Chapter 1419 A Fresh Start [Part 1]
After the initial uproar of William's declaration to get married passed, the preparations for the grandest wedding in Hestia were underway.
Nisha spared no efforts to ensure that the Half-Elf's wedding would be a complete success. Although she was envious, and jealous, of his wives, the Steward of the Ainsworth Empire endured because of William's promise to marry her as well after a year.
The veiled-beauty knew that when it was time for her wedding, she wouldn't be able to emulate the scale of the wedding preparations that she was juggling right now. However, she was fine with that.
Now that the end of the world was just around the corner, the most important thing was that all the loose ends would be dealt with, so that they could focus all of their attention to the battle that would decide the fate of Hestia.
Days passed...
Weeks passed...
Finally, only a week remained before the Half-Elf and his wives would become the center of everyone's attention.
The Sovereigns of various nations went out of their way to find the best gifts that they could find. Although some were still unwilling to admit it, the fact remained that William was the most influential person in the North, South, East, West, and Central Continents.
There was simply no one else who could take his place, so regardless of what they thought about him, they made sure that they would not come empty handed to the wedding that would be talked about for years to come.
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Thousand Beast Domain...
"Do you know where William is?" Vesta asked Charmaine as soon as she found the Half-Elf's personal maid inside the villa. "Priscilla and I have been looking for him for the last hour or so."
Charmaine shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know where Master is."
Priscilla, who was standing beside Vesta, sighed. "Forget it. He must be very busy in preparation for the wedding. Let's just look for him later."
Vesta pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing.
"Charmaine, if you find him, tell him that we are looking for him, okay?" Vesta said. "I can't believe that I've been dragged into this marriage fiasco because of Cathy."
Vesta's words were filled with complaint, but the blush on her face was enough to make Charmaine understand that the latter only wanted to spend some time with her Master before the wedding took place.
For the past few weeks, William did his best to make Vesta, Priscilla, Amelia, and Pearl like him. Since the time was short, he didn't have the time to make their relationship match the level of his wives and lovers.
What William wanted was for them to consider having a relationship with him, and promised to do his best to love and care for them as much as he did for his wives.
What William didn't know was that although Vesta, Priscilla, and Amelia, seemed uninterested in him, deep inside they envied Erinys, Haleth, and Anh, who were already the Half-Elf's lovers.
Vesta just wanted to play hard to get, but after having her blood drunk several times by the Half-Elf, she knew that she would be unable to find someone who could make her feel so good.
Priscilla on the other hand, respected William ever since they had met in Hellan Academy. She had witnessed how her Master, Princess Sidonie, pursued the Half-Elf and used whatever means necessary to become his lover.
Naturally, Priscilla supported her with everything she had, and because of this, William had become so outstanding in her eyes that she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to become his lover as well.
Amelia, on the other hand, felt that she wasn't qualified to become one of William's lovers. Although she was born from a noble family, the red-headed teenager's status was so high, that someone like her felt insecure about being with him.
Fortunately, her friend, Wendy, was there to convince her, and with William's kindness, and gentleness, she finally took that leap of faith and agreed to marry him.
"Well, I guess the only problem now is your sister, Pearl," Vesta glanced at Charmaine who was busy cleaning William's room. "Your sister still doesn't want to accept him, and the marriage is only a week away. What are we going to do if she suddenly decides to run away?"
To Vesta's surprise, Charmaine just gave a giggle before the Elf hurriedly covered her lips with her right hand.
"Don't worry about my sister, I will do my best to convince her," Charmaine stated. "If all else fails, we can always knock her unconscious. It won't matter as long as the seven of you transform into Cathy. By the time she realizes it, it'll already be a done deal."
Vesta, and Priscilla nodded their heads in agreement. A moment later, the two bid their goodbyes to Charmaine and left to look for their "sisters" who represented the Virtue of Hope.
When Vesta and Priscilla left the Villa, Charmaine smiled mischievously before closing the door of William's room.
"Sorry, Vesta, Priscilla," Charmaine said as she glanced in the direction of K-City, which had now become the main attraction of the Thousand Beast Domain. "I won't allow you girls to disturb my sister's happiness."
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In a park somewhere in K-City...
It was just past lunch, and most of the people were either in the theme park, or busy helping with the preparations for William's wedding.
Because of this, the park was mostly deserted, so no one was able to hear the faint sound of two people kissing in one of the most secluded places that was surrounded by trees.
William's body was pressed against a tree, while an Elf with light-green hair had her hands wrapped around his head, holding him in place as she pressed her soft lips against his.
When their lips parted, the Elf panted for breath before looking at the Half-Elf's eyes with a flushed expression on her face.
"Do you understand now?" Pearl asked.
"... Yes," William replied. "Thank you for forgiving me."
Pearl took a step back and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
A day ago, William asked for Charmaine's help in order to bridge the gap between him, and her sister, Pearl, who always avoided him whenever he tried to talk to her.
But, to his surprise, Charmaine just smiled and told William to meet up with Pearl somewhere in K-City at ten in the morning.
"Go out on a date with my sister," Charmaine said. "Don't worry. I'll make sure that she will come."
William followed Charmaine's advice, and just like his personal maid stated, Pearl made an appearance wearing a white sundress, with a skirt that only reached her knees.
Pearl's body was quite curvaceous, so wearing something like this brought out her natural appeal, which surprised the red-headed teenager.
Usually, Charmaine's older sister wore ranger clothes that covered most of her body. When William saw her wearing something fashionable, the Half-Elf almost didn't recognize her and wondered if he was looking at a different person.
Then, their date started.
William took her to a cafe that Charmaine had recommended to him, and ordered a strawberry parfait for the silent Elf, who didn't even bother to look at the menu in order to place an order.
Overall, it was an awkward date with William being the only one talking, as he took Pearl from one place to another.
In the end, the Half-Elf thought that Pearl preferred a place that was surrounded by nature, so he took her to the park to get a breather.
As they were taking a random stroll in the park, Pearl suddenly grabbed his hand and took him to a secluded place surrounded by trees.
Then it happened.
Pearl pinned the Half-Elf's body to a tree using her body, and stared straight into his eyes.
"I've been thinking a lot these past few days," Pearl said. "I also had a heart to heart talk with Charmaine, and both of us agreed that we can no longer turn back time and return to the past. The attack on the Southern Continent, my sister getting brainwashed, we can't go back to that time and set things right."
The Half-Elf didn't push away the Elf whose light-green eyes showed her determination.
"You know, I've always hated you," Pearl stated. "I really hated you."
William nodded. "I know."
"However, the more I've come to know about you, the more I feel that you weren't the one at fault for what happened to my sister," Pearl continued. "However, I didn't want to accept it. I refused to accept it. This is why I always told myself that I should hate you. I always told myself that if my anger disappeared, I would lose my reason to be around you.
"But no matter how many excuses I made to myself, no matter how much I tried to find reasons to hate you, it all led back to the fact that the one who started the war was not you. However, since that was the case, who should I hate? I don't want to admit that I had misplaced my anger on you, so I continued to hate you. Even now, I find myself trying to convince myself to hate you still."
Pearl started to pound William's chest with her closed fist, but it lacked the strength to actually hurt him. In the end, Pearl buried her face in the Half-Elf's chest in order to hide her embarrassment, and the tears of frustration that she was holding back.
William couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief because he finally understood that Pearl no longer hated him.
Since that was the case, he would also take that step to ensure that both of them could have a fresh start, and give their relationship a chance to grow.