Chapter 73
There was a spacious chamber located in the farthest corner of the Avalon Imperial Academy’s fourth floor.
It had been a long time since the Araksha executives, the largest circle in the Academy, had gathered here for a meeting.
Since they were just a bunch of teenagers at a get-together, one couldn’t feel the same pressure as one would feel in the Imperial Court, even though they were supposed to function in the same way. The executives of Araksha were the children of high-ranked nobles.
Or rather, it could be said that they were forcefully enrolled in the school due to the imperial family's power to keep these future heirs and heiresses as "hostages".
Aside from the sons of the Five Dukes, who had completed their academy life at a much faster pace than anyone else, the empire’s powerful families, the Twelve Families, sent three of their children to study at the academy, and they were now a part of Araksha.
There was adequate room for a hundred individuals, but only three chairs were set up.
The owners of the seats had already been determined, and the other children stood silently behind them.
The girl seated to the left finally spoke after a suffocating stillness.
"I believe everything is in place, so shall we start this discussion?" said a female with a crisp voice and lifted eyebrows. The look on her face made it seem like she had a common ugly personality.
She had green hair, and anyone would think of a vegetable upon seeing her.
"What’s the fuss about, Natasha? Chill. You’re so impatient."
A tiny-eyed boy on the right shrugged and responded to Natasha. The boy’s figure was like an inverted triangle because of the shape of his face, his thin chin, and his wide forehead.
At the sight of the boy’s face, Natasha clicked her tongue and muttered, “This freak…”
"Gehog, you're way too relaxed with everything. Marquis Crombell must be concerned about you as well. He probably just doesn’t have the time to express his worries because of how busy he is."
"Well, the family business will remain the family business. I'm simply enjoying my life right now. Anyway, why should a kid like me be worried about things?"
"Idiot." Natasha spat at Gehog’s remarks.
"Wouldn't it be nice if Charles di Pontier was here? Things would be more enjoyable if she were here," said Gehog.
Natasha trembled when she recalled the ongoing war of nerves between the Crombell family and the Pontier Family.
Gehog’s eyes flashed with delight as he looked at Natasha and said, "That's a great idea. Setting aside everything else, Charles has a lovely face. She’s so much better to deal with than you and your mood swings."
"What did you say? Say that again!"
"Think carefully, you dumbass! Who would like a girl who only knows how to nag?!"
"You…”
Natasha turned red with fury and jumped up from her seat, making Gehog feel a shiver down his spine.
"Stop. This isn't the time for your childish brawl."
The emerald-haired boy in the middle restrained the two in a low voice. Both Natasha and Gehog looked at the emerald-haired boy’s handsome face. However, the emerald-haired boy—Veron shen Villas—returned their gazes with dark eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to stop until this inverted triangle says that he’s sorry for what he said."
"Oh,?really?! Says the girl with a vegetable head!"
"Stop!"
Veron made a sidelong glance at Natasha and saw her rolling her eyes. Veron sighed and turned to Gehog before saying, "Gehog, you went too far."
"..."
"Natasha only said it out of concern for you and your father, so why don't you start by apologizing first?"
"It was a pointless concern."
"The rift between your family and the Pontier family is pretty concerning. I've heard that there are physical fights between your two families from time to time. How can we not worry about you when we’re comrades?"
'Pffft.'?Gehog held back a chuckle. The way Veron casually said that they were comrades almost made him laugh. After holding his laughter back, he pursed his lips.
"I'm not sure elsewhere, but if it's about the Pontier family, no concern is necessary. We are merchants like them, but we can assure you that we are not lagging behind them in any way. I'm even sure that the Mercenary King is on our side at this point."
"Are you sure?"
Veron's question drew a nod from Gehog.
"I’m pretty sure that in a few more years, Marquis Crombell will own all the money in the Empire."
At that, Veron softly smiled. "Don't rush. Let me know if you need help. I'll inform my father, and the Villas will be happy to assist."
"All right,” Gehog responded and immediately glanced away without looking at Natasha.
"Since it appears that we have calmed down, should we start the meeting now?"
"But, have you heard the rumors? Amaru bron Sten was assaulted by a Viscount's son. Even worse, the offender was a fallen nobleman's son!" Natasha exclaimed.
Veron nodded. "Yes, I’ve heard of it."
"What kind of kid is he? He’s amazing!" said Natasha.
"Oh, so it will be like that again—are you going to say that you want to take him for a ride again?“ muttered Gehog.
Gehog was taken aback. After all, he was fully aware of Natasha's tomboyish side.
"Well… I'll have to see if he's handsome first.”
"You insane…"
At Gehog’s swearing, Veron shook his head. "We can't take this matter lightly. Please pay attention."
"What are you thinking, Veron? He's a fallen nobleman's child! He disrespected a high-ranking student! Amaru's family directly assists His Majesty the Emperor!"
"That's exactly what I'm saying… Veron is acting weird."
