"Prince Seron Drake, Princess Consort Rebecca Drake, Prince Oberon Drake, and Prince Silvan Drake of House Drake are entering the Hall!" The usher announced, and this time all the people gathered eagerly took a look at the most powerful members of House Drake, which was also the ruling house of the kingdom.
Just the symbol of the black dragon with dark golden embroidery around it was enough to make people look at them with awe and fear. The House of Dragons will always be a symbol of sheer power and dominance to everyone.
Asher saw Seron proudly stepping towards the platform situated lower than his. He still had a lofty look, as if he was looking down at everyone from the top of the world. But when his gaze landed on him, Seron's brows creased with a displeased look.
Asher simply ignored him to look at the people following Seron.
He was about to ask Kookus when Kookus already lowered his head as if expecting Asher to ask, "I heard Your Highness had some kind of argument with Prince Seron when you returned. No wonder he looks so pissed off, like somebody hit him in the crotch, tsk, tsk. But his wife is the one you have to watch out for, Your Highness," Kookus said as he lowered his voice even more as if he was afraid a certain someone might hear.
"Rebecca Drake? What about her? Why does she look like she is from House Thorne?" Asher asked because of her long, neatly combed silver hair. But she caught his gaze and gave an intense stare at him with her before taking her seat. It was as if she was about to kill him with just her creepy red eyes. Relatively, she was the prettiest compared to women from other houses around her status and age. However, he felt her beauty was wasted on someone like her. He didn't even have to interact with her to know that she seemed quite nasty.
"She is from House Thorne originally, and that is why she gives off such a scary vibe. But since she married into House Drake, she is officially a part of this house. No maid or servant had survived more than a few days of serving her. If she doesn't like something, then…phew…I feel chills just thinking about what happened to those poor souls, even if they did nothing wrong," Kookus said as he patted his cheeks.
"Is that his eldest son?" Asher narrowed his gaze when he saw this 6 6" tall handsome young man with long silver hair just like his mother. He had a chiseled face with a sturdy, square figure, just like his father.
And this man suddenly looked at him with a curve of his lips for a second, which for some reason didn't sit right with Asher. Asher's hands tightened around the armrest upon seeing him, remembering certain things that fanned the flames inside his soul. However, his expression was calm as before.
"Prince Oberon? He is quite impressive in every way. If not for the queen stealing the limelight with her own prowess and talents, he would have been the one on the front. When he was 30 years old, he had already completed a 'Nightmare' difficulty level quest when in general, those geniuses from any of the other houses would only complete such a difficult type of quest after they cross at least 100 years of age."
"So he is one of the top geniuses around here, huh?" Asher asked as he saw him sitting down with a proud smile on his face.
"That is not the only thing impressive about him. He is the rider of the 3rd strongest dragon in this house. Phew…I still remember how the earth shakes each time he lifts off into the skies on top of Jesyrth. Jesryth is quite a sadistic dragon that slowly burns its enemies to death. Of course, if an unpolished gem like me was given a chance, maybe I could have tamed a dragon as well. Who knows, right?
Asher felt like he might lose count of the number of times he had to facepalm after hearing his tongue go off without control.
"The point is…him taming such a feisty dragon is more the reason everybody has great respect for him. His list of achievements other than that is endless," Kookus said as he blinked his eyes with a sigh, his face burning with envy.
"So about him, you have no complaints to say?" Asher asked since this guy was venting a lot about others.
Kookus grinned as he said, "Your Highness knows me too well. I was just about to say that he seems perfect, but something about him will make you feel like you have to watch your back when you are around him. I don't know how else to put it. But I think that's quite obvious. Offending him is quite a risky thing, considering his influence around here and the big-ass dragon he has. Nobody would want to get turned into a toast."
"So, since he is the eldest, is he married or engaged to someone?" Asher asked since he had heard that most of the younger generation from the other houses were either engaged or had spouses. But the main reason he asked was to confirm something he had in mind.
