Chapter 294: Marriage on the Spot

Upon arriving at the Town Hall, Xia Duo was quickly led by a clerk into a conference room, where Niya and Lord Epps were both present.

Niya was expressionless, while Lord Epps stared at him with an unfriendly look; in fact, the moment Xia Duo saw Lord Epps, he had a bad feeling.

He had only met Lord Epps two days ago, so how could he have aged so much in just two days? Originally, Lord Epps looked to be about forty or fifty years old, but now—

With that almost entirely white hair and the withered skin exposed, it would be no exaggeration to say he was on the verge of death!

"Lord, Mentor." Xia Duo bowed cautiously.

"Hmph!" Epps snorted and turned his head away.

Just then, Niya spoke up, "Xia Duo, from this moment on, you are my husband!"

"What?!"

Xia Duo had been anxious for a long time, never expecting this to be the result!

What kind of situation was this?

Had the father and daughter, Niya, lost their minds?

A series of question marks appeared in Xia Duo's mind, but more realistically, he knew very well that Niya was likely not joking with him.

But how could this be possible?

"Mentor, you, what do you mean by this?"

"Exactly what I said." Niya did not know how she had just said those words either, but now that Xia Duo asked, she had to remain firm.

"Niya, you go out first." Epps finally could not stand his daughter's clumsy performance and decided to do something himself; he pointed tremblingly at the conference room door, and as long as Niya did not leave, he would not lower his hand.

Niya glared at Xia Duo, but in the end, she left.

For some reason, Xia Duo suddenly felt his nose itch, and at this moment, Lord Epps said in a calm tone:

"Xia Duo, do you know where the Tower of Time is now?"

Where was the Tower of Time? Xia Duo knew the Tower of Time had disappeared; he hadn't thought about it in detail at the time, but now, after considering it slightly, he knew where the Tower of Time had gone.

"At the Mythallar Ruins?"

"Correct, it is right there." Lord Epps nodded and added, "With the Tower of Time placed there, you don't have any ideas about it, do you?"

Xia Duo felt a chill in his heart and immediately replied: "No, none at all!"

"You don't, but someone wants you to have them, so what should be done?"

What should be done? Of course, you should hurry up and move the Mage Tower away! What else could be done?

Of course, Xia Duo certainly dared not say this, and a Mage Tower was such a huge thing; it shouldn't be as simple as moving a car. He still didn't know what the conditions were, but he had never heard of a Mage Tower being able to run that far!

"There is a way now to make Daxia Territory and Savile Territory one family, and then it won't be a problem where the Mage Tower is placed."

Epps wore an expression that suggested Xia Duo was getting a great bargain, which made Xia Duo very uncomfortable. Honestly speaking, Niya was indeed excellent, but he did not like this feeling of being forcibly arranged.

"But, Lord, isn't Niya my mentor?"

"She is your mentor, and then what?" Epps retorted.

Xia Duo was speechless; there was no rule in Netheril that mentors and apprentices could not marry, and in fact, many Mages liked to groom their apprentices to be their partners.

Some powerful Mages even groomed batches of apprentices.

But this made Xia Duo feel even worse.

"Do you feel that your talent is decent, and you have even awakened a Bloodline Ability?"

Once these words were out, Xia Duo felt his hair stand on end. Even though he had long known that awakening a bloodline could not be hidden from the Mage Tower, he was still somewhat panicked to have it said to his face like this.

"But what I want to tell you is that without the Mage Tower, you will never be able to become an Arcanist."

"This—" Xia Duo was even more panicked; he certainly wanted to become an Arcanist, but he did not know the necessary conditions to become one.

Then, Epps's tone softened a little, "Niya is my daughter, and she will eventually have to have a partner. You are a member of the Tower of Time and also Niya's apprentice, so the relationship is already very close. Now, taking it a step further, isn't that just right? Think about it carefully yourself!"

Think about it? How else could he think about it? Xia Duo truly could not refuse, because he did not know what the consequences would be if he refused, while agreeing seemed to be almost entirely beneficial.

It was just that he instinctively suspected whether there was some conspiracy behind all of this.

Xia Duo was preparing to ask a few more questions when Lord Epps, who was less than three steps away from him, suddenly trembled, and traces of blood spilled from the corners of his mouth.

"Lord, are you alright?"

Watching the other person's body on the verge of collapsing, Xia Duo subconsciously wanted to reach out to support him, but he was worried about getting into trouble.

But before Xia Duo could hesitate, Niya, who had just left not long ago, rushed in, supported Lord Epps, and shouted with a sobbing voice:

"Father!"

At this moment, Xia Duo felt that perhaps there weren't so many conspiracies, just an old father wanting to find a partner for his daughter before he died.

Dying? Xia Duo suddenly became alert again; could this be because of the Mythallar?

And then he was chosen to be his daughter's partner?

Heavy mist shrouded his heart once more, and Xia Duo could only wait and see how things developed.

"Father, I will take you back to the Mage Tower!" Niya cried out.

"No, I cannot die yet!" Epps struggled to shake off Niya's hand and ordered, "Ask Bishop Anbulier how the preparations are going. After the Holy Water is distributed later, I will still have to trouble him to preside over your wedding."

In an emergency, one could only handle special matters in a special way. However, at the Midsummer Festival celebration, doing it in front of countless territory residents would not seem crude; instead, it could be used to consolidate the new Lord's authority.

With his father in this state, Niya dared not delay even a little and immediately contacted Bishop Anbulier.

A moment later, the Bishop hurried over with two clerics, "Lord Niya, the Holy Water is almost ready. We have used the Temple's reserve Holy Power, and this year's Holy Water is not much less than last year's."

"There is one more thing; I must ask the Bishop to witness it. Xia Duo and I are preparing to sign a marriage contract."

"This—"

It was too sudden. Bishop Anbulier showed an expression of surprise. He looked at Lord Epps, and Epps nodded, signaling for everything to be done as Niya said.

"That is possible, but the ceremony will be somewhat simple. Are you sure you don't need to prepare a bit more?"

"No need, just like this. Let the Lord of Radiance witness it, and everyone in the Territory, the Tower of Time, and the Temple can witness it. The sooner the better, go do it!"

Niya knew that every minute and every second of delay now could lead to her father dying immediately, and she really did not want to waste any more time.

"Yes!"

Bishop Anbulier accepted the order and left, leaving behind two clerics to help Aipusi change into his ceremonial attire, then supported him with Holy Power as they headed toward the celebration site.

Meanwhile, Xia Duo changed into the Crimson Shelter Robe handed to him by Niya in a somewhat dazed state, and followed her toward the celebration site.

It had been sudden enough when Niya said she wanted him to be her other half, but now, having to get married on the spot, it was even more sudden.

This is all happening a bit too fast!

It wasn't until he arrived at the open space in front of the Temple and faced the countless shouting and screaming crowd in the plaza that Xia Duo finally regained some clarity.

Could it be that he was about to get married in another world?

Wait, what was that little bit of excitement mixed with a trace of anticipation? Shouldn't he be feeling stifled and helpless?

Xia Duo suddenly realized that he was truly quite pragmatic!

Of course, this was also because of Niya; if it had been someone else, perhaps he would have resisted with his life, though whether it would have been useful was another matter.