Otherworld Adventure 318 The Wives' Families

"Uhm, dare I ask, why aren't we qualified?" Serilla asked without flaring out in anger.

"Hmph, it's customary for the successor's wife to be picked by the elder council. What Cecil's done has gone against our tradition."

Serilla turned to look back at Kaiser and Anastasia. She thought to herself, was Cecil's parents also forced like this?

Seeing her thoughtful expression, Anastasia knew what was going through Serilla's mind.

"Oh, we weren't forced, sweetheart. Unlike the previous heads, Kaiser was an exception because...uhm..." Anastasia didn't continue her words, but Kaiser finished for her.

"My eldest brother was originally the heir. Unfortunately, by some accident, he pa.s.sed away and I was forced to step up. The only condition I had was that I was able to marry Anastasia and raise my children as I wanted without any interference from the elders."

"Well, I did have to prove myself to the elders before that..." Anastasia added.

Serilla nodded in response to Kaiser's explanation. This explained why all of Cecil's siblings were able to decline the right to become heir.

"Well, if that was the condition... then shouldn't Cecil's choice of a wife be his to make then?" Serilla asked.

"Wrong. That is our decision to make. I don't expect you to understand our traditions, but if you don't want your husband to experience any hindrances during his time as the next Patriarch then you should leave his side," The elder said.

"Hey, Kuran! I know that you've been against me, but you should drop with this act! Do you think she can leave him now? She's carrying this family's child and did you not hear what Cecil just declared to you people just now?!" King roared in anger at the elder who had been doing all the talking up until now.

"Hmph, the family's traditions come first and foremost. So, Serilla, if you would kindly leave our family's future head—"

"Mother-in-law was able to prove herself to you all that she was qualified to be the next Matriach, so what do I need to do to prove myself?" Serilla interrupted

"Hoh! So you won't back down?"

"Why would I?"

"Hmph, before all that, do you think we'll accept just any country b.u.mpkin that wants to climb the ladder of success by clinging onto our family?"

"Hm? I don't care about that though?" Serilla immediately replied in confusion. What did marrying her darling have anything to do with success?

"Hmph! We know just how powerful the next Patriarch is. Isn't this world all about those with personal power? It's obvious that you want to cling to Cecil to get ahead in this world!"

"Uhm...hmmm... I was indeed attracted to darling because he was strong, but that's hardly the reason why I love him. Besides, if it's about getting 'ahead' in this world, I'd hardly need darling for that."

"?"

"With my family's status, I really don't need to cling to darling to get ahead in the world... besides, darling was only a wanderer back then. If I was as materialistic and narrow-minded as you think I am, then I wouldn't have chased after my darling. I had a pretty comfortable life y' know." Serilla said.

Anastasia stepped up and asked, "I haven't asked, but what status did your family hold, Seri?"

"We were my kingdom's protectors!"

"Protectors you say, but that could be anything! Your parents could have just been gatekeepers for all we know!" Kuran mocked.

Serilla frowned a little before saying, "Can I have my husband bring them over then?"

"Huh?"

"We were going to tell my parents about my pregnancy anyways but... my mother hasn't approved of our marriage just yet so I was still a little hesitant..."

"Wait, what?"

"It's not something I'm proud of, but I sort of eloped with darling..." Serilla added with a somewhat embarra.s.sed look.

"..."

"Is this true Seri?!" Anastasia asked.

"Well... my mother is still pretty angry because I ran out of the house when I was supposed to become the kingdom's next Sword Saintess..."

"Sword...Saintess?"

"It's just a t.i.tle that's held by the strongest swordswoman in the kingdom..."

"Hmmm... so by protectors, do you mean that your family is the kingdom's royal family?"

"Oh no, that's my friend's family. My family, the Lunarts, only serves under the royal family and our house has been producing the strongest swordswoman for centuries and we've always stood at the king's side as his left hand. My mother is the current Sword Saintess while I'm supposed to be the next one. However, my friend could easily take up that mantle, so I left and chased after darling! Mother's been furious ever since though..."

