Young Edward snarled at Rex before turning to the maid beside him.
“Who is this criminal? And what is he doing here?” He asked.
Hesitantly, the maid glanced at Rex before she answered, “This gentleman here is not a criminal; he’s Lord Rex, who was working together with the Great Elder. And he’s here to wait for the Great Elder to come discuss important matters.”
“A Lord who can’t even sit down and wait?” Young Edward cast Rex a pitying look.
One that made Rex’s expression twitch in annoyance.
“Let this prince teach you some manners,” Young Edward freed himself from the maid and walked over to Rex, and grabbed his hand. “Come,” He instructed, leading Rex back to the sofa. “If the Great Elder told you to wait, then you wait like a gentleman.”
Rex glanced at Amanir at a loss for words.
He couldn’t believe the audacity of this young boy.
Amanir only chuckled and went back to his seat—the atmosphere was a lot better than before.
Had it not been for Young Edward interfering, the two guards would probably be dead right about now.
Young Edward sat on the sofa, pulling Rex to sit beside him, before he continued, “Since this is a private room, you don’t need to always be upright. You can lean back, cross your legs, or do anything you want as long as it’s for your comfort and doesn’t make others uncomfortable.”
“I know about this already, you don’t need to teach me.” Rex clicked his tongue.
But this didn’t discourage Young Edward.
In fact, he became more eager, as it was clear in his eyes that Rex needed to be taught.
“If you’re bored, instead of picking a fight with the guards or the maids, use them for exactly what they are here for,” Young Edward said before flicking his fingers, calling a maid towards him. “They can do all kinds of things, but this one is my favorite.”
One of the maids, the one who tried to protect him earlier, quickly took a small leg rest.
She placed it in front of Young Edward before he rested both legs on it.
Then, the maid took something from the drawer behind them, a vial of oil, before she knelt down beside Young Edward—and began massaging his legs with the oil. Rex was intrigued. Back home, the maids weren’t this skilled.
He was only massaged once, and it was by Iris, which was quite pleasant.
“All of the maids here went through extensive ten years of training from their early days, and another ten years before they would be employed in the mansion,” Young Edward explained before nudging his chin at Rex, signaling to the other maid to handle Rex.
Like Young Edward, Rex was also massaged.
Maybe because of how passionate the maid was doing it, or because he was fuming earlier, but this was such a great way to relax. Across the table, Amanir watched this—and shook his head, ‘At least, we no longer need to be worried about Rex going berserk now.’
For the next thirty minutes, Young Edward showed Rex all kinds of things.
He boasted about what the maids could do, talk about manners, and even some history of the Aurelius House.
Since he was being massaged, Rex didn’t really mind listening to him.
“Because of that, my siblings were sent out on the crusade to reclaim—the lost lands to the northwest,” Young Edward said, crossing his arms. “Only a handful stayed behind, mainly since they weren’t really up to the standard set by the Emperor. I heard the Emperor demanded two more heirs—from us to lead two battalions, which was why my brothers and sisters were training right now.”
Upon hearing this, Rex raised his eyebrows.
So, sending April and those three heirs was because of this? Because she was pressed by the Emperor?
Rex didn’t expect to gain an insight from Young Edward, since he was really young for a spirit.
But then again, a young boy from a noble background is usually very smart.
“Or, this could also be because of the Duke. I don’t know if Father has resolved it yet,” Young Edward murmured.
“Hmm? What do you mean?” Rex asked, turning towards him. “What’s about the Duke?”
Noticing where the conversation was going, the maid who was massaging Young Edward’s legs cleared her throat, interrupting the conversation, “Prince Edward, I think it’s time for your Sovereignty lecture. Come, I’ll take you to your room.”
On instinct, Rex leaned forward and caught the maid’s hand.
“Prince Edward, I thought the maids here were trained properly. Isn’t interrupting our conversation a bit disrespectful?” Rex asked, his eyes sending daggers at the maid. “I don’t think this is how a maid should act.”
“Hmm, I agree,” Young Edward nodded. “Go stand on the corner and stay silent for ten hours.”
Hearing this, the maid wanted to refute.
But she knew better than to do that.
“I apologize,” She stood up and bowed. “I will try my best not to make the same mistake again.”
Failing to stop Young Edward from saying too much, the maid dejectedly went to do her punishment.
Now that she’s out of the way, Rex asked again, “So, what is it about the Duke?”
“I’m not really sure. I heard it from my brother. All I know is that Great Elder Rosa did something bad, which caused a strain with the Duke. I think the Duke encouraged the Emperor to raise the quote for our house, so here we are.” Young Edward shrugged, not feeling guilty for blabbering the house’s secret.
Rex, on the other hand, didn’t care and focused on what he got.
“Which… Which Duke did she offend?” He asked again to make sure.
“Who else?” Young Edward shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s the Grand Duke Lorcan. Only he can do this.”
Upon hearing this, Rex’s body stiffened before he leaned back on the sofa—covering his face with his hand as he couldn’t believe this was happening. Rosa, you absolute worst. How can you not tell me about this? I did nothing but show good faith, and you kept showing the opposite?
