Chapter 311: Getting Rich

“To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until you are parted by death.” Yolanthe slowly put the scepter on Anfey’s shoulder. “Anfey, would you like to marry this beautiful woman, Suzanna, as you wife, to love her for better or for worse, until death do you part?”
Anfey just stared at Yolanthe without any response. Christian, the best man, had to nudge Anfey and remind him what to do next. “Say it.”
“I do.” Anfey suddenly realized he needed to answer the question.
“Suzanna, would you…” Yolanthe asked.
“I do.” She answered before Yolanthe could even finish his question. Suzanna was so nervous that she was stiff.
Niya was the maid of honor. She almost laughed out loud when she saw what happened. She immediately covered her mouth. Luckily, her back was to the crowd, otherwise the guests might have laughed along with her.
Yolanthe held Anfey’s hand and gently said to Suzanna, “Relax, ok?” Yolanthe held his hand out to Suzanna.
Suzanna slightly bit her lip and put her hand on Yolanthe’s palm. When Yolanthe let Anfey’s and Suzanna’s hands touch, they could not help holding each other’s hand.
“May god bless this new couple.” Yolanthe smiled and stepped back a few steps to allow Anfey and Suzanna to be the center of attention. They were greeted with long and thunderous applause.
Almost all the elites of Maho Empire had gathered here. Most of them had nothing to do with Anfey. They were being appropriately nice to Anfey. Ernest, Entos, the members of Alibaba legion were wishing the best for them from the bottom of their hearts. Everyone wore smiles on their faces, including Wester, Granden, and even Philip, who hated Anfey with a passion. No one would give Anfey a hard time right now. If anyone did, that person would be too naïve. People could sit in this hall only if they had done something extraordinary. They might have made mistakes, but not basic ones.
When Yolanthe raised his scepter again, the whole hall went quiet. Yolanthe scanned the crowd and slowly said, “Do you know why we called them newlyweds? Because only with new responsibility can people grow. For Count Anfey and beautiful Miss Suzanna. Oh, no, please forgive me, it should be for our Count Anfey and beautiful Ms. Suzanna, they are separated from their former lives from this moment forwards. Their lives do not belong just to themselves anymore. They also belong to each other. In life, every decision they make has to consider the other, and be responsible for the other. I hope this new couple will never forget their responsibilities.”
Anfey felt Yolanthe was hinting him something. At the same time, Suzanna held Anfey’s hand tighter. Obviously, she felt what Yolanthe said.
“Saul has made a quick decision to hold this wedding, and I must be the host of the wedding. No matter what I am doing right now, I hope everyone can bear with me. In this area, I am a newbie as well.” After Yolanthe finished his talk, he gave Saul and irritated glance.
Saul bowed and smiled, but said nothing.
“I have given them my blessing in the ceremony. As a king, I would like to give them a gift to express my blessing and keep this moment forever. I was not prepared for this. I guess I have to give them one of my favorites.” Yolanthe hesitated for a second before he took a ring with a blue gemstone off his right index finger. He took Anfey’s hand and put it on for him. “This will be your wedding ring. Are you happy with it?”
“Thank you, King,” Anfey said respectfully, lowering his head. In fact, Anfey did not care about the gift. Even if Yolanthe had given him a regular stone, he would still need to keep it well.
Wester, Granden, Philip and other government officials all looked shocked. They knew what kind of ring that was.
“Since the king has given such a wonderful gift, I think I need show my blessing as well.” Baery stood up and smiled. “I have had a female suit of armor for many years. Ms. Suzanna is a senior swordsman. I think she could make good use of it.”
“General Baery, are you talking about the Azure Armor of Victoria, the temporary Princess of Shansa Empire?” Prime Minister Bryn asked, to see if his guess was right.
“Prime minister, you are very wise,” Baery said, smiling. “You are right.”
Suddenly the hall became loud with everyone talking. Victoria, a temporary princess of Shansa Empire, was the biological sister of the king of Shansa Empire. She was good at administration. She loved her citizens, and tried to do everything on her own instead of just ordering others to do it. She was a bridge between royals and civilians in Shansa Empire. When the two countries were negotiating, Baery went against his promises and lead his Death Roaring legion from hundreds miles away to attack the region where negotiations were being held. Almost the whole negotiating team from Maho Empire was killed by angry Shansa Empire soldiers. Baery definitely got what he wanted, but he also paid a high price for it. Victoria was caught by Baery.
Back then Yolanthe’s father was the king of Maho Empire. He was furious when he heard what Baery had done. He ordered Baery to release Victoria immediately. Baery agreed to release Victoria but did not do as he agreed. He secretly kept her and killed her. Later, Baery was fired and all his military titles were removed. He was sent to jail. It was unclear what would happen after Victoria’s death. As time went by, the effects started to show. First of all, the king of Shansa Empire lived a life of luxury like no other king enjoyed. The nobility in Shansa Empire followed him as an example, but they were even worse and made people hate them. As a result, the conflicts in Shansa Empire grew worse to the point that fights, battles and wars occurred throughout Shansa Empire.
In fact, Yolanthe’s father later realized Baery was right, at least from the perspective of the country. However, he could not admit his own mistake and release him. After Yolanthe took the throne, his first order was amnesty. Baery was one of the people who benefited from this policy. Later, Yolanthe reappointed Baery to be the commander of a legion on the eastern border.
After the death of Victoria, the location of the Azure Armor became a mystery. Baery kept saying he did not know where it went. Back then, his influence was not as strong, but his family background was good; his sister was Yolanthe’s queen. No one really dared give him a hard time.
He was fed and treated well in jail. Even though Yolanthe’s father had ordered his guards to interrogate Baery to try to find out where the Azure Armor was, those officials kicked the ball to each other. In addition, Yolanthe had asked a favor of Baery. In the end, no one talked about the Azure Armor anymore. But here at the wedding, everybody found out Baery had it all the time.
“King, General Baery, you are giving us a hard time,” Mioritch said bitterly. “I have nothing good to give Anfey and Suzanna. I only have a Dragon Shield. I hope Ms. Suzanna will like it.”
Everyone was shocked and stared wide-eyed. Judging from the titles they held, the others did not have to give gifts better than those Baery and Mioritch had given, but Azure Armor and Dragon Shield were such amazing gifts, it would be impossible for their gifts to compare. Bruzuryano and Manstuly looked helpless. They stayed at Saul’s house and attended the party empty-handed. They wanted to schmooze with other government officials on the party. When they were asked to give gifts, they could only give their best. Anything they brought with them was very precious, and they probably did not want to give them away.
“Steger,” Yolanthe called.
“King.” Steger stood up immediately.
“You are going to keep a record of the gifts,” Yolanthe said. “You people do not have to give anything expensive. Price does not matter, thoughts matter.”
No one could give just any random gift, even though Yolanthe told them price did not matter. They were in Saul’s house now, and Anfey was a student of Saul. Yolanthe gave Anfey a gift first and set an example for everyone. The Dean of Sacred City magic academy was in charge of keeping a record of gifts. No one would dare give cheap gifts.
“Anfey, follow me.” Yolanthe gave Anfey a look.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Anfey responded.
Suzanna unconsciously followed Anfey. Yolanthe held his arm out with a smile. “Ms. Suzanna, you should stay here. It is not appropriate for the bride and groom to leave together. You need to receive your wedding gifts in person anyway.”
Suzanna had no idea what to do. She looked at Anfey. In fact, Anfey and Suzanna both liked to live quiet lives. Now they were pushed to center stage. She felt very uneasy.
Anfey nodded and followed Yolanthe to the side door. Saul called Ernest over and said something in a low voice.
A soundproof screen kept all the noises outside. The side room and the main hall became two different worlds. Yolanthe waited for a while as Saul released a magic array. Yolanthe said with a smile, “What do you think, Anfey? Are you happy? You are getting a lot of good gifts. Even if you do not do anything afterwards, you could just sell the gifts you got today and you will have a decent life.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty,” Anfey said humbly.
“You’re welcome.” Yolanthe shook his head. “You risked your life to wipe out a Griffin Aerial Unit, which determined the outcome of the war for the east boundary of the empire. Whatever gift I give you would not be good enough.”
“Your Majesty, can I ask you something?” Anfey asked.
“Of course,” Yolanthe said.
“Your majesty and the professor have made this wedding possible. You did not just want me to receive these gifts, did you? Do you have other reasons?”
“I do not want to hide it from you and have never hid anything from you, otherwise I would not have called you over.” Yolanthe smiled. “This may be premature. Anfey, do you know who Suzanna is?”
“I know some of her past, but never specifically asked her.”

