The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 453: From Humiliation to Honour

Chapter 453: From Humiliation to Honour

"All right, now... everyone, please take your seats and let the bride and groom come forward for the proclamation," the king ordered.

The couple rose from their seats and stepped forward before the dais as the Knights of Gerhard returned to their places.

"Forgive me, Prince Kiev, for making you wait," King Kyden told Kiev.

"It’s fine. Reinstating Sir Noah Brooks’s title and restoring his dignity is important, too. A few moments won’t do any harm," the Mederian Prince replied with a smile.

Back in the audience seats, Sarah turned her head away from the sight and rolled her eyes in annoyance. The fact that she was summoned to witness the wedding made her feel disgusted; she saw no value in being there. However, she could never reveal her thoughts or leave the throne hall.

The wedding commenced at Elis’s request for Garin, whom she declared her brother, to give her away to the groom. The knight, honoured by the task, stood before the couple as both sought his approval and Kiev’s oath to care for and protect Elis as his lawful wedded wife.

The ceremony continued with the king’s proclamation declaring them husband and wife, witnessed by the entire crowd.

The bride and groom’s kiss was met with a chorus of joyful applause from the audience—well, mostly...

"She is now fully yours as both your woman and wife. May you have a prosperous life and abundant happiness together," the king concluded the proclamation with his blessing.

Kiev smiled gratefully. He turned to Elis momentarily and then looked back to King Kyden.

"There’s more that I should do. Allow me, Your Majesty," he requested.

"Of course. Be my guest."

The Mederian Prince gazed at his soulmate, his eyes filled with love and passion. Elis smiled brightly back at him, her heart blooming with happiness.

Even without a grand wedding or a proper wedding dress, the solemnisation was enough to make her feel revived as if she were starting a new life.

Kiev held Elis’s hands, and they both faced the audience.

"Today, I’ve officially taken Elis as my legal wife. As such, she will bear my surname and title. From now on, she will be known as Her Highness Princess Consort Elisabeth Naver!" the Mederian Prince declared firmly.

A look of satisfaction filled his expression as he lifted his beloved’s status. Another clap rang in the throne hall for the entitlement.

"Is this over? Can I leave now? Or is there more to show?" asked the Count of Abinair sarcastically after the applause was over.

Kiev glared back at the count, but the king quickly intervened.

"You don’t get it, do you, Count of Abinair?" King Kyden asked, scrutinising him.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" the count replied, bewildered.

"Why exactly did I ask you to stay and witness this whole occasion?"

Count of Abinair shook his head in confusion, unable to comprehend the significance of his presence.

The king simply smiled and then turned to Queen Emelda.

"Also, my Queen, do you know why I demanded you and the ladies-in-waiting to join us?"

"I thought you wanted us to witness such a beautiful union and Sir Brooks’s innocence declaration," said Queen Emelda. "Wasn’t that the purpose?"

"That was indeed part of it," the king paused, his eyes trailing to the ladies-in-waiting. "But it wasn’t just that. It is also to show you all that status, position, and hierarchy in society can change in the blink of an eye. You saw it. With the marriage and the declaration by Prince Kiev, the once Miss Elisabeth Canton, a former maid of Gerhard, is now the Princess Consort of Sabel Island, and her status supersedes most of you."

Silence filled the air.

The king continued, "Count of Abinair, Lady Evelyn Harper, Lady Nancy Glenn, and Lady Sophia Lawrence... weren’t you all so proud of your nobility that you looked down on Princess Elisabeth Naver and harassed her today?"

Queen Emelda’s expression contorted at King Kyden’s remarks. The three ladies-in-waiting stood at the calling of their names, their faces pale.

"Did you really do this?" she glared at her three ladies-in-waiting. None of them dared to respond.

"Answer me!" the queen raised her voice upon receiving no reply.

"Your Majesties!" Sarah swiftly stood up and stepped forward.

The other ladies-in-waiting, fearing the wrath of their king and queen, gathered behind the chief lady-in-waiting. Naise, Sarah’s assistant, followed suit, unclear about what had transpired.

"There must be a mistake! My fellow companions wouldn’t dare to do that!" Sarah countered.

"Oh, yes, they did! Their words were so brutal that I never thought the noble ladies of Cassian knew such foul language. The fact that it came from the mouths of the ladies-in-waiting, the right-hand persons of Her Majesty the Queen, is even more shameful!" sneered Callis, who was already standing.

Sitting beside her, Rafe pulled her arm, his face filled with embarrassment.

"What? I haven’t finished!" said Callis to her husband, oblivious to his reason for pulling her back.

"Stop it, Callis! Her Majesty the Queen is right there! You are embarrassing her!" Rafe kept his voice low but firm enough for his wife to hear.

Callis turned and saw the expression on Queen Emelda’s face change red. Realising her outspokenness, she intended to apologise, but the queen suddenly rose from her seat and shouted at her ladies-in-waiting, "Did you or did you not do it?!"

Silence filled the air again. It finally broke when Evelyn hesitantly stepped forward and replied, "We were just talking and made some jokes. I guess my companions and I might have gone a bit overboard."

Her hands fidgeted with her skirt, and beads of sweat formed on her temple.

"Prince Kiev wouldn’t raise this matter if it was just a mere joke! The fact that his sister said the same shows that it is far worse than that!" reprimanded the queen.

Evelyn, Nancy, and Sophia flinched at the scolding, their mouths shutting in fear. They never thought the tables would turn, leaving them in jeopardy. At this point, there was no chance for further excuses.

Queen Emelda turned to Kiev and Elis with a guilty look.

"I’m so sorry for what happened! I never thought the ladies-in-waiting would do such a thing to you. This shouldn’t have happened!"

"They should be punished for what they did! I want Your Majesties to take further action on Count of Abinair and the ladies-in-waiting for humiliating my wife! A stringent reprimand should teach them a good lesson!" said Kiev, his voice firm.

"No way!" the count rebuked. "That was before she got married to you!"

"Either before or after, Princess Elisabeth is now a royal member of the Naver family, a distinguished lineage of the Mederians. Thus, what you did will not be taken lightly. You shall be flogged twenty times for your malicious words, which I and the rest have heard repeatedly in this throne hall. Warnings have been given to you, yet you failed to comply and disrespected her and Prince Kiev," the king decided, his gaze then pierced at the three ladies-in-waiting, who were trembling.

"As for them... since they are your people, my queen, you should announce the punishment," said King Kyden.

"Your Majesties, please! We beg you! Please forgive us! We didn’t mean to hurt her! We are so sorry!" Nancy cried.

The three of them slumped to the floor, begging for forgiveness despite knowing how strict the king was about rules.

Meanwhile, Count of Abinair stood up, anxiously looking at the door. But before he could make his escape, the Knights of Gerhard had already rounded him up and held him firmly in place.

Sarah balled her fists and bit her lip, glaring at the scene. If it weren’t for Kiev’s complaint, her subordinates wouldn’t be facing this predicament.

She knew she couldn’t beg on their behalf now, as the king had already decided on the punishment. If she did, she, too, would be dragged into it.

At that moment, she swore she would take revenge on Kiev. He might be handsome and alluring, but his rejection of her plan to separate Anna from Kyren had irritated her. Plus, she despised Callis for her bold words and actions.

"Your Majesty! With all due respect, allow me to intervene," Elis suddenly voiced, breaking the tense moment.

The monarch turned to the new bride.

"Yes, Princess Elisabeth," King Kyden acknowledged her with her new title.

Elis felt awkward with this title, but there was something more important she wished to address, which made her disregard her feelings about it. She focused on the matter at hand, determined to assert her dignity in the face of the humiliation she had endured.

"The victim in this verbal assault is me. As such, wouldn’t it be fairer if I were the one to determine their punishment?"

The king pondered for a moment.

"I guess I can allow that. Since this is a verbal assault and not physical, you have the right to demand that. If you don’t want them to receive corporal punishment, then you may suggest some compensation that you feel is deemed fit," he said.

