Chapter 214
Peril Castle had a spacious conference room, but at this moment, there were only two people in the massive conference room.
“Marquis Crombell left Peril Castle in peace. He said he’ll formally issue his surrender as soon as he returns to his estate,” said Count Keiros.
“Oh, that’s good to hear…” Charles started crying. “My father will be happy to hear that when he wakes up, right?”
“Of course, Lady Charles…” Count Keiros sighed under his breath. He won, but the victory hurt. The family was still collapsing without its patriarch, and the mysterious deal between Joshua and Marquis Crombell left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.
‘I should just spend my years fishing and living in peace.’?Count Keiros looked at Charles and shook his head. The Pontier Family was already out of the water, so they needed a pillar to rely on.
“More importantly, my lady, I heard something that I want to confirm with you,” said Count Keiros with a light smile before continuing. “Did you really give Lord Sanders the mark of our family?”
“Ah…” Charles stared blankly at Count Keiros.
At the sight, Count Keiros’ smile deepened as he asked, “What do you think about him? If my memory is serving me right, giving someone the mark of our family means that you want to spend the rest of your life with that person…”
“Oh, it has that kind of meaning?”
Charles didn’t say that. The voice came from the doorway. Count Keiros and Charles spun to look at the visitor.
“Sir Cain… Icarus-nim!”
“Oh, uh…” Cain smiled and scratched his head. Icarus was glaring at him. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
.
“It's okay. What brings you two here?”
“I apologize for troubling you so early in the morning, but I have something urgent to tell you, my lady,” said Icarus. She clasped her hands together in a textbook apology.
“You’re not troubling me at all…” Charles shook her head and smiled. “I’m more than happy to see you. After all, you are our heroes—our benefactor.”
“But of course!” Cain pounded his chest. “Even if our master didn’t order us to do so, we would have still helped you, my lady!”
“Are you sure about that, Sir Cain? Your words might come back to bite you,” Icarus sarcastically said.
“What?” Cain seemed annoyed at Icarus’ words. However, Icarus couldn’t really be blamed for what she had done. Cain’s white knight syndrome was getting annoying, so Icarus had to do what she had to do.
At the sight, Charles covered her mouth with her palm and chuckled.
“I always get the feeling that you two are great friends.”
“Great friends?” Cain and Icarus said at the same time. “Who?”
“Oh! I remember the saying—love and hate are two sides of the same coin.”
“A-anyway! Lady Charles! Do you really have feelings for Master?” Cain immediately changed the topic and directly asked the burning question in his mind.
Charles revealed a bright smile and casually answered, “Lord Sanders is the most eligible bachelor in all of Igrant. In addition, Avalon is currently enjoying peace, so it is the best time for marriage.”
“R-really?!” Icarus exclaimed with wide eyes.
“Ha…” Cain sighed deeply.
“I was just joking…”
“Ha…” This time, Icarus was the one who sighed, albeit in relief.
Icarus sighed unknowingly, but it didn’t escape Charles’ notice, and it prompted her to say, “Of course, setting aside Lord Sanders’ ambition, I’m still a woman, even though I’m the head of this family…”
Flinch.
Charles saw Icarus flinch, and she continued with clear amusement in her eyes. “I gave the mark of our family to him when we were kids because he didn’t even want to look me in the eyes. It was the only way for me to attract his attention.”
“Ah…” Icarus gasped.
Charles stared deeply at Icarus, looking like she was trying to deduce Icarus’ thoughts.
“But now—I can’t even understand my heart anymore. He’s a good man, but he’s godlike. It’s almost as if he’s too holy to be touched.”
“Of course. Our master isn’t famous as Avalon’s God of War for nothing,” said Cain.
Icarus poked the smirking Cain, looking like she was the one who got praised rather than Joshua.
Charles nodded and smiled. “I agree.”
“...”
“Of course, the question is whether or not I can afford to think about dating or love right now. And the answer is you don’t have to worry. I won’t be able to take him away from you two anytime soon.”
“My lady…” muttered Count Keiros. Despite Charles’s playful tone, Count Keiros could see the reason behind why she said such words.
It was all because thousands of eyes would undoubtedly be watching Charles’ every move, and they would be ready to criticize her for a single blunder.
Count Keiros couldn’t begin to wrap his head around how much pressure Charles would have to endure. Moreover, she had just recently come out of age.