Chapter 312: Methods

“Suzanna is the illegitimate daughter of Duke of Gruce Principality,” Yolanthe said as he sat down in a chair. He waved his hand at Anfey. “Darius had a lot of illegitimate children, though. At least a dozen.”

“Really?” Anfey asked, shocked.

“The dozen that survived,” Yolanthe said with a sigh. “He is a paranoid man. He believes that only his own blood could protect him. He sent all of his illegitimate children off to train to become his personal guards. Suzanna is one of the ones who survived. Those that did became extremely powerful and fiercely loyal to Darius. Did Suzanna ever tell you any of this?”

“Some of it,” Anfey said, shaking his head.

Yolanthe nodded. “Poor children. Their childhoods were taken away and they were forced to grow up with pain and tears. Even though Suzanna was Shally’s half sister and they are very close, Shally is much higher in status. Shally is Darius’s heir apparent while Suzanna was her maid. If the rumor is true, then he had more illegitimate children than we can ever imagine. Yet only a dozen survived to adulthood.”

“What about the others? What happened to them?”

“You mean Suzanna’s siblings?” Yolanthe asked, frowning. “I’m not sure. Darius was paranoid and mistrustful towards others, but in the end he still trusted the wrong person. He might be cruel, but his people didn’t care. As long as they had food and the right to live, they would not challenge his right to rule. His minister, though, is another story. Darius should have died of old age in his principality in peace, but his minister, Turagin, usurped his throne. After Darius disappeared, his guards did as well. So far, Suzanna is the only that has surfaced.”

“I never imagine there are things you do not know, Your Majesty.”

“Hurricane is still too young an organization,” Yolanthe said, shaking his head. “It is only thirty years old and still relatively small. Most of my men are in Ellisen and Shansa Empire. Gruce Principality is too far from here. It is not worth my time.”

“Is Hurricane the only information system here? What about before?”

“The old organization was destroyed,” Yolanthe whispered, his eyes downcast.

“Destroyed? By who?” Anfey asked, surprised. “It’s not Evil Mist, is it?”

“No,” Yolanthe said. “By me.”

Anfey sat back, his eyes wide. He knew that Yolanthe grabbed the throne after a bloody civil war, but he did not realize the scale of the conflict. If he could destroy a nation’s spy system, how bad was that war? Not just the royal family, Maho Empire itself must have been affected. Anfey knew that Yolanthe must not have forgotten what had happened to him. He had not chosen his heir, yet once he did, he might clear out a path for his chosen heir to minimize damage to the empire.

“It’s a shame, really,” Yolanthe said. “Good men died. A lot of them.”

“Then why are you so interested in Gruce now, Your Majesty?”

“Because Darius’s disappearance disrupted everything,” Yolanthe said. He had answered all of Anfey’s questions as if he weren’t a king but Anfey’s friend. “Three principalities existed to the north of Ellisen Empire. Northerners are fierce, reckless people, and their land is poor. Ellisen Empire has no reason to invade those principalities. As long as the principalities stayed out of their way, Ellisen Empire did not care about them. Of course, Ellisen didn’t want the principalities to get too strong, either. So they would constantly try to evoke the principalities’ anger towards each other. The three principalities had no reason to unite.

