Zuxara Vessard removed his fur cloak and placed it over the backrest of his seat. Before he seated himself into the wooden chair, he smoothed his blue robes down to prevent them from looking unruly.
He eyed a pair of beautiful noblewomen that walked through the doors, only being escorted by a single older man who he presumed to be their father.
Neither were announced by the doorman which meant they weren't important enough to be recognized by anyone.
He took in the younger one, with brown hair and fair skin. He noticed her light amber eyes, almost brown, captivating as the beautiful orbs matched her outward beauty.
He continued to watch them as they walked out of his view, but he remained seated. He could look for her after the event. For now, he had to keep his work and his play time separate. He had to remain formal at this event that was gathered by the Prince of Etherstorm.
He scoffed at the thought of him. Who did he think he was? The nerve to call all the families of nearby territories into the territory of Achen, which was in the middle of the homes of all the nobles called to this gathering.
In order to appease his father, he was forced to ride for hours. He may as well indulge himself before he had to take the long journey back.
"Prince of Nihlahim, Princess of Achen-"
He perked up at the announcement of a Princess. His eyes widened when he realized which Princess it was. His head whipped around as he eyed the open doorway where all nobles walked through to enter the building.
First came the white-haired male with blue eyes that he knew as Zylaorfier Pentajis, one of the two close friends of Houvdon Archelio. He was powerful, yet none knew his true capabilities due to his habit of hanging around his friend, and nobody wished to challenge the male in the presence of a powerful mage.
The second was the beautiful princess he had danced with one month ago on the day of the banquet. He remembered the way her skin felt, her small delicate waist. He stared at her, his mouth gaping as he was captivated by her beauty. While she no longer had both of her beautiful red eyes, one of them replaced by a cold purple, it did little to reduce her appeal. Just by looking at her he felt desire building up inside of him.
Despite being completely covered by a loose dark cloak with fur that looked suspiciously the same as the one the Prince of Etherstorm usually wore to school whenever it was cold, she was still beautiful. Her hair was done in a simple way, tied up into a loose ponytail yet the casual look in such an "important" occasion, according to Houvdon's letter, further enhanced her beauty.
He stood and was about to walk the great length between him and her to greet her, but his thoughts crumbled when he saw the person that was walking behind her.
It was the man himself, Houvdon Archelio. He was covered in a simple black cloak that did not possess any fur, which was unusual considering the cold day that had awkwardly swept in after days of warm and humid temperatures. His amber eyes shone with disinterest that Zuxara was able to see across the entire room.
He felt his heart burn with envy when he saw Kryva stop walking and tip toe, whispering something into Houvdon's ear. He watched as Zylaorfier let out a chuckle at the words she was saying, somehow hearing her despite her trying to whisper into Houvdon's ear for only him to know.
She turned to the ice mage, her face flushing with so much pink that he was able to see the blush despite the distance. She spoke a few words that made Zylaorfier raise his hands in surrender, walking quickly away, his head looking over the assembled nobles, looking for someone specific.
She looked back at Houvdon, who only gave her a blank look. He spoke a few words back to her, causing her to take a step back and shake her head, retorting his words but being unable to look at him. He can practically see the steam coming out of her ears at her embarrassment.
Zuxara could only watch helplessly as Houvdon seemed to give a sigh of exasperation, walking off. His heart cried at the sight of her perking up and she quickly caught up to his rather fast pace.
He turned away from the sight, no longer bearing to see such a beautiful girl go after a man that would refuse to give her any affection.
Why did so many girls go after him? He doubted Houvdon even cared about them.
Even Luna, who practically threw herself onto him, was refused.
-----
"This is a place further away from all the nobles." He gestured around at the small courtyard hidden behind the main building that was to house the gathering. Houvdon met the eyes of the young woman. "I don't see why you are so nervous. You went to a bigger one just a month ago."
