Finally, the day of the subjugation had arrived.
Yesterday, Nos had sent Azares a set of white uniforms the same as his father and brothers. But he wasn't inclined to wear it as he didn't want anyone outside the dukedom to recognize him. With that, he now donned in a black uniform like any knights from the dukedom. The only difference was, he also put on an exquisite black cloak. Paired with black hair, he looked really stunning.
Under the heavy color of black, his golden eyes shone even more like a miniature of the sun in the night. His tall but lean figure would make people picture him as a dark prince who was so beautiful that everyone would forgive him even if he committed a crime.
When Azares arrived at the designated meeting place, everyone at the site was baffled. They almost couldn't recognize Azares if they didn't see him coming from the direction of the abandoned manor. The servants, knights, even the officer working at the dukedom were stunned.
The Third Young Master wasn't like how they imagined him. His aura wasn't as strong as the Duke nor the First Young Master. He didn't carry the overbearing presence like the Second Young Master either. However, he had this charm that made them couldn't look away from him. If they had to find a good word to describe it, then it would be 'unique'.
Eugene stared at Azares' golden eyes. It reminded him of his most important person. However, he would always felt the warmth in 'that person' eyes, whereas he could only find indifference and coldness emitting from Azares'. It was as if he was nothing in Azares' heart. Realizing this, Eugene's face darkened a little.
Adrian's expression didn't change, but his eyes flickered when he saw Azares. He just sized Azares up from afar without saying anything. The people believe he didn't think much about his youngest brother.
The one with the most exaggerated reaction was Redian. He stared at Azares as if he wanted to bore a hole through Azares. His expression would shift from time to time. Curious, angry, confuse, and .. guilty. Though no one noticed it since their attention was fully on Azares.
Azares didn't care at all about what they think. He only focused on the people at the front line.
When he was closed enough, Azares greeted Eugene first.
"I greet Your Excellency the Duke."
Then he went on to bowed a little at Adrian and Redian.
"First Young Master."
"Second Young Master."
After he was done, Azares quickly left the scene. He didn't give anyone the time to say anything. He went straight to the foremost backline and stood still.
Azares left as fast as he came, leaving everyone in the dust. They almost assume the Third Young Master despised being in the same place as them.
Shouldn't it be them? Why was their role swapped?
They were confused but they knew the meaning behind Azares' move. It was to draw a line. They didn't want to associate with him. Azares who knew that, drew a line to let them understand that Azares never had the intention to.
Yes. That must be it.
Indeed, they were right. But Azares wasn't doing it out of consideration, he just was not interested to interact with other people. If Azares knew their thoughts, he would say these people think too highly of themselves.
Aaron as the Captain of the Hayndal's knights' first division and a close aide of the Duke coughed lightly to break the weird atmosphere. He signaled the Duke to started the march since everything was ready and Azares had come.
In fact, Azares wasn't late. But, in order to escape from this awkwardness where everyone only had their eyes on Azares, Aaron's sense told him to get going.
Thus, the march of Hayndal's troops officially began.
---
The Hayndal's dukedom was located in the east near the capital of the Empire. If they wanted to go to the south region, they could directly take the road from the dukedom. But today, they were forced to go through the capital first by the Emperor to reassured the citizens.
Recently there were a lot of rumors going around the capital about how bad the situation is in the south. This made the citizens became restless.
Therefore, the Emperor ordered the troops to appeared and show their might. This way, although it wouldn't press the rumors, it would at least help lessen the worry the citizens felt.
A lot of people had already gathered around the main road when the troops' figures came to view. The citizens wished to watch the procession of Hayndal's troops. Nearly all of them had flowers on their hand and was very excited to see the knights. There were screams and shouts everywhere filling the entire road. Everyone was cheering for the troops in the hope the monsters could swiftly be dealt with.
Eugene deliberately slowed their pace. The people who were aware of this immediately threw their flowers with delight. They also didn't forget to cheer the knights and wish for their safety. Soon, the act was spreading across the road.
There were even some girls shouting for Adrian and Redian's name. They waved their hands enthusiastically. Redian was obviously happy about it. He smiled politely and waved back to the crowd.
The girls were so happy, they had a nosebleed.
It must be known that Redian was very popular within the capital, as he was a genius Elementalist treasured by the Emperor. He was treasured because he could make a contract with three elementals. Where two is a high-grade elemental and the other is a middle-grade elemental.
Normally, someone could only make a contract with one or two elemental and they would be exceptionally lucky if there was a high-grade elemental who is willing to be their partner. So Redian was a rare case.
Adrian, on the other hand, fixed his gaze to the front. He acted as if he was alone in this world and nobody could disturb him. The people had heard the rumors about Adrian being cold, so they didn't find it weird.
Similar to Adrian, Azares was calm throughout the procession. He watched the crowd getting excited, but couldn't feel the same thing at all.
Instead, his ears were ringing from all the screams. He also felt a little numb sitting on the horse and being seen like an auction's goods. It didn't feel good.
Sylph was no different than Azares. He was distressed by the sounds.
[Surely..]
[You wouldn't blame me if I teach them a lesson, right?]
Azares was on the verge of agreeing with Sylph if his consciousness wasn't abruptly awakened.
Azares glanced at him then shook his head. He forgot that there was someone else who felt more terrible than him.
Sylph hadn't been able to do much since he came to Azares' side, and now he was irritated by the people. But he still couldn't do anything so he must have felt awful inside.
Thinking about it, Azares secretly became a little happy.
Suddenly, "Hey Hey! Look! That guy is so handsome!"
"Oh no! He is beautiful, not handsome!"
"Ah. You're right!"
"I wonder who he is? He has black hair, is he a relative of the Duke?"
When she said it, some people began to notice Azares. They observed him and felt that it's true. He looked a bit similar to the Duke. However, a man snickered and said, "You fools! He has black hair but golden eyes. The descendant of Hayndal always has red eyes, I tell you."
"Couldn't he come from a branch family?"
The man responded with a sneer, "Even if he did, he would still have red eyes."
"The blood of Hayndal's is not ordinary."
One of the people couldn't contain their curiosity and asked, "Then why does he have black hair?"
Another person cut in eagerly, "Yes! Yes! I was wondering the same thing. Only people from the Hayndal family have black hair."
"In fact, black hair and red eyes are a common trade of a Hayndal's right?"
The man who had been listening laughed, he then smiled meaningfully.
"Alright, guys! Don't think too much. Maybe he admires the Hayndal wholeheartedly he went to paint his hair."
Was that the case?
The people still have some question marks on their faces, wanting to know more. Yet, the man had left without a trace.
They couldn't ask anyone else, so they could only swallow back their questions.