“The disappearance of Dairus changed the politics of the three principalities and gave them a chance to unite. Turagin is a newcomer. The other two aren’t familiar with him yet. But whoever he supports will win.”

“If Turagin is smart, he should know that staying neutral would be his best bet. Otherwise Gruce would be the next target,” Anfey said. Yolanthe was telling him important information and he should not hide his thoughts anymore. He needed to find a balancing point between usefulness and uselessness. He couldn’t be too helpful, but he couldn’t be a complete idiot, either.

“That’s exactly what he did,” Yolanthe said. “That’s why the other two principalities had reached an agreement to attack Gruce.”

“It seems like I have been outsmarted,” Anfey said, shaking his head.

“You’re too young still,” Yolanthe said. “I don’t want them to maintain that balance. The situation in Ellisen Empire isn’t any better. It’s significantly weakened because of the damage we dealt to Dark Moon Legion. They had moved all of their armies to the south to defend its borders against us. They don’t have time to prevent the war between the three principalities. Even if they do, I can gather my armies and pull their attention back to the south.

“For us, it is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We were always caught between Ellisen and Shansa Empire, but if the three principalities unit and ally with us, Ellisen Empire is cornered. I am confident I can destroy that country.” Yolanthe narrowed his eyes. “It would take at least ten years to build an army like the Dark Moon Legion. It would not take as long for me to occupy their capital.”

“That is wonderful, Your Majesty,” Anfey said hesitantly. “But what does that have anything to do with my wedding?”

“Because we found Darius.”

“What?”

“Darius escaped and somehow ended up with Archduke Kurigazu. My men had reported to me that they had reached an agreement. The Archduke would help Darius take back his throne, in exchange…”

“Is he stupid? Why would he believe that?”

“You’ll be surprised what we will do when we are as desperate as Darius,” Yolanthe said with a shrug. “The Archduke has his own condition, of course. He wants to marry Suzanna.”

Anfey suddenly jumped up from his chair. “What?” he asked, staring at Yolanthe.

“His only condition is a marriage alliance to Suzanna.”

Anfey took a deep breath to calm himself. “Why?” he asked. His fists were clenched tight. “If he wanted Gruce, shouldn’t he be asking to marry Shally?”

“Shally’s still too young,” Yolanthe said. “He didn’t want an heir. After he took Gruce, he only need an unfortunate accident to befall Darius and Shally. He would avenge their deaths and take the throne.” Yolanthe paused, then continued, “He wanted Suzanna because she had made a name for herself. There are no top tier powers in the three principalities. If he could marry a potential top tier power, it would be extremely beneficial.”

Yolanthe was acting natural, but in reality he was carefully observing Anfey. Anfey was clenching his fists so tight his nails were digging into his palms. His entire body was very tense as if he was trying very hard not to let his anger boil over.

“Darius agreed, of course, and signed an order. Suzanna is to return to Gruce with Shally as soon as possible,” Yolanthe said.

This was all that was needed to rip away Anfey’s calm facade. He felt his chest tighten and his ear ring. He had loved his parents very much and did not know how to cope with the pain after their sudden death. He did not want to love, because he was afraid to lose loved ones again. After everything they had been through, he realized that he had fallen in love with Suzanna. He did not want to lose the person he loves again. He knew Suzanna, and she would not turn away from her duty. Combined with the training she had gone through when she was young, Anfey knew he would soon face the pain of losing someone again.

“This is why I wanted you two to wed immediately,” Yolanthe said. He knew that he was much more powerful than either Darius or the Archduke. He could solve Anfey’s problem very easily.

“There’s no use,” Anfey said, his face pale. “Suzanna will go back. I know her.”

“How do you know? Do you not trust your love for each other?”

Anfey frowned. “Did Darius’s order reach her yet?”

“The messenger has just crossed our border.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Of course.”

