Chapter 709: Rite of Arms [2]

The moment I accepted the rite, the room fell silent.

I could feel the gazes of everyone in the room change. Some looked at me like I was an idiot; others like I had completely lost my mind.

In particular, I could see the smile on the Marquis’s face slowly rise up.

However, it was only for a brief moment as he hid it right after.

Pushing his glasses up, he cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Just so we’re clear... You’re speaking on behalf of the Evenus Household, correct? I know you’re the current representative, but I’d hate for you to make a rash decision simply because of your youth."

What...?

Because of my youth?

Taking into account that I was originally twenty-four before passing away, alongside the three years that I had spent here, I was now twenty-seven years old. If we included the memories that belonged to my past self, then I was over a thousand years old.

Youth?

What youth!?

’No, never mind. This actually doesn’t sound quite right. I’d rather be young than old.’

Keeping my composure, I smiled and nodded my head.

"...Yes, I am speaking on behalf of the Evenus Household. We will accept the Rite of Arms."

I then turned my attention towards my father-in-law.

"I’m not quite familiar with how the Rite works. I’d like to know more about it. Is there a limit to how many people I can send? Their strength and so on?"

Immediately, my question brought murmurs and whispers throughout.

I could see the contempt in several people grow even more pronounced as they mumbled things like,

’He really doesn’t know? Why did he accept if he doesn’t know? My god... He really is too young.’

The smile on the Marquis’s face appeared once more, but I paid no attention to any of it as I kept my attention fixed on father-in-law, who calmly raised his hand to stop all the noise in the room.

"That’s a good question."

Father-in-law began speaking.

"This will be dependent on the number of conflicting Households. Generally, if a Household is fighting against multiple Households, it will be granted the ability to send two people per Household."

"And can I get people that don’t belong to my Household to participate?"

"That is allowed, yes."

"....Okay."

I already had several people in mind.

Unconsciously, my gaze drifted towards Delilah, but I soon dismissed the thought. That would be rather overkill. Not only that, but it would also defeat the purpose of me trying to curry favor with my father-in-law.

He was probably trying to fix the power dynamic within Central without resorting to force.

The best way for him to achieve that was to have some other Household suppress the other opposing Households.

In this case, me.

’Although I’m not sure why he just assumes that I would be on his side once all of this is over, for the sake of the situation, I planned on following along.’

"So, it seems you already have a few people in mind. However, before you contact them, I hope you’re aware that if they’re part of a Household under Central, they’ll be automatically obligated to participate as well."

This made sense.

I nodded.

"Yes."

"Alright."

Father-in-law slowly turned his attention towards the rest, his gaze fixing on several individuals.

"Taking into consideration that the ones that filed the complaints were you three, I’d sa—"

"About that."

A voice suddenly cut through the room, drawing every gaze to the scholarly-looking Marquis. Wearing a thin smile, he calmly raised his hand.

"I’d also like to participate in this. I’ll be joining hands with them."

This development wasn’t something that shocked me. From the very start, I could tell that the Marquis had been planning something.

But for whatever reason, the moment he raised his hand and joined, the entire room grew silent, and the room grew tense.

I could even feel a few looks of pity directed my way.

"...Are you sure?"

Father-in-law asked, his gaze fixed on the smiling Marquis.

"I am sure."

A brief silence followed right after as the two sides stared at each other.

In the end, nodding his head, father-in-law said,

"In that case, since there were four participants from one side, the Rite will consist of eight contestants in total. You have until next week to gather and prepare your chosen members. In the meantime, let’s talk about what is at stake in the current rite."

Father-in-law suddenly turned his attention towards me.

"Given that I’m already aware of what they wish to request, it is your turn to lay out your demands from this rite."

"....."

Sitting in silence for a short moment, I looked around me. More specifically towards the Marquis and the other noble houses.

I was already aware of what demands I needed to make.

Noel had already made it clear.

And as such, I didn’t stay silent for very long.

"For the three Counties, I’d like the compensation to be monetary. I’d like the monetary compensation to be equal to their demands in case we lose."

I’d originally have asked for land, but Noel was the one who instructed me to choose the monetary route. We already had enough land. There was no need for us to expand any further. What we needed to do was consolidate our current territories before thinking about expanding again.

"Okay, that is a reasonable demand. If that—"

"That’s just for the three Counties."

Speaking over my father-in-law, I turned my attention towards the Marquis.

This time, it was my turn to smile.

"I have a different plan for the Marquis."

The Marquis returned my smile.

"...From him, I’d just like one person. His Knight Captain."

