Chapter 324: Securing

Chapter 324

Securing

The other professors went to different corners to meet with members of the Setter family they were close to. In truth, Professor Regan wanted to join Ellie’s group, but Professor Nico led him to meet the heads of the Setter and Ryuger families first. They were discussing the prices of stratagems. In the end, Professor Regan followed Professor Nico first and planned to find time later to talk with his disciple about his next steps of training.

Although Ellie wanted to invite both professors to sit with them, she secretly didn’t want this lucky heroine to intrude. Of course, that was just a thought. Ultimately, if she needed to deal with what was to come, having the other party involved in the conversation was necessary.

The novel mentioned this situation as well, but it was Professor Lucien, the hero of the story, who invited the girl to join. He was smart and knew that if he left Grace, his disciple, with the Fronda family, it would be difficult for her to get close to the Setter family. So, he helped his disciple.

Ellie didn’t know if this was the actual reason, but in the end, Grace could really follow Professor Lucien and joined the celebration of their victory. Soon, Prince Jason would arrive with one of his guards, and that’s when things would happen.

It was unsure since when this guard had been poisoned by the demonic toxin. He kept it secret until now, and finally, it was triggered, turning him into a demonic toxin human. The result was chaos at the banquet, which would only be resolved when Grace killed the poisoned guard and saved Prince Jason.

As a result, their engagement proceeded. Grace’s power was so impressive that the kingdom couldn’t let her go. Even though the Jarlon family didn’t want to accept this, they couldn’t do anything. When everyone was terrified, only this brave girl stepped forward to save the prince’s life without hesitation!!

“You look different today.” Professor Medik looked at the girl who usually didn’t wear much jewelry but was adorned from head to toe today. Ellie responded with a dry laugh.

“This is less than yesterday, you know,” Ellie shrugged. Medik immediately understood that the girl had no desire to dress like a walking treasure chest. Looking at his student, he felt a bit sorry for her.

While others might admire such opulence, Medik and his student shared the same thoughts. Previously, when Professor Lucien had bought him a necklace, Medik had discarded it without a second thought. If it wasn’t something that could help him work better, Lucien wouldn’t buy it again after learning the truth.

Nevertheless, Ellie appeared as a very important person in the kingdom. Even if she didn’t like it, she had to wear some of these adornments. Otherwise, her image might lead to easy scorn. Moreover, the Setter family was busy with hunts day and night, not having time for luxurious attire. So, when they attended events, it wasn’t surprising they wanted to display their power to the fullest.

“Eldest Young Lord,” Lucien greeted the man in front of him, whom he had once examined. The treatment for his condition required a level 6 herb. Despite this...their previous encounters made their greetings more familiar than those with others.

“Professors, please make yourself comfortable. I’ve heard much from Ellie. You both take good care of my people, for which I must thank you.”

“Oh, thank you, little student, for speaking well of me,” Medik laughed cheerfully, surprised at Ellie’s eloquence. In truth, Aman wanted to interject that it was unlikely his student would say such things. He usually saw her asking his brother for snacks and drinking delicious tea all day. His brother probably knew because he had his people investigate or asked Koross directly.

Lucien knew the truth but saw no reason to spoil Medik’s happiness. So, he simply sipped his tea, relaxing. However, even Lucien paused when he tasted the special tea.

“Lis tea, is it?” Aman laughed immediately upon hearing this.

“Yes, Professor Lucien. This is the special tea my brother prepared. You’re lucky to join us. This is also the first time I’ve had tea this delicious.”

“Oh, is that so?” Lucien raised his eyebrows slightly. He had a chance to collect some teas, but this one was excessively expensive and not much sweeter than other teas. If he hadn’t tasted it before, he wouldn’t have thought it would be so delicious. Hence, he only drank it on special occasions. Nonetheless, Medik’s face was turning a rosy shade of happiness.

The professor and his student were indeed very much alike. Whenever he had something sweet, Medik was always like this. It was no surprise that he particularly enjoyed this tea.

“Professor...if you like, I’ll bring you some of this tea.”

“Good, very good. I’ve never had such fragrant and sweet tea before,” Medik laughed loudly. Lucien could only think to himself that if he had realized this sooner, he would have made Lis tea for the other man already. What a shame he hadn’t thought of it sooner...

“Since you’ve taken such good care of Ellie, if you’re worried about housing in the 7th floor, don’t be. I’ll ensure you have a place to stay, along with any other professors who have been kind to her,” Owen said straightforwardly. Those who came to talk with them just needed a place to live, didn’t they? So, Owen stated his purpose plainly.

“That’s something we must thank you for. However, I intend to keep the institute as it is, so I still wish to exchange resources with you,” Lucien stated their intention. Everyone in the institute, including professors and staff, should be able to move together.

“Understood. In that case, I’ll grant you the same privileges as the palace—no operational fees. However...you must decide if you can accept purchasing new cities under our Setter family name. If that’s unacceptable, then after 10 years, you’ll need to pay us half the city’s maintenance costs,” Owen said solemnly.