"I-I see..." Anastasia said with a strained smile. She had just found out that her son had stolen away such an important person from another kingdom. Now that her background was cleared up, Anastasia glared back at the elders and eyed them meaningfully.

Kaiser nodded after hearing Serilla's explanation before turning towards the elder.

"Hmm... don't you think that with her background, she's more than a good match for Cecil?"

"W-We don't know if she's telling the truth or not! We can't just take her words at face value!" Kuran argued.

"Well, as I said, I can simply have darling bring my family over and clear this up if that's fine with you all. Also, my sister, Lucia, will bring her family if you want..."

"Ah, Lulu... may I ask what's her family like, Seri?" Anastasia asked.

"I think it's better to ask her instead. Honestly, I'm not sure how her family is like! In fact, her family's a complete mystery to everyone in my kingdom!"

"Oh, shall we call her then?"

Anastasia went to the door and ordered a maid to go find Lucia for them. It didn't take long before Lucia also arrived in the room.

She looked around and curiously asked, "Is there something you need, mother-in-law?"

"It's nothing, dear, just some old people who want to ask about your family's background~" Her words caused a few elders to twitch in annoyance while Serilla suppressed the laughter that was threatening to come out. She really adored this mother-in-law of hers.

"Oh, you want to know about my Mama and Daddy?"

"That's the gist of things, dear," Anastasia replied with a smile.

"Hmmm...Well, my daddy is the head of my village!"

"Hmph! So she's just a b.u.mpkin!" Kuran immediately quipped up.

Lucia turned to look at the old man and c.o.c.k her head in confusion.

"My daddy is also the first son of the Aurielle family of Anglaria. It's an aristocratic family or something. I don't know because I only recently found out about it. Daddy went to chase after Mama so he had abandoned his t.i.tle as the next Patriarch."

"Oh?"

"While Mama...hmmm, I'm not sure about Mama. She's a mystery even to me! Mama's never really talked about her background to any of us. Daddy probably knows, but I don't."

"Hmph! For all we know, her mother might be—"

"However, she was once the Anglaria Kingdom's Magic Academy's Headmaster! And she's the master of the current headmaster! Also, my Mama's really strong and she's the one who taught me and Cel all about mana and magic!"

"So she's our family's benefactor!" Lucidna said.

"I guess... she's also Cel's adopted mother and she treats him better than even me, her daughter!" Lucia pouted cutely.

"Oh? Your mother adopted Cecil?"

"When Cel explained about how he suddenly appeared in the forest near our village, Mama was saddened by his story. She did say she always wanted a son so she adopted Cel and for a time Cel lived with us in our village!"

"Is that how it is... then, I guess I have to thank your mother for taking care of my son, Lulu," Anastasia replied gratefully.

"Ehehehe, it's nothing. Besides, Cel is now mother's son-in-law so she's even happier with it."

"So your mother's already approved of Cecil?"

"Y-yeah! Mother seemed to want us to end up together anyway..."

"Is there a reason?"

Lucia only shrugged at Anastasia's question, "Mama already noticed that I liked Cel from the start so she probably wished that her daughter's love was reciprocated, maybe?"

"I see... I bet Cecil was a little slow, right?" Anastasia said with a slightly teasing tone.

"Yes! He was so slow that it took him a year to find out that I was in love with him! It was so infuriating! Agh, just thinking about it makes me want to smash him in the face!" Lucia stomped, half in anger and half in frustration.

"Hahahaha~"

Anastasia then turned towards the elders and said, "One of Cecil's wives is from a prestigious house while the other one originates from a n.o.ble family and has a very powerful mother. There shouldn't be any more complaints regarding their backgrounds, no?"

"Y-Yes, but—"

"No more, buts! If you want, I'll kick your b.u.t.ts! As for the matter of Cecil having more than 1 wife, although it goes against our moral code, I couldn't possibly ask either of them to leave him! They've sacrificed a lot just to follow after Cecil! They're more than qualified to be my son's partners! If you have anything else to say, why not go talk it out with my son?!"

Her words left no room for argument and at the mention of Cecil's name the elders were disinclined to respond any further. If they dragged back Cecil into the picture, things might just turn for the worst for them.

