Chapter 376: ’Friend’ [2]

It couldn’t be compared to the royal families of the vampires, elves and the werewolves... whose heirs or direct descendants should have been competing in the election for the position of the student council president as well.

There could have been an element of Kael’s hostility against the Frosts that could have triggered him to side with the Levaiths... who were the only house capable of directly expressing their hostility towards the Frosts without being scared of the repercussions.

But though the thought crossed Damian’s mind, not even for a moment did he believe in it, and after meeting Kael personally... Damian could tell that the kid wasn’t someone who would or could ever be influenced by emotions of hatred to take decisions of such importance and gravity.

To a normal observer, the choice may seem as something related to the academy, and the student politics in it... nothing to be worried about, but Damian or anyone else in his position of power knew better.

The implications of Kael’s decision were far and wide.

He had after all indirectly shut the doors of cooperation with the other noble houses, in a way... disrespecting them right in front of their faces.

So... why would he take such an unfavourable decision was something Damian couldn’t wrap his head around.

"Why did I support her... well— she was worth my support."

Kael’s words were brief, and there was no indication of further explanation, prompting Damian to give out a genuine chuckle of his own.

Either the kid before him was way too smart for Damian to decipher or... he was just dumb enough to make stupid choices, though being honest with himself, Damian leaned towards the former.

"I guess I should take my leave now, and yes... thank you for your hospitality so far. I enjoyed it more than I had expected."

Giving another of his polite smiles, Kael stood up from his seat as he extended his right hand, making Damian reciprocate the gesture after a short pause.

***

The meeting with Damian had been great, but not the most interesting one for me.

The Levaiths, despite their might, weren’t really a threat to me or D.X.

Though their support would give us an edge in our plans regarding the Veltran Empire as a whole.

House Veltra, House Frost and House Levaith... all three of them were the main pillars of the Veltran Empire, that made it as fearsome and mighty as it was today.

Even having the direct support of one of them would help speed up my plans by a great margin.

Remembering Damian’s question, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

Why would I support Ashlyn and not compete myself?

Sigh.

The option had been available to me, and becoming the president would have benefits of its own, yet weighing the pros and cons... siding with the president felt better than becoming one myself.

I didn’t like to be weighed down by the responsibility of being the head of the student council.

Managing the committees filled with students of pathetic intelligence wasn’t my cup of tea.

Going by the facts, becoming the president myself wouldn’t have brought me much benefit outside the grounds of the academy.

I would have the status and recognition from the world, but even without being the president... I was enjoying it nonetheless.

To control the Veltran Empire... the Levaiths were the only ones who could truly be useful and so... Ashlyn had been chosen by me, not the other way round.

I could have aligned with the heirs of other major powers as well, but... I wouldn’t have been able to exert much influence on them.

Despite not being close to the Frosts... I still shared the connection of blood with them, and hence... Veltran Empire could be considered as my home ground.

Not having any influence in my own backyard would have been a little pathetic.

And well... I wanted Victoria to be defeated by Ashlyn, signalling a clear message to the head of the Frost dukedom.

Now that the deal was sealed, I would have to visit a branch of Syma to relay all the information to Julien and to also learn the latest news regarding the Levaiths.

The renewed interest of the authorities in the Levaith Duchy didn’t seem as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Someone might have been pulling the strings behind the scenes or else why would the authorities go out of their way to offend the Levaiths over some mere suspicions?

Hm?

Just as I was about to take a left turn and head towards the exit of the mansion, I noticed Ashlyn leaning against the wall, her eyes focused on the floor below, as she was lost in deep thought.

"Were you waiting for me, princess?"

Walking towards her, I asked the question in the most casual way, as if I was talking to some old ’friend’ of mine.

Ashlyn, hearing my question, was jolted out of her thoughts as she blinked her eyes while staring at me in surprise.

"Is it done?"

Standing straight, Ashlyn slightly adjusted her hair, as she moved closer to me with her hands crossed behind her back.

I simply nodded my head, before resuming my walk, as Ashlyn subconsciously matched her steps with mine.

"That was rather quick, if I had to say."

The comment was needless, but I acknowledged it nonetheless.

"Did father ask anything else?"

Ashlyn now moved even closer to me, with her head tilted in my direction, her eyes turning a little round out of curiosity, which felt somewhat unnatural to me.

"He didn’t."

My reply was uttered with nonchalance, though I couldn’t deny the curiosity rising within me, as I noticed Ashlyn giving out a sigh of relief after hearing my words.

"Was there something he should have asked me?"

As it was only the two of us in the long hallway, my curiosity got the better of me, resulting in the question leaving my mouth.

"Huh? No...! What would he even ask..."

Ashlyn’s tone was closer to a whisper at the end, and... my observation might not have been the most accurate, but I did notice her trying not to look into my eyes after completing her statement, as if—

She had just lied to me?