Rex was fuming again, but this time, he had the true target for him to vent.
Clank!
On the side, the door was opened, and Rosa walked inside along with her two personal maids.
She wore a lavish violet dress, chin held high as if she didn’t do anything wrong.
Upon noticing Young Edward sitting beside Rex, she was mildly surprised but quickly recovered.
“Alissa,” She called, gesturing to the maid on her left. “Please escort Prince Edward back to his room. I believe it’s time for his lecture.”
“Yes, Great Elder.” Alissa nodded and brought Young Edward away.
Of course, Youn Edward didn’t forget to politely bid his goodbye with a modest bow before leaving.
Amanir, along with Kraken, moved to sit beside Rex while Rosa sat across them.
Earlier, he also heard what Young Edward said, and could already tell that this was going to go badly.
“Forgive my lateness, I was dealing with some matters,” Rosa started before she gestured towards the maid with hand hand to place a map on the table. “I’ve gathered what you wanted. On all of these marks, you can find a Special Voidal Knight that ranges from Immortal Spirit rank, with some stronger.”
“Since I only heard recently about your breakthrough—I can only locate four Special Voidal Knights at the Master Immortal Spirit rank,” She continued, pointing at the only four blue marks on the map. “All of these locations are verified by my trusted knight, so you can rest assured.”
Rex leaned forward, elbows resting on his thighs, and glanced at the map.
He only gave it a quick glance before looking at Rosa again.
“How about my second request?” Rex asked, his voice dangerously low. “About the tournament?”
Despite the normality of the questions, Rosa could feel tension brewing inside the room, one that even the maids and guards could feel directly. She frowned a little when she noticed the others were backing away slightly, as if they were expecting this to go south.
However, trained in the art of stoicism, her expression returned to neutral instantly.
“Once you are ready to challenge the tournament, I’d send a formal message to Duke Lorcan, informing him that we championed you for the tournament,” Rosa answered flawlessly—knew the answer before Rex asked the question. “With my house’s name backing you, there wouldn’t be any problem.”
“Really?” Rex’s eyes narrowed. “Will there really not going to be a problem?”
Sensing the animosity, Rosa pulled away a little.
“What is it you are concerned about? Is it because of my small favor?” She asked evenly.
Her tone betrayed no emotion.
“Ah, yes, you also did that,” Rex chuckled incredulously, finding her nonchalant demeanor overbearing when the truth she diverted from their original deal. “You did use my situation to your advantage, but I am willing to let it pass. What I’m concerned right now is your problem—with Duke Lorcan. When are you going to tell me about that?”
Upon hearing this, Rosa’s lips parted slightly, surprised and confused as to how Rex knew that.
But then, she recalled Young Edward earlier, which turned her expression grim.
“I assure you that it will not affect your desirability in Princess Davina’s eyes,” Rosa assured.
Rex, on the other hand, laughed again, “But it would affect Duke Lorcan’s view on me…”
Despite trying to diffuse the situation, Rosa couldn’t deny that fact.
Surely, being championed by the Aurelius House would impact Rex’s impression of Duke Lorcan.
Perhaps, Duke Lorcan would consider him to be a ploy to shame the Duke’s Royal Household.
And if that was really the case, Rex would have no chance of marrying Princess Davina.
Based on what Mira said to Rex, in order for him to enter the Sky City, he needed the favor from Duke Lorcan, as opposed to Princess Davina herself. So, it became Rex’s plan to get close to Duke Lorcan and then ask him for that favor.
But with the Aurelius House offending him, Rex might be preparing for a total failure.
It was clear why Rex was extremely angry with Rosa inside.
Had it not been for Amanir, who was eyeing him to not do anything rash, he would’ve flipped the table.
“Listen…” Rosa cleared her throat, knowing that if she couldn’t give a legitimate solution—this would end really badly. “I did not tell you about this because you don’t need to know. I’m already handling it, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Brak!
“Don’t need to worry?!” Rex stood up abruptly, his aura flared, shaking the entire room. “I already told you, I’m here to save someone dear to me—and my empire! And you’re telling me not to worry when this could risk everything?!”
“Retract your claws, you’re not going to use them, so why bother?” Rosa asked with a raised brow.
Rex paused, scoffing at her remarks.
Crack!
“Do you think I don’t dare to do anything here?” He asked furiously.
His aura flared outward like a violent tidal wave, pressing the guards and the maids onto the floor and even cracking the walls around them. Rex approached, grabbing the edge of the table and throwing it away, before towering in front of Rosa.
Some of the guards tried to intervene, but the sheer pressure from Rex immobilized them.
Slowly, Rex squatted down to meet Rosa’s gaze directly.
Despite the strength gap between them, with Rosa being a lot stronger—she could not help but feel her heart racing inside her chest. Behind her façade of strength, Rex could hear her worry from the rhythm of her heartbeat.
“I’m going to trust you again, Rosa,” Rex said whisperingly. “This is your last chance to show me that you have good faith in you. But if somehow, this didn’t work out for me, I’ll dedicate every second of my entire life to bring you and your house down.”
“I’ve brought down several families like you, so I assure you… You don’t want me on your back.”