Veron frowned at Natasha and Gehog’s complaints. A frightened look briefly appeared on his face as he hesitantly said, "We… We already met."
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
Gehog and Natasha exclaimed. The silent members of Araksha started muttering among themselves.
It had to be pretty surprising for them to hear that two people from different worlds had met before.
"You're kidding, right? He’s acquainted with the Marquis of Villas's child?!"
"Just who is he? There were also some rumors that he was acquainted with the Fourth Prince."
Natasha's eyes twinkled, and she leaned forward before saying, "Is he some kind of royalty somewhere? Perhaps he's using a pseudonym?"
Veron’s brows furrowed as he replied, "Not a chance, Natasha. It's a wild guess, but from my own research, none of the empire's highest nobility or nobilities from neighboring countries have dark blue hair."
Natasha's eyes widened, and she hurriedly said, "Well, that narrows a lot down since most hair colors are genetic, but what about his skills? Was he unique and powerful when you met him?"
"It’s the first time I’ve heard of his skills,” Veron replied.
At that, Gehog muttered, "I hate to say that, but—"
However, Veron interrupted Gehog’s words with clenched fists. He made sure to reveal a serene expression before saying, “His skills are genuine. If you’re going to ask me, I think Amaru really got a beating from him. He’s not even C-Class yet, so no matter how good are the skills he inherited from his father, there’s no way he could have defeated that Federick. In addition, my knight was one of the victims of his wrath.”
"Your knight? Are you talking about Muker?!"
The eyes of the seemingly carefree Gehog shot wide open. He seemed truly astounded by the revelation.
"Muker is a B-Class Knight! That Ash is just a freshman, right? He had just gotten enrolled at the academy, so how could he even beat a B-Class Knight?!"
"My word—these—these revelations are too heavy for me to absorb."
Veron looked at both Natasha and Gehog. The other members of Araksha reacted the same as Natasha and Gehog. However, the other members seemed like they urgently wanted to say something, but they appeared to be putting up with it.
No one would dare to interrupt a conversation between members of the Twelve Families.
Amidst the silence that had fallen after their reactions subsided, Gehog said, "Why not we recruit him to join us? To tell you the truth, I kinda like how this incident ended."
"What?!"
Veron turned his head toward Gehog, he seemed to have misunderstood something.
"What do you mean?" Veron asked.
"Amaru… I never really enjoyed his company. Well, we don’t really like him because he was basically forced on us. And if Ash is truly talented, he will be a great help to us."
"That's exactly what I'm saying, too. We need to get closer to him because he was part of the Sten Family, but things are different now. He damaged his family's reputation. I also don't really think that the Sten Family will be concerned about Amaru."
Veron shook his head in response to Natasha's words before saying, "Did you forget? Even if he has no backing from his parents, his brother will be a great hindrance to us."
"..."
When he saw how Gehog and Natasha were silenced by his words, Veron continued.
"More than anything, I hate that Ash pen Frederick…"
Recalling what happened back then, Veron clenched his teeth.
"Oh…?your relationship with him is not so pleasant?" said Gehog.
"Idiot. What do you think could invoke such a reaction from Veron? Why would Muker attack him otherwise?" Natasha responded.
Gehog nodded in response to Natasha’s words. They then looked at Veron and saw that he was still sulking.
Veron growled after noticing their gazes.
"In any case, I won't sit here and let him do as he wishes."
"How will you silence him? Muker was no match for him, and you also said that his skills are no joke," asked Natasha.
Veron revealed a cheeky smirk and said, "Shimizu kun Douglas."
"Aha…"
"Right. He’s from a fallen noble family, but there should still be people there he's close to."
Veron's eyes shone in a sinister light, and he seemed lost in his own thoughts.
'I'll make you regret messing with someone you weren’t supposed to…'?
***
Joshua stood in front of a door on the Imperial Academy's top floor, looking straight ahead.
Joshua sighed and muttered to himself, "The Dean’s Office…"
He suddenly received a summons from the Dean of the Avalon Imperial Academy.
He knew this would happen sooner or later, but he was surprised that it happened so quickly.
'Does it have anything to do with Amaru?'
This was the exact reason why he had to hide his identity—too much attention would hinder his recovery.
Unfortunately, it seemed that things wouldn’t always go according to one’s plan.
With a resigned look, Joshua knocked on the door.
"This is Ash pen Frederick."
Joshua tilted his head and opened the door when he heard no answer.
"...!"
Joshua's eyes widened when he saw what was in front of him.
There was a man sitting in the middle of the dim room.
The suspicious-looking man was dressed in a monochrome outfit and a black cape.
Joshua had never seen the dean before, but he was pretty sure that the man wasn’t the dean.
"Joshua von Agnus?"
"...!"
Joshua's eyes widened even more. The man’s voice sounded hoarse and eerie.
‘Wait, he knows who I am?’
Looking at the vigilant Joshua, the man in black slowly got up from his seat.
"Looks right."
Facing those deep eyes beneath the mask, Joshua asked in a low voice. "Who are you?"
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