Chapter 59: Disbelief (1/2)
”The last step is about to begin. Hehehe~ Alfred, I hope you have completed the mission I gave you.”
In one of the special rooms utilized only by the highest nobles, a red-haired man laid languidly with a blue wolf woman at his knees.
He was none other than Leonard Gorfard. The Duke themselves did not join the festivities as they had to prepare themselves in the eventuality they were chosen for the first night. As such, only the heir/heiress was present, each of them, in the room representing their families.
”Young lord, the matter has been handled carefully. We have already, let's say, convinced some of the gladiators who will most likely be chosen. To be sure, we also incited the white knight.”
”Oh!? You managed to trick that goody two shoes? How?”
”From what I gathered, most of the paladins are dissatisfied with his Highness close relationship with The saintess.”
”Ex-saintess you mean. That bitch lost her blessing. I really wonder what wish she made.”
”Indeed, Ex saintess. Some of the paladins think that she was tricked by his highness in making this ritual. The white knight is one of her most fervent admirers.”
”Hehe~! Hahaha~! Perfect! This is simply perfect! I simply wanted to lower the honor of the royal family and increase our speaking rights, but with this move, you basically put the church and the royal family nearly at odds. Beautiful.”
The old man bowed as he accepted the praise of his master without a once of pride. He personally found this move incredibly foolish from a bigger perspective. Creating tension between the church and the royal family when war was upon them was stupid beyond reason. Anyone else would have seen something wrong with what he had done. Thankfully he had such a stupid master. No, this too was the will of his goddess.
'Praise the Crimson lady!'
His prayer was suddenly interrupted by a piercing voice.
”Ladies!!!! And! Gentlemen!!!!! Now, the last step of this beautiful gathering is upon us. Are you ready!?!”
Yes!!
”I repeat. Are you ready!!!!?”
Yes!!!!!!!
The jubilation could clearly be felt in the colosseum. Satisfied with the current atmosphere, the man who stood in the center of the ring after the previous fighters left it. Stayed quiet for a while before continuing.
”As the tradition says, the one who will become our future king must show his might and talent on this occasion for the whole kingdom to see. The current scene is retransmitted not only in the colosseum but in more than 70% of the kingdom.”
Emotions could be felt in his voice, ”This day was supposed to be perfect. To be complete. But, I just found how naive I had been.”
The Colosseum fell silent in bated breath, tension rising.
”I realized how naive I had been because I thought we already reached perfection. But! I was proven wrong!! Beautifully wrong!!! Right here, right now, I have the immense pleasure to announce that!!!!”
Then, in a solemn and calm voice, he finished, ”That his highness Sol had already awakened before reaching 15 years old, as his father did before him.”
Total silence descended as most people were too astonished to properly understand what was said.
Then, as the light of understanding flickered in their eyes,
Oooooohhhhh!!!!!!!!
Deafening cheers rang in the colosseum, making it tremble under their voice.
For the commoner and low level noble, this was like a heaven-sent message, they could already imagine the birth of a new hero king. In their world, a powerful king meant a stable nation. But for the higher level… Their faces couldn't help but contort. Some in fear and some in disgust.
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”Bastard!!”
”Ugh!”
The blue wolf woman contorted her face in pain as flung away by a kick on her stomach.
Leonard, now standing up, cursed openly as he couldn't believe it. While doing so, he continued to repeatedly step on the poor woman before finally reigning in his turbulent emotions. His eyes cold, as if the previous hysterical young man were two different people.
”How much did we spend on those now useless gladiators?”
”A thousand gold lust coins.”
”I see… Kill them all by tomorrow and take back the money. Make it seem like a brawl or a mugging. Fuck, how did this bastard suddenly awaken?”