Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Summoned

Even with so many people helping with the wedding, some details still required Lu Xiao’s personal touch. For instance, her and Ares’s wedding photos and the selection of their formalwear were decisions they had to make together.

The selection of wedding-related shops within the Empire was pitifully small.

As a result, Lu Xiao had no choice but to have their wedding attire custom-made. Fortunately, Selena knew just the person—an expert in the field who was also extremely professional.

Upon hearing they wanted to commission custom wedding attire, the designer was not only shocked but also volunteered to create them for Lu Xiao free of charge.

This was because it was the first wedding-related order of his career, making it an incredibly important experience for him. Moreover, the wedding was being entirely initiated and managed by a female master.

As a male himself, he was thrilled for the main husband-to-be, whom he had yet to meet.

He wanted to offer this grand gift.

When Lu Xiao heard about it from Selena, she was stunned by the offer. She couldn’t possibly accept it for free and tried to insist on at least a token payment. However, the designer countered, suggesting that instead of money, she could send invitations to his team so they could attend the wedding.

With no other option—as the designer threatened to refuse her order otherwise—Lu Xiao had to agree.

Lu Xiao was deeply grateful for his generosity.

With the attire settled, Lu Xiao booked a photographer and selected a suitable location for the photoshoot. Her plan was to set aside a day to get their wedding photos taken as soon as the outfits were ready.

Ares wasn’t idle during this time, either. He took care of the wedding favors, and he also personally scouted and selected the venue.

Most importantly, they moved!

Ever since returning from Maya Star, Lu Xiao had been wanting to move. Finally, that weekend, they moved from their old home into the Earl’s Mansion.

The renovations on the Earl’s Mansion had been completed several months prior, and it was now ready to be lived in.

Cecilia even specially dispatched some staff from the Duke Mansion to help Lu Xiao manage her new household.

The Earl’s Mansion was nothing like their previous small home. Not only was it much larger, but there was also much more to do. Since both Lu Xiao and Ares worked outside the home on weekdays, they would need someone to handle the cleaning.

Once they were finally settled in, Lu Xiao invited Admiral Hans from the S-Class Shelter, the four instructors from the Fifth Research Institute, Cecilia, and Duke Athena to a housewarming party.

It was such a large crowd that it felt like a full-blown banquet.

This banquet, however, was free of formalities. The main event was simply eating, drinking, and chatting.

No one needed to dress up, and everyone was completely relaxed.

Lu Xiao gave them a tour of her new home, explaining the purpose of each room.

When Admiral Kelan saw the room reserved for him, his eyes welled with tears.

He’d never imagined that Lu Xiao would actually prepare a room just for him in her own home.

There were also rooms set aside for Lu Huan, Lu Yu, and Cecilia.

They were all overjoyed after seeing their rooms.

They decided right then and there not to go home that night. They would stay over and properly experience Lu Xiao’s new house.

The eating and drinking continued late into the night before the guests finally began to depart.

After seeing everyone off, Lu Xiao and Ares returned to their room. “I messaged your Father today,” she said, “and told him the wedding date. He said he’ll be here on time.”

“Then we’ll go pick him up together,” Ares replied. “Did you send Father a photo of his room today?” With the housewarming today, they definitely would have invited Old Buck if he were closer. Since he was too far away, all they could do was have Ares send a photo to show him that a room was ready and waiting for him whenever he wanted to visit.

“Yes. Father saw it and was very pleased. He also told me to thank you.”

“I’m glad he’s satisfied. That way, if he decides not to go back after the wedding, he’ll have a place to stay.”

Ares only had one living relative, and Lu Xiao didn’t want Old Buck to arrive on Emperor Star without a proper home to stay in. Even though Buck was very wealthy, having a family home was different.

After they finished talking about that, Lu Xiao remembered something else. “Oh, right, our custom attire is ready. See when you have some free time, and we can go for a fitting and get them adjusted. Once they’re finalized, we can go take our wedding photos.”

“How about the day after tomorrow? I have a military district meeting tomorrow morning, so it would be hard to take time off.”

“Okay. I’ll schedule it with the designer for the day after tomorrow, in the morning then?”

“Mhm. Thanks for handling everything, Xiao Xiao.”

“It’s no trouble at all, it’s just sending a message. Besides, I’m busy tomorrow too. Regal is coming to the clinic; his condition has been improving rapidly. After one or two more treatments, he should be ready for discharge. We’re planning to go on vacation after the wedding, right? I want to finish his treatment before we leave and repay my debt to Duke Athena.”

In Lu Xiao’s mind, friendship was one thing, but a debt was another. She wouldn’t feel at ease until the favor was fully repaid.

With the wedding date drawing near, they both felt much busier than usual, but it was a fulfilling kind of busy. Since these were all things they wanted to do, it didn’t feel tiring.

On the contrary, it felt as though they were drawing closer to happiness, one step at a time.

「The next morning」

Ares saw Lu Xiao off before driving to the military district himself.

Just as he stepped out of his vehicle, Kevin ran up to him. “Vice Admiral Ares! Admiral Kula Peng said that you’re to go to his office immediately upon arrival.”

“Did he say what it’s about?” Ares asked, walking to meet him. “Why the urgency? Is something going on at the district?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t say. He just said that as soon as you arrived, you were to go to his office. Maybe it’s something only you’re meant to know.”

Ares didn’t ask any further questions. He just nodded and strode toward Admiral Kula Peng’s office.

He knocked, then entered.

When Kula Peng saw him come in, he rose, walked over, and shut the door behind Ares, locking it. He then guided Ares over to the sofa.

The entire sequence of actions had a secretive, tense air about it.

Ares asked, puzzled, “Did something happen?”

Kula Peng sat down on the sofa and looked at Ares, enunciating each word carefully. “Last night, I received a notice from Her Majesty the Queen. She has summoned you to Sofie Manor the morning after tomorrow.”

The sudden news brought a flicker of surprise to Ares’s eyes. “See me? Alone?”

“Yes. The instructions were for you to go alone, and for me to inform you.” Kula Peng continued, analyzing the situation. “I was just thinking, nothing major has happened in the Seventh Military District recently. And even if something had, they would summon me, not you. To call for you so suddenly… could it be about you and Lady Lu Xiao?”

Ares shook his head. “I’m not sure. The morning after tomorrow, you say? I suppose I’ll find out when I get there.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep