An old noble from the Flower Kingdom

Mario whipped around to see a man in a red military coat come marching down the red carpet, a livid expression on his face. If it weren’t for his pale skin and blue hair, he’d pass for an Earthling, a rare trait in this world.

“Admiral Belladonna,” Peach said coolly, “The Crown has not recognized your presence here nor given you the right to speak. You are out of line.”

“Really, Princess?” The man, Belladonna evidently, sneered venomously, “The Flower Kingdom has not recognized the legitimacy of your rule. Your father arranged a marriage with Prince Haru, an arrangement that you have been avoiding all this time, playing at running a nation. Playing quite poorly, I might add.”

“Toadsworth?” Peach asked with a single raised eyebrow, as though this were the first she’d heard about this.

The old mushroom cleared his throat, “While it is true that King Toadstool did arrange a marriage between the two, the documents were never finalized. There is no legally binding agreement between the Flower and Mushroom Kingdoms in regards to an arranged marriage.”

“There you have it,” Queen Toadstool told him in a matter of fact tone, “Furthermore, the Flower Crown has no right to impose its perception of the Mushroom Kingdom’s legislation. That power resides with the Toadstool Crown.”

Mario could practically hear the man’s teeth grinding as he thought of his retort, but Peach didn’t give him the time for a rebuttal, “If that is all, Admiral, you may take your leave. You are causing a scene, and if you continue to speak out of line, I will have my guards remove you from the Chamber until such a time that you can speak rationally and with decorum.”

Admiral Belladonna cast his gaze about, as if seeing the citizens of Toad Town for the first time since walking in. It looked as though a vein were about to burst in his forehead. But then he suddenly straightened up and his face mostly cleared of all emotion. Instead of looking like he were about to rip and tear into someone, he now simply appeared as though he’d swallowed a lemon, “My apologies, Your Majesty. There will be no need for that, but rest assured that you will be hearing from the Flower Kingdom over this. I beg you to reconsider your stance in this, especially in light of your Kingdom’s current finances.”

With a nasty smirk, he wheeled around on the spot and marched back the way he came, but it was Queen Toadstool who got the last word in, “Your concern is touching, Admiral, but unnecessary. Please give the King my most cordial greetings.” If Admiral Belladonna heard her, he gave no indication.

Once he was gone, Peach addressed the crowd, “Please do excuse the good Admiral’s behavior. He had to deal with a lot of disappointment today. I also imagine that stick was not doing good things for his ass.”

The uneasy laughter and shock from the Queen’s vulgar comment was enough to lift the people’s spirits a little bit, but Mario could tell that whatever they had done to alleviate the crowd’s nervous tension had been squandered by that stunt. Not to mention that a veil of worry had now fallen atop the crowd as well. The Flower Kingdom had been one of their most staunch supporters in the past, and now they were protesting the coronation? Also what was that about the Kingdom’s finances? Were they going to be okay?

Peach, perhaps also sensing the shifting attitude from the crowd, decided that it’d be for the best to move things along, “I ask you again, Prince Mario, will you marry me?”

“Nothing else in the world would make me happier, Your Majesty,” taking her outstretch hand and kissing it. There was a smattering of polite applause from the crowd, and Mario shot a worried look towards Peach. This was not the reaction that they were hoping for. But then, all of a sudden, someone started clapping loudly.

Mario looked over and saw that it was Luigi, looking like he’d rather die than be the center of attention. His eyes were scrunched shut and his smile looked more like a grimace, but luckily his back was mostly to the crowd, “Yeah-ha! Congratulations, Bro!”

Perhaps sensing what the green-clad plumber was trying to do, Toadsworth joined in, his expressions seeming more genuine, “The only person in the world worthy of her hand!”

Between the two of them, they’d managed to pull a louder applause from the crowd than there was before. It wasn’t perfect, but the mood in the room had definitely risen again. Mario smiled at the crowd and saw that quite a few servants had placed themselves among the crowd, planting a few more seeds of enthusiasm. It was actually kind of amazing how they thought to do that without having to be directly told by Peach or Toadsworth. When the applause settled down, the mood had risen again, but it was still lower than what it had been before Mario had walked in. It seemed as though their work was going to be cut out for them today, the plumber thought as he braced himself for the long haul.