Lirell, who had played both sides.
After this cleansing, key figures in the social world underwent a transformation. Those who attended this event were likely to become prominent figures in the future.
While they had endured Selina’s sternness until the end of the ceremony, they let loose again at the feast. As she casually raised her glass and mingled with others, she accidentally spilled her drink due to Jerryel, who was crying loudly and clinging to her waist.
“Sister! If there can be a wedding, there can be a divorce, too! I can wait forever!”
Of course, this feeble attempt was cut short by Kalcion’s uncouth behavior that risked war.
Next was Fionelle’s attempt, but before she could approach Kalcion, Selina’s interception blocked her path.
“He’s mine. You should go home.”
Selina had been waiting for this moment. She clung to Kalcion’s waist, laughing playfully as if teasing her.
“Hiicckk! You!”
“Oh, how dreadful.”
“I’m from a different country, so it doesn’t matter, right?!”
Indeed, it was Fionelle-like. She disliked Selina intensely, whether she was a commoner or a queen, without any prejudice. The only guest who seemed to maintain their composure amid the chaos was Count Orlen.
“Congratulations to both of you. However, Duke, if you ever break her heart, I am ready to wield a sword for the queen’s cause at any time, so please keep that in mind.”
Selina smiled and sincerely appreciated his sentiment. Kalcion, who had overheard, couldn’t help but feel his ego hurt.
“Why are you so sure I would break her heart?”
Count Orlen shrugged and said, ‘Well, we’ll have to wait and see,’ with a nonchalant tone.
The Kingdom of Selinia was a nation that emerged suddenly but eventually established itself as a fully independent country. It achieved continuous and dazzling progress by harnessing its unique intellectual resources, referred to as the ancient civilization, and the resources possessed by Renbird.
In particular, King Selina I introduced unfamiliar concepts and methods, often leaving numerous scholars baffled, but the results were consistently successful.
With the guidance of King Selina I, along with her spouse, Duke Kalcion, the kingdom had one daughter and one son.
The eldest daughter succeeded the throne of Selinia, while the son cultivated the lands north of the Saindart Mountains, focusing on domesticating the local beasts, eventually becoming the Duke of Saindart.
The royal couple displayed an unwavering commitment to each other until their last breath, and historians later described how the cold winds blowing from the Saindart Mountains turned into warm spring breezes.