"It has been some time. Besides, I had Kirva with me last time. This time, I'm on my own." Kryva sighed as she lowered herself onto one of the mats. Houvdon sat across the stone table on the other mat.
"You aren't going to be speaking. It'll only be me."
"This is barely my second appearance, and I'm with you again." She shook her head. "What are the nobles going to say about me always being around you in public events?"
He gave a shrug. "They wouldn't dare to say anything within my presence."
She gave him a smile that he did not return. Inside of her cheered slightly at him finally carrying a conversation with her rather than only answering whenever he deemed her questions and statements were worthy of his attention.
"And Zylaorfier, the nerve to laugh at me in my face..." She trailed off, remembering how the friend playfully teased her by laughing at her words to Houvdon that she didn't wish for him to hear.
It was pure innocence, telling Houvdon that she was uncomfortable due to the amount of people in the gathering even if it was meant to be a small one. A small event only meant to talk to the territories close to Achen.
Both males being popular with the women did not help her situation. She can practically feel the stares directed at her.
She tried to whisper to Houvdon about her uncomfortable feelings about so many jealous stares, but Zylaorfier had overheard her.
Hence she asked him to take her to a more private place after he gave her a few reassuring words that made her quite embarrassed. She didn't wish to think of the words, lest become more embarrassed than she already was.
"He is rather unused to a girl being embarrassed at being in both of our presences. The only person who has that privilege besides yourself is our mutual friend Luna."
"Luna? She is the one who also got chosen two weeks before myself?" She remembered his words that day where he had met with her. It had only been a few days, almost a week, yet it felt as if it were months ago.
Even if it were months ago, she can still recall each and every word exchanged between the two of them, strangers at the time.
She liked to think of them as friends now.
Houvdon nodded in confirmation at her question. "Yes, Luna is the person I know that was chosen before you. She is how I managed to know what would happen to you."
She closed her eyes, hiding the cursed eye away from the one that constantly cursed the Greater Beings above him. Even if he hadn't shown any outright hatred, only signs of melancholy, she knew deep within he still held a deep anger.
She had never pried, and he had never elaborated.
It was a forbidden subject between her, Zylaorfier, and Houvdon when they played the game to learn each other better the previous day. They all knew there was another layer to his spite for the praised beings, yet none of them dared to ask him about it. There were many lines that were able to be crossed with none of the parties being offended, but that wall was to remain fortified.
They sat in silence afterwards, simply basking in the sun enjoying the scenery as well as the other's company. While neither of them admitted it, deep down inside their hearts, both of them longed for the other.
Yet, neither of them knew why.
They had always said soul mates were destined to fall in love at first sight. She had been attracted to Houvdon since the moment she had laid eyes on him. She trusted him, she knew what he was thinking in such a short amount of time, only a single week.
Despite this, she knew what feelings lay in his cold heart even if she had never seen them before.
Perhaps they really were soulmates?
Houvdon stood and Kryva broke out of her strange thoughts. Why would she be thinking about her and Houvdon all of a sudden? It was far too quick! They were young, still needing to enter their adult years.
Why would she be thinking of romantic relationships? There were still other things to do, such as getting stronger and becoming the next Lady Pellemeur.
"Come Kryva, it is time. I must address the nobles of the pressing matter."
He held out his hand, and she grasped it to pull herself up. Her eyes widened when she felt his arm wrap around behind her back. She felt his hand rest on the small of her back, leading her politely as a gentleman would in these noble affairs.
She felt the coldness of his fingers through the cloak and her robes, yet she still felt bothered by the heat that rose from the spot where he touched her. She briefly wondered how it was possible for her to feel hot from his touch, yet his hand was so cold...
They walked through the slightly hidden pathway they had come through to access the courtyard.
Almost instantly, they were met by many stares as the majority of the nobles had taken their seats. The few that hadn't taken their seats yet were those that had arrived seconds ago.
