Chapter 1089 A Game 3
Daneel froze as he heard this. Marriage? Wasn't he too young for that?
This thought instantly went away when he looked into her eyes filled with love.
Too young? Who am I kidding? If I combined the years spent on Earth and here, I would be close to 35 years old! Even if all those years spent on Earth are just a blur, now...I'm 21 years old on Angaria! Isn't that the perfect age to marry?
He had never thought that such an important thing in his life would come upon him so suddenly, but the notion of being blessed by his parents while saying vows made him smile.
Only...that smile faded a little when he heard Xuan speak, as her words reminded him of something he had forgotten all these days.
"Because I was powerless, I was tortured for months and I almost lost myself in that sea of agony. Never again will I ever let that happen to me, or anyone close to me. I dream of reaching the very peak of power possible so that I can protect myself, and all those I care about. And yes...I also desire to be married to the love of my life while standing next to my sister."
Xuan's and Eloise's eyes met as the former said the last part, and when those present who had still not figured it out understood just what they were talking about, startled gasps were heard in the air.
The loudest came from his father...who looked at him with one eyebrow raised to the Heavens.
Daneel could not meet his gaze, so with a cough, he gestured at Xuan to pass on the flagon.
Thankfully, his brother came to his rescue.
"Power and women, in no particular order! Just like my sister-in-law-to-be, I want to see what lies at the top! And on the way...I want to marry a thousand women! There's no way I'll stop at two like my dear brother! HAHAHA-"
"Oh? Let us see what your father, the righteous Hawk, says when I tell him about this..."
This one sentence from Robert made Elanev gulp and shut his mouth. He then looked at Daneel apologetically, who shrugged and shook his head, indicating that he would handle his parents himself.
Next came Kellor, who looked at everyone present with a broad smile on his face and said, "I am an old man. What desire can I have, except to see all of you young folk live your lives happily? Of course, like Eloise, I want to build that paradise, too...but I'm confident that our Godking will succeed in doing that even if I am not there to help. All I want...is for all of you to grow old without regrets. For that, I am willing to do anything."
Kellor's words made everyone feel warm, but that atmosphere changed again when Faxul spoke.
"I want to kill. I want to kill all those who seek to do evil, no matter where they are. And for that, I need power, so I will reach the peak, as well. I want no other families to be ripped apart like mine was, so I will be the executioner in the paradise that we create."
Heavy. And exactly what I expected from you, my friend.
Everyone stared at Faxul for a few moments as this was more than he had said in weeks, but after seeing that he took the largest sip yet, it became clear that he had still not forgotten the way his parents had been killed by those that had wanted power.
When the flagon passed to Percy, though, the mood picked up again.
"I...don't know what I want. I like power. I like women, too. But maybe...what I would like more is a family. I never had one, but now, I feel like I am a part of one...so I don't want this feeling to leave, ever. For that, I want to grow powerful so that I can stand beside you all."
Hearing his honest words, Eloise and Xuan both got up and went to ruffle his hair and plant a kiss on his cheeks. He blushed as they did this, but everyone knew that the two women thought of him as a sweet younger brother. As for the rest, they nodded approvingly, as if they felt the same, and seeing this, Daneel felt very, very happy about the decisions he had made to not bear his burdens alone.
"I'll speak for both of us. We want to get married with all of you as our guests...like Percy said, you are our family. Other than that, all we want is a safe world where we can be parents to many, many kids. Both of us were orphans who entered the army to live on...so we want to give the gift that we didn't have to as many as possible."
"Oh, and I want a Palace and all the money in the world...ow!"
As Cassandra made the part of the log below Aran catch fire, everyone laughed when he got up and began to pat out the fire on his ass.
He sat down with a scowl after that, but passed on the flagon after giving his wife-to-be a kiss.
"My wish is the same as that of Percy, but I also want to see the sect that my father loved so much ascend to great heights."
Short and sweet: that was how Luther always spoke, so hearing him, no one was surprised.
But when the flagon passed to Robert, everyone bent forward to see what he would say.
Raising the glass in his son's direction, he said, "My only desire, ever, was to give my son a good life. How could I have known that he would be the one doing the same to millions of people? I am happy that I was the best father I could be, so apart from that...I just wish to spend as much time as possible with my wife, and to see this paradise that you're all talking about. When it happens, have no doubt that I'll boast to everyone that my son made it happen! Oh, and Daneel...come to your mother's room after this. We need to talk."
Seeing the all-powerful Godking gulp and nod meekly after hearing his father's words, Elanev was the first one to burst into laughter, and soon, the rest followed.
Daneel didn't know where to look, so when the flagon passed to the three present who weren't sovereigns, he sighed with relief.
"Since we're on the topic, let me announce that we've decided to get married, too! Oh, Drakos, I can't wait to be your mother!"
A shocked silence appeared in the air as soon as Arafell said this, and curiously enough, even the Emperor and Drakos were looking at her as if they didn't know who she was.
Still, she maintained her confident expression and turned to the Emperor, who finally shrugged after a pause and said, "Why not?"
This was possibly the strangest announcement yet, but with the desire to get them back on track, Daneel cleared his throat and said, "Ahem! Congratulations, but let's get back to the game!"
Arafell was beaming due to the Emperor's reply, which had let everyone present realize that she had planned it so that the man would make the decision in their presence instead of delaying it for any reason. On hearing Daneel, she nodded and took a sip before saying, "My desire is to get a body, too, like my dear son. And...I also wish to go beyond the Sea and see what lies in the Mainland. That wish is something I had in the days I spent alone as the Queen, so now, it is much weaker. Still, its present, but first, I would like to spend a few decades with my happy family."
Drakos could be seen edging away every time he was referred to as her 'son', but when she passed the flagon to him, he had no choice but to stay where he was.
"I am in the debt of the young King for this body of mine, even though he says that it is what I deserved after helping him in all these years. I disagree, so in the war, I will show that it was worth it. Other than that...my deepest desire is to find out what happened to the sect of the woman I was prepared to find her. I just...want to talk to her once. After the war, I hope it happens."
His melancholy tone made everyone look at him with pity, as they all knew just how depressed he had become on hearing the news of the possible betrayal of the woman he had believed in.
Patting his son's shoulder, the Emperor took a long swig of the flagon and spoke.
"I wanted to build an Empire that would last for eons. That was always my most fervent dream, and now, after the war...I wish to see it happen in the hands of the man I see as my disciple, and son. I know he will be successful."
With that, the flagon finally returned to Daneel, who looked at the Emperor and nodded after hearing his wish.
After that, he looked at each and every person in front of him and etched all of their faces, and this moment in his mind.
Holding the flagon aloft, he shouted, "AND MY DREAM IS TO SEE ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE! My dear friends...each of you have stated wishes that I share. All I want is for them, and also those of all those below us to be fulfilled. I will be successful. And Angaria will stand, forever and ever and ever. For once, Percy said something useful: this is my family, and I am honored to be a part of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being in my life...and together, let us save our home. Long live Angaria!!!"