'What an interesting person.'
Arnold thought to himself as he entered the banquet hall.
He expected Selia to be a monster with unfathomable intellect who would try and manipulate him into giving her what she wanted but she seemed to be like any regular person.
Or was she acting that way to make him feel more comfortable?
It was common for those in power to want to stoop lower than their positions originally were. This tactic is used whenever they favor someone in their company and want that person to work harder which in turn would benefit them as well.
In Arnold's case, she wanted to make him comfortable by saying things like, "We can speak informally" and "There's no need to hasten the process. It is also your decision if you want to or not."
A normal person in power wouldn't act like that unless they wanted something. They would be forceful and demanding.
'I almost fell for her act for a second there. I'm sure she's thinking of sapping me dry for my money.'
Arnold smirked, 'There's no way I'm letting that happen, scum. I'll be the one doing the exploiting.'
He wasn't thinking of asking her to get him a cherubim at first. That was a test to see how far he could demand things from her. The knight was also part of this. Since she hesitated a few times it meant that she wasn't a stupid person and she knew the risks involved.
'Man, trying to reveal someone's intentions is hard. How do smart people do that?'
He wanted to know what her intentions were but it was impossible to do that in that short conversation. It would probably be better to discuss it in a formal setting.
'In any case, I think it's for the best that I take her up on the offer.'
Of course, that didn't mean that he would become a yes-man. The other party was a monster among monsters with intelligence far above that of any normal human. He had to show her that they couldn't just walk all over him.
'My list of things to do keeps increasing every single day. Will I ever get a rest?'
"Oh! Al is here!"
When Arnold passed by a group of women, he heard someone exclaim in surprise. The person left the group of noble ladies that was surrounding her and hurriedly came towards him.
"Hm? Y-Your Majesty?"
She was Roseria, the first wife of the emperor and the mother of Olivia and Julius.
"My word! Look how much you've grown! And it's Auntie Rose for you," She pulled him in for a hug.
The people surrounding them snickered.
"Err, um…"
Arnold's body went stiff. This woman was Olivia's mother and the empress of the Eulia Empire.
Who wouldn't be taken aback?
'No, rather, I'm surprised Arnold is so close with this woman. She should be acting like a sovereign's wife ought to act but her mannerisms changed when she saw me.'
Liam already knew that Arnold was close with the Imperial family but he didn't know it was to extend of calling the empress "auntie" or even "mommy" in private. There was also this big smile on her face whenever he did. Her eyes were also looking at him warmly like he was a cute little child.
"Come, follow me." Roseria linked her arm with Arnold's, "Your father would be delighted to see you here."
"Ah…" Arnold wanted to say something but Roseria dragged him along.
The two of them passed by the nobles who greeted the empress as they walked. They ascended the stairs leading to the second floor.
Arnold could now see the entire banquet hall.
Everyone was either wearing a dress or a suit since this was a formal party. Low ranking barons and knighthood households could use tonight to build strong connections with others.
Of course, there weren't just nobles. There were wealthy merchants too and officials from the government. You could say all the bigwigs were here tonight.
'Maybe I'll be able to look for Rein from here.' Arnold's eyes darted across the banquet hall.
Arnold and Roseria arrived in front of a single door which was down a long hallway. A single man was standing outside.
The prime minster, Ogil.
"Your Majesty, please wait." The prime minister stood in front of the door leading to the room where Jurnick and his Great Nobles were.
"What is the meaning of this, Ogil? I'm going to see my husband. Al hasn't been at the castle in quite a while either so I want him and his father to catch up as well."
"About that," Ogil took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his balding head, "His Majesty is having an important discussion with his advisors and vassals."
"Why are they holding a meeting when a party is ongoing? Does he expect me to be the host again tonight?" Roseria made a shooing gesture, "Out of the way. You know how I am when I get angry."
"P-Please understand that there are some things that they haven't found answers to. So they are using this chance to sort everything out."
Roseria went "Good grief" before turning around.
"Fine. But if they aren't done in two hours then I will go in there myself. I dare you to stop me, Ogil."
"I-I understand…"
*
"What was that about?" Arnold asked when the two of them came back. They stood on the balcony of the second floor and observed the party from above.
The music was still the same as when the banquet started. It would be a while before the tune changed. Once that happened then everyone would have to find a dance partner.
Arnold had to leave this woman's side before that time came. He just knew that she would force him to dance with her for old time's sake.
"They are probably talking about what to do in case any nation takes action about the declaration of friendship with Lady Selia."
"What does auntie think of her?"
"How can I say this… She was more human than I imagined she would be. Although she seems dangerous at first, her personality is something I came to like after our interactions."
Monster lords were beings of intelligence thus they didn't attack senselessly. Of course, this didn't mean that they wouldn't kill at all. In fact, many vampire lords before Selia had destroyed cities singlehandedly out of hunger for human blood.
You could say it was a good thing that Selia killed the previous reining vampire lord of this part of the continent since she wasn't as savage as other vampire lords.
"I see… I guess my expectations of a monster lord was also shattered."
"You met up with her? You're such a playboy~" Roseria punched Arnold's arm with a giggle, "It hasn't even been long since Livia was given to the new heir but you're already looking for other women. But I like how you're going after women in power. It shows your confidence."
