Mercenary Wars

Chapter 271 Encountering Aidan Again
Princess Sarah was Christine's friend and was already scheduled to attend the birthday banquet. His Majesty the King could have easily had her represent him instead of sending Prince Joffrey, who had little connection with Christine. Therefore, Christine found this rather strange.

“Perhaps it’s for the sake of grooming a successor.” Gao Jiano thought for a moment. “As His Majesty the King’s eldest son, Joffrey will most likely be the next King of the Kingdom of Sein. His Majesty the King must want him to have more experience.”

Christine remained noncommittal: "Perhaps, but the thought of Joffrey becoming king..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but Gao Jiano certainly understood what she meant.

Prince Joffrey, who is rumored to be gay, would inevitably bring many awkward situations and even hidden dangers if he were to succeed as king.

Thinking about this, Gaogano couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. He was curious to know how the Church and the Cenn royal family would handle their relationship at that time.

They probably won't get along very well.

This seems like good news, since the confrontation between the church and the gay king should weaken the control of dogma.

During the conversation, Christine suddenly asked, "What do you think would happen if Sarah became king?"

Gaucano: "I don't know Princess Sara, but I've heard she's very knowledgeable about business. If she becomes the first queen in the history of the Kingdom of Sein, the kingdom's business may become even more prosperous."

“Not just in business, Sarah is good at many things; she’s an absolute genius!” Christine sighed as she spoke. “Unfortunately, according to the law of succession, she is destined never to become king. I heard a few years ago that the Pope tried to amend the law of succession, but there has been no result to this day…”

A few days flew by.

Christine's birthday arrived as scheduled.

Considering that this was the highest-level banquet he had ever attended since his rebirth, Gao Jiano had no choice but to prepare carefully, wearing a decent suit and learning some etiquette.

And of course, there were birthday gifts.

He couldn't afford anything too expensive, and he felt embarrassed to give anything too cheap. After thinking it over, he finally decided to give an antique ornament that he had obtained from the bishop of the desert.

Its market value is average, but it has a beautiful appearance and some unique cultural connotations, making it suitable for displaying status.

With gifts in hand and dressed in formal attire, Gaucano immediately set off for Shackleton Castle, the venue for Christine's birthday party.

The castle is quite far from Ax, but fortunately there is a direct portal, and the Shackleton family will reimburse the expenses.

Gao Jiano then went to the teleportation hall and took out the invitation to the birthday banquet: "I am a guest of the Shackleton family."

The registrar didn't require registration, but simply checked the invitation and then waved his wand: "Alright, you can go in now. You can return for free within three days."

Gaucano passed through the portal.

Suddenly, the scene before him blurred, and he found himself in a large hall of Shackleton Castle.

Several waiters were waiting there, and one of them immediately stepped forward to greet them: "Please come with me."

As a leading noble family, the Shackleton family's castle is naturally magnificent, not to mention its large scale and exquisite decorations, as well as its formidable defenses, with walls thicker than those of the South Muradin Fortress, and further enhanced by multiple magical enhancements.

If war breaks out, this place will definitely be a tough nut to crack.

It's unclear whether the Asur War left a deep psychological scar on the Shackleton family, which is why they built their family castle so imposingly.

Gaucano did not know.

After all, he had never been inside the castles of other great nobles.

Led by a waiter, he wandered through the castle, eventually arriving at a magnificent banquet hall, where he saw Christine at the entrance.

Beside Christine stood a middle-aged man with graying hair, naturally her father, Duke Oliver Shackleton. "Father, this is my friend Gaugano, whom I met at the magic academy," Christine introduced to the Duke.

Duke Oliver thought for a moment: "The one who found the Shackleton family tree and the investiture document?"

"Yes, that's him."

Duke Oliver smiled and said, "On behalf of the Shackleton family, I express my gratitude to you."

Gaucano responded politely, "It is my honor, Your Excellency."

Before he could finish speaking, another guest arrived.

The Duke was busy with pleasantries, so Christine led Gaucano into the banquet hall and to his seat.

Gaucano looked around and couldn't help but ask, "With so many seats, how many guests will come today?"

“Who knows.” Christine shrugged slightly. “Only some of them came to celebrate my birthday, and the rest just needed a reason to visit Shackleton… I just ran into three old guys I didn’t recognize who claimed to have held me as a child!”

As the two were talking, a slight commotion arose inside and outside the banquet hall.

Some whispers arose: "Prince Joffrey has arrived."

Christine immediately went to greet her.

Gao Jiano also turned his head and looked towards the entrance of the banquet hall.

Surrounded by waiters and other guests, His Highness Prince Joffrey, dressed in finery, was chatting and laughing with Duke Oliver.

The prince was handsome, with blond hair, blue eyes, and regular features.

This is not surprising; for nobles who drink potions like water, having a beautiful appearance is an easy thing.

However, Prince Joffrey's appearance is quite distinctive—he looks somewhat like a saint.

Gaucano couldn't explain why either.

The moment he saw Joffrey's face, he couldn't help but think of statues of saints.

Gao Jiano felt that this might be intentional. After all, for someone burdened with rumors of being gay, making himself appear more devout is tantamount to a form of camouflage.

Shortly after, Prince Joffrey entered the banquet hall. He was surrounded by people, and the Duke of Oliver personally led him to his seat, demonstrating the Crown Prince's prestige.

As the prince passed near Gaugano, a somewhat surprised voice came from among his entourage: "Huh?"

Sensing that the voice seemed to be directed at him, Gao Gano looked in the direction of the sound and was immediately surprised: "You are... Aidan?"

Behind Prince Joffrey was a refined-looking man, none other than Aidan, the archaeologist who had bought the ancient Asur gold coins from Gaugano.

Aidan's appearance and temperament remained unchanged, but his skin was no longer as dark as before. Instead, it was fair, like that of most nobles. It was probably because he had used a minor cosmetic potion to adjust his appearance and hadn't been to places like the desert for some time.

It was precisely because of the change in skin color that Gao Jiano did not recognize him immediately.

Gaugano looked at Aidan, then at Prince Joffrey, finally resolving his initial doubts about Aidan's identity.

No wonder he looked like a nobleman but had no surname; he was a prince's attendant.

(End of this chapter)