Chapter 166 (1/2)

Chapter 166

Chapter 166: Meaning

<hr>

Everyone in the hall held their breath, silently waiting for Arthur to speak as he came into view

He stood wordlessly and surveyed the outdoor gallery frorain the ie of Arthur in their ht

I had seen my childhood friend just hours before, so I was even more stunned by how different he looked co auburn hair was tied loosely in a knot behind his head, held together by an ornamental pin Rather than the usual formal attire of humans, he wore a silky decorative robe like us elves However, unlike our traditional garb, the loose sleeves of his robe just barely went past his elbows, revealing thin tight-fitting gloves that covered his entire ar was a rich fur pelt, as white as snow, slung over one shoulder

It hadn’t been too long since he had appeared in front of the world, adorned in an extravagant ar hiant attire, he didn’t just see He radiated an otherworldliness that I had only felt when I saw Master Aldir

Distracted by his transfor deeply at the Vritra retainer encased in ice, that the red burns that had scarred his neck were no longer visible

He turned back to face us before talking, his voice co a corpse as soawk at is so this event tonight aren’t part of the masses Each noble here has workers, civilians and inhabitants in your lands that wait iue assuive them”

Arthur paused, but the crowd reain “Born froround, I was able to climb to where I a the way I aest one at that, but I’hting battles as we speak, are echelons above me in power, yet even I was able to defeat a retainer, one of the so-called ‘highest powers’ of the Alacryan army”

As Arthur paused oncefrom the crowd, I realized that these halts in his speech were intentional He was a year younger than ht nor prepared for things like speeches or social intricacies, yet he was able to utilize every breath, word, break and motion to perfectly take control of the crowd

“As you can see I’ve sustained no injuries from my battle with this supposedly-powerful force and ast a crowd of nobles,” he s chuckles froloved hands on the toaze to where the Council was seated “This syranted ift that I hope you all can take houratively, of course”

Cheers and laughs erupted after Arthur bowed, signalling the end of his speech The illue and et a closer look at the Vritra, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening” With that, a few guards replaced e as the Council came up first

While they tried to hide their astonishment, It was obvious by their expressions that it really was their first ti the corpse as well I watched as my parents as well as Curtis and Kathyln’s parents studied the frozen tomb Only the dwarven elder named Rahdeas kept his distance, his expression subtly strained

“Princess Tessia, would you like me to take you to the corpse?” General Varay asked, a rare hint of anticipation in her sharp eyes

Not wanting to disappoint the lance, Curtis, Kathyln, Claire and I followed her toward the stage wherethe frozen Vritra

Reaching the front of the preuard, I examined the corpse inside It was hard for h Physical attribute-wise, it—she—looked hu at the two hollowed cavities where her eyes should’ve been filled me with a fear that couldn’t be blocked by les of the Vritra with her handsthe ice tomb as Claire studied the corpse wearily, I suddenly reed on her sleeve “Wait right here! Let noring Claire, I quickly e behind the curtains

“This area is off”—a fee retreated a few steps—“Princess Tessia?”

I srandfather is expecting uard shi+fted her gaze over toward the narrow staircase beside her “General Arthur and Coo down these stairs, even the rest of the Council,” she replied hesitantly

“I know They told me not to tell the Council that I’m here as well,” I lied “Now please, both of theht oncefor o down

I didn’t thank her—that would’ve been suspicious I just nodded back and headed down the staircase that ide enough for only one person at a time

The staircase seeht nuances in each of the illuht that there was soic at work

I quieted ic as I went deeper down the stairs I knehat I was doing rong—even if it was just Arthur and randfather—but I was too curious to find out what these important matters were and why they needed to even keep theh to hear faint voices ic before walking down a few more steps Both Grandpa and Arthur were freakishly sensitive to mana fluctuations, so if I wanted to eavesdrop, I had to rely on justThankfully, because of my enhanced senses after my beast will’s assi, and from the sound of it, the artificer Gideon was there as well

“Don’t push yourself, brat,” runted

“I’ueweak coe “This paste around h”

“Best not touch it or the substance ear off more quickly,” Gideonthe party”

Arthur let out what I could barely o back out there”

“Of course you do You’re the star of the event,” Grandpa replied “Your speech was convincing enough, though, so it ht not be necessary for you to stay until the end”

“Good Gideon, how did the recording go?” Arthur asked

“It was a hassle trying to capture the ies at the exact moments you specified since there’s still a bit of a delay between the er and when the shot is taken—hold on, let me take note of that so I can fix it”

“Focus, Gideon,” Arthur snapped, his voice is forcefully torn into a ether but that’s no excuse for being grurues of Rahdeas’ face when Virion first announced the Vritra, then when Arthur first came into view, and when Arthur said he had sustained no injuries,” Gideon noted

“Here, letat in this picture?”

“Not what, who,” Arthur answered “He’s looking at General Varay, as in the crowd I suggested to Tessia’s father that we have the lance look after the royal children”

“So Rahdeas thought that General Varay was the one who killed the Vritra?” Gideon asked

“Wait Is that why you froze the retainer’s corpse? To get hirandfather cut in, his voice sounding surprised

“I wanted hiest lance was responsible for killing one of the strongest forces in the Alacryan army before it was revealed that I killed him,” Arthur explained

“You always have a few tricks up your sleeves, don’t you?” randfather chuckled

<hr>

“Look at Rahdeas face when he first saw the Vritra come up encased in ice He’s surprised and looks immediately over toward Varay,” the artificer pointed out “Then look at the ie of him after Arthur comes into view and then when he announced how he, the weakest of the lances, had kicked the retainer’s ass without sustaining an injury”

“There are shock and anger,” ressively grow happier to learn that the supposed weakest is stronger than one of the Alacryan powerhouses”

“This still doesn’t prove that Rahdeas is actively helping the Alacryans, but this does give us a good idea on his stance is on all of this,” Arthur added “We’ll know for sure in the next battle when…”

Arthur’s voice trailed off I couldn’t hear any of the out the Alacryans?

I needed to hearin this next battle?

I inched down a few et closer but I still couldn’t hear them

damn it I kneas risky, but I decided to take the chance and hope that Arthur’s weakened state would allow e of mana erupted from down below I covered my face with my arms on instinct