'Shit.'
Cassius's heart sank as the realization hit him. Sure, his father wouldn't go out of his way to verify with Nero, but if Nero was right in front of him, that would be a different story entirely. If his father decided to ask Nero, and Nero denied Cassius's claims, his father would become suspicious.
And If his father decided to investigate what happened and somehow managed to find out the truth, then it would be a problem for Cassius. His father shouldn't find out under any circumstances. Or anyone for that matter.
After all, Cassius had committed so many crimes in one day. Such as: Stealing from the imperial palace, failing to report an artifact to the KAD (Karavan Artifact Database), lying to the Duke (Which he wouldn't get charged for since it would fall under family squabble), and most of all, treason.
Well, not yet, treason. But he was about to commit treason right now.
The duke took a step forward to greet the emperor, "I greet the emperor of the Karavan empire." He bowed his head.
'This wouldn't have been a problem if I had just gone to the Awakening ceremony on time,' Cassius walked behind his father.
"I greet the emperor of the Karavan empire." This time, Cassius bowed as well. It wasn't the right time for being petty, after all.
"Arise."
The emperor signaled for them to raise their heads. "So, I hear you have awakened as a swordsman, Cassius?"
'Just how fast does word travel?' Cassius wondered. 'We came here as soon as the awakening ceremony ended.'
"Yes, that's right. I awakened as a swordsman just like my father," he lied smoothly.
"Really?" The emperor smiled. Then, Cassius sensed him activating his skill, causing him to instinctively straighten his posture.
"Yes," Cassius replied, staring confidently into the emperor's eyes. 'I hope this works.'
"Alright." The emperor yawned, "Say 'Status Window,'" the emperor commanded.
Cassius hesitated for a second before speaking, "Status Window."
Then, a system appeared between them. Cassius inwardly sighed in relief when he saw the fake status window appear. It seems the emperor's skill didn't differentiate between real and fake systems.
_________________________
Name: Cassius Blackwood
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman
System: Unranked
Status: Newly Awakened
_________________________
It was a blue system window that showed all the basic information a newly awakened swordsman would have. Yet, there was something very strange about this system that obviously caught the emperor's eye.
"Unranked?" The emperor asked, furrowing his brows. "What does Unranked mean?"
"I can't read, your majesty," Cassius tilted his head and smiled.
'Good job, Kar.'
"Your majesty, what do you see?" The duke asked, walking past Cassius towards where his system is.
"It says that he is unranked," the emperor scoffed, revealing the system to the duke. "What kind of system is this?"
"Strange," the duke said, staring intently at the system. "Perhaps it's due to his lineage?"
'Yes, that's right,' Cassius smiled mischievously. 'I am an anomaly, so perhaps I have a unique system?'
"Then, does that mean he has no limit?" Nero asked, amused.
Cassius had almost forgotten that Nero was in the room since he was so quiet. He was definitely a smart 9-year-old for coming to that conclusion so fast. It was one of the three conclusions Cassius hoped to achieve.
'That's right, Nero.'
"Perhaps," the emperor patted Nero's head gently, "Or it could mean the opposite, as well." The emperor looked back at Cassius.
'And there is the second conclusion.'
The duke looked at Cassius suspiciously before looking back at the emperor. "I'm sure there must be an error on the system's end. Perhaps the rank will appear later than expected."
'And finally, the third conclusion.'
Cassius's plan was still in the very beginning, but it was already working out in his favor. After all, who would suspect a swordsman of magic?
And who wouldn't fear an anomaly without a rank? Being rankless was even better than being an S-rank because people wouldn't know what to expect.
'They will have no choice but to be on guard around me, and eventually, everyone will believe in one of those three conclusions.'
***
Earlier inside Karavan's realm
"Alright, I signed it," Karavan handed the magic contract to Cassius. "Is that all?"
'That was fast,' Cassius thought, taking the contract from his hands. He re-read it to see if Karavan had added any conditions.
1. Cassius has the right to terminate this contract at any time.
2. Karavan will never tell a single lie to Cassius.
3. Karavan will help Cassius with his plans as long as it is within his means to do so.
4. Cassius has the right to refuse any quest from Karavan without penalties.
5. Karavan will always work in Cassius's best interest.
6. Cassius will receive compensation of 200 billion gold if this contract gets terminated regardless of the reason.
8. Cassius will accept Karavan as his 'system' and if he wants, he will help Karavan with his goals.
9. Karavan promises that he is capable of fulfilling everything discussed before the contract.
10. Failure to abide by the terms of this contract will result in Karavan losing his life (After Cassius receives his money).
'He didn't add anything?' Cassius looked up at Karavan. 'Is he even okay with clause 6? Well, he was an emperor. I'm sure he's rich.'
After thinking about it for a moment, Cassius decided to sign the contract. All the terms were favorable to him, after all. A little too favorable if he must admit. 'Well, I've used the S-rank magic contract I was saving for later, so now I have to get another one.'
The day his father gave him 5 billion coins, Cassius bought a stack of magic contracts of different ranks: 1 S-rank (2 billion gold), 3 A-ranks (300 million each), 10 B-ranks (10 million each), and 100 C-ranks (1 million each) for a total of 3.1 billion gold, which left him with 1.9 billion.
'I need 100 million gold if I want to have enough to get a replacement.'
There was another issue Cassius had besides the money, and that was he would likely not be able to sneak out of the estate again for a while. 'It is fine, I am not in a rush.'
"So what's your plan?" Karavan asked.
"I need a fake system," Cassius smirked, leaning back in his chair. "And you're going to make one for me."