But his smile merely lasted a few seconds before being completely wiped off.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but be secretly impressed.

I had been confused by Noel’s demand at first, but seeing the Marquis’s reaction now, it was clear. The knight captain he mentioned was someone of real competence.

"....."

The room fell into a state of silence following my demand.

All eyes were now directed towards the Marquis.

What was he going to choose? Would he agree, or would he—

"I accept."

Pulling his smile again, the Marquis’s eyes squinted as he looked at me.

"However, I’d also like to change my demands." The Marquis said while turning his attention towards my father-in-law. "Instead of what I’d previously asked for, I’d like to change my demand to something else."

"And what exactly would that be?"

The Marquis didn’t answer and just raised his hand, pointing his finger right at me.

"I want him."

***

"Follow along. Make sure to keep check of the surroundings."

Footsteps echoed through the empty corridor as several figures in knight armor followed closely behind Gale, whose face had gone pale, one hand pressed tightly over his mouth.

The Palace was in chaos, and he could hear noise coming from all over.

However, he couldn’t care less at the moment.

His goal at this very moment was to get to the Emperor and protect him. While it was true that the Emperor himself was strong, and he had several aids under his care, one couldn’t be too careful.

"We’re here."

Arriving at the Emperor’s chambers, Gael stopped and knocked on the large wooden door that greeted his sight.

To Tok—

"Fa—His Majesty, it’s me."

Barely a second after Gael spoke, the chamber doors swung open, revealing a knight with short white hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore gleaming silver armor that caught the light from above, and a sword hung at his waist, swaying slightly with each step.

"Prince."

The guard greeted Gael with a short nod as Gael took a step to the side.

"I’m not fully aware of the circumstances, but I’ve brought several guards with me to ensure His Majesty’s protection."

"Mhm."

The guard nodded, looking at the dozen or so guards that were standing behind Gael. In the end, he pointed at five of them.

"You five stay outside. The rest can come in."

"Understood!"

The guards followed the orders precisely. Five took their positions by the door, standing tall and alert, while the remaining five followed the white-haired knight into the chamber as the doors slowly closed behind them.

Gael stepped inside as well, his gaze drifting toward the figure seated calmly at the table positioned before the towering window. One that offered a clear view of the palace garden beyond.

He looked calm in spite of the situation, and as Gael moved in, his hand, which was writing something, stopped.

"Gael."

A warm voice drifted across the room as the Emperor slowly turned his head to look at his son. Seeing the pale look on his face, he closed his eyes momentarily before speaking.

"...It’s been a while since I’ve last seen you. How are you doing?"

"I’m doing well... Fa-His majesty."

"Mhm."

The Emperor nodded, turning his attention towards the five guards that were present. Doing a quick scan of them, he looked at Gael again.

"He is amongst one of these five?"

"Correct."

Gael nodded.

And then—

Swooooosh!

A flash of silver cut through the air. It happened so quickly that no one had time to react. In the blink of an eye, five heads had rolled across the floor.

Blood spread across the pristine marble floor, staining it deep red as everyone present turned grim, their expressions hardening as their eyes locked onto the severed heads before them.

The room was silent.

Nobody made a sound.

That was until...

Twitch!

One of the heads twitched. It was just brief, but what followed was a grotesque sight. Tendrils burst from the severed neck, writhing outward across the floor, weaving together to form the outline of a body.

Staring at the sight, nobody made a single move.

Everyone just watched as a figure slowly came back to life, hands pressed against the floor as he slowly stood up and looked around, his gaze eventually falling on Gael.

"How did you know...?"

Noel asked, his gaze languid.

"How could you tell?"

Gael merely smiled.

He didn’t see the need to answer.

But a certain someone did.

"Because we were already aware that you were coming."

Stepping out of the shadows, it was as if the room had suddenly been bathed in sunlight. A pair of golden eyes gleamed intensely, and golden hair swayed gently in the air. An ethereal, almost inhuman voice echoed through the space, filling the room with an unsettling presence.

With both hands behind his back, the figure met Noel’s gaze, and Noel came to a sudden realization.

"...I see."

He muttered silently, his expression easing a little.

"That explains quite a lot."

A smile pulled at his lips.

It was just a smile, but the moment he smiled, a heavy tension settled over the room, drawing every gaze firmly onto Noel.

Despite him being the one cornered, for some reason...

It felt as though it was the total opposite.

And then—

’He isn’t here, so I no longer need to hold back. I no longer...’

Noel’s eyes slowly darkened, shifting into a deep, lifeless gaze that sent a shiver through everyone present. Everyone except Atlas.

’...I no longer need to pretend to be human.’