Houvdon kept his head held high, and Kryva attempted to do the same. She did not look down, but she had it tilted at an angle downwards.
Houvdon crossed the distance to their own chairs on top of the stage. There were only four seats, and only one of them was occupied.
"Zylaorfier. Did Luna not make it?"
The white-haired male shook his head in disappointment. "No, I searched for her but I don't see her at all."
He gave a sigh, but nodded. He removed his hand from Kryva's body, aware of a single piercing glare that was on his hand.
He met the eyes of a single Zuxara Vessard, who had shivered upon realizing that Houvdon had taken notice of his stare. The Prince of Oceania lowered his gaze after a few seconds of eye contact with the powerful mage.
Houvdon turned his eyes away from the jealous male and looked at the crowd as a whole. He bowed to them, showing a rare sign of humbleness, before proceeding with his words.
"Greetings. I am Houvdon Archelio, the Prince of Etherstorm. I have called you all here to discuss a future matter that will complicate the lives of all of you. Just two days ago, I was attacked by an army of knights led by a man named Verilius. He called himself the Vice-Commander, and he was after the Sacred Artifact, Tempus Vernum Ruptor."
Gasps sounded as one noble's voice was loud but shaky. "E-excuse me, Sacred Artifact? I thought there was only one, the Aurora Diemque."
Houvdon shook his head in denial. "No, there is more than just one Artifact. There are a total of six, each one capable of different feats yet each one capable of manifesting a miracle."
The group turned deathly silent.
"I do not yet know where this specific Artifact that Verilius is looking for is, but I do know that they are searching everywhere. Every territory, every manor will be attacked. It's only a question of when each specific one will be targeted. I called you all here so we would be able to form our own army to combat theirs."
"While each territory has its own nobles, and its own powers, it is necessary for each and every one of us to combine forces. I know this has never happened before, but each territory must work together in order to triumph over the knights."
He heard Zuxara speak up, his voice easily recognizable due to how vile his tone was, just like his personality and his obsessions. "How do we know what you are telling is even the truth? Why should we even help you?"
Only some nobles agreed, nodding their heads along. The others continued to look uncertain whether to side with Zuxara Vessard, a fairly popular noble due to his talent in his Water magic, or Houvdon Archelio, a well-renowned mage due to his immense power in his unusual Light affinity.
"Why would I need to lie to you? Do you really think that I would ask for your help if I didn't need it?" His eyes narrowed at Zuxara, who flinched as Houvdon's amber eyes glowed with power. "Do you really think that I would waste time on you?"
Kryva reached out and grasped his wrist. He looked back and she struggled to not sink into her seat with the amount of anger that lurked in his eyes.
"Houvdon, calm down."
Houvdon turned his head away and opened his mouth to speak again, roughly removing her hand from his wrist, but was cut off before he could speak.
"𝐒𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧." Just like before on the balcony, with just a few forceful words, Zylaorfier was able to reel in Houvdon's anger.
He stood from his seat and placed his hand on Houvdon's shoulder. He muttered just loud enough for only both Kryva and Houvdon to hear him. "I'll take over from here. Sit down for a bit so the nobles can relax."
He gave a curt nod and sat down with a huff.
Kryva crossed her arms and shied away from him, who had his seat conveniently right next to hers.
Zylaorfier nodded at the assembled nobles and raised his arms dramatically. "As Prince Archelio had stated, it is necessary for all of us to unite. I may not hold as high of a position as our own Light wielder, but I still hold a rather high position. My name is Zylaorfier Pentajis, son of Lord Pentajis, one of the four Grand Noble families. I can assure you that what Houvdon had said was true. There is indeed an army that is capable of attacking even our own strong mages.
Two days ago, Houvdon had asked for my help because both he and Kryva had gotten hurt fighting these knights. As I healed both of them, I realized they were not fatally injured, but had it been anyone weaker, they surely would have died in the middle of Achen territory, where nobody would have suspected any enemies. Their magic was exhausted and they had just barely managed to get away."
