Chapter 71: A Wild Rumor

The atmosphere around the Tower of Conclave had started to improve a couple of days ago. Compared to the day after the attack, every normal employee inside the Tower was almost back to their normal routine.

The cause of this improvement was due to the rumors that circulated after the Lord of the Tower, Stella, declared that she would be staying in her quarters and would only leave if there were any matters that the Head of Conclave, Malek, could not deal with.

Initially, the employees felt uneasy and confused by the Lord's sudden announcement.

First of all, the Tower was recently attacked by an unnamed perpetrator. Although the council members and the Head of Conclave were busy dealing with the aftermath, the very Lord of the Tower, who was the foundation of this place, actually decided to lock herself in her quarters.

Then one employee shared that the perpetrator of the attack did not leave the Tower and instead was currently 'confined' inside the Main Tower.

This caused everyone to fear for the safety of their Lord.

Why would the Lord of the Tower confine the perpetrator inside the Main Tower? And her previous announcement basically meant she would be locked up in the same place as the perpetrator.

Then another information came to them that the perpetrator was not just confined inside the Main Tower but was actually staying in the Lord's quarters.

A lot of rumors started to circulate because of this, and every employee's opinion was divided. However, there were two most talked about among all the rumors.

The first rumor that some believed to be more reliable went like this; the Lord had to lock the perpetrator to her quarters because he was too powerful and dangerous. The Lord did this because she feared that he would spread fear among the people if he got out. Being her righteous self, the Lord vowed to keep an eye on him.

The second rumor, which was more popular among the female employees, went like this; the perpetrator was actually the Lord of the Tower's secret admirer. He finally mