The Galentea Universal Calendar also divides the year into twelve months, but it combines the strengths of both the Elven Calendar and the Magical Calendar for the convenience of the populace in daily life and record-keeping. Each month on the Universal Calendar has thirty-five days, with three additional days placed at the end of May, September, and December — meaning these three months each have thirty-six days. These three days are recognized holidays across all regions and nations of Galentea, commonly known as the Bathing Festival, Harvest Day, and New Year's Celebration.
Because
It wasn't until the morning of the thirty-sixth day of December that Fatty Shi had everything settled. Utterly exhausted, he collapsed on the sofa and glared hatefully at Lorist, who was reading through documents. "If there's a next time," he said, "I'm definitely resigning. Always working overtime, and it's always this kind of last-minute work you add on a whim. It's truly unbearable."
Lorist smiled and pointed at him, reminding him that the New Year's celebration banquet would be held at seven in the evening and there was still some time. Fatty Shi should go home immediately, sleep for a few hours, then bathe, change, and get himself presentable. Tonight, he needed to appear energetic at the banquet, because he was not only the master of ceremonies but also on the list of newly invested territory nobles. Surely he wouldn't want to show up in a terrible state at the banquet and become the object of everyone's ridicule...
Fatty Shi bounced off the sofa in an instant, running as he called out, "Right! Everything's done, so why am I still here? I'm heading home first."
Lorist laughed and said to Shward, "He was just complaining about how exhausted he was, but look how fast he's running. Clearly, he still has plenty of energy."
Today,
"If it weren't so cold, today would be absolutely perfect," said Duke Kenmaes.
At this moment, he and Lorist, Count Filim, and Count Shahin were all standing on the rooftop terrace of the castle tower, watching ornate carriages roll down the avenue toward the central castle one after another. Behind them, Shward and his fiancée, Katarina — Count Filim's beloved daughter — were huddled in a corner whispering to each other, their young faces beaming with sweet smiles...
Duke Kenmaes had already transferred his family's territory to the Sidagler Province and also handed over the five former Northland lords that his family had been supporting to the Norton Family. Now free of all burdens, he had come specifically to join in the festivities, bringing along Count Filim and Count Shahin under the pretense of serving as honored witnesses to the Norton Family's first New Year's celebration banquet and investiture ceremony.
"In my opinion, this Rock Fortress is too small — it doesn't match your status as Grand Duke of the Northland. After all, it was originally designed as a checkpoint fortress. Now, as the capital of the Northland, its layout is rather cramped," Duke Kenmaes remarked.
Lorist nodded. "Yes, come spring, I'll be relocating to Gildusk City. That will make it easier for me to oversee the military situation in Winston Province and the Southern Province. Baron Shrade has commissioned Master Siloba to redesign and plan the southern region of the Northland and Gildusk City for next year. The only issue is that Master Siloba has made a rather embarrassing request."
"Oh? What is it?" Duke Kenmaes, Count Filim, and Count Shahin were all thoroughly curious. Everyone knew that Master Siloba was now the Norton Family's chief architectural design master — nearly every construction project had to go through his design and approval before being submitted to Lorist.
"Well, the fellow says that Gildusk City was named after the two painters and engineers, Gil and Dusk, who designed and built the city. He considers himself greater than those two, so he hopes that the redesigned city will be named after him. Otherwise, he refuses to redesign Gildusk City. Tell me, doesn't 'Siloba City' sound terribly awkward?" Lorist's brow was furrowed in distress, clearly pained by Master Siloba's habit of naming projects after himself...
"Hahaha..." Duke Kenmaes and the other two burst into laughter.
"Look, Locke, why don't you tell Master Siloba that when I return to the Southern Province, I plan to build a family castle. If he's willing to design and oversee the entire project, I'll gladly name the family castle after him," said Count Filim.
"Have you lost your mind?" Duke Kenmaes rolled his eyes at him. "Last time you said your family castle would be called Pegasus Castle — that's the name of the first family castle your ancestors built, which was later destroyed by Krisen IV during the New Moon War. Now that the
"See, that way anyone who sees it will call my castle Pegasus Castle, and won't bother looking at what the name below actually says." Count Filim smiled smugly. "Would I be that stupid?"
Duke Kenmaes was dumbfounded. "You... isn't that deceiving people?"