Murmurs began again at the fact that one of the strongest had actually been injured.
Zuxara's face quickly paled as he realized just how great this enemy was.
And if Houvdon's words from earlier were to be believed, an army capable of wounding Houvdon would surely be able to overturn the entire territory of Oceania. Their strongest mage was only that of a Rank Three, who was actually Zuxara himself.
There was an exponential power difference between a Rank Three and Rank Four mage. Comparing the two would be the same as comparing an ordinary house cat to that of a lion.
"We know not when they would strike next, hence even waiting a day for all of us to assemble was even a gamble-"
"They will only wait one more day." Houvdon pushed his friend aside, his blue-eyes blinking in surprise as neither he or Kryva realized that Houvdon had stood up and taken the stage again.
Everyone looked at the Prince of Etherstorm in shock.
"How exactly do you know this?" Kryva spoke for the first time, leaning forward in interest as to how he gained his information.
He shot her a look and she only raised her eyebrows, waiting for his answer. She knew that he would not lie to her, only tell half-truths.
But he wasn't given time to think about what to say with the gathered nobles also asking for answers, agreeing with the question that Kryva had asked. They were not as patient as Zylaorfier and Kryva, who were willing to wait minutes for him to think of something to say.
"I talked to Verilius two days ago after we were attacked."
An uproar as accusations were thrown at him. She immediately felt regret for asking the question in public, yet couldn't help but feel glad. If he did not reveal enough information, he would be marked as suspicious, perhaps even be presumed to be the instigator behind this "war" that he was attempting to start.
In a way, he was the instigator. But he was defending her.
Houvdon ignored her guilty look and continued to stare with a hardened gaze. "I was able to talk to him because he was the one that approached me after I was planning a strategy with Zylaorfier. I had no intention of making peace with him, but he insisted in giving us time to prepare.
Because tomorrow is the Lantern Festival."
She herself had forgotten about this event. It was a yearly thing that was celebrated through the Delusional Lands. She had never attended one, but the Seclusion Church was the one that had set it up, saying it was the will of the Greater Beings.
Since it was the Seclusion Church, none had argued against their will.
Many nobles shifted uncomfortably, seemingly also forgetting about the festival.
"Prince Archelio, are you sure it is wise to still attend the festival with an upcoming battle? If it is truly what you say, why should we attend the festival if we can be planning a counter-attack?"
"Verilius's deal was this. If we follow the will of the Greater Beings and attend the festival, he would permit us to plan and will only strike two days from now. However, if we decide to not attend, he would attack us by sundown today. This festival allows us to plan its events, as well as today to plan. This in turn will help us more than only planning today until sunset."
The assembled exchanged nervous glances.
Zuxara stood, clearly the only one brave enough to go against Houvdon even with a bit of hesitation. The moment he opened his mouth, Houvdon glared at him, his aura practically exploding out of him, enveloping everyone within the building.
Zuxara's legs suddenly broke down, him collapsing onto the ground face first due to the amount of pressure that was forced onto him from Houvdon's sheer willpower.
Only two people were unaffected by this intense pressure that was Houvdon's immense power. The first, was Zylaorfier who continued to stand with disapproving eyes and crossed arms.
The second was a noble within the assembly. While he was able to stand, they were able to see the stresson his face as he attempted to suppress the Light that was forcing him to submit.
Even Kryva was not unaffected by his aura. In fact, as the closest one besides Zylaorfier, she felt the full blunt force of it. She had been sitting prior to this, yet the power that erupted out of him caused even her sitting body to convulse and fall out of her chair.
Despite the power that practically made her helpless, she was able to recognize that both Zylaorfier and Houvdon were eyeing the only other noble that was able to withstand the pressure.
"I am Candidate Archelio. Even if you do not agree, you will join me. It is only by my tolerance that I have not annihilated you all in the last decade. Either you join me willingly, or I force you to join."
