"Do I have to get married?"
Ella, a Witch Princess, was fighting a war against the humans. To end it, she is married to someone from the Edelin Empire. Her husband is a slaughterer, the Black Reaper. He is a knight known throughout the continent, Du...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I was distracted by the suddenness of everything as my hand reached for one of the desserts on the table. We were in the castle garden. Despite the very important letter, the human known as my husband insisted he couldn't miss tea time with his wife. Sipping my tea, I stared at him as he sat across from me. Something interesting must have happened for him to look so amused.
"Shouldn't this be a serious matter?"
Only then did he put down the letter and sigh softly. "A guest will be arriving soon."
"What? From the royal family?"
"Carcalos."
"Not Carcalos!"
The servants in the garden began to speak of their disapproval.
"Who's that?" I asked. I didn't think it was a good thing considering the serious expressions I saw. Is it a person's name? Is it an object?
Lukas tilted his head. "It's alcohol."
"For drinking?"
"Yes." He nodded and handed me the letter.
"Let's see. 'To the Duke of Havel, the Knight of Havel, the Guardian of the North... The Crown Prince of the Edelin Empire sends his congratulations on your nuptials to the Princess of Witches Eleanor Rowen, daughter of the Queen of Witches... on the date of... in the year of... Many glad tidings to thee... I could not attend the ceremony myself, so I've prepared a small gift which I hope you'll accept... We must celebrate with Carcalos next week...' So, the alcohol mentioned here is the same alcohol I'm familiar with?"
"Mm-hmm."
The more I heard about Carcalos, the more I didn't understand. Why was everyone making a fuss about it?
The butler smiled sheepishly. "Carcalos means 'Emperor's Blessings' in the ancient language."
"That's a fancy name."
"It is the wine His Majesty gives to his subjects."
"I see."
"It is also said to be the name of a celebration held for those who helped the emperor when the empire was first established. Presently, it is done for heroes who made a great contribution during a war. The drink is to give His Majesty's blessings to a noble."
Basically...
"It is a great honor as an aristocrat to be given Carcalos," the butler said cheerfully. His smile didn't last long as sighs resounded through the garden.
"How troublesome. What kind of tricks will he play this time..."
"They will take advantage of this opportunity."
The knights called forth by my husband earlier continued to speculate.
"The number of people attending the procession will be in the dozens..."