"I would rather the first. Compensation in terms of money wouldn’t make them realise what they did was wrong. They are nobles. Throwing away a huge chunk of money wouldn’t make any difference to them, but some beatings would make them remember," Kiev interjected, holding back his anger.

"Kiev, please!" Elis held his hand and shook her head. "This is my fight. Let me resolve it my way."

"Fine, my wife. If you say so," the Mederian Prince relented, stepping back to allow her to take hold of the situation.

"As I said before, I would like to determine their punishment, with the permission of Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Cassian," Elis implored.

King Kyden’s blue eyes darted to Queen Emelda, seeking her opinion, and the queen nodded in agreement.

"Go ahead," the king decided.

Elis took a deep breath and looked at the perpetrators one by one. Then she opened her mouth and announced, "For humiliating me with your degrading words, I demand a sincere apology and for you to bow to my feet right now!"

Everyone was surprised. All this while, they had known Elis as gentle and meek, someone who had never raised her voice to anyone. How did a woman with such a behaviour change so drastically?

"That’s preposterous! How could you ask for that?" Sarah couldn’t hold back, standing in defiance.

Elis turned to her with a determined look.

"Lady Sarah James... I am no longer Elisabeth Canton, the maid of Gerhard that you know. As my husband proclaimed, I am his Princess Consort, Princess Elisabeth Naver. I may not have learned etiquette like you did, but I know enough to expect you to address me properly and show respect for my new title!"

Sarah was speechless, her cheeks flushing red as all eyes turned toward her. She wished to shout back at Elis, but noticing the watchful gazes, she knew she couldn’t.

’D*mn it!’ Sarah cursed inwardly.

Gritting her teeth, she fought the urge to scream. With a heavy feeling, like a boulder weighing on her shoulders, she downcast her eyes and bowed her head.

"Forgive me, Your Highness," she apologised.

"I forgive you. But never interrupt me in this matter again," said Elis firmly.

Sarah’s anger simmered inside. No matter how dissatisfied she was, the woman now had the upper hand, and she was bound by the noble etiquette to respect her.

Meanwhile, Kiev and the Knights of Gerhard, along with Rafe and Callis, felt a swell of pride for Elis standing up firmly for the first time. They beamed with happiness at this positive change.

With no other option left, the perpetrators had to endure the punishment that returned the humiliation to them. They lined up before Elis, conveying their deepest apology, followed by the bows.

The Count of Abinair then left with a face as red as a tomato, while the ladies-in-waiting were suspended from duty for three months with immediate effect, in addition to the punishment by Elis. After receiving the order, they left the throne hall with faces full of embarrassment.

"Where did that bravery come from?" Kiev suddenly whispered to his wife. "I’ve never seen that side of you before," he said, grinning.

"I’m a Naver now. I should live up to that surname that you have bestowed me," Elis replied with a smile.

"I’m proud of you!" Kiev kissed her cheek.

From afar, Rafe watched the couple in amazement.

"I didn’t know today would be quite the ’show!’" he remarked to Eric. "Also, thank goodness I was called just in time for this. You don’t know how my ears nearly bled from Her Majesty’s nagging because Lady Racyhard is still ill."

"Ah... The ’show’ is indeed bizarre! I didn’t get to see your wedding ’show,’ but I heard it was a ’great drama’ too!" the second-in-command knight joked.

Rafe elbowed his friend, annoyed by the teasing, but Eric just returned with a hearty laugh.

As all the occasions of the day were settled, the king announced that everyone should be dismissed. But just before Charles could open the door, it swung open violently from outside. Anryr appeared, his face pale and filled with panic.

"Help! Help! His Highness Prince Kiev! Help!" he shouted in fear.

The crowd was shocked by the steward’s sudden presence. When Anryr spotted Kiev among them, he rushed toward him, panic evident in his demeanour.

"What’s the matter, Anryr?" asked the Mederian Prince in concern.

"Lady Raychard! Lady Raychard!" The steward clutched Kiev’s arms, his chest heaving.

Anryr had never reacted like this before—ever. Due to the urgency, he didn’t even pay respect to the monarch or Kiev.

"What happened to her?" asked King Kyden.

"She’s vomiting blood!"

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