"What do you mean? I will genuinely carve his name on the castle for real. Of course, if other people can't read it clearly, that's just their poor eyesight — it's none of my business. The Filim Family would never engage in deception," Count Filim defended himself.
"Alright, enough scheming. I'll have Master Siloba design and build your family castle. I believe he'll be very interested in building a legendary castle from scratch, and there's no need to name it after him. Once it's completed, erecting a statue of him in front of the castle will be more than enough to make him famous," Lorist said with a smile.
"Locke, more and more people are arriving. The square below is packed with carriages. It's wonderful to see such a lively scene of gathered guests once again. Thinking about it, ever since you defeated the
"If you love the festivities so much, why don't you host your own New Year's celebration banquet? In terms of title, as of today you're officially a Duke of the Andinak Kingdom. The Sidagler Province is your family's territory — you're completely capable and fully entitled to hold a banquet. Don't tell me the Kenmaes Family has run out of money..." Lorist chuckled.
"Sigh..." Duke Kenmaes sighed. "There's really nothing to talk about with a banquet illiterate like you. Do you even know what's most important about hosting a New Year's celebration banquet? It's having a crowd — a lively atmosphere! Without a multitude of family knights and vassal lords, what kind of banquet would that even be? Just your own family sitting there in silence — where's the fun in that?"
"Well, you could appoint some. Promote a few family knights to vassal lord status — no one's stopping you..."
"They don't have the qualifications or the merit. Besides, my father said that the Kenmaes Family owes its current position mainly to the Norton Family's patronage plus a bit of luck. From now on, we should just honestly do our own work and manage our own territory. The major affairs outside are naturally for the Norton Family to handle. We just need to maintain the alliance and contribute more, and you'll naturally reward our family."
"I have to say, your father is truly a cunning old fox — pushing our Norton Family to the front as the shield while you follow behind. Even if you can't get the meat, at least you can sip some of the broth..." Lorist sighed.
"Well, there's nothing to be done about it. Who told the Norton Family to be the strongest? If you're not at the front, who should be? Don't you agree?" Duke Kenmaes said self-righteously, seeking allies.
Count Filim and Count Shahin both chuckled. Without Lorist, there would have been no four-family alliance. Without the four-family alliance, they wouldn't have risen with the tide to enjoy their current family strength and formal titles in the Andinak Kingdom. Thinking about it carefully, Duke Kenmaes had a very valid point — it was like the four families acknowledging Lorist as their leader, and when issues arose, the leader naturally charged to the front to settle things for the underlings.
"I think it's about time. Should we head down?" Count Shahin glanced at the square below, now packed with carriages, once more.
"Alright, let's all go down and get ready. Don't keep your companions waiting." Lorist readily agreed.
Today, Lorist's companion was Miss Tessidy, who had just returned from Nico Academy. She had brought back Lorist's two precious daughters. When Lorist saw her, he was taken aback — how had she become so thin? Upon asking, he learned that besides taking care of the two daughters, Miss Tessidy had devoted all her body and mind to Nico Academy. Waking early and sleeping late had naturally made her slim.
"Locke, if today weren't the day of the investiture, I wouldn't have left Nico Academy. My time is too tight — there are far too many things I need to do. So don't try to persuade me. This is my own choice..." Miss Tessidy said.
Lorist sighed deeply, walked over, and held her tightly in his arms. "My dear, the ocean of knowledge is boundless. Even if you swim through it, you should still take care of your body..."
Duke Kenmaes' companion was a plump noblewoman. According to his introduction, she was some sort of countess — of course, that particular count had long since passed from this world.
Count Filim's companion was his beloved daughter, Katarina.
Count Shahin's companion was his favorite concubine, who happened to be Duke Kenmaes' cousin. It seemed highly likely that this beautiful woman from the Kenmaes Family would soon be elevated to primary wife status by Count Shahin.
Lorist, on the arm of Miss Tessidy, led the way at the front. When these four heads of the currently prominent and influential families appeared at the banquet venue with their companions, applause thundered and cheers rang out without end.
First, Fatty Shi, as the banquet's host, represented the Norton Family in welcoming all the guests. Then Lorist went up and delivered an impassioned speech, essentially expressing that in the face of a rapidly changing situation, the Norton Family had the confidence and strength to join hands with all those brave enough to shoulder responsibility and mission to welcome the arrival of victory, and that the Norton Family would give its loyal friends a satisfactory answer, and so on. After stepping down, Lorist complained to Fatty Shi: "Who wrote this speech? The logic is complete nonsense — it made me feel so awkward reading it up there."
