Lord Emberon was in the first step of his plan to encourage his father, Baron Willard, and his mother, Sophia, to agree to duel against the young man beside them.
However, fate had other plans.
As the young man stood, his gaze suddenly became fixed on Lord Emberon.
One of his people said that something weird happened to Sir Palest Souls stone when Sir Palest went to fetch Wallace Wycliff, but the young man ignored that.
Now, not believing, he asked, with anguish in his voice, "Sir Palest is dead?"
His face reflected emptiness, confusion and denial, as if mirroring the void within his soul.
Before this, Sir Palest's soul stone had bad news. Soul stones are connected to someone's mana, and they remain intact to indicate the well-being of the individual they are connected to.
However, in this case, it was shattered.
The only two conclusions that can be drawn from this are that Sir Palest has either been completely drained of Mana or he is dead, both of which should be impossible, so he chose to ignore and train instead and he will be back to check it later if it really was indeed shattered.
At that moment, an unsettling unease filled the room. The Baron, his wife Sophia, and even the attending knights felt a shift in the atmosphere.
Something was undeniably wrong, and their senses were telling them this.
Meanwhile, Lord Emberon, although this is not part of his plan, he savored the expression and feeling the young man was making.
Suddenly, his eyes noticed something, he scanned the knights around him, he noticed a subtle quiver, a flicker of doubt that betrayed their loyalty.
It was a small detail, imperceptible to most, but not to Lord Emberon, who had a keen eye for human behavior. Still, that isn't important right now, and yet he made sure in his mind to not forget to be prepared.
Seizing this opportunity, Lord Emberon nodded, his voice sounded menacing.
"Yes, whoever is that Palest, he and along with his knights are all dead, they all sacrificed themselves to save me, in which I, Wallace Wycliff is thankful," he declared, he controlled his tone to be disrespectful to see if it would make the young man's thinking became much worse.
The room fell into a hushed silence again, while the young man felt like his soul was leaving his body.
His mind is refusing to accept it, he refuses to accept it.
The young man couldn't believe that Sir Palest, the revered knight, had died.
He vehemently refused to accept this unthinkable idea. However, as he looked at the figure before him, a flicker of confusion sparked within him.
"Save you?"
He asked, his voice trembling with desperation and determination.
Kneeling before Wallace or Lord Emberon, the young man raised his gaze to meet his piercing eyes. Lord Emberon exuded confidence and resolve, making him look serious.
In that moment, a revelation dawned on him.
"You-" he began, struggling to articulate his thoughts.
The young man knew that Sir Palest couldn't have been defeated by ordinary magical beasts. He is cunning and strength is not weak. The only one who could match him in this low level territory was Baron Willard.
Therefore, the young man concluded that if Sir Palest had indeed died, it must have been the result of a carefully planned scheme.
"You-" he repeated, pointing his finger accusingly at Wallace, or to Lord Emberon himself.
Meanwhile, Lord Emberon only responded with a subtle smirk, confirming the young man's suspicion that something nefarious had happened to Sir Palest and that Wallace in front of him, although he couldn't believe it, might be the mastermind behind it all.
His eyes darted around, he was boiling so he was looking for something, some of the knight's eyes glinted, the knights that Lord Emberon noticed, they exuded confidence like an encouragement to the young man.
So, the young man nodded and slowly stood up, his legs were shaking but his face was clouded with anger, determination, and sorrow.
Standing right up, he clenched his fist and struck his chest, making a resounding thump.
Thump!
With unwavering resolve, he declared, "I will accept the duel!"
Meanwhile, in the middle of Wallace or Lord Emberon and the young man beside him earlier, Baron Willard stood frozen.
His once composed expression now twisted with confusion and shock. His brows furrowed, and his eyes widened like a startled deer caught in the blinding glare of approaching headlights.
He seemed to sway slightly, struggling to maintain balance amidst the storm of revelations that had erupted within his home.
It all began innocently enough, or so Baron Willard believed this morning when he was training Willard for the grand entrance to the academy as a magic knight, peacefully.
Little did he know that his missing son, Wallace, who went out last few nights had arrived home today without his knowledge.
This made his butler cry out and call to him hurriedly as without warning or explanation, his son rushed to the library, destroyed the library door, and forcefully entered.
Baron Willard rushed to the library hurriedly, his heart pounding in his chest for a reason as he never saw his son would make it to this, only to be confronted by a scene that defied reason.
There, amidst the disheveled books and scattered parchments, stood Wallace, his face flushed with a disturbing mix of determination and madness, an expression which Baron had never seen in his son.
With audacity that shocked even seasoned observers, Wallace demanded a duel, his eyes or gaze fixed upon Devin, a young man who was always by his side and the one he was training as representative to become a magic knight.
The challenge was preposterous, and yet, Wallace's threats were heavy, his words dripping with venom as he said that he would kill his wife, or Wallace's own mother if Devin does not accept his duel.
But the tumult did not end there. In a chilling revelation that shattered Baron Willard's composure, Wallace proclaimed the death of Sir Palest, a man who had a heavy contribution to the household of Willard.
The cause of his demise, it seemed, was a selfless act of salvation by Wallace as he said himself.
On the side, however, Devin, Baron's protege, watched silently as chaos unfolded. When he heard the news of Palest's passing, he reacted strongly.
Baron Willard was clueless, he had never seen Palest and Devin close to each other, just what is their connection?
Devin's acceptance of the duel sealed their fate and filled the room with an energy of aggression that shocked everyone.
Confusion and disbelief filled the air, mixed with fear and uncertainty.
Baron Willard, Sophia, and the knights who had gathered for a peaceful evening found themselves caught in a whirlwind of confusion.
Their minds raced to make sense of the confusing situation, but then, their son, Wallace would smile.
"Are you sure?" he asked with a menacing voice, asking again. However, his eyes betrayed his words as the glint in his eyes showed malice, and he looked like he couldn't wait for their duel to happen.
Feeling overly emotional, disrespected, and belittled, Devin couldn't control himself and just nodded, saying, "Of course... I myself… will take your pathetic little life."