“Your Majesty, I am now requesting to use the transmission portal!”

“What, do you want to kill the poor man?” Yolanthe asked, smiling. “You can kill one or two messengers, but can you kill a dozen messengers? A hundred? Suzanna was the only thing between Darius and his throne. His order will not stop coming. Why do you think I told you after the wedding? She is your wife. You have to trust her. If Suzanna finds out, what will you tell her?”

Anfey froze. He stared at Yolanthe but could not say anything.

“Sit down, sit down,” Yolanthe ordered. “Violence is not the solution. You’re too excited. Don’t worry. Suzanna is a human, is she not?”

“What?” Anfey asked.

“Darius isn’t her only parent. Her mother is a maid and was very loyal to Darius. When Suzanna left to train, she even told her to protect Darius with her life. But Darius is a very paranoid person. Eleven years ago, his palace suffered a small mutiny. He was afraid that the situation would affect the mothers of his children, so he exiled them and ordered them to be drowned. Suzanna’s mother was saved by a local hunter. She was heartbroken, of course, and started a new family with that hunter. After Darius’s disappearance, she decided to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble. After the situation calmed down, she wanted to go look for Suzanna. Unluckily for her, Turagin was hunting for Suzanna as well. She was captured then.”

“Is she alright?”

“Turagin announced that he had captured her mother and tried to get Suzanna to turn herself in. Of course, by then Suzanna is already in Maho Empire and did not know what was going on in Gruce,” Yolanthe said. “My men delivered the news. I ordered a rescue mission and, thankfully, it was successful. Turagin was afraid that Suzanna’s mother would die before she appeared, so he didn’t want to torture her. I don’t know if my men can get her back to Maho Empire alive, so I told them to help her leave a letter.”

“What kind of letter?”

“She knew that Darius wanted to marry Suzanna off and was furious. She had revealed everything she knew about him, including the fact that he sentenced her to death. If Suzanna wasn’t a senior swordsmaster, Darius would not hesitate at the fact that she was his daughter.” Yolanthe sighed and shook his head. “Even if something happens, Hurricane would preserve the letter. I trust Suzanna to make the right decision as long as she reads that letter.”

Anfey let out a sigh of relief. He sat back down onto his chair.

“I also ordered the assassination of Darius. As long as he is alive, he will always be an unknown factor. I cannot allow that,” Yolanthe said. “Are you satisfied now?”

Anfey stood up and knelt down before Yolanthe. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, his voice quivering. “Thank you so much.” He knelt on his own volition. He had calmed down and his mind was working again. Turagin had Suzanna’s mother, but Suzanna was a senior swordsmaster. He must be very prepared to defend his prisoner against the advance of a senior swordsmaster. This meant that Hurricane must have made great sacrifice to rescue her mother. Yolanthe had ordered them to kill Darius, which was another difficult task. Both of these tasks would lead to casualties. Without Yolanthe’s help, who knows what would have happened to him and Suzanna.

Saul sighed as he watched. He had become Yolanthe’s friend under similar circumstances many years ago. No matter, Yolanthe had always been a true friend.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yolanthe said as he helped Anfey up. “Come on, let’s go back to your wedding.”

Chapter 313: Room for the Wedding

After the ceremony, Anfey took the gift list from Steger. Anfey was speechless when he looked at the neatly arranged gifts. People who came for his wedding had offered their favorite things to Anfey because of the example Yolanthe set. Even Philip gave Anfey a Faith of Messenger magic scepter.
Knowledgeable Dean Steger was in charge of receiving gifts. He even took time writing a short description for most of the gifts. Besides Azure Armor and Dragon Shield, Manstuly’s Spirit pendant stood out the most, but it was also the most useless because the Spirit pendant had two parts that had been missing for many years. Only with the Spirit necklace and Spirit gemstone could the Spirit pendant maximize its power.
Bruzuryano gave Anfey a Wind Strengthened Glove. This was a practical gift for Anfey. It also showed Bruzuryano had given the gift a lot of thought. Anfey had hurt his finger in a battle when he tried to pulled the bow hard. He still had not recovered from it. The Wind Strengthened Glove would not only protect Anfey’s hand, but also increase the power of Wind Blade arrows.
The Faith of Messenger magic scepter Philip gave Anfey was meant to be sarcastic. In fact, it was a mediocre magic scepter. Besides its magic power or instant magic power, it had nothing special. It had a long history, but that was it. It was just a coincidence that every owner of this magic scepter had been a mage and became a top power later. This magic scepter was not originally named Faith of Messenger. It was called White Bird because there was a vivid white bird carved on the handle. It was not known in which generation the owner had realized that every previous owner of this magic scepter had become an archmage, so decided to change its name to Faith of Messenger to better motivate himself. He hoped he too could become a top power some day. No matter whom this magic scepter was given to, it meant encouragement. However, giving it to Anfey meant something totally different. Everyone in the Sacred City knew Anfey was a paladin who was not too great with magic and still studying in the magic academy. It was obvious that Philip was being sarcastic about Saul having a student who was a paladin and not good at magic.
Compared with other gifts, the most worthless and funny gift was from Archalchemist Jacob. His gift looked like a normal bottle of chemicals. However, the description on the back was not normal. It said that it was an advanced-level aphrodisiac made from seven-winged magic fly. Thinking that today was his wedding and how Jacob and Mioritch “fought”, Anfey felt helpless from the bottom of his heart. He could not even imagine what looks Suzanna would have if she found out about it.
“Dean, thank you for your help,” Anfey said in a low voice.
“You are welcome,” Steger replied. “I am going to check on the side room. If you need anything, you can find me there.”
“Are Master Bruzuryano and Master Manstuly there as well?” Anfey asked.
“Yes,” Steger said with a nod. Today Yolanthe had come for the negotiations with Bruzuryano and others. Attending Saul’s party and hosting Anfey and Suzanna’s wedding was just a side job for him. Saul enjoyed high social status, but he could not represent the whole of Maho Empire. Yolanthe had to approve important decisions. Yolanthe liked to pay attention to detail. He could have called Bruzuryano and Manstuly to the palace, but it seemed to aggressive. The power Bruzuryano presented was important to Yolanthe. Yolanthe believed that each party must be treated equally as a prerequisite to developing trust between two parties.
Steger slowly walked into the side room. Anfey looked back to survey the scene. He found all the guests had left. A few servants were cleaning up after his wedding ceremony. Suzanna, Christian and others were not there, just Entos. His job seemed to be to watch Anfey’s gifts. He was walking around the big table with the gifts on it.
“Master Anfey, what do we do with these gifts? Do we keep them in the storage room?” Old servants hurried over to Anfey.
“Anfey, you’d better keep them in your Dimensional ring,” Entos interrupted.
“Ok.” Anfey nodded. He walked to the table. With his telepathy, gifts on the table disappeared one after another.
“Your wedding happened too quick. Master Marino’s gift is just a magic knife. You should have seen it on the list. Please forgive him for an inexpensive gift. I have worked with him for over a dozen of years. I know him. He has been a commander of a legion but was never rich. Every time he got something nice, he would pass it on to his subordinates. He tried to make his legion happy but forgot about himself. He wanted me to tell you that he owes you this time and will make it up to you later.”
“Why would I care?” Anfey shook his head and smiled. “Entos, where is Suzanna?”
