Around the stage that had been prepared, there were many people who looked to be peasants standing around, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
At the same time, to the side, there were some people who were dressed in fancier clothes that were sitting down in chairs that were also waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Seeing all of this, I couldn't help feeling even more confused.
But I didn't have time to ask anything as the carriage suddenly stopped.
When it stopped, the driver came over to open the door, but Madame Rose didn't go out.
Instead, she reached her hand out to me once again.
I was in a daze at first since this situation overwhelmed me, but I still took her hand in the end. Then the two of us came out of the carriage and walked up to the stage together.
As soon as we appeared, we became the center of attention.
Everyone was dazzled by Madame Rose's beauty at first, but then they quickly turned their attention to me.
As for the kind of attention that I received, it wasn't the positive kind.
After all, I was some unknown kid who was escorting Madame Rose, walking alongside her like I was her equal.
For these people, they naturally thought that I was some upstart who was above my position.
Seeing this, I wanted to move a few steps back so that I was following Madame Rose, but she suddenly grabbed my arm and stopped me from doing this. When I looked at her, she looked back at me with a firm look that stopped me from doing anything else.
The two of us walked right up to the stage and once I escorted her to the main position, I wanted to move to the side. The people gathered here were here for Madame Rose's ceremony, so they wouldn't want someone like me on stage with her.
But once again, she grabbed my arm and forced me to stand beside her.
I could only stand there with a bitter smile on my face.
I didn't know what she wanted to do, but the piercing glares coming from the crowd really did hurt.
After a short silence, Madame Rose said, "As you are all aware, the Lord Baron has perished."
As soon as her voice fell, everyone's chin couldn't help dropping in shock, including my own.
It wasn't shock over the news, but rather over the fact that she had announced something like this as bluntly as she did.
Normally, one would try to hide something as volatile as this for as long as possible and not announce it in such an open fashion. However, Madame Rose went against the norm and announced it without hesitation in such an open place.
Seeing the shock on everyone's face, Madame Rose didn't seem to care as she continued, "Since the Lord Baron has perished, it is my right as his wife to inherit his title since we do not have an heir."
Everyone slowly came back from their shock and slowly nodded in agreement to this.
There wasn't anyone that seemed to be opposed to this statement.
Among these commoners, Madame Rose had quite the good reputation.
It wasn't just because she was beautiful, although that was a big part of it. It was because she had enacted many different policies that had improved the lives of these commoners.
Others didn't know, but I knew that it was all part of the Lord Baron's plan as well for her to have this reputation.
After all, it would be even more devastating for her to be framed as a demon worshiper if she had this good reputation.
So he wanted to build this good reputation for her.
But it all backfired in the end since he was now dead and she was in prime position to take over his title.
As I listened, I realized what this ceremony was all about.
It was a ceremony for Madame Rose to take over the position of Baroness formally so that she would be able to do what she needed to do.
This was something that needed to happen as soon as possible since there was the looming threat of the monster wave on this town. So that was why she had announced the death of the Lord Baron without any hesitation.
It seemed like Madame Rose had already planned everything.
Seeing that most everyone was in support of the succession that she had just announced, Madame Rose gave a satisfied nod before turning to someone who had been waiting on the side the entire time.
This person was the priest from the local church who was here to preside over the succession ceremony.
As the priest from the church, he had the divine right from God to bestow these noble titles and preside over succession ceremonies.
The priest came over and stood in front of Madame Rose, raising the staff in his hand before saying, "Do you swear to protect your subjects according to the title that has been bestowed upon you? Do you swear to uphold your responsibilities to the people as one of the nobles chosen by God?"
Madame Rose said with a nod, "I swear."
The priest brought the staff forward and Madame Rose bowed slightly for the priest to tap the staff over her head.
The priest brought his hands together and said, "I bestow upon you the title of Baroness in accordance with the will of God."
There was silence that followed this, but then the crowd broke out in cheers.
Madame…Baroness Rose stood up and waved her hand at the people to acknowledge this.
To the side, I also clapped along with the crowd.
I knew that with this, the plot of the story had changed and now there was a chance that…
Before I could think any further about this, Baroness Rose came over and took me by the arm, pulling me in front of the crowd and the priest.
The crowd and the priest all fell silent as they were stunned by this, but that wasn't the greatest shock that they received yet.
Baroness Rose suddenly said, "This man will officially be my new husband and the new Lord Baron."