Fatty Shi rolled his eyes. "I stayed up all night last night rushing to finish it. When I handed it to you this morning, didn't you say you'd revise it yourself?"
Fatty Shi shrugged. "Forget it. Anyway, nobody was really listening to what you were saying — it was all just boilerplate. What everyone cares about now is the upcoming investiture ceremony. You've already read it, so you can't blame anyone else."
The investiture ceremony began shortly after. First to be invested were the seventeen former Northland lords whose territories had been reduced and reassigned to the Dreimark Province. Then came the five Northland lords transferred from the Kenmaes Family under the same conditions. After that were two nobles from the former Duchy of Madras — their family's two beauties had become Lorist's new consorts, and through this connection their families had switched sides, fortunately becoming vassal families under the Norton Family. Next were the four who had been squeezed in at the last minute — Viscount Ediths and the others, who had defected from the Iblia Kingdom to join Lorist's ranks. The last was Baron Dina, with Lorist's lover Aridori standing in for her underage brother to receive the investiture.
The ceremony was simple. Fatty Shi loudly announced each noble's family name and title. The invested noble stepped forward to bow, then accepted the silver platter presented by Shward. On the platter were the certificates of title and territory, along with the investiture decree bearing Lorist's personal signature, and the family crest imprint and certification of the invested noble.
Lorist sat casually in the seat of honor, his right hand resting on his sword planted on the ground while he extended his left hand. This posture, in noble etiquette, was the standard pose for a superior lord accepting a subordinate lord's fealty. The extended left hand signified acceptance and bestowal, while the sword planted with the right hand signified warning and majesty. Each invested noble, upon receiving the silver platter, swore loyalty to Lorist and then kissed the back of his extended left hand, before bowing once more and stepping back.
After these vassal families accepted their investiture, it was the turn of the fourteen newly elevated lords. First were Master Hyde and Master Falin, who tearfully accepted their investiture as viscounts. Kneeling before Lorist, they prostrated themselves completely, declaring that their children and grandchildren would follow only the Norton Family. Lorist had to exert considerable effort to pull the two of them up, privately wondering if he had set the rank too high and whether these two elderly masters' hearts could handle it — given their advanced age, he hoped nothing would go wrong...
Next, the investitures of Bodfeng, Fierce Tiger Ross, and the others proceeded without any complications. The only notable moment came when Fatty Shi received his investiture — his father was so overwhelmed with excitement that he fainted on the spot, much to Fatty Shi's embarrassment.
After the fourteen newly elevated lords, it was time for the honorary nobles' investiture. All five were present to receive their titles, with the sole exception of Governor Hickod, who was absent on the Haneabada Islands.
Where there were the triumphant, there were also the disappointed. Apart from these invested nobles, there were more than thirty former nobles of the Duchy of Madras present. They had been stripped of their territories, and once the Norton Family destroyed the Iblia Kingdom and occupied Winston Province, these surrendered nobles would also have their titles reduced and be reassigned there. For now, they were like the former Northland lords — they could only wait silently in the Northland.
Besides these nobles and the senior family knights and high-ranking civil officials who had come to attend, a large group of high-society figures had also come bearing tribute. In the Norton Family's territory, these were merely wealthy individuals who operated various mining operations, workshops, and trading companies. But for the entire Northland, they were considered nobility, since they all possessed noble titles and certificates of status. Even Lorist hadn't expected there to be so many honorary nobles in the Northland, most of whose noble status certificates had been issued by several small duchies that had already been destroyed by the Commercial Alliance.
Of course, the Norton Family could choose not to recognize their noble status, but the common practice was to neither confirm nor deny it, tacitly allowing them the right to attend noble gatherings. However, to receive an invitation, they still had to pay a price — such as a banquet sponsorship fee or something similar.
Duke Kenmaes was the one most familiar with these so-called honorary nobles, and watching him navigate effortlessly among the noble ladies and young misses made it clear that this was a joyful evening for him. Glancing at Miss Tessidy, who looked somewhat weary, Lorist said concernedly, "Come, my dear. Let me take you to rest first. You look terribly tired."
...(To be continued.)