My Celestial Ascension

Crown Princess Elara took some time to digest everything she heard from Yuan, and Valeria also explained to her how she had fallen in love with him after suffering defeat at his hands.

Duchess Evelina, Lady Natasha, Miss Zara, and Queen Matilda were surprised to hear that Yuan had won against Valeria with overwhelming power, making her admit defeat willingly.

"It's very romantic, falling in love with the person who defeated you with such power," someone commented. "It's something most women would like to experience at least once in their lives."

'Well, it's kind of my fault for not sending a letter back to the Royal Palace. If I had sent the letter, this wouldn't have happened…I hope Aunt Valeria doesn't direct her anger at me,' Daniel thought, his face showing panic as he felt Valeria's intense glare on him.

After a moment of silence, Princess Elara looked at her brother and asked, "You knew about this and chose to keep quiet until now? I wonder how Father will react when I tell him everything."

"Well, I was so exhausted after coming out of the forest that I slept the whole day and forgot to write a letter…hehe~," Daniel replied, looking at his sister and laughing awkwardly, trying to make an excuse to save himself.

"Is that so…" Princess Elara raised her brows, suspicion evident on her face, but then she nodded. "Well, staying in a forest full of deadly monsters for months is no easy task. Your words make some sense."

"Thank you for understanding, dear sister," Daniel sighed in relief at her response, feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Duchess Evelina then approached Yuan with a smile and said, "You are truly something else to be able to handle someone like Valeria… But I suppose it makes sense; a strong woman like her needs a strong man."

Yuan only smiled and didn't say anything, while Valeria felt deeply embarrassed. Her face turned red, but she looked very cute, almost like an ordinary girl in love.

Princess Elara then turned to Valeria with a smile, feeling genuinely happy for her aunt. "Aunt Valeria, congratulations on finding yourself such a handsome husband. I'm very happy for you."

"Thanks, Elara," Valeria nodded with a smile before mumbling, "I wonder how that idiot brother of mine will react to this news. I hope he doesn't have a heart attack when he hears it."

"I hope nothing happens to him, or who will rule the empire…" Valeria sighed, thinking about her brother—the current Emperor of the Lionheart Empire.

"Don't worry, he's tougher than you think, but I'm sure he'll be shocked by the news of you getting married," Princess Elara said with a smile.

"Well, it's my actions that have made him fear me the most," Valeria sighed and took a deep breath. "I bullied him a lot when we were younger. I always beat him to a pulp and used him as my punching bag."

Yuan, his wives, and everyone else who heard this looked at Valeria, dumbfounded. They were shocked to learn that Valeria had bullied the Emperor in their youth. This was truly unexpected.

"Hmm? Why are you all looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" Valeria asked, confused.

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"Well, I never expected my wife to be a bully when she was young… This is some unexpected knowledge about you," Yuan mumbled with a wide grin, looking directly into Valeria's beautiful golden-brown eyes.

"Are you trying to tease me now, Yuan?" Valeria asked, her face flushing a deep red. She stomped her foot on the ground, almost like an angry child.

"And why would I do that? You're just overthinking things…" Yuan shrugged, then smiled before hugging her from behind.

The banquet continued, and Yuan, his wives, Miss Zara, and Little Zoe spent the next few hours chatting with their new acquaintances, attracting a lot of attention from the other nobles and aristocrats.

Duchess Evelina looked at Little Zoe and Miss Zara, then turned to Yuan and asked curiously, "Is this adorable cutie your daughter, Yuan?"

"Nah, she isn't," Yuan quickly replied, shaking his head. "Miss Zara is the owner of the inn we're staying at. She's a good acquaintance and Lily's sister. We invited her to attend the banquet with us."

"I see…for a moment, I thought she was your daughter," Duchess Evelina said before turning to Miss Zara. "Please forgive me for the misunderstanding."

"It's alright, it happens sometimes," Miss Zara responded with a smile, not taking it to heart.

"But I have to say, your daughter is really adorable…What's her name?" Duchess Evelina asked, finding the little girl too cute to ignore.

"My name is Zoe, Auntie!" Little Zoe introduced herself with a bright, cheerful smile.

"Zoe, huh? What a beautiful name for such an adorable girl. It suits you perfectly," Duchess Evelina said with a smile, clearly amused by the little girl's confidence.

If any other child had been in Zoe's place, they might have been frightened by Duchess Evelina's aura and presence alone. Speaking to her so calmly and cheerfully would be out of the question.

'This little girl is not as simple as she seems…Is she really a commoner? Even princes and princesses from royal families find my presence intimidating and prefer to stay away from me,' Duchess Evelina thought.

'However, that's not the case with this commoner girl…How very strange and unexpected.'

After a few more moments of conversation and sharing thoughts, Natasha asked Yuan and his wives about their experiences inside the Forest of Never Return.

Her question immediately piqued everyone's interest, especially Duchess Evelina and Princess Elara, though Alistair remained indifferent and silent.

"Young Master Yuan, please tell us about the powerful monsters you encountered inside the forest. There must have been some truly fearsome creatures, and I'd love to hear about them," Duchess Evelina said, a pleading look on her face showing her eagerness to listen to his tale.