Seeing that the elders were no longer spewing anymore nonsense, Anastasia immediately said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a banquet to prepare!"

She walked out of the room while holding onto both Lucia and Serilla's hand. Lucidna followed after them while King gave the elders one last huff before walking out of the room. Kaiser only said a few words before dismissing everyone.

Back at the busy main hall, Anastasia was sitting down with her two daughters-in-law and rea.s.suring them.

"You two don't need to worry about a thing! You two deserve to be by Cecil's side more than anyone else! I won't let those old fools do anything to tear you apart!"

"Thank you mother-in-law," Serilla thanked.

Lucia also said her thanks but began looking around the hall and noticed that Cecil wasn't there.

"By the way, where's Cel?"

"I was looking for darling just now. He left earlier and told me that he was going to be preparing the teleportation gate with Ren and went to look for him..." Serilla said.

"If he's looking for Ren, then he's out playing with Angelia right now..." Anastasia said when she remembered that her daughter had dragged Ren out with her earlier. "By the way, what's this about a teleportation gate?"

Lucia immediately spoke up and explained, "It's something that Cel, got after completing the World Tree's Trials. It's a high-level magi-tech that can connect two separate s.p.a.ces together and enable instantaneous travel. He was asking brother Luca about the Kingdom's ores and materials the other day and said that he'd be able to make it.

"O-Okay, but is such a thing possible? Instantaneous travel?"

"It is! That's also how we'll be bringing our families over to visit! We called them just a few days ago and my Mama said that she misses us and wants to see us soon! That's when Cel suggested building a teleportation gate that'll connect Silvaria with the Anglaria Kingdom!"

"Hmmm... did Cecil already consult this with his father?" Anastasia asked. Building a teleportation gate that'll connect two cities wasn't something that could be arbitrarily done on a whim.

This could greatly affect the two cities in various ways. There were many pros to it, but there were also just as many cons.

"Cecil talked about it with father-in-law on the way back. Father-in-law already agreed to it as long as the teleportation gate's transfers could be regulated," Serilla added.

"I see... that means we should postpone the banquet until Cecil finishes the gate! This way we can celebrate alongside your families!" Anastasia suggested.

Lucia and Serilla happily agreed with their mother-in-law, but they still continued their preparations for the banquet in the main hall. They didn't know when the teleportation gate would be finished, but it was better if their preparations were already finished by the time it was done. Knowing Cecil, he might be able to finish it in a week.

While the women were preparing for the celebration, Cecil was currently dealing with Angelia and her friends at the moment.

"So, Angel...this is your big brother?" Xin questioned as she began judging the young man in front of her.

Cecil only looked back at the few kids in front of him and smiled lightly, "Are you all Angelia's friends?"

"Yup! I hear that you're Angelia's missing brother, when did you get back?" Xin asked.

"Hey, Xin! Don't be rude to my big brother!" Angelia scolded.

"Haha, it's okay, Angel," Cecil replied. He didn't mind her friends being so casual with him.

"What brings you here big bro?"

"I wanna borrow Ren for a bit. Is that alright?"

"Eh~? We were just going to the dungeon... what do you need him for?"

"I need his help for something. It won't be long...maybe," Cecil answered.

Once Ren heard that his master needed him, he immediately spoke up, "Speak no more, Teacher. Sorry, everyone, but I have to go. If my Teacher needs me for anything, I naturally need to help out."

After Ren said his piece, he turned towards Cecil and asked, "May I ask what we're making this time, Teacher?"

"We��ll be making a teleportation gate. Now, come, we have much to do!"

"What, a teleportation gate? Teacher actually has the blueprints for one?!" Ren asked in shock.

"Of course, let's go, we have to meet with my brother and get some of the materials to craft it."

"Awesome!"

Cecil and Ren began talking about a lot of nonsensical topics while walking away. Angelia pouted a little and decided to follow after them.

"W-wait for us Angel," Xin called out and immediately followed after her friend. Marilyn and Robin also chased after her.

"Big brother Cel, Ren, wait!"