This request was so outrageous that Ed was stunned for a few seconds.
Does she want me to die?
Regardless of Catalina's personal wishes, the Oakland family would never allow this to happen. If he really dared to do something like this, he would be found dead in a corner of an alley the next day, and even the Divine Bureau would not be able to save him.
While Ed was still thinking about whether he had offended her in some way, Catalina quickly explained:
"I mean, it's not really about getting married. The two of us just need to pretend to be engaged and then cancel the engagement after a while."
There is no need to wait until some time later, and he will disappear from the world that night. Ed couldn't help but take out a handkerchief from his vest pocket, lowered his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead:
"So, what's the point of you doing this?"
"Actually, this is the case..."
Catalina was in a panic for a while, and it took a while before she could sit back on the saddle again:
"I received a message that His Majesty Crown Prince Edward will attend my birthday party. Although I don't know why he will come, I have a bad feeling."
Crown Prince...Prince Edward..."Prince"...? Ed couldn't help but overlap these two images in his mind.
Could it be said that Edward hired him? Then it all makes sense.
As the grandson of His Majesty Richard II who is far away in a foreign country, Prince Edward, who is preparing to return to his country to take the throne, lacks a foundation within the kingdom. If he wants to inherit the throne safely and smoothly, he must win over a group of forces.
The traditional aristocracy represented by the Horse Bandits has always been a staunch royalist force. As a close ally of the royal family, the Auckland family is obviously Edward Hollian's best choice.
Then the purpose of his going all the way to attend the banquet is obvious - to be engaged to Catalina in order to reach an alliance with the Oakland family.
Although the Oakland family is happy to see the olive branch extended by the royal family, they definitely have other concerns:
Once Catalina and Edward get married, their descendants will inherit the position of head of both the Holland family and the Oakland family, and the original independent political status of the Oakland family will be threatened.
One solution is to have Catalina swear a knighthood oath and voluntarily give up her inheritance rights before Prince Edward proposes a marriage contract. It would not be too offensive to the royal family, nor would it put the Auckland family at risk of being ruled by the Holland family.
Since the initiative lies with the Auckland family, even if Edward would object to this, he could only accept this arrangement.
And this is also the reason why the "prince" (now it seems likely to be Prince Edward himself) came to find him. Apparently he learned the news through inside information, so he spent a lot of money to entrust himself to prevent Catalina from swearing a knight's oath at the birthday party to gain more political bargaining space for her.
After some speculation in his mind, Ed put the handkerchief back into his pocket, raised his head and said:
"So, you think he is very likely to propose an engagement to you. For various reasons, you have no room to refuse, so you came up with this method to avoid the matter?"
"Yes, that's it." Catalina nodded with a smile, as if she was completely unaware of the seriousness of the problem, "You will help me with this, right?"
"What? Of course not! You are kidding me with my life."
At this moment, Ed's words were as fast as a gust of wind:
"...The Hollian family will regard this as a complete humiliation, and the traditional friendship between the two families will be broken. The political situation in Lyria and even the entire world may be affected. You can guess where I will end up by then. An end?"
"Ah..." Catalina gently pressed her lips together with her fingers, her eyes wandering, as if she was afraid of her previous thoughts.
It seemed like she really hadn't considered the consequences of doing so.
Ed sighed. This probably cannot be blamed on Catalina. Crystallization malignant disease has kept her away from her family's political training for many years, and she lacks even the most basic common sense.
"Then again, why are you unwilling to accept His Highness Edward's proposal? I heard that people praise him for his handsome appearance."
Although as a royal family, as long as it is not crooked, it can be called "handsome." But the old Emperor Richard II's exquisite appearance when he was young is well known to the world. As the heir of the bloodline, Prince Edward's appearance should not be too bad.
Marrying a real prince is the dream that many girls dream of.
"I'm just... not ready yet." Catalina replied worriedly, "That doesn't seem to be the path I want to choose."
Compared with a knight who is good at fighting, the royal family obviously needs the prince's spouse to play the role of a "good wife and mother". If Catalina really marries the Holian family, then her knighthood journey will most likely end here.
This is also not a good thing for Ed. If Catalina's crystal level stagnates, his combat effectiveness will also be affected.
"Not everything has a choice. However, if you really need time to think about it, I have a way to buy you some more time." He said.
"Seriously?" Catalina's eyes lit up.
"Of course, if you trust me, you just need to pretend that you don't know about this and go home and live your life as usual. I will naturally find a solution on the birthday party."
"Well, I believe you." Catalina gently pulled the reins, and Huo Yu immediately raised his front hooves, "See you then?"
"See you."
Ed held his cane in one hand and waved his hat with the other, watching Catalina's figure disappear at the end of the street, and then slowly walked towards his mule cart.
He has indeed thought of a way——
If you want to ask which force the Holian family is most afraid of, I am afraid that the first one is and can only be the Nirvana Order.
And just by chance, I met two new members of the Nirvana Order...
