Chapter 1030 - The Coronation Ceremony (2/2)
“No, of course not.” Anna shook her head. “I’m just…”
Roland walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her and said, “In that case, I’ll put it in another way.”
“Another… way?”
“Yes.” Roland took a deep breath and asked in a very serious tone, “Miss Anna, I would like to hire you as my wife. Will you accept my offer?”
“Haha.” Anna burst into laughter. “No, I’m no longer a prisoner. Also…”
“Also what?”
“It’s on such a short notice.” She pounded Roland’s shoulder with her little fist, then reached out her gloved right hand and said, “Thank you, Roland. Let’s go.”
Roland grasped her hand tightly and replied, “As you command.”
…
The couple pushed the door open, walked across the hallway, down the stairs, and into the hall on the ground floor.
The hall instantly fell silent. People automatically made way for the pair while bowing their heads.
Roland glanced at the Neverwinter witches on his left side as he proceeded. He saw Tilly, Ashes, Nightingale, Wendy, Lightning and Agatha… Completely different from what they had looked like three years ago, they blended into the society and became an inseparable part of the kingdom.
On his right side stood the city hall officials and local officers, including Barov, Edith, Iron Axe, Carl, Kyle, Theo, Yorko and so on. They formed the governmental bodies in the Kingdom of Graycastle. Through the years, they have elevated themselves from common people to the prominent political figures.
The coronation should have been a very complicated procedure. However, since the witches and the officials of Neverwinter had all acknowledged Roland’s sovereignty, the process was considerably simplified.
Roland led Anna to the center of the hall, where stood a stone table with two golden crowns on it.
As both King Wimbledon III and the Church of Hermes were gone, Roland dismissed the request of the ceremonial officer to administer the coronation, insisting that the king and the queen should crown each other.
It was the first time in the history of Graycastle to crown a king and a queen at the same time.
The ceremonial officer was certainly opposed to Roland’s suggestion, but to no avail. Surprisingly, Barov sided with Roland this time.
Roland bent down and allowed Anna to crown him, and then he gently placed the other crown on her head.
When the pair turned around, everybody knelt down.
“Long live our king!”
In the cheers of the crowd, Roland and Anna walked to the platform at the other end of the room, out of the domed hall onto the balcony.
There was an eruption of noises below!
Without waiting for him to raise his hand to wave, a deafening cheer flooded over him.
“Long live King Roland!”
“Long live the king!”
“Long live the City of Neverwinter!”
The cheers were earth-shattering. The crowd was flooded with euphoria as the king ascended the throne. Streamers and petals drifted down from the balcony and swirled in the cold wind. For a moment, nobody seemed to care about the flurries of snow anymore.
Just as the city bell tolled, the cannons at the encampment of the First Army also produced thunderous roars at a distance. There, on the border of the Barbarian Land and the Western Region, rose the new King of Graycastle.