A King.
A king, the Most Powerful Drear under the Title of Emperor.
A King, whose authority ruled supre in the hearts of many.
Why would such a Being command a Retd Commander to send his congratulations to Earl Drago?
Why would such a Being bother about the proceedings of a re House Venomous Rose under the rule of a Kingdom?
Questions like these were in the hearts of many, but who would have dared to utter them out loud? Who would have dared to question Marquess Nicholas' presence in such a case? The answer was obvious.
None.
Even before these questions could have co at the tips of anyone's lips, they got buried, trampled, and crushed.
Aldrich eyed the hesitation of Marquess Harold as the Retd. Commander smirked after letting out his question for everyone to hear. Even the fourth naless girl, who had co along with Earl Frida, had utter shock written on her face. And Aldrich also noticed a trace of deep fear hidden behind the calm face of Harold's daughter, Viscount Amalia.
"Counts from the 10th and 15th generation of House Venomous Rose had served in the United Galactic Front. And though we can't keep track of all of them, UGF doesn't forget their contributions. A little gift, approved by the King himself, for Earl Drago."
Marquess Nicholas, not caring about Harold staring daggers at him, approached Drago and took out a fist-sized green object. Its surface glowed with brilliant blues and whites, and it was incredibly smooth to touch. Aldrich couldn't help but raise his eyebrow as he recognized the object which he had already co close to getting one for himself.
It was an Earl Ranked Mana Core.
For a mont, the Mana core was like a star who had left the night sky and had co down. All eyes were planted on it, and taking advantage of such a situation, Marquess Nicholas took a secretive glance at Aldrich. But Aldrich was looking directly at him. From the presence of the naless girl and Amalia, Aldrich had already theorized that sothing weird was going down. And this glance was like pressing an Enter key on the keyboard, giving his theories a solid substance.
Unaware of the thoughts going through Aldrich's mind, Earl Drago had a big smile on his face. It wasn't needed to be said that without an Earl Mana Core; him being Head of an Earl House was nothing but an empty claim. So when this ca as a gift to him, by none other than a King, he had no choice but to accept it with open arms.
"I, Earl Drago, Head of House Venomous Rose, will rember this kindness from UGF. Thank you."
"Humph! Let's go, I am hungry."
Marquess Harold harrumphed, making Drago let out a wry smile. And followed by the lead of many servants, all entered the Banquet Hall.
*
There wasn't much to say about the dinner being served. Other than rare delicacies, the hall was full of red creamy cakes. Although almost all had finished their dinners, Aldrich could still find Harold, munching on a few cakes, with a glass of wine in his hand now and then.
The space in the middle had been cleared out, and beautiful dancers were showing their curves with every step. Their eyes were full of seduction and love intermingled with each other.
On one hand, Earl Drago had lost the happiness after getting Mana Core and now had a frown on his face. Aldrich could only guess that sohow Drago didn't get a favorable response from Harold on the matter of Trifon's and Amalia's marriage. This frown didn't suit Drago's nature, given him being the host of this vast ceremony, but Aldrich knew it couldn't be avoided given Drago's curse.
'Hmm! The pride in his son seed to have amplified after becoming an Earl.'
Aldrich was still occupied in his thoughts when Trifon approached him.
"Ancestor, do you like that quiet girl?"
""
Aldrich had been observing the naless girl's movents for quite so ti before Trifon noticed this oddity. Trifon pretended as if Aldrich's silence ant a yes, and continued.
"I was chatting with that useless side character, Sonja. I think she has taken a liking to Which I have to say tells a lot about her taste in n"
"Co to the point."
Aldrich snapped his head towards Trifon, making the Great Pretender flinch on the spot. The red-haired Count cleared his throat and pretended like a journalist.
"Ahem! According to Sonja's little brain, the Ancestor of House Divine Enclosure has suddenly taken an interest in this girl called Tyra. This ancestor had done such things in the past, so none took a deep interest in the girl. But when the ancestor asked Earl Frida to bring her along to our ceremony, you can imagine the displeasure on nobles' faces. We can presu that the reason for Earl Frida to not introduce her is also related to this."
Tink-Tinkk-Tinkkk
By the ti Trifon finished his brief report, Harold had already climbed onto the stage and used the glass of wine to bring everyone's attention. The dancers swiftly left, and all nobles gathered around the Harold and Drago duo. Contrary to them, Marquess Nicholas was still sitting on a high-back chair leisurely.
Harold's child-like voice echoed in the hall as he smilingly said.
"Before bestowing territory to Earl Drago, I have two wonderful announcents to make."
Aldrich narrowed his eyes as he saw the shock on Drago's face. It was clear that even he wasn't aware of these announcents.
"First, like father, like son, Trifon of House Venomous Rose has already Ranked up and beca a Count. Congratulations."
Clap-Clappp!!!
'Silence' was the only thing that lingered in the hall as everyone looked at Trifon with their gobsmacked expressions. But the clapping sound originated from Amalia, brought everyone out to reality. The hall got overtaken by the sound of clapping and murmurs, and Trifon shalessly bowed with a pretentious smile on his face.
Tink!!!
Another 'tink' made the crowd rember that this was only one of the two announcents. Contrary to the little hopeful smile on Drago's face, Aldrich knew this wasn't related to any engagent. And soon his guess beca true as Marquess Harold faced him directly and proclaid.
"I have decided to take Aldrich, Bastard of House Venomous Rose, as my personal student."
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