“Understood. That’s not an issue. Given 10 years, we will do our best. Managing a city requires many resources and tight control to prevent problems. The more people you manage, the bigger the issues. You mentioned being the city owners, perhaps because you don’t want to be responsible forever. It seems you’re not interested in managing those complications yourselves.”

Lucien grasped Owen’s and the Setter family’s thoughts well. If those people settled on the 7th floor and became complacent, leaving the Setter family to manage everything without knowing that the one who truly owned the city was the Setter family, in the end, the problem that arose would be them who had to clean up the mess.

The Setter family didn’t desire to be city lords or great powers, but simply handing over control would be too disadvantageous. After all, they were bearing the burden for 10 years. It was better to let these people gather resources during in 10 years rather than create problems.

Owen smiled slightly. It seemed that Professor Lucien was as exceptional as others said. Just from hearing this request, he understood everything. If Ellie had a good professor like this looking after her, it put Owen’s mind at ease.

“It’s good that you understand.”

“Mmm, but I think there will be many groups wanting to challenge the test from now on. There might be significant losses. Even though you’ve explained all the tests, it hasn’t frightened everyone enough. I foresee problems ahead.”

“Not only that...some groups that know they won’t be selected by you might create trouble,” Lucien warned seriously.

He suspected that in the next 10 years, chaos might truly ensue. Wars could break out continuously, with many people needing resources to survive. However, some selfish individuals, knowing they have no chance of survival, might go mad and drag many others down with them.

Professor Lucien’s words made Ellie pause. He was as wise and forward-thinking as ever. Just knowing the situation, he could predict that some would cause severe problems.

“That is inevitable, but if anyone dares to mess with my people, they won’t get away with it,” Owen said calmly, though he released an intimidating aura openly.

Grace trembled slightly. She had never encountered someone so terrifying and powerful. Initially, Grace was somewhat interested in him, but now her target had shifted. Let others deal with such a dangerous man—she wouldn’t risk her life for that.

Soon, the prince, her real target, entered with his 3 guards, each strong and sturdy. There appearance made Grace immediately shift her focus to the newcomer. After all, the one she had to deal with was among his guards. Unfortunately, Grace hadn’t memorized the details well and didn’t know which guard was poisoned with demonic toxin.

Originally, Grace thought there would be only one guard, but she had forgotten that this world was too dangerous for the prince to have just one guard. As a result, Grace had to monitor everyone’s movements to keep track. Ellie observed her and let out a small, mocking laugh.

When she had read that novel, it wasn’t specified initially which guard was poisoned, but eventually, a minor detail revealed it. When Grace used her power to pull and contain the guard’s soul, the soul resisted and wouldn’t leave the body. He even used a blue dagger, which he had won as a hunting prize the previous year, to stab the girl. Hence...the blue dagger identified the culprit.

A single glance was all Ellie needed to identify the dangerous person. She had her spores keep an eye on his movements while the prince sat down next to Vida.

Grace smiled and greeted the prince naturally. She remained smart in her demeanor, avoiding overly enthusiastic behavior to prevent others from thinking she was trying to get close to the prince. The motive of helping to get close to the prince and helping out of bravery would yield different responses.

No matter what, today Grace would not miss her chance. She had to secure Prince Jason!

“Your Highness,” Vida greeted and respectfully bowed. Jason nodded to his fiancée once. They had spoken a bit the previous day, and it seemed they would see each other every day for the next 7 days.

Although he didn’t particularly love his fiancée yet, her character wasn’t bad. As he got to know her, he felt Vida was a pitiful woman. If not for him...she might have led a more peaceful and happy life. Sadly, her life wasn’t her own to choose, being bound by the marriage decree planned by his father.

Jason greeted everyone warmly, as if he were just a friend among them rather than a prince. Behind him stood Ryker, one of his knights. Like Wint, Ryker had important duties. However, both Wint and Zoey were invited to join the table today because they were close to Ellie.

“Are you all still sitting and chatting? I think you should join the dancing now,” the prince said as he approached everyone. However, his words made Vida blush.

When her fiancé said this, wasn’t it an invitation for her to dance with him? The prince hadn’t intended much by it; he just noticed everyone still sitting and talking. But seeing his fiancée’s reaction, he realized that he had indeed just invited her.

“Ahem, so...would you dance with me?” The prince asked, just as embarrassed. Seeing the happy expressions on both of them, Ellie disliked Lady Grace even more. If it weren’t for her interference, how could such a good relationship be ruined?!

As the prince moved his chair back, it accidentally hit the stomach of an absent-minded knight. Who would have thought that this would trigger chaos!

“Argh!”

“Hmm?” Jason had never encountered such a situation before. For a knight responsible for protecting him to cry out in pain from a mere chair bump seemed highly unusual.

Despite the prince’s growing curiosity, he didn’t realize that two young women had been eagerly anticipating this moment. The unsuspecting prince looked up at his knight, seeking an explanation. But as he looked at the knight’s face, he noticed a sudden change in the knight’s eyes!“Watch out!!” Grace shouted in alarm. She tried to push her way towards the prince, despite him having 2 more guards and being flanked by Vida’s people. Even Grace herself was confused about how, in the novel, someone like her, an outsider, could manage to help the prince. It didn’t make much sense, did it?