The terrifying aura that Lethe emitted faded away when her mother, the Duchess, talked about her son. The two ladies, along with the duke left the room to meet with Acheron von der Acacia.
I was happy to see Lethe happy.
As the group of them went away, the two little fairy ladies started chatting out loud while I turned to Kai as well.
"Think I'll find something in that book?"
"I think you'll find something in anything related to Charlotte, including that ring." Kai pointed at my hand.
I raised my brow, amused. I didn't think he would know it belonged to her.
"I was quite obsessed with your mother, you see."
"Hey!"
"She was the one person I could never defeat."
Kai suddenly clenched his fists. This aloof person that always seemed lofty, as if a step above everyone else, looked as human as he could be right now. I once again felt that Kai was one of the few people in this world that I could openly be myself. A friend.
"Well, anyway," Kai sighed. "Tell me more about your adventurer life!"
I smiled and shuffled to face him. The first time we had met, I had no tales for him and he had been the one luring me to the life of an adventurer.
Excitedly, I started spilling out tales of my days over the last two years. Quests of all kinds, people of all kinds, from the vampires I had handled as my promotion quest to the platinum rank, all the way to the time I had just met Ophelia. Tales kept spilling out as the day started to pass us by,
"Hey, look. All this is good, but you have to tell me about that one," Kai muttered. The sun had started to set. "You sold a baron to a BDSM club, I need details. All of them."
"Haahm, you know what? I am sleepy now. Get lost."
"Eugene!"
I waved my hands and smirked.
"Enough, get out."
"You can't do this! Tell me the details!"
"Out!"
"Noo! I wanna hear that tale! No, don't go to sleep!"
Enjoying his screams, I closed my eyes.
When Lethe returned and when she threatened him with a chair to kick him out, I had no idea.
I was still tired and injured. Drowsiness took me away and I didn't wake up again for a long time after that.
Just how many muscles would I have lost? Thinking about that didn't make me want to wake up again.
***
"Fix that collar, Billy."
"Right. Brother, lower your head and get some wax on your hair."
"You should cut it off, lord Eugene. You looked better when you had short hair."
Two blondes and one tank were running around me as they adjusted my clothes.
I had woken up this morning to Lethe sleeping beside me while holding my hand. The joy I felt back then was drowned almost immediately as she told me that people from my family were here to get me with great discontent.
Things happened too fast for my still groggy brain to understand. Apparently, I was being given an award and the title of 'Hero of Atreus,' and today was the ceremony. For some reason, Vienna Golden Hall, Billy Ard Hall, and Sir Buhini were all here in the capital. They had originally come here for the banquet but were now preparing me in traditional Schwarz clothing in the greenroom of the Imperial Palace.
"Do I have to sit through this?" I asked, slightly bored as Billy scrutinized my suit from top to bottom. They had brought me a red military suit with golden embroidery that matched well with my eyes.
The door to the greenroom was barged open as two more familiar people came in. A man wearing a beanie and a sleeping knight.
"Oooh!" Sharky screamed. "You're looking pretty cool, dusk! Introduce me to some empire girl please—"
"Zzz..."
"What's this?" I said, ignoring Billy who was joined by Vienna in appraising every crease of my cloth. "What's a measly gold-ranked adventurer doing here? Sorry, you aren't invited."
"Hah! Hey, Zach, you listening to this bastard?"
"Zzz..."
"Get lost, Sharky."
"You little! We were brought here by lady Vienna, ok?!"
"Brought here? You were just picked up like the trash you are. She just took some pity on you, sharky."
"These guys weren't lying," Vienna suddenly said. "Your tongue sure has gotten bad, little brother."
Oh, this bitch.
"Don't misunderstand, my lady. I believe in being genuine. Anyway, achieving plasticity that you would approve of would require this world to die from pollution."
"Hah!" Vienna scoffed. She suddenly patted my shoulders. "There you are, that's how you should speak."
I was left shocked at her sudden maturity. Or did this woman really not realize that I had called her a snake of a level where even a python would look like an ant?
Billy hissed at Vienna and fixed the cloth on my shoulder when a loud blare rang from the outside. The ceremony was already beginning.
I was feeling a little lost and tired from it all when a veiled person peeked in through the door.
"You ready?" she said.
"Lethe..."
Warm gazes were directed toward us from everyone in the room as I rushed over to her and clasped her hand.
"Then, I'll be taking him," Lethe spoke to Vienna who replied with a slight blush and a wave.
I passed through the halls hand in hand with Lethe.
"How do you always look so good?" she said.
"Quit it," I snapped back. I was still weak, so deep in my heart, I promised myself vengeance for all this teasing that she landed on me.
Before long, I was shown the inside of the palace's courtroom. Apparently, this was the very place where Lethe had taken the entire Royal Family hostage. The walls had been brought down for the occasion with magic as people flooded the sidelines from all directions.
The Emperor began talking.
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