"Yes, Uncle Yuan, tell us everything! Quickly, I'm dying to know!" Princess Elara exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"U-Uncle??!" Yuan was dumbfounded by this term. His eyes and mouth were wide open as if he'd swallowed a live fly.

"Pffft…!" Daniel tried his best to stifle his laughter but failed, bursting out laughing.

"Hahaha! Uncle…This is the most hilarious thing I've ever heard!" Lily exclaimed, laughing so hard that she held her stomach.

"My, oh my, I didn't see that coming. How surprising!" Anna Grace mumbled with a chuckle, trying not to laugh at her son.

Yuan sighed, then looked at Princess Elara and said, "You should know that I'm only nineteen. Please just call me by my name. I hate being called 'Uncle.'"

"But you're my aunt's husband, so you're my uncle," Princess Elara replied with a teasing smile.

"Fufu~ Stop teasing your 'Uncle,' Elara…You're making him angry," Valeria said with a smirk, as if taking revenge for an earlier slight.

A few moments later, they began enjoying the exquisite feast that King Richard had specifically prepared for the banquet. Every dish on the menu was rare and made from exceptional ingredients.

"This is heaven…I never expected King Richard to prepare such an exquisite feast for the banquet!" Duchess Evelina exclaimed, surprised by the dishes. She immediately tried a random dish and was amazed by its taste.

"Well, I've never seen so many dishes prepared using rare magical monster meat at once! Coming here was indeed the best choice!" Princess Fiona added with a smile as she began eating gracefully.

Queen Matilda and Princess Fiona couldn't help but feel proud upon hearing the praise from various guests. They had carefully selected the dishes for the banquet, ensuring they would leave everyone speechless.

"As the person who arranged the feast, I feel very honored by your praise," Queen Matilda said with a proud smile, clearly pleased.

"So you were in charge of the food. No wonder it took you longer to arrive at the ballroom…Everything makes sense now," Duchess Evelina said, laughing.

Soon, the other guests also began enjoying the feast, following Yuan and his group's lead.

As everyone started eating, the entire ballroom filled with murmurs of delight. The food was widely praised, and everyone felt fortunate to have attended the banquet.

Not only was the banquet grand in the number of guests invited, but the exquisite wine and food surpassed everything else. All the dishes were prepared using meat from various magical monsters.

Even the Imperial family can't throw such a lavish banquet without months of planning. Gathering such expensive and rare ingredients for the feast would take a considerable amount of time.

Not to mention, the Imperial family would have to spend a fortune to acquire such rare ingredients, as they are only sold through auctions to maximize profit.

After dinner, Miss Zara noticed that Little Zoe was struggling to stay awake, her eyes drooping with fatigue.

"Yuan, Zoe is feeling tired and is about to fall asleep. I think we should return to the inn," Miss Zara said, feeling a bit reluctant to interrupt him as the banquet was still in full swing.

"I can't blame her. After all, she's had so much fun here," Yuan said, looking at Little Zoe with a smile.

"Since Little Zoe is feeling sleepy, how about we head back to the inn and call it a night? Besides, it's getting quite late," Anna Grace suggested, glancing outside with her divine sense.

"Well, let's call it a night then," Yuan agreed, smiling.

"Are you guys thinking of leaving already? It's so soon—stay a while longer," Lady Natasha said, looking at Yuan with anticipation.

"Please forgive us, but we can't stay any longer. Little Zoe is very sleepy, and it's best that we take her home," Yuan said, with an apologetic look, feeling a bit reluctant to refuse her.

"Oh, I see…then I won't keep you. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning," Lady Natasha said, though she sounded slightly disappointed.

"…Sure. We'll talk tomorrow," Yuan replied, nodding at her with a smile.

Shortly after, Yuan and his wives left the banquet with Miss Zara and Little Zoe. Aside from Lady Natasha, no one noticed their departure, as the other guests were engrossed in their conversations.

Once Yuan left the banquet, Duchess Evelina and Princess Elara approached Lady Natasha, glancing around before Princess Elara asked, "Lady Natasha, where did my aunt and her new family go? I can't seem to find them."

"I can't find them either," Duchess Evelina added.

"They left a moment ago," Lady Natasha replied directly.

"What?! They left already? Unbelievable!"

Both Duchess Evelina and Princess Elara were in disbelief. They looked around but couldn't find any trace of them.

"I can't believe they left without saying goodbye to me. So unfair," Princess Elara pouted, feeling a bit angry at her aunt for not informing her before leaving.

'Tsk! I should've asked him and his wives to join my family sooner. Now I've lost a great opportunity to recruit them!' Duchess Evelina felt a strong sense of irritation and loss, having failed to recruit Yuan and his wives into her family.

Princess Elara then asked, "By the way, Lady Natasha, did they tell you why they left so early?"

"Apparently, the little girl was extremely tired and was about to fall asleep, so they decided to leave right away," Lady Natasha explained with a calm, composed tone.

"I see…"

Some time later, Yuan, his wives, Miss Zara, and Little Zoe returned to the 'Common Realm' and headed back to the inn. The streets were still bustling with people, and the vendors were open, as everyone continued celebrating. The king had arranged food for everyone, creating a huge feast that left the people in high spirits.

Yuan and his group ignored the commotion and made their way back to the inn. Little Zoe, now completely asleep, was being carried by Yuan.