Aske held Eleanor's hand, walking towards the church altar.

Eleanor smiled gently, and the Will Fog quickly spread out and shrouded the surroundings of the Aachen Cathedral.

If anyone were approaching the cathedral, they would be able to react immediately.

The Archbishop of Germania, a benevolent old man with a long robe and tea-colored glasses, had served as a Cardinal in the Church Court in his younger days.

Holding the classic in his left hand and the cross in his right, after preaching to the guests on site, he gently signaled the couple to stand facing each other, eyes gazing at their beloved.

"Princess Sofie Caroline von Sachsen," the Archbishop pronounced the Saxon family name Eleanor was given at birth, "do you wish to marry Mr. Aske Lepeios Achilles, to dwell with him according to the teachings of the Bible, to be united with him before God, to love, comfort, honor, and protect him as you love yourself? Whether in sickness or health, wealth or poverty, be faithful to him, until death do you part?"

"I do," Eleanor replied without hesitation.

"Aske..." The Archbishop turned around, but before he could say Aske's full name, Eleanor's pupils suddenly shrank, blocking in front of Aske.

A figure burst through from the outside, shattering the closed church doors, and the two Empire Knights guarding the site were also violently knocked away by the bulky figure.

This person rushed to Eleanor, suddenly falling awkwardly to the ground. Bruno, sitting on the nearby bench, snapped his fingers, disrupting his intention to continue running.

Empire Knights swarmed, with black crosses on a white background, pressing long swords against his neck. The unexpected visitor struggled to lift his head, revealing the face of a bearded Norman Samurai, pulling a fire-sealed scroll from his sleeve, shouting loudly:

"The Supreme King of the Helensing Empire! Emperor Sigrdrifa sends an urgent and serious national inquiry to the Imperial Regent of the Holy Solomon Empire, the First Sword Bearer under the Iron Throne, Princess Sofie!"

"Silence!" Several Saxon family elders quickly stood up, commanding him not to disrupt the wedding further, and instructed the Empire Knights to promptly drag him away.

The Empire Knights hastily struck his cheek with sword hilts, trying to render him silent. Yet the Norman Samurai, ignoring the blades, stubbornly shielded his face with his arms, shouting amidst the pain:

"This Aske, whom you're about to marry, is the future husband already engaged to Her Majesty Sigrdrifa! Insisting on proceeding with this wedding will be viewed as a malicious provocation towards the Otwell family..."

Upon these words, the Empire Nobles present changed their colors collectively.

Since the establishment of the Northern Realm of the Helensing Empire, there has been little peace on its border with the Holy Solomon Empire. One reason is the dispute over trading rights on the Baltic Sea, and the other is the claim to the regions of Schleswig and Holstein at the border.

The former primarily involves encounters at sea with merchant fleets, mercenaries, and lord guards, while the latter has sparked several large-scale land battles initiated by the military noble lords at the borders of both nations.

With several battles, both sides have had wins and losses, but the intensity has been controlled, with captured nobles being ransomed and released, thus constituting fairly routine territorial disputes among nobles.

However, the Norman messenger's "malicious provocation towards the Otwell family" is undeniably inciting the highest level of war declaration:

Which is Empire War.

It's a full confrontation between nations, culminating in either side's defeat or peace treaty, often accompanied by massive land concessions and property losses—significant enough to cause any imperial noble to change their color.

Yet this war declaration is truly perplexing: Princess is to wed this Mr. Aske...

Is actually an engagement partner of the traitorous king of the Northern Realm?

The guests present were momentarily unable to accept this... If acknowledging this truth, they could see the crisis looming like the Sword of Damocles over their heads, already pushing the two empires to the brink of war and destruction.

This Mr. Aske is male, not two people—either wed the Princess or become the husband to the Northern Realm's traitorous king.

The latter is impossible, given that Princess has remained chaste for him for six years; her deep affection is evident. Should he be handed over to the Northern Realm, the empire's reputation would be utterly tarnished: the world would know the Helensing Empire of the Northern Realm publicly disrupted the wedding of the Holy Solomon Empire's Princess and forcefully abducted her husband.

Not to mention the subsequent issues such as the lack of heirs, power succession, and political equilibrium caused by the Princess's loss of her husband, each of which could almost destabilize the Iron Throne's rule, planting a seed for the next imperial turmoil.

Conversely, choosing the former—proceeding with the wedding—would mean facing the Northern Realm's threat of war.

War benefits neither side, yet the circumstances of the two nations differ: the Divine Luo Empire, consisting of several duchies, would suffer most heavily in the event of war with the Northern Realm, particularly the Lorraine Duchy (northwest) and the Saxony Duchy (north) under Saxon family control.

As for the Bavarian Duchy, where Princess's adoptive family, the Weisbach family, resides, it is located southeast and hardly threatened by Northern Realm forces.

Thus, the Weisbach family will undoubtedly fully support continuing the wedding, while the Saxon family faces mixed gains, forced to choose between foreign war threats and internal rule destabilization.

It's not an easy political decision and requires detailed analysis of future international situations to determine how to respond ultimately. Thus, the most suitable response for the Princess at this moment is to refrain from handing over the person but to suspend the wedding, gaining ample time...

"Get lost!" Eleanor shouted in anger.

Guests present: ......

Well, considering the Princess is still a woman, who, when interrupted during her wedding, could maintain any good mood or demeanor.

So, there's no choice—we have to opt for war.

Empire Knights continued to press down the swords, drawing sharp blood traces across the visitor's neck. The Norman Samurai silently placed the national document on the ground and, compliant, was escorted out by the Empire Knights.

Everyone's gaze paused on the scroll of war declaration, and Eleanor gathered her flowing will, rolling up the national document on the ground, briefly glancing over it, sneered and tossed it to Otto II below.

When Otto II took it and looked, his expression instantly became serious. Because what's written there indeed was an undisguised top-level war threat:

From Copenhagen to Tromso, from Oslo to Viborg, the Supreme King Sigrdrifa of the Northern Realm will dispatch all available troops of Great Scandinavia—100,000 Norman Samurai marching south to conquer the Divine Luo Empire, reddening the carpet greeting the return of Her Majesty's husband with Frankish blood.

Frankly, the overall national power of the Divine Luo Empire is stronger than the Northern Realm's Helensing Empire. However, the Divine Luo is essentially a loose alliance of feudal duchies even with the Princess's prestige and the Saxon family's connections, they can at most muster 60% of the Empire's military strength.

As for the Supreme King, known for might and violence, they can effortlessly rally over 90% of the Northern Realm's military, advancing southwards without a blink regardless of the casualties.

Thus, Otto II's face immediately fell.

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