“She was taken away by Christian and a few others. They said they were getting your room ready.”
Anfey could not help but smile. There was no tradition of playing tricks on newlyweds, but all young people like parties. They definitely would do something to him.
***
At that moment, the side room looked grand and quiet. Yolanthe, Saul, Bruzuryano and a few others sat at a round table, which allowed them to sit without thinking of their rank. They talked one after another. Usually negotiations were tit for tat and involved altercation, but they did not argue. Yolanthe had showed the sincerity with his gesture. The main person in the other party was Manstuly. He was a people person and knew how to let things go. They were able to come to agreement on many sensitive issues because both parties knew they should let certain things go.
At the same time, a person in black jumped off the roof of the lower building to the ground. He was Anfey. He zigzagged in the grass to the front of the building. There was a shadow of an elf on the window facing Anfey. She looked like she was about to put out the candle and saw Anfey by accident. Anfey immediately put his finger to his lips to signal her not say anything. As Anfey’s maid, she knew it was Anfey’s wedding day. Seeing Anfey acting secretively, that proud elf could not help smiling. She waved her arm to put out the candle.
Anfey jumped with his hands holding onto the windowsill. With the momentum from pulling on the windowsill, we was able to jump high. In fact, he could have used a Wind Blade to go anywhere he wanted effortlessly, but it would have magic surges. He did not want Christian and his group to know he was there, so he used his martial art skills.
A barely-visible, grey shadow appeared on the other side of the grass, watching Anfey. Anfey’s fingers were already grabbing the windowsill on the fourth floor. As he was about to open the window, he suddenly sensed something. He looked back to see what was in the grass, but he did not notice anything.
When the window was pushed open, Suzanna, sitting on the edge of the bed, looked up in surprise and saw Anfey jumping in. When their eyes met, they both felt somewhat awkward. Getting married was not an easy decision. Both Anfey and Suzanna thought so. They should have done something special to make this wedding romantic. They did not know why their wedding was done in such a hurried way. It was hard to tell if they were not ready for it or if it just happened too fast. They both looked uneasy.
Anfey awkwardly walked over and sat down next to Suzanna. He cleared his throat and hesitantly reached his hand out to hold Suzanna around her tiny waist.
Suzanna looked calm. She glanced at Anfey but did not say anything or do anything. When Anfey tried to hold her closer to him, Suzanna suddenly remembered something and said worriedly in a low voice, “They set a Magic Watch in the room.”
F*ck! Anfey could not help cursing in his mind. Was this a battle? It was a little too late when he found out. There were sounds of steps in the hallway. Anfey gritted his teeth and walked to the door. He waited for a while and punched hard on it. With a huge crashing sound, the door started to shake vigorously. They heard a scream in surprise or possibly in pain.
Anfey pulled the door open quickly and saw about seven people running away. Only the weakest and wounded Hagan circled around with his hands on his ears. When he saw Anfey, he immediately smiled and tried to secretly moved to the side. Anfey did not know if he should laugh or be angry. He slammed the door closed.
Suzanna smiled as Anfey slowly walked back. He was looking for something to talk about. “These guys did not give you a hard time, did they?”
“No.” Suzanna put her head down.
“They will get married some day. I will teach them a lesson then.” Anfey put his hand on Suzanna’s waist as he talked.
“They did not do anything. Huh!” Suzanna screamed in surprise. They indeed did not do anything, but Anfey did. He put more strength on his arm and rolled Suzanna on the bed.
Before Suzanna could react, Anfey lay next to Suzanna. He rolled her over quick, but still gentle. He did not rush to do anything to her. He waited for a while and kissed her cheek. He waited until Suzanna was not so nervous. If he rushed to put his hands on her breasts or between her legs, he would just be a horny guy with no class. If he did that, he would either scare Suzanna or make her feel like fighting against him. If such a horny guy could make his partner passionate about sex, it only meant his partner was as horny as him. Anfey was good in bed and controlling his desires. He would not make mistakes.
Suzanna bit her lips and stared at Anfey. She heaved a long sigh like a moan. She slowly closed her eyes to indicate she could accept anything happening tonight and she trusted Anfey.

