Chapter 195: Ch-195: Sudden Proposal
After Amber and Victor had taken a shower, they headed towards the living room where Duke Hilbert was waiting for them along with Rina, Eleanor, and Elena. Victor was completely clueless and had no idea that disaster was about to strike in the real world.
"We were waiting for you... but it seemed you two were occupied." Rina’s face brightened when she saw Victor, but then her lips twitched when she noticed Amber’s unsteady movements, as though she was about to fall if she were not leaning against Victor’s body for support.
"Cough... please take a seat." Duke Hilbert said as he coughed and gestured for the pair to sit down on the luxurious sofa.
Victor smiled and nodded as they took a seat across from Hilbert.
"I would like to thank you again for saving the Hall Duchy," Hilbert said as he bowed toward Victor.
Victor hurriedly waved his hand and said, "No, no... it’s fine. You are a customer. I needed to keep you alive for scammi... cough... selling you the Mechs."
’You were about to say scam, weren’t you?’ Hilbert gave a weary smile but then relaxed.
"Oh, congratulations, Victor, on getting the Brightflame Territory," Eleanor said suddenly as she looked at Victor with mild jealousy. It had to be said that, being the second daughter, she would not inherit the Duchy but would instead receive a fief that was nowhere near comparable to the Hall Duchy, and she had yet to receive it. On the other hand, Victor had obtained the Brightflame Duchy, which was comparable to—perhaps even larger than—the Hall Duchy.
"Yes, congratulations. We will be neighbors from now on. After you set up the Teleportation Portal and connect the Silvernum Territory, we can help each other as allies," Rina said cheerfully.
"We are allies, right?" Eleanor suddenly chimed in, and the atmosphere turned tense as everyone looked at Victor. Even Amber looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course," Victor said, and then notifications appeared before the Hall family members.
[Victor Silvernum has changed the stance from Neutral to Ally.]
"Oh, by the way, I saw that you have a fire bloodline. I have a gift for you," Hilbert suddenly said as he handed Victor a skill book.
Victor raised an eyebrow and took it. His eyes then widened as the information flashed across his retina.
"Are you sure? This is an S-Rank skill?" Victor asked hesitantly. He was tempted, but he still had to maintain his image.
"Of course, it’s no problem. It has been in the family for generations and has been completely useless. Think of this as a token of friendship from the Hall Duchy," Hilbert said as he waved his hand casually.
’S-Rank...’ Amber’s eyes widened as she looked at the scroll in Victor’s hand. She was surprised that the Duke would be willing to hand over such a precious skill. No matter how useless it was to the family, they would not normally give it away so easily. But she understood that giving it to Victor was completely reasonable, as he had saved them, and without his help they would have perished.
Amber looked at Rina and Eleanor, who were not surprised at all, as they seemed to know about this beforehand.
"Then I will accept," Victor said with a smile, and a new notification flashed across his retina.
[Ding Dong]
[You have learned the skill Elemental Clone]
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Elemental Clones
Rank: S
Description: Can create a clone made up of fire, wind, water, ice, or lightning that fights independently. The clones possess 50% of the user’s stats and also acquire the bloodline related to their element. While the clone is active, the user cannot use that bloodline.
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"This is tailor-made for me," Victor mumbled as he thought of situations where he might need to appear as himself, the mysterious player Faceless, or as an NPC in front of players. This would reduce any suspicion that he had multiple identities.
"By the way, I heard that you brought... what was it called again? Ah... Mechs to sell. Can you show me?" Hilbert suddenly said, catching Victor’s attention.
"Of course," Victor said as he waved his hand, and a Long Sword Mech appeared.
Seeing this, Hilbert’s lips twitched as he looked at Victor and thought, ’Damn, isn’t this the Inventory Bloodline skill? Does he have that too... just how broken is this guy?’
Hilbert suppressed the shock in his heart and carefully examined the Mech, thinking, ’As expected, this is an inferior Mech compared to the ones his soldiers use.’
"How many did you bring?" Hilbert asked Victor.
