Looking out of the mansion from atop the roof, Lieren leaned on the side of a brick chimney, masking his presence with a dark expression.
His eyes were sharper than steel as he used Mansvision to survey the situation.
Below him, arcing down, was the elegant gates of the Exousia main residence intricately made and masterfully crafted, like the rest of the mansion itself. Beyond it stood a small figure — well, as small as everything else from this vantage height.
On the other side of it stood a dark-skinned giant with robust features — Vesba the lying giant, his posture unnaturally straight and formal. He was talking to the figure.
And the figure talked back.
Though he couldn't make sense of the conversation, he was able to tell the overall mood of the two. One was calm, composed, and calculating; the other is deceptive, tricky, and just a pain to talk to.
Of course, Vesba was the latter.
Which is something he really shouldn't be grinning about. To think that somebody could put him on edge like the figure in front of him does, it was a rare a d fruitful sight to see.
And then, something else caught his eye. Something dire and valuable.
In the figure's arm, hidden by his thick sleeves, was an austere bracelet made entirely of some kind of alloy. It was simple and functional, and can even double as a protective bracer of some kind.
However, that was not what caught his eye. Rather, it was what was craved into it. Leo, the most courage and deadly contestant of them all. And right now, this man was right in front of him. Rather , he was much closer than he would have liked. Much, much too close.
Gripping his palms with strain, he glanced back to the main gate and felt his skin crawl, his body shiver, and his body tense. It was as if… as if his entire body had been struck by lightning.
…This was bad.
It was for a but a second. No, note even that. An instant. That was how long it took, but he swore he saw it, those cold eyes observing and reading him like an open book.
It made his entire body shudder with primal fear, as though he had been possessed. The chimney almost cracked as his lithe fingers dug deeper into the bricks, like some kind of clawed creature.
He almost slipped and fell as his back gave up for a tiny moment.
'No, that's wrong!'
But he had no business being scared. He had chosen and accepted his fate, after all. Going against it now would be tantamount to a shameful betrayal.
Closing his eyed and shaking his head, he drew in a deep breath refocused — but by then, it was already too late. His subject had long left, carried by the parked carriage.
Not even Vesba remained by the gate, already well on his way back inside with an unusually dark expression.
◇◆◇◆◇
Lieren sat on an overly-decorated seat adorned with various miscellaneous engravings, as well as the image of a pair of winding horns. They weren't threatening or overbearing in any way, shape, of form. Rather, they were just… there, like it was an obvious thing to do.
Tapping his fingers on the wooden table, he looked at Vesba with a dark expression, his eyes dead serious.
"So… what did he want?"
The tall giant lingered for a while, then sighed and looked down, putting back on that silly trademark grin of his.
"What else? He wanted your pendant, as well as Taurus', along with our full cooperation and support with his "eventual and definitive" victory."
He frowned.
"What else?"
Again, the giant was silent. It looked like he had something he wanted to say, but he felt reluctant to say it. For reasons unknown. It was very hard to read his expressions, as they seemed to shift from one lie to another so naturally and constantly.
"The truth is, he—"
However, before the indecisive giant could say anything, the stern sage suddenly jolted up, her sunken face and heavy bags under her eyes making seem much more sickly — and strangely apparent — than she usually does. There were various documents strewn within her reach… as well as the floor around her.
"How preposterous! Does he not know when to give up. I'm not becoming his wife. Nor his concubine! Yuck!"
Selen Votum blanched, truly disgusted. It was as if she had tasted something extremely foul and disgusting. Or just a bad meal.
He sighed and raised a brow, curious. With an indifferent gaze hiding genuine interest, Lieren shifted to the side and looked at Master Feng Xing Liu. Though she was blind, he knew the monk can sense his gaze.
And, true enough, she responded all the same.
"Leo and Selen has a rather… spicy past. They apparently grew up together, with her family serving his. They even funded her education and magical endeavors to a limited degree, which is what landed her a job in the main family. Currently, she's a sixth year at the Stava Academia."
This time, he didn't even try to hide his interest and just asked plainly:
"Then why is she here then? Isn't she supposed to be at school, you know, studying?"
At the mention of her stellar achievements, the stern sage suddenly tensed up and cleared her throat, having forgotten the terrifying man entirely.
'Aaaaand… the conversation has derailed~'
Puffing up her chest proudly, she huffed and crossed her arms in self exhilaration.
"Why, unlike most people, I'm one of the few elite individuals who got a major sponsorship! Which meant that, if I so desired, then I'll be able to leave the school grounds whenever I want! Not only that, but I even have access to the most versatile of magical literature — through the myriad library of the academy itself!"
As his ears perked noticeably at the mention of "myriad library", Lieren regrettably decided to ask a different pressing question:
"So, then, why are you here and not with Leo? You two seem go have a shared past, after all. A very close one at that."
AT those words, she turned to stone.
"…Ah." She barely eked out, sinking back into her chair in the war room.
"That—that's because I rejected his marriage advances."
He barely suppressed a sigh.
'Oh, the irony.'
Turning back to Vesba, he urged the tall giant to continue.
"So, what else did he actually say? Did he actually come here to court Selen?"
The giant shifted a little, looking at the stern sage, then back at him with an inexorable expression.
"Well, he did say that, actually, but there's more."
At his words, the room suddenly grew much, much darker; the shadows becoming richer and deeper. Now, they truly are hidden from all manners of spying.
Narrowing his eyes into slits, the giant looked down and swallowed. There was unbridled fear in his eyes.
Lieren felt his entire body tense up as Vesba's next words made his nerves spark with danger.
"He… showed me three things. One was his ring, the proof of his participation, as well as two others. From the two contestants he had killed on the way here."