His own research covered most of the males of the royal family. He knew enough about every single one of them that was sufficient for him to dialog with anyone of them at any given time. It wasn't always easy to find out ahead of time which of the royals was to come, but he did his best to stay up to date on all of them.
Which was why Rachel being here was a surprise to Galen. He hadn't been expecting the elegant Princess to grace this year's freshman tournament. From the little Galen knew about the princess of elegance, she preferred beautiful things that pronounced her elegance and highlighted her love for beautiful things. Activities like playing the piano and writing poetry were at the top of that list. It was common knowledge that she excelled at them all.
Nevertheless, that wasn't the only striking thing about Rachel. Her love for elegance was popular among many circles, but Galen had also heard something about her, something that was both disturbing and yet worthy of applause at the same time.
When the princess was much younger, she had been kidnapped. Now while no one was sure of the identity of this kidnapper, certain stories had flown about regarding that very incident. Galen had heard that even at that moment, despite being in the jaws of captivity, the little princess had behaved and conducted herself in a courteous manner to the abductor(s). That had been a remarkable feat from a young girl. Especially from a princess.
It was said that the culprit had been so swayed by her manners and etiquette that he requitted her politeness and treated her well. Galen remembered this story well and decided that it was best after all that the princess was here, and not just one of those other eager, desperate to please relatives of hers. He appreciated her spirit, and welcomed her accordingly.
Careful with every word he spoke, and coupled with Rachel's talent for speaking softly and in a civilized way, the old man gently eased her into a friendly conversation. He knew that this conversation would probably be recounted before a royal court, where everything he said would be torn apart and dissected in such a way that almost everything would be misconstrued as something else.
So, he steered the conversation very gently in the direction he assumed would be the safest;
"I am sure the princess will be pleased with this year's line up. Indeed, it could truly be well said that there has been some impressive performance in the first round. They are all looking hopeful this year."
Galen had diverted the conversation towards the one subject he knew he couldn't be taken down for- the tournament. And in doing so, he carefully refrained from calling out any names in particular. The key was to remain as vague as possible. Royals could be really fickle sometimes.
Galen's gambit worked wonders. The princess replied him with her own opinion and with her own favorites.
"I don't know about the others though, but I sure am interested in the Yamata family girl."
"Great choice princess. But may I ask why?"
If it had been any other egotistical royal, Galen wouldn't have even bothered to ask why. But Rachel was a lot easier to converse with. And it didn't take any of that unnecessary maneuvering to speak to her.
"I hear that the Yamata family that had once thrived blissfully had now been reduced to a population of just two..."
"Indeed, that's what they say." Galen concurred with her.
"I believe strongly in family president Galen. And because I do, I can't help but root strongly for the Yamata girl. She carries on her back the legacy of her entire family, and that is no small burden. Don't you agree?"
"Of course princess. You've spoken wisely."
Galen had never heard the princess speak so many sentences at once before. But he sure was glad that he had paid attention. While she spoke, he had been able to discern the fact that she had been projecting her own personal feelings into her assessment of the Yamata girl. Since Rachel herself was a princess, she was probably always under immense pressure to make her family proud and do the right thing at every given pint in time.
Rachel saw a bit of her own self in her, and because of this sense of kinship, she couldn't help but root for her. Speaking of the Yamata clan made Galen a bit emotional too. Like so many others, he had also heard about what had transpired in the past. It was a gory and bitter tale, but he quickly steered his mind away from the emotions associated with it and focused on being a more diplomatic host.
"I am proud to inform you that Caesar's University has maintaned a high level of interest in her from the very beginning of the exam. We are all aware of her presence and are looking forward to seeing her demonstrate her skills..."
Galen saw that Rachel's interest in the Yamata girl was based on her own emotions. It wasn't exactly the kind of judgement and tactical analysis that one would expect from one of these visitng royals. So, Galen decided to try to influence her own somewhat biased judgement by steering her in the direction of a more impressive candidate. Someone whom the royal family would definitely be interested in.
"Princess, I understand your interest in the Yamata girl, however, something interesting occurred during the first stage of the freshman's tryouts..."
Rachel's eyes bored into the old man as he prepared to fill her in. Her gaze was direct and unflinching. Galen forgot just how intense the royals could be with their looks. He was reminded yet again that he couldn't afford to slip up just because the princess was more comely than the rest of her kin. She was after all still very much a royal.
Galen coughed slightly before proceeding with his story;
"A certain group emerged out of the blue and completely dominated the scene. Even as I speak to you right now, tongues are still wagging about this mysterious trio. Out of nowhere, this team of theee managed to take the first round by storm and humiliated the other teams without even breaking a sweat!"
Galen tried his possible best to sound as enthusiastic as he could about his narration. If he could hook the princess in, he knew that the royal family might take an interest. So, with the shameless tactics of a salesperson, Galen went on to vividly narrate the events that had transpired in the first round. He spoke in great detail, highlighting the ups and downs of the fight. He also emphasized on just how mysterious the trio were.
"In all honesty princess, I have watched several freshmen elimination tournaments, but I have never seen anything like this! Truly! That was a demonstration that stunning by all proportion!"
The princess didn't respond immediately. She actually took out time to listen to everything he had said, it was necessary so she would be able to respond to him appropriately, and at the same time report back to her own family. It took a moment, but eventually she spoke up.
"It sounds like it was quite the show mister president..."
Galen answered eagerly; "Oh I assure you princess, it was! Hasn't been anything quite like it in a while!"
"I see..."
Galen's heart sank. That definitely wasn't the reaction he had been hoping to get. "I beg your pardon princess, but it seems you do not approve,"
"Let me see if I understand this correctly mister president..."
Galen froze up, he knew that nothing good would come after an opening like that. Somehow, even though it hadn't been his intention, he had completely fumbled the sales pitch. He couldn't wait to find out why. He got his answer alright.
"So, you're saying a gang of hoodlums, whose identities are still unknown, managed to gain access to this prestigious tournament and knocked out some of our best teams?"
Galen knew better than to reply. Clearly she was on a roll and couldn't be stopped now.
"And not only were they allowed to leave peacefully, their identities are still very much unknown? What if they were a band of assassins, or worse maybe even terrorists. Forgive me, I am not an expert in security matters, but it really sounds like someone somewhere should be questioned about his job."
Galen had seriously misinterpreted the princess'long silence for awe. She had managed to give this whole narrative a completely different spin, making it look like gross incompetency and dereliction of duty. It wasn't the old man's fault. If he were dealing with another typical ambitious member of the royal, family, they definitely would have jumped at the opportunity to watch this mysterious trio in action.
But apparently, the princess didn't care about that. She had been so hung up on the fact that they were a mysterious team that were still incognito. Maybe that had partly been Galen's fault, seeing that he had laid so much emphasis on their mysterious nature. It had backfired completely on him. The fact was that Galen hadn't been completely honest about that part.
Actually, by some freak accident, the old man had come to know that the mysterious group were companions of Zavier's. Before now, Galen hadn't even given the Adam boy a second glance. There were a lot of other candidates whose pedigree and past achievements far outclassed that of the Adam boy. But nevertheless, that had all changed when Val had revealed to him that three masked entities were actually friends of Zavier's.
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