As the sun started to set in the west, the moon started to rise from the north-east.
That evening, a bonfire illuminated the Mordrake city.
Cultivators, mortals, rich, and poor alike danced in a circle around the bonfire. They danced to the tune of horns and drums in the background.
All of them were celebrating the victory their Lord had achieved over the other two cities. This was in fact worth celebrating as such a thing had never been done by any Lord in the past.
Even celebrations like this where people from all the stages of society were invited together by their Lord had never occurred even once before.
The common people that had rarely eaten demon beast meat were lining around different stalls to served with the fresh Demon Beast meat procured from the Swamp Marsh forest by the puppets.
The meat was being roasted atop a small bonfire near every stall and served hot with a soup-like broth too. The grease from the meat of different Demon beast dripped into the dancing flames, making them frizzle.
There was no limit to how much one can eat which is why today the public couldn't stop themselves from stuffing their stomach to its fullest.
All the citizens were enjoying the free buffet and the celebratory atmosphere of the city square.
Alex and his family had made their appearance at the beginning to announce the start of the celebration and the feast. After staying there for some time and interacting with the citizens, all of them went back inside the manor leaving the rest to be managed by the city guards.
That same evening, Violette and Norman the Druid were riding in a carriage on their way to the Mordrake city. They were followed by twenty guards with Cen as the leader.
Cen was the commander of the Merchant Union before but now since their army had been disbanded he had decided to follow Angevine's family after he was released.
The moment Violette had left the Merchant Union city at noontime, this news was directed to Alex.
This result was what Alex had wanted to see.
Shortly before reaching the Mordrake city, Violette asked, "Uncle Norman, how much time before we get to the city?" She asked him this because it was getting dark outside.
"Lady Violette, we should be reaching there by any minute now...Look outside, can you see the city outline."
Violette nodded as the brightly lit city also came into her sight after a while.
"Can you... hear that? That's the sounds of drums and horns, are they having a party or something?" Violette asked
"I believe that is indeed what is happening," Norman smiled.
When they reached by gates, the guards welcomed them as if already knowing about their arrival today.
Some of the city guards then surrounded Violette's carriage as they walked up the road while escorting them through the still busy streets.
Violette had kept her eyes on the people walking along the side of the brightly lit street, most of the time. They looked happy and cheerful.
Since the city square was busy with the celebration, the guards diverted the carriage to another street going all the way to the manor.
The side doors of the manor were opened. Inside were two rows of guards standing in line with the utmost vigilance.
These two rows added up to nearly one hundred guards, each of them wearing armors, and they were carrying weapons like swords and bows.
Master Clayton and Jack were waiting at the back of the yard. When Violette's carriage stopped in front of them, they stood next to the carriage when Master Clayton said. "Miss Violette Angevine, Alex is waiting for you in the living room."
Violette nodded, then she, and Norman got down from the carriage. Jack then turned to her and said, "Miss Violette, please tell your men to follow the guards. They will take them somewhere to rest." He pointed his finger at the guards, and they all immediately bowed towards the guest.
Violette and the druid were surprised for a moment. They had never seen such trained soldiers before. Although they were surprised, Violette turned to the leader of the guards and said, "Cen, follow them and go rest."
Cen nodded as he and his men followed the guards.
Violette and Butler Norman politely followed behind Master Clayton. Soon a few people arrived at the large dining room, where Alex and the ladies of the Mordrake family had prepared dinner.
When Alex saw the guest come in, he quickly smiled and said, "You all arrived at the right time, the food is ready. Miss Violette, Mister Norman, please sit down. Before we talk, let's eat something first."
Although Violette and Norman only came here to talk and tell Alex about their decision, they didn't expect to be invited to eat dinner with their family the moment they entered the manor. But they didn't say anything and they both sat down along with Alex's family members.
With the servant's help, Alex brought out the meals for everyone.
Violette and Butler Norman took note of the dishes on the table. In addition to the roasted rabbit meat dipped in a very red looking gravy, and some small orange cubes, there were also some side dishes that they were unfamiliar with. Not only that, but the cooking method seemed to also be a little special.
Soon all the meals were served. These were very special dishes. Violette carefully looked over the table, but she found that she couldn't recognize any dishes. They all looked quite exotic and.... unique.
The druid was also frowning at the dishes. To tell the truth, he considered himself very knowledgeable, but the food served on the table was something he had never seen before.
Alex saw the look on Violette's face and slightly chuckled. "Come, Miss Violette, Mister Norman. Try them all. These are the specialties of my family, I have cooked all of them personally, of course, they also helped me." He pointed towards both his Aunts.
"Then I'll be polite," Violette said. "Honestly, this is the first time I have seen someone at your position readily cooking for others like a chef."
The rest of the people standing there smiled when they heard her say that to Alex.
"Yeah... it's one of my hobbies. Oh right, let me introduce you two to my family other than Master Clayton, Uncle Jack and Uncle Donald who you are already familiar with." Alex said as everyone took their seats one by one. Alex then introduces each one of them to their guest.
When Alex introduced Selena and Anna as his future wives, Violette's eyebrows raised ever so slightly. She didn't think that he would marry so soon and also to two girls.
But she didn't bother to comment on that as such things were too common in this world.
She knew territorial Lords like Alex and even some merchant families patriarchs would marry more than one women to expand their family.
One reason is to make sure the continuation of their clan bloodline and also by birthing many sons and daughters they would have more choices on selecting the best suitable successor for their family in the future.
Most of the people in this world take polygamy for granted. Sometimes even women with formidable strength marry more than one husband at a time.