"Thousands," Victor replied.
"Good, I will buy them," Hilbert said decisively. Then he looked at Victor with a mischievous smile and said, "There was another matter I wanted to discuss with you."
"Oh, what’s that?" Victor asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I was wondering if you would be willing to marry my daughter, Rina," Hilbert said, stunning everyone into silence.
Eleanor’s and Elena’s jaws dropped to the ground as they looked at Rina, who tried to keep a neutral expression, though a rosy blush spread across her cheeks.
Amber, who heard this, also sat up straight, and a faint look of amusement appeared on her face as she thought, ’This is getting interesting.’
"I beg your pardon?" Victor’s lips twitched as he asked again.
Hilbert took a deep breath and said in a serious voice, "I want you to marry my daughter. If you do, the Hall Duchy and Silvernum Duchy will be united. I can also help you establish the Silvernum Kingdom and join your cause."
When Victor heard this, he realized Hilbert was serious. He then turned to look at Rina.
When Victor’s gaze fell on her, and she saw the amused smile on his face, Rina’s neck and face flushed crimson, as though blood would drip from them.
"I don’t have a problem marrying a beautiful woman like you, Rina. What about you?" Victor asked with a raised eyebrow.
When Rina heard Victor’s question, she suppressed her embarrassment, straightened her back, and said, "That’s right. I have to get married one day anyway, and out of all the spoiled heirs, you are the best option. Your army is no weaker than that of a Duchy, so you are the best choice."
Then Rina looked at Amber and asked, "Lady Amber, you do not have a problem if I get married to Victor?"
Rina looked a bit worried, but Amber had a warm smile on her face. She looked Rina up and down with interest and said, "No, of course not. Welcome to the family, and you can call me Sister Amber from now on."
Hearing her words, Rina felt a weight lift off her shoulders, and even Duke Hilbert breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That’s good. I will prepare the wedding ceremony. You two are not married yet either, right? We can arrange a double wedding."
"Yes, we can do that," Rina’s eyes lit up as she said. "Sister Amber and Victor can have their wedding first before mine."
Amber’s eyes widened, and her smile brightened as Rina earned massive brownie points with her.
"That’s good, but I want the wedding to take place in the Silvernum Territory," Victor said.
"Fair enough. I will make the arrangements," Duke Hilbert nodded in agreement.
"By the way, Victor, now that we have confirmed that we are going to be married, I want to say something to you," Rina suddenly said in a serious voice.
"Oh, and what would that be, my future wifey?" Victor said in a teasing tone, and Rina momentarily lost her composure, looking at Victor with embarrassment, while Hilbert looked uncomfortable.
"I would like to issue a Challenge of Patriarchs and Matriarchs," Rina suddenly said, and Amber’s eyes perked up as her body trembled with excitement.
"Cough." Eleanor almost choked on the drink she was having and looked at her eldest sister in disbelief before interjecting, "Ah... Sister, I don’t think that’s a good idea."
"What? Do you think I can’t beat him?" Rina glared at her rascal younger sister.
"..." Eleanor did not say anything and simply kept staring silently at her sister as though she were an idiot.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Victor asked in a confused tone, completely clueless. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing.
"Let me explain..." Amber looked at Victor and started explaining.
It was a simple fight for dominance fought among the nobility, mostly between couples who were about to get married. The winner would earn the dominant position in the relationship.
Victor wore the same expression as Eleanor as he looked at Rina.
"Are you sure?" Even Victor was startled by her sudden challenge and asked. He did not believe for a second that he would lose.
"Sister Amber, what do you think? Want to team up and beat him up?" Rina asked, and Amber’s eyes lit up with excitement.
"Haha, if you want, you can try, but I don’t think you can defeat me even if you team up," Victor said with a snort.
"Sure, you don’t mind, do you?" Amber asked.
"Of course. This daddy will teach you who the boss is," Victor suddenly said excitedly, his hands itching to teach them a lesson as he stood up.
"Sigh, I will prepare the arena," Hilbert said as he rubbed his temples.
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