Chapter 314: Gently

Anfey carried Suzanna to his room and pushed open the door. His room was filled with candles, setting the mood for a romantic evening. He took Suzanna to his bed and summoned wind elements to snuff out the candles. The candles were beautiful, but sometimes darkness was more comforting.
Anfey undressed himself and wrapped his arms around Suzanna, who was lying in bed and trying to adjust to the darkness. Sensing his closeness, Suzanna blushed furiously. Due to powers of Heart of Nature, Anfey could see through the darkness and see the tiniest changes in Suzanna’s expression.
After a few moments, Anfey began slowly undressing Suzanna. Her dress was very hard to take off, but Anfey was very patient. He planted dozens of kisses on Suzanna’s lips and cheeks as he carefully unbuttoned her dress. He took off the dress and threw it aside, leaving the expensive garment lying on the ground.
Then he moved on to her undergarments, a thin white slip that clad tightly to her body. Suzanna blushed and pushed on Anfey’s chest, but when Anfey moved his hands away she moved closer to him.
Suzanna gasped when Anfey took off her slip, blushing.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Anfey whispered. He knew that Suzanna was slow to trust and wanted to make sure that she was completely comfortable with this. He did not want to bring her any pain or discomfort.
Suzanna bit her lips. She was a very traditional person and was very nervous about what was about to happen.
“Suzanna?” Anfey asked again. “Are you sure?” Even though Anfey appeared very confident, he was almost as nervous as Suzanna, if not more. He had taken other women to bed before, but most of those relationship had been purely physical and lasted no more than a few weeks. Suzanna was one of the few women he had truly loved and cared for. He felt as if everything he did was wrong and everything he was about to do would be wrong as well. He needed confirmation from Suzanna to proceed.
Suzanna knew that she had found someone she could trust with her life and rely on for the rest of her life. Anfey would share her happiness and sadness, and in turn his happiness and sadness would no longer be his alone. They belonged to each other and would never part. Suzanna took a deep breath and nodded. She took Anfey’s hand in hers and said, “Yes, I’ve never been more sure about anything.”
—
Anfey woke up at the crack of dawn. He opened his eyes and saw the horizon brightening. Normally, he would already be up and doing his morning exercises. Today, though, was special. He was hardworking, but he was not mad. He would make exceptions for special occasions. He knew that if Suzanna woke up and found him gone, she would be very disappointed. He would hate to see her feeling down.
Anfey turned and glanced at Suzanna. She was sound asleep. She must be having a good dream because she was smiling sweetly even as she slept. Even with her hair in disarray, she was beautiful. Anfey reached over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her closer to him. Suzanna shifted and her eyes flickered open.
“Morning,” she said with a smile. Her voice was slightly hoarse but still sweet.
“Morning, love,” Anfey said. “How are you feeling?”
“Well enough,” Suzanna said. She shifted and nestled closer to Anfey. “How are you?”
“Never better,” Anfey said, pressing a kiss on Suzanna’s hair. He pushed himself up and jumped out of bed, picking his clothes up off the floor. “Do you want to go practice a bit?”
Suzanna sat up and yawned, glancing out the window. “This early?”
“It’s light,” Anfey said, peering out the window.
Suzanna sighed. “Out,” she said, waving her hand. “I need to dress.”
“Alright,” Anfey said with a grin. He began walking away from the bed, still half naked. Suzanna sighed and shook her head.
“No, come back, come back,” she said. Anfey went back to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. Suzanna moved over and wrapped the blanket around him.
“It’s winter, don’t you remember?” she scolded. “It’s too cold. You’ll catch a cold like this.” She was his wife now, and Suzanna felt that Anfey’s well-being was her responsibility.
“Don’t worry,” Anfey assured her.
Suzanna rolled her eyes. She glanced at Anfey and found his face closer to hers than she had expected. She jumped as she locked eyes with him. The two sat, staring into each other’s eyes as if they were in a trance.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and summoned the two out of their trance. “Anfey!” someone called. “Someone’s looking for you!” Then they heard the sound of footsteps running away and giggling.
Anfey sighed and stood up. “Let’s get dressed,” he said gently. He picked up the dress Suzanna wore the night before and handed it to her.
“Yeah,” she said, smiling softly. “Let’s do that.”