In the end, Count Keiros could only keep his thoughts to himself as he turned toward Cain and Icarus to try and change the delicate atmosphere floating about them.
“Ah.?Master told us about them.”
“Who?”
“The traitors. Count Cox. How we should deal with them.”
“Hm…” Count Keiros cautiously glanced at Charles. Count Cox was definitely a sensitive topic for Charles because everyone in the Pontier Family knew that Count Cox and Charles were very close until Count Cox’s betrayal came to light.
“The master instructed me to cut all of their heads off.”
“...!” Count Keiros’ eyes widened.
“S-sir Cain?!” Icarus grabbed the hem of Cain’s clothes. She seemed as confused as Count Keiros.
It was a simple solution. Yes, it was brutal, but it couldn’t be simpler.
“Sir Cain, we need to talk—” Icarus started.
However, Cain spoke up, “Master told me that since this is your family’s business, we need to ask for Lady Charles’ opinion first before doing anything. This is why we visited you so early.”
Icarus sighed. Cain had already revealed it, so all that was left was to see Charles’ response.
“Take care of them,” Charles finally said, “Traitors are traitors. It doesn’t matter how much we trusted them before. They have to be dealt with appropriately to appease and avenge those who have perished under their machinations..”
“My lady…” Count Keiros stared at Charles in disbelief. The cold and ruthless decision she made without even an ounce of hesitation shocked everyone in the conference room.
However, they were even more shocked when Charles bowed toward Cain and Icarus.
“M-my lady…!” Count Keiros gasped.
“It’s fine. Icarus, Sir Cain, can I ask you for your help?”
Cain and Icarus glanced at each other.
“O-Of course…”
“My lady, you didn’t have to do this just to ask for our help...”
The two bemoaned, but Charles bowed toward them for quite a while.
When she finally stood straight, her ruby-like eyes were steady and tranquil. Charles had taken the first step toward becoming the ‘Steel Empress’.
***
Joshua thought the sky would collapse on him, but the darkness disappeared, giving way to a peaceful plain.
The small hill of corpses could no longer be seen. They had all been consumed by the 8th Lesser Demon Realm, Infinite Hell.
A symbol briefly flickered between Joshua’s fingers, and if one managed to take a closer look, then one would have seen that the symbol resembled the Dullahan Lord’s head. It was proof that he had subjugated the Dullahan Lord.
- That was a demon’s power…
Joshua admired the quiet break of dawn as Lugia continued.
- The blood moon of the demon realm as well. It’s a symbol that I couldn’t even begin to duplicate.
“...”
- It came from an angel—a fallen angel, one of the most powerful with the biggest and most numerous wings. He’s on par with the Demon King, but he’s a bit different.
“...”
- Only Michael, the finest warrior amongst the angels, was capable of challenging him. In fact, it was Michael who put down his rebellion and ended his plan of achieving godhood.
Lugia kept talking, and the spear eventually hovered next to Joshua.
- The angel lost his four wings and took refuge in the Demon Realm. The Demon King took him in, but…
Vrrr!
The spear hummed as if Lugia itself was quivering.
- He bit the hand that fed him, stole the Overlord Symbol, and ran away. He is the only being who has been labeled as a traitor—both upstairs and downstairs.
“...”
- At his strongest, he could take on two demon lords at the same time. However, he has to be even stronger right now because he successfully stole the Overlord Symbol with was known to hold destructive power.
“What are you trying to say?”
- The symbol suddenly showed up on you. What is going in? What does that mean?
Joshua remained silent at Lugia’s words. He simply stood there and kept on admiring the dawn. However, Lugia didn’t seem to mind it as it continued speaking, aware that Joshua would listen to it anyway.
- From what I can see, the total control symbol has been sealed for some reason, but if you somehow managed to wield it, then you would definitely become an existence similar to a god.
Finally, the quiet Joshua spoke and asked, “What is the name of that fallen angel.”
- The fallen angel’s name… His name is Lucifer, the bringer of darkness.
“...!”
Joshua’s eyes abruptly widened. The moment Lugia uttered the fallen angel’s name and title, the spear became enveloped in a crimson light. Under Joshua’s astonished eyes, the crimson light, which had become the spear itself, started morphing.
At last, Lugia finally met the conditions for its second awakening.
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