The intense pressure was released and Kryva gasped for breath. She saw the rest of the assembled nobles slowly getting up, their eyes full of fear. She even heard a few vomit from the power they were unprepared to face.
Candidate Archelio turned and walked off the stage, without even sparing a look at the gathered nobles.
Zylaorfier looked at the frightened crowd, before turning away from them. He followed his friend not even seconds after he had left the stage.
Kryva could only follow them afterwards, giving a bow of apology to the assembled nobles, ignoring the sick feeling forming in her stomach.
-----
"Why did you lie to them about Verilius's end goal?" Zylaorfier sat down next to Houvdon, immediately attempting to inquire about his choices in handling the nobles.
Kryva had followed them into the courtyard she and Houvdon had been in before they met with the nobles. She was no longer in the mood to admire the cherry blossoms, focusing intently on Houvdon.
"Do you really think that they would follow me the moment I say they are after Kryva? They would demand for me to give Kryva over to them just so they can save themselves."
"They clearly aren't going to follow you after that stunt you just pulled." The male rolled his blue eyes at Houvdon's actions. "All you did was make them fear you. They aren't going to fight for you."
Houvdon gave a small smile. "Do you really think that?"
Both Kryva and Zylaorfier cocked their heads as they waited for Houvdon to continue.
"They are like sheep."
Kryva was confused, but Zylaorfier understood. He gave a grunt of acknowledgement as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I noticed that. When Zuxara was talking they all agreed with him because he is the strongest mage in Oceania. Whether or not they genuinely agree with everything he was saying is a completely different case. They only wanted to get onto his good side. Since Houvdon showed how strong he was, they'll surely follow him in hopes of being rewarded."
The Light wielder nodded. "Yes, exactly. I would have liked to show it a different way, but you forced me to do it that way because of that question you asked."
At least she had the decency to look guilty, an awkward smile forming on her lips.
"Well, it's not like everything went as planned. You genuinely got pissed off at them and released your power sooner than you expected. I know you wanted to elaborate a bit more but you lost your temper."
Houvdon poured himself a cup of tea before drinking it. They knew that he was confirming Zylaorfier's words due to his lack of disagreement.
"Why didn't you share with them about you being the future wielder of Tempus Vernum Ruptor?"
Both Houvdon and Zylaorfier gave her a look that made her question her intelligence.
"It's the same case as him exposing you. If he exposed himself as the future wielder, they would never agree with him and make him turn himself in to save themselves. It's better that they don't know about him being its future wielder."
She frowned and turned away, not knowing what to think or say next.
Houvdon spoke up again, but to Zylaorfier specifically. "The girl from that day is here. Turns out she wasn't a peasant. I only sent invitations to noble families."
"Girl?" Houvdon gave him a flat look and he raised his hands in his defense. "I don't remember every little detail and interaction like you do. What girl are you talking about?"
"The one that we blocked from her locker."
His eyes widened as he finally realized which person they were talking about. Kryva on the other hand, only listened, not knowing who specifically they were speaking of.
"What does she have to do with anything?"
"Now that we know she isn't of the lower family, maybe you can actually talk to her."
Kryva whipped around and Zylaorfier's mouth gaped open. Such uncharacteristic words came from his mouth that they both had to pinch themselves to confirm that it wasn't a dream they were currently in.
She couldn't help but let out a small laugh as words tumbled out of her mouth. "Are you playing matchmaker?"
He raised an eyebrow. "He has a thing for-"
Zylaorfier stood abruptly, giving a small bow to both of them. "I'll see both of you later."
He rushed out of the courtyard and Kryva gave Houvdon an amused smile that he did not return. She tilted her head slightly, beckoning for the Prince to continue the sentence that he had started. He gave her a very small curve of his lips, making her practically swoon at the sight.
"-brunettes."
-----
𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖓𝖉