Why The Hell is Fate Trying to Kill Me?

Chapter 59 Five Colours of Gold

We arrived at the Royal Encampment for the hunting event as the sun began to dip.

It wasn't a camp as I thought. I was like a city built of tents and pavilions.

Hundreds of tents were spread out across a massive clearing that had been carved out of the forest. However, dominating the centre and rising like mountains were the Five Pavilions.

I asked Mother in front of me, "What are those pavilions in the centre?"

She looked towards the centre and answered, "They are for the five central powers of the kingdom, my darling. One pavilion is for the royal family, and four pavilions are for the four powerful dukes' families... Our pavilion is in the centre as well."

I leaned towards the window as my eyes scanned the layout of the encampment.

"They all share the Gold," I whispered as I noticed the embroidery that linked the five pavilions. "But the hearts are different."

"Precisely, Aurelia..." Mother said. "Gold is an embodiment of power and unity, but each family has their own agenda and ambitions." I nodded in understanding...

I looked to the North of the pavilions.

Separated from the main centre by a respectful distance, like they wanted to be isolated, stood an encampment of strategic perfection, as if they had learnt this terrain for years. Their tents were sharp and rectangular structures made of stiff, oiled Black leather. They were arranged in a flawless grid, streets perfectly straight, like creating a temporary fortress.

The poles were plated in dull Gold, looking more like spear shafts than tent supports. The camps were so quiet. The guards stood perfectly still in front of the tents with their black heavy armour, arranged in tight formations.

"You are looking right now. It is the House Valerius... Duchess Valerie Valerius, Aurelia." Father explained. "They are known for their military precision and discipline."

"And absolutely devoid of charm," Mother interjected, her voice dripping with disgust as she looked at the black tents. "Look at them, Aurelia. Standing like statues in the mud. It is unnatural."

She snapped her teeth with a sharp click.

"Lady Valerie... she is a woman of ice. She treats her court like a barracks of an army and her family like soldiers. She is too rigid, too disciplined. She has forgotten that a lady's true power comes from her grace and her wits, not just her grip on a spear. She acts less like a Duchess and more like a...well, a golem."

I replied. "So, she is not someone we can talk to easily?"

"You cannot talk to a stone wall, my darling," Mother said dismissively. "She has no conversation, no subtlety. She despised the very concept of being 'lady'. I find her completely tedious."

I turned my gaze to the East.

It was a violent contrast to the silence of the North. Smoke floated from massive bonfires, sending sparks into the evening. Even over the rumble of our carriage wheels, I could hear loud laughter. The tents were large, round and chaotic, made of heavy red furs embroidered with thick gold threads. A banner with a Golden Axe on a Red Field snapped violently in the breeze.

"And that one?" I asked. "It looks more like a tavern celebration than a noble encampment."

"That is Romgardia, the House Aemilia," Father said with amusement in his voice. "Lady Eliana's domain, the berserk of the East."

Mother let out a long, suffering sigh.

"The other extreme," she grumbled while massaging her temple. "If Valerie is a stone, Eliana is a storm. She had absolutely no concept of manners. She treats a Royal Gathering like a village brawl. She is carefree to the point of reckless behaviour."