"Ah, that is the strange thing I forgot to mention. He hasn't married any lady yet, but he once addressed that question by saying that he wants to first serve the kingdom to the best of his abilities before settling down. But...considering his fame and power, many assumed that he would be marrying ehem...his cousin before the engagement of Your Highness was announced. Perhaps, ah, I don't what I am talking about," Kookus winced as he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
Asher coldly scoffed inwardly, confirming his suspicions. By now, he realized that this servant of his was more perceptive despite looking like a fool.
"But the one I feel the most decent is the youngest one, Prince Silvan Drake. He is quite brave, strong, and valiant but not too aloof like the rest of his family. Even someone of my stature feels some respect for him," Kookus said while putting on the look of a senior praising a junior and added, "Maybe this is why my sister is actually considering him as a husband material."
Asher looked at the young man who was 6 4" tall, a few inches shorter than his elder brother. He had a slim build which was the opposite of his elder brother, and had a pretty, angular face which was a face that could surely charm young girls.
But despite the subtle naive features of his face, his eyes were sharp as a blade and had composed bearings. And when his gaze fell on Asher, he gave a quick, polite smile before taking his seat.
Asher softly chuckled, hearing that this man was Ceti's fiance, "She has a fiance? This world must be really doomed."
"I know, right. But technically, she isn't even engaged to him, though he had been indirectly courting her for more than a decade. Most of them doesn't know since it would be frowned upon considering her background but he isn't giving up. If the public knew many noble women would get angry and envious of my sister because their prince charming has been bewitched by her. Of course, my sister can't marry him yet unless she is willing to put down her pride to become his concubine."
"But she won't? I thought you said she liked him?"
"She has always been friendly and nice to him and that is what confuses me. She even thinks that he is the most decent guy considering how he has been the only one who has been nice to her for all these years. That is indeed true. He was also nice to me, surprisingly. She probably values her pride more, hm, hm. That could be the only reason she has been keeping such a charming prince on the hook for years. Please don't tell her I said this. Otherwise, she will chew off my head," Kookus shuddered at the very though of it.
Asher realized that if there was one person this loud mouth was afraid of was his own sister.
"But if she does get married to him, then not only will her status get a significant promotion, but I also get to be part of this house officially, What a pity, tsk, tsk," Kookus mumbled with a disheartened look.
Asher found it strange that Ceti was delaying the chance to gain more influence for the sake of her pride? He knew her ego was inflated but as a demon why would she still value her pride more than power?
He also found it strange that this good guy prince was so interested in her when he can get no actual benefits from marrying her. He found it hard to believe a demon can get smitten based on appearance only. This was not the human world where beautiful things like love at first sight happens.
In the world where strength was considered supreme, would a prince of his status risk losing face by marrying someone of an enemy race?
"A gentleman of a prince? So no complaints about him from your side?" Asher asked with one of his brows raised to see if he could figure things out.
Kookus smacked his lips together as he deeply thought, "Ehhmmm…I can only think about good things when his name comes to my mind. He doesn't act haughty towards the servants of this house, nor does he abuse his status. He is also a genius and has completed a lot of grueling quests despite being just 40 years old. I can't think of any other noble demon here who could be an all-rounder like him."
'I should add him to the waiting list, I guess...' Asher thought inwardly, feeling more convinced of his thoughts.
Kookus continued on, "But of course, I have no doubt I can catch up to him when I become 40 as well. I still have 20 years to show everyone who the true boss is, hehe. Of course, Your Highness is someone I can never surpass, even if the devils themselves grant me their power."
Kookus' flattery fell on deaf ears as Asher's gaze carefully passed over each and every member of the three great houses…Because he knew that at least one of them had him tortured for years, and the fact that an assassin tried to finish him only made him confirm his suspicions. Of course, he didn't have any proof about who sent the assassin, but he didn't have to guess much to know.
The tough part now would be to deal with them, considering every single of them was a powerhouse in their own right.