Chapter 602: The King’s Expectations?

Elion returned the smile lightly. No doubt, she was commending more than merely his strength and talent as a mage.

He had been well-spoken throughout the proceedings and had put on quite the display to turn the odds back in his favour.

More importantly, the order in which he had revealed his evidence had left very little room to doubt his version of events.

"And so..."

Wendy straightened slightly.

"The council has decided to reinstate your status as a student of Grimholt Academy. A Royal Order explaining everything that unfolded here will immediately be sent to Principal Maximus, so you may rest easy."

Elion immediately shook his head.

That raised more than a few brows.

"My apologies, but I have no desire to return to the academy." Murmurs immediately rose from the nobles and officials.

Elion continued.

"Forgive me for being so blunt, but I refuse to return to the very place where all of this began."

His expression soured considerably.

"Not only that, but it is also the place where I was persecuted simply because no one dared to question a Duke’s authority."

Several expressions darkened.

"I never had a particularly good opinion of the academy to begin with. The way it functions is terribly flawed, if I may say so. So until those flaws are addressed, I have not the slightest intention of ever setting foot in that place again."

The conviction in his voice left little doubt as to how strongly he felt about this matter.

Of course, hearing someone speak so poorly of such a prestigious academy immediately irked more than a few people, but Elion couldn’t care less about their grumbling.

Most of the people sitting toward the back were simply wave riders who followed whichever side appeared strongest at the time, almost as though they possessed no will of their own.

Elion found that incredibly distasteful.

They were no different from puppets.

Wendy looked shocked for a moment, but after thinking about everything that had happened, she could understand where Elion was coming from.

In fact, he was more than entitled to throw a tantrum.

After all, he had almost lost his life, and now they were merely throwing a large amount of money at him.

Well, the Duke was, but same thing.

It almost felt as though they were telling him to take the money, accept a few apologies, and quietly let the matter die from this point onward.

In truth, Elion was more than satisfied with how everything had been handled. But that was only because he had never intended for things to end here.

After that, an ugly scene followed.

Taking advantage of the golden opportunity before them, several of Cain Dawncrest’s rivals within the crowd immediately began arguing that the Duke was no longer worthy of retaining his position after pulling something like this.

His few allies, meanwhile, discreetly pushed back against such a decision, arguing that the matter had already been settled and that stripping a Duke of his power would create far more problems than it solved.

After all, Ashford City, most of which fell under Dawncrest’s jurisdiction, was actually thriving despite his recently unearthed corrupt nature.

Yet another matter Elion couldn’t bring himself to care about.

With how loud the court suddenly became, one might have thought they had completely forgotten that both the King and Queen were present.

But this was simply the nobles showing their true colours.

Just as the arguments were beginning to spiral into complete chaos, silence was finally called.

The councillors declared that the matter of Dawncrest’s position would be revisited at a later date, but they made it clear that, until then, someone from the Royal Family would be sent to Ashford to keep a watchful eye on the Duke and his territory.

And then came the final announcement.

The one everyone had nearly forgotten about.

Wendy waited until complete silence settled over the court before she began to speak.

"The Royal Family would like to take this opportunity to announce something of great importance, particularly to our youths and the next generation under your care."

The mood immediately changed.

"The entrance to the Hidden Legacy World has recently changed coordinates..." She paused dramatically. "...and it has appeared within the vicinity of our great capital!"

An uproar immediately erupted throughout the court. This time, Elion was among those who were genuinely shocked.

His mind immediately thought back to the tear in space that Zenith had discovered the previous day.

He blinked.

’That was it!?’

Suddenly, so much made sense.

The area had been heavily guarded as well, so there was little doubt about it.

Following the announcement, an order was issued for preparations to be made for the influx of people who would no doubt begin gathering in Haven over the coming days and throughout the duration of this once-in-a-century event.

Those present were also reminded that Haven would soon be hosting representatives and hopefuls from all the great races of the world, as well as people from the Goddess’s Empire, and that everyone had a duty to maintain peace during this period.

The notion almost made Elion laugh, but he just about managed to hold it in.

Apparently, messages had already been sent to the other races informing them of the change in the entrance’s location.

There were long-standing agreements requiring whichever territory discovered the entrance to spread word of its opening to the others.

After all, there was always the possibility that one faction might attempt to hoard the entrance for themselves.

And if that happened...

Conflict would almost certainly follow.

The Royal Court was adjourned shortly after, but, of course, no one left immediately. They all waited for the man seated upon the lofty throne.

He had long since closed his enigmatic blue eyes, but sensing the silence and understanding that they were all waiting for him, his eyes slowly opened.

Lazily, the King rose from his throne as the councillors rose from their own seats and bowed to him once again.

Alexander opened his mouth.

"This matter was well handled..."

He said simply.

Nothing less, nothing more.

"I look forward to seeing what our youths manage to achieve in the upcoming legacy event."

And with that, he began stepping down from the throne, walking around the raised seating area at the front before beginning his ascent up the stairs under everyone’s reverent gaze.

But as he passed Elion’s aisle, Elion almost thought he saw the slightest smile appear on the King’s lips.

That was until Alexander’s voice suddenly entered his ears.

’You handled yourself well... I expect great things from you.’

And then... Silence.

’What!?’

By the time Elion looked back, stunned, Alexander had already stepped through the doors.

The Queen followed in tow, then their two daughters, both of whom briefly glanced Elion’s way before disappearing through the doorway as well.

A few moments passed.

And then Elion was suddenly engulfed by a crowd of curious nobles, most of whom were hoping to get to know him.

Patriarch Kletis watched the scene from the corner of his eye as he made his way toward the doors, a light smile resting on his face.

Though the smile never quite reached his eyes.

As he approached the exit, he was briefly surprised to spot a visibly flustered Gale attempting to make a quiet escape.

Unfortunately for him, someone had noticed.

"Gale, my friend. Surely you can’t be thinking of leaving without saying hello."

Kletis walked up just as Gale glanced back, his expression immediately becoming uncomfortable and even more flustered.

"Ahh, Patriarch Kletis! I-I didn’t see you there! I hope you’re in good health."

They shook hands.

"Of course, of course," Kletis replied pleasantly as his smile sharpened ever so slightly.

"Tell me, this is the first I’ve heard about your daughter being brainwashed. Was that all part of the plot, or was there actually some truth to it?"

Gale paled considerably.

Before he could come up with an answer, Kletis casually began guiding him away, with his wife reluctantly following behind.

Elion, who was still trapped in the middle of exchanging unwanted pleasantries with several nobles, narrowed his eyes as he watched the trio disappear.

’Evander’s father - was it? I should keep an eye on that man.’

After all, this was the man who had once been planning to take his Celeste away from him through his son.

Though that matter had long since been settled, Elion was still curious.

What exactly had the Kletis family’s motivation been behind that move, apart from the obvious prospect of forming a connection with the Vampires?

There had to have been more to it than that.