'Why does everyone misunderstand my relationships with women? Damn you, Arnold.'
"A-Anyway, has my father heard of what happened at the castle yet? Of Jurius almost killing me?"
"Yes, but we thought you would be held at the Imperial Court to wait for the trial?"
"Uh, about that…"
He couldn't just say that Liumiala made someone else go in his place. But everyone would find out eventually. The whole point was to fool the Imperial Court to show his distrust in them after they blatantly ignored taking action—of course, this was obviously a lie in some ways.
For one, the imperial court's executives didn't know what was going on because someone had been intentionally hiding the fact about what happened while making everyone's attention shift to the case with Jurius.
Maybe it was a coincidence or Jurius had the brains to plan this out so perfectly. Knowing that idiot, it was probably the former.
"How is everything going at the city? I haven't gone there since I've been busy with some things."
'In any case, I should keep quiet about it for the time being. It'll just ruin the mood.'
A trouble expression appeared on Roseria's face as she bit her lip, "Livia contacted me with [Message] last night. Things aren't looking good in the city."
"…What do you mean?"
'As expected. Something did happen in the city.' He was initially under the impression that Liumiala was feeding him false information but that didn't seem to be the case.
"There has been an attack on the castle…" Roseria put her hand on her mouth so others wouldn't be able to read her lips, "I want you to listen to me before doing anything rash."
"Right…"
"Livia has given me a list of potential suspects because of their history with the household. The list is quite long from what I've seen. They were able to identify the suspects by interrogating a prisoner they captured."
'That was fast.'
Although Liumiala was able to get the names in just a few hours. But he applauded Olivia's flexibility. She wasn't one to get involved with politics and scheming. Her skills were much better utilized on a battlefield. As such, she was a dunch when it came to trying to understand an opponent with a scheming nature or planning traps.
"We're in the process of narrowing down the names since we don't want to eliminate innocent nobles. Disputes have been uprising in the city after the attack. We've tried our best to keep your father oblivious to what happened."
Roseria looked at Arnold with a serious expression, "You know why, right?"
"…I know."
The last time Marcus went berserk was the time Arnold was almost killed by assassins. It took Vance, Feldina and Ariane to stop his rampage. Since Vance was the frontline attacker, he received the most injuries in the fight.
It was like all Marcus saw was blood. Although there weren't any civilian casualties, it would be troublesome if he were to rampage again.
"Don't worry about the suspect. We're close to figuring out who it is—"
"James Caervil is the man who ordered my death. I'm not sure if he's directly involved with the attack on the castle but I'm sure he has some involvement."
"…?" Roseria's face went blank, "Are you… talking about the Empire's new Earl James Caervil?"
"That's the one."
"But there's no way… Our investigators would've detected any strange movement and reported it to me if that were the case."
"Apparently they aren't that thorough," Arnold looked towards a certain person, "There he is. Enjoying himself after ordering the fall of a ducal household."
He ought to take out his Aura Sword and slice James' head off. But Arnold held in his urges.
"I-If that's the case…" Roseria's pupils shook, "we must apprehend him immediately. I'll make sure he pays. I should also let the entire empire know so that those involved wouldn't be able to get out of the empire without paying for what they did."
Arnold grabbed Roseria's arm when she was about to head downstairs.
"Please let me handle this. I have another favor to ask of my favorite aunt in the world," Arnold rubbed her arm with a smile.
"But…"
"Please. Only auntie Roseria can do this."
"…." She bit her lip, "Okay…"
'I never expected this woman to hold such affection for Arnold. It's even more maternal love than he gets from his mother.'
Roseria seemed to view Arnold as her own son, from Liam's perspective. She showed a strong reaction when she heard that he was almost killed.
'Olivia is close with my mother while her mother is closer with me. How ironic.'
Arnold began speaking after Roseria calmed down. She seemed to be in a hurry to catch the criminal.
"Auntie must've heard of the Citizen's Law #46."
"..." She thought for a moment before she nodded, "It's a continental law that states that victims of crimes who are not helped by authorities should take things into their own hands. Although there are limits."
"Indeed. You cannot harm others in the process. The law can only be taken into affect once authorities have denied to view the case of the victim. And the victim can only get justice if their claim is accepted by the authorities. My situation is a little different."
"What… do you mean?"
Arnold licked his lips, "The Imperial Court turned a blind eye to the crimes committed by Jurius and James. The trial of Jurius' attempted murder case hasn't been held yet. Isn't that strange?"
Of course, that wasn't the entire truth. It was more like they were being kept in the dark by one of the officials.
"What!?"
Her strong reaction was within expectations. A noble who wants to harm another person was one thing but if the Imperial Court—the people who must protect the rights of citizens—were to refuse to help the victim then everything changed.
"Someone… can be executed for this… And James is one of them."
"Yes, this can be viewed as treason against the empire. Any law enforcement officer not abiding by the rules are included in this."
"Al…" Roseria's eyebrows arched in worry.
"I ask auntie on thing…"
"Yes… Tell me," She held his hand with a worried expression.
'Perfect. If the empress is by my side then there shouldn't be a lot of problems later on. Ah, so convenient.'
Arnold held Roseria's hand tightly and tried to look as pitiful as possible.
"Please help me get my revenge."