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Here is it. The volume finale. Enjoy!
There will be a long afterword tomorrow where I will 'reveal' everything about Sirius case along with the hints I've hidden, a sneak peek of sorts into the next volume- why it will be more thrilling than this one, a few words of my own, and finally- a Q/A in the comments.
Feel free to skip it. Thanks.
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The Kingdom of Nemphis- the core of the Confederation and its main force. A bastion that defends against the ever expanding Empire and the catastrophe that looms in the Northern wilderness. It has been standing strong since its founding, since the continent was named Ervilia. And this Kingdom that spanned across tens of thousands of square kilometres and had a population comprising tens of millions of people needed a ruler- no- two: a King, and a Queen.
Selecting one of them might be easy- from the Royal family. But as for the other one, it was a different matter altogether.
A week passed.
Midnight. The sky was clear again as bright year came with full force, the lingering effects of last year- the freezing one- was already over. The full moon brightened the night; the magnificent Royal Palace acquired a newfound aura of mysteriousness.
On top of the palace was a port cum stable. A Griffin whose size was at least one and a half times of other ones landed on the marbled surface with a thump.
*Screech!*
Its shrill call made every other Griffins take a step back. A young man, gentlemanly clad in black, jumped down from its broad back. The shine of the moon enhanced his already otherworldly face.
The two princesses who were waiting for him entered in a trance.
"Goliath." He called.
The Royal Griffin behind him bowed down. It's feathery head was now beside Adrian, facing the cousins.
Adrian gently rubbed its head, prompting the giddied 'birdie' to let out a satisfied screech.
"Aaah!" Both of the girls woke up from their daze and covered their ears and closed their eyes.
Once it was over, they freed their hands while opening their eyes, only to see a teasing smile on his face.
"We have all night to 'dream together'. Why be inefficient and dream now?" He said in his ever charming voice.
His words poured down a bucket of water on the sparking flames of rage they were growing in their heart, making them blush.
"Shut up!" Evelyn bellowed with her cheeks still red. She then looked at the being named Goliath. "And you! You've been serving grandfather for years and have already swapped loyalty after a week with him?"
The hybrid only snorted a short screech before rubbing its head against Adrian's side. The 'master' patted the beast's head in return.
The two royals, on the other hand, were rendered speechless.
"He is a good boy." He said. "Good that the High King bestowed it upon me. Or else, he might have died from boredom in there." He pointed at the stable with his eyes.
Goliath took back its head and nodded with a sad puppy face.
"Hmph!" She snorted but soon she took in a deep breath- any sign of carefreeness disappeared from her face. What remained was seriousness and a bit of anxiety.
Maria, noticing her cousin's face, made a serious face herself.
"Anyways," said Evelyn. "Everyone's waiting. Let's go."
Etherwood Court.
The leaves of all colours and shapes of the exotic trees planted alongside a long red carpet were dangling, even without the presence of wind. There were intricate light circles drawn all over the room. The lights emitted from those circles were akin to natural sunlight.
If not for the ceiling above and the walls that were visible through the gaps of the peculiar but beautiful leaves, one would wholeheartedly believe they were walking on a red carpet through a magical forest on a sunny day.
A trio were walking through that forest, leaving behind invisible footprints on the carpet of red. Adrian was at the forefront. Behind him were the two green eyed blondes. The looks on their faces were serious. As for Adrian- he was as carefree as always.
After walking for a minute, they finally reached their destination. In front of them were three pairs of thrones arranged on a stepped stage. At bottom step were two thrones- one on each side. On the step above, were two more- they were spaced much closer than the lower ones.
And at the very top lied the last two, but the grandest ones. They were placed side by side, with not even a distance of half a meter between them.
All of those thrones- were occupied.
At the lowest step, sat Vert Greatwoods on the left and Aretha Lochtear on the right, the current King and Queen of Nemphis. Both of them had emotionlessness plastered on their face.
Above them were the High King and High Queen, Ernic Greatwoods on the left and Nuha Wells on the right.
And at the topmost thrones sat the Everking and the Everqueen, the highest existences of the nation- no- the Confederation.
The lack of facial hairs or any skin marks belied the old age of the male. Only the strands of white hair and the deep green eyes which were akin to a deep ocean of magnificence and wisdom were the only evidences of his age. He had an intrigued expression on his face as he scanned the young man before him over and over again.
On the other hand, the lady who looked older than her husband but undoubtedly a lot younger than her actual age, had an amused smile on her ever beautiful face. Whiteness invaded more than a quarter of her black hair, but her eyes were as blue as ever.
The two princesses bowed before moving aside and sitting on the adjacently placed sofas to the right of the red carpet.
Adrian was standing nonchalantly before the highest echelon of the second strongest nation of the continent with the same carefree, and of course- charming looking on his face.
"The audacity!" The king let out a roar, along with his majestic aura. "Kneel!"
But Adrian was unfazed. Aura? Was there any at all?
"Mhmm." He looked at the king. "Sovereign's aura. But weak."
"You dare!?" The king stood up from his seat.
"Vert." The everking spoke. "Sit."
No sooner than the everking commanded, the king's butt was pressed down to the chair- against his will. The king tried to get up but something was pressing down on him- making him grit his teeth in powerlessness and humiliation in front of a junior.
"Young man." The everking looked into the abyssal eyes of Adrian. "You are not bad. But it's etiquette- to kneel in front of royalty." His green eyes glinted.
An extremely dense pressure pushed Adrian down. His whole body twitched as his knees began to bend.
'Old man, this is the first, and the very last time I am forgiving you.' An aura not any less powerful than that of the everking gushed out from him. Albeit it was more eerie and- dark.
The two sitting on the highest level knitted their eyes while everyone else gasped.
His aura negated the one pressing down on him. He stood upright as before. But there was no more carefreeness- but only pride and arrogance.
"But I am the most royal of them all." His tone emanated authority- a supreme one at that.
He was still giving off the terrifying and chilly aura. Even though not any of the royals showed any sign of dread or fear, they undoubtedly showed unease.
To get sovereign's aura, one had to be a good and experienced ruler, a conqueror, valiant and of course- someone who would not bow his head to anyone else.
Hence, the king who had a low position compared to the higher levels, his aura was weak. In the same way, the Everking had the strongest.
And what did the young man have to do to get an aura that terrifying, eerie and dark? Massacre without a care of the world?
"Not bad at all." The Everking praised. "But you certainly know that there's a price for everything, right?"
"I certainly do." His voice was calm.
"To have Evelyn as the Queen and get two geniuses on our side, we had to make sacrifices."
"I know. But I hate owing anything. So, leave everything to me."
"Good." He nodded. "Unlike the other nations which have a single ruler, we rule in pairs. The King and the Queen are equal, despite one not being a Greatwoods."
"I know."
"So. Tell me Adrian Darkheart. Do you wish to take the golden crown on your head, and lead Nemphis to another era of glory?"
Everyone in the room turned to the young man standing calmly before the Royals with an arrogance that exceeded them.
"I..."
A smile formed on Adrian's face as he looked directly into the green and deep eyes of the Everking.
"Decline."
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