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King Arlen Firstmane walked forward with an indifferent expression. He did not pay attention to any of the people around him, as though he was the only man in the world.
The lionkin king was very similar to Prince Calisto, with blonde hair and brown eyes, but older and more mature. Moreover, he carried himself with a powerful bearing only found in someone with authority.
To be honest, once you see him, you would immediately think of the word 'king'.
The King of The Great Savannah walked until the end of the hall and sat down in a throne that had been prepared for him. Only then he opened his mouth and greeted the people in the hall.
"Welcome, my subjects."
With these words, the frozen atmosphere in the hall regained life. Some beastmen who had unknowingly held their breaths, breathed again, as though released from a spell.
The king looked at that scene with a look of pride and chuckled.
"I know tonight is a night of celebration, so I will be quick. Before we continued with tonight's ball, I want to announce something. Calisto, step forward."
The little lionkin prince nodded. He looked at his father with a nervous expression before walking and standing in front of him.
"As you know." The king continued. "Calisto is my youngest son who I love a lot. Recently, however, he was embroiled in a troublesome matter that almost causes him to lose his life. Fortunately, several heroic and promising young men and women stepped forward bravely at that moment, stopping the situation from turning into a tragedy."
When these words sounded, the beastmen nobles looked around in curiosity. Only a few of them seemed to know the truth about the matter, but they remained silent while keeping a smiling face.
After the atmosphere of anticipation was good enough, the king spoke up again.
"Javelin Sharpclaw, Illina Snow, Bloed Norman, Regina Norman, Liu Ying, step forward please."
Bloed looked at his two companions and nodded. They had already been told about this, so they did not hesitate to step forward.
Thus, the three of them plus Javelin and Illina stood in front of the king with dignified expressions.
The king nodded in appreciation when he saw them. He seemed satisfied by the behavior Bloed and the others shown.
After moving his gaze through each one of them and pausing briefly on Regina, the king started the rewarding process.
"Javelin Sharpclaw, for the bravery you show when rescuing Prince Calisto Firstmane and your outstanding work in Diadel Duchy, I promote you to head of foreign relationships. I hope you work hard."
Javelin bowed respectfully.
"I thank your majesty for your kindness."
The king nodded with a smile and moved his gaze to Illina. "Illina Snow, for your participation in rescuing Prince Calisto Firstmane and your outstanding work in Diadel Duchy, I promote you to vice-head of foreign relationships. I hope you can continue supporting Javelin as you have done until now."
Illina lowered her head barely suppressing her excitement.
"I thank your majesty for your kindness."
Satisfied with her answer, the king finally turned towards Bloed, Regina, and Liu Ying.
This time, though, he paused slightly as though considering his options.
Finally, he sighed.
"Bloed Norman, Regina Norman, Liu Ying. Your contributions in the rescue of my son Prince Calisto Norman are undeniable. However, you are not beastmen nor belong to my country. So, I have struggled a lot while thinking of an adequate reward for you.
"Finally, I decided to grant the three of you a peerage. Since today, Bloed Norman will be considered as Baron Norman, and Regina and Liu Ying, as his fiancées, will receive the same rights as him. Moreover, you will receive a territory close to the capital, Apso. Do you accept?"
Bloed put on a surprised expression to the words of the king. He seemed like someone excited by the king's offer.
Inwardly, though, he was cursing the sly king.
Since the moment when the king mentioned the word 'peerage', Bloed knew they were in trouble.
To be honest, the offer of the king was not bad. The problem was Bloed and the others' stance. One of them was an exiled prince, another the equivalent to a demigod, and the last one the former princess of the demon empire.
King Firstmane probably did not know about Liu Ying, but Bloed was sure he knew about him and Regina. Therefore, he could only see the king's offer as an attempt to tie useful political pieces to The Great Savannah.
Moreover, the king did the offer in front of so many important nobles. In other words, He made it difficult for Bloed and the girls to refuse. It was almost the same as trying to force it on them.
Bloed could not help but feel slightly displeased when he reached that conclusion.
But the king underestimated Bloed's group.
Just a glance at the girls' faces was enough for Bloed to understand their intentions.
They were going to refuse.
Even if it was going to be a bit troublesome, the king could not fall out with Bloed's group during the ball. And after that, Bloed and the girls could use Leto to leave the country unimpeded.
Bloed did not believe the king was so silly as to offend a demigod (Regina) with links to two churches (Moonlight Glow and the Church of Fate) just for a slight embarrassment.
But when Bloed was going to open his mouth, someone else spoke up.
"Hold on." A calm and deadpan voice came from a corner of the hall. "Your Majesty, what do you think you are doing?"
Bloed was surprised. When he looked in direction of the voice, he saw someone he was not expecting to see here.
"Saintess Eve." The king furrowed his brows.
The golden-haired fox girl stared at the king indifferently. She glanced a Bloed briefly and nodded before looking again at the king.
"Don't you think it's disrespectful of you to poach the people of other organizations, Your Majesty?"
The king raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Miss Eve?"
"Just like I said." Eve continued calmly. "Mr. Bloed, Miss Regina, and Miss Liu Ying are people related to Moonlight Glow. You don't have any right to give them peerage."
Bloed and the girls were startled. They looked at each other in confusion.
However, Bloed was not silly enough to interrupt at this moment.
He could see that whatever Eve was doing was to help him.
'is this Charise's intention when she asked me to get the recognition of the fox?' Bloed could not help but wonder inwardly.
King Arlen Firstmane frowned. "Saintess Eve, if I'm not wrong, they are just silver guest of Moonlight Glow. Since when are they members of your church?"
Eve shook her head. "Your information is outdated, Your Majesty. Yesterday, I went to visit Mr. Bloed and Miss Regina and met with them. After talking for a while, I found myself interested in Mr. Bloed's abilities, and Mr. Bloed showed interest in our organization. Thus, after a long chat, he decided to make his group part of Moonlight Glow. Of course, we have not made it official yet, but they are already one of us."
The king fell deep in thought before staring straight at Bloed's eyes.
"Is it like that?"
Before Bloed could answer, he heard Eve's voice in his mind.
[Say yes. Don't worry, Moonlight Glow is pretty loose. Even if you become part of our organization, you will not be forced to do anything against your will.]
Bloed nodded inwardly. Moonlight Glow's reputation was well known, and judging by Charise's words, Eve was more trustworthy than the king.
"That is right, Your Majesty," Bloed said. "I agreed to become part of Moonlight Glow."
The king frowned, but there was nothing he could say.
In fact, it could be said he was in the wrong this time.
Besides, there was no need to create an unnecessary enmity with Moonlight Glow or Bloed's group.
After several seconds of silence, he put on a bitter smile.
"It looks like I made a mistake. Bot worry not, Bloed, Regina, Liu Ying. I'll think of another reward suitable for you. If you are interested in something, please tell me."
Bloed marveled at the king's resourcefulness. The fact he could be so flexible in this situation showed his qualities as a king.
"We will think about it." He and the girls said.
With that, this brief interlude finished.
And just then, someone's arrival was announced.
"Priestess Elwha Aerin, Princess of the Elves, has arrived."