Chapter 891: Council Chamber

Council Keep, Uptown Quarter.

“Good job, men.” Adam turned to the Magi of the Black Legion and flashed a toothy grin.

“OOH-AAH!” The warriors thumped their breastplates, their backs straight as an arrow, as they gazed at their Lord Commander with great admiration.

They hadn’t seen him for more than a year. Together with the black armor that he had donned and the gray cape over his shoulder, he looked like a mythical warrior from legends.

Needless to say, they were proud to serve a man like him.

Raidon stepped forward and respectfully said, “My Lord, there is one last thing left for you to do.”

Adam’s expression sank. “One last thing? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

He was, frankly, exhausted from the whole ordeal just now. The waving and smiling were annoying, but weren’t taxing.

However, the gravity spells that he had cast on selective targets in a crowd of tens of thousands of people had taken a slight toll on him.

He wanted nothing more than to go to his manor, drink some wine, and relax.

Come to think of it, the new house must have been ready by now, he thought.

I can’t wait to see it!

Raidon smiled awkwardly. “The Lord Marshall requests your presence in the council chamber. The Councilors, as well as several influential aristocrats, are awaiting your arrival.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “My goodness, now I have to socialize with them?”

Although he despised the idea, he still turned around and climbed the staircase. He, too, was a Count, after all, and there were certain things that were expected of him.

Not to mention, he was now considered the face of Ravenfell as well.

“Come with me, Raidon,” said the raven-haired youth. “I can’t do this alone.”

The Captain of the Black Legion grinned. “It would be my pleasure, my lord.”

***

The towering obsidian doors to the council chamber opened, and Adam stepped inside.

The hushed conversations inside the chamber immediately died down when the Dark King entered.

All eyes were on him.

There was something about the Dark King that caused them to feel a faint tension in their heart.

After all, the young man, even without attempting to, emanated a faint pressure that caused everyone to involuntarily turn solemn.

Adam scanned the chamber, taking in everything. Some people looked at him with grim expressions, while others cast curious and appreciative gazes at him.

Finally, his gaze landed on Sabrina Benton, who was chatting with her elder son and a few other people.

The raven-haired youth displayed a faint smile as he walked up to her. He pressed his gauntleted hand over his chestplate and gave a light bow, “Greetings, Lord Marshall.”

Benton arched an eyebrow as she looked at him with an amused smirk. “Oh my, I thought you’d forgotten your manners now that you’ve become King.”

Adam’s lips twitched. “You jest…”

Sabrina Benton let out a light chuckle. She then patted the raven-haired youth’s shoulder and praised, “Nice work out there. Although…”

Her voice trailed off, a spark of schadenfreude flickering in her eyes. “You’ll have a lot of explaining to do to Mathilda.”

Adam involuntarily gulped. He immediately scanned the chamber once again. After confirming that the elderly professor wasn’t present, he breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s not here?”

“She’s gone to the Northern Quarter,” Benton answered with a light smirk. “You are safe. For now.”

A middle-aged man with a clean-shaven face and short hair stepped forward and offered a handshake. The man was Sabrina Benton’s eldest son and the next in line to become the patriarch of the Benton Family.

“Welcome back to Ravenfell, Count Constantine.” Nash Benton smiled.

Adam removed his gauntlets and shook the man’s hand. “Lord Benton, it is a pleasure to see you again.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Right at that moment, a clumsy-looking middle-aged man, who shared great facial similarities with Nash Benton, excitedly stepped toward Adam.

“Magus Constantine! Those flowers… they contained your spiritual energy, am I right?!” Marden Benton’s eyes flashed with curiosity and wonder.

“You must have devised a way to connect all the flowers and have your perception transmitted through them! Marvelous! Truly Marvelous! And through that, you were able to locate all the Mana Vortex Magi!

“But still, there were quite a lot of us in the crowd. The fact that you were able to pinpoint our exact location and cast a spell right under our feet… I am truly speechless! Magus Contantine, your understanding of magic is truly profound—”

“Ahem.” Nash Benton coughed awkwardly. He placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder and smiled. “Perhaps, this is a conversation for some other time.”

Marden glanced at his brother, then at all the other people in the chamber looking at him with ridicule. He couldn’t help but feel a little downcast.

“…You’re right, forgive me, Lord Constantine.” He forced a smile. “I just got a little too excited.”

However, Adam’s reply was completely unexpected.

“You’re right on the mark, Lord Benton.” Adam flashed a grin.

The same light of childlike wonder and curiosity that flashed in Marden’s eyes earlier could now be seen in his dark eyes.

“I didn’t think anyone would be able to figure it out from a mere glance,” said Adam. “But it was exactly like you mentioned. I indeed connected all the flowers with my spiritual energy and managed to pull that feat.

“And since my spiritual energy was already spread far and wide, it didn’t take me long to create the spell models right under the targets. Of course, I also made sure to conceal these magic circles.”

“Haha!” Marden Benton was animated. “I knew I was right! I knew it!”

Adam laughed out as well. “Indeed, Lord Benton!”

Seeing the two get along so well, the others found it quite odd. After all, Marden Benton was an outcast in the aristocratic circles. He was the black sheep of the Benton Family.

But seeing the second son of Sabrina Benton receive acknowledgment from the Dark King himself, caused the other Magi in the room to reconsider their views of Marden Benton.

And it would appear that the two would go on talking about the technical aspect of Adam’s spell if no one intervened.

Fortunately, Raidon leaned forward and whispered, “My Lord, the Lord Marshall is waiting.”

Adam snapped out of his daze and noticed that Sabrina Benton was looking at him and her son with a smile that was not really a smile.

“…Lord Benton, how about we talk about this later?”

“Huh?” Marden was initially confused. But when he noticed that the others in the room were silently looking at them, he suddenly started to feel very nervous.

“Y-yes, of course, Magus Constantine! I-it was nice talking to you.” With that said, he awkwardly retreated to the back.

“Come.” Sabrina stepped forward, guiding Adam to a certain person in the chamber.

“Let me introduce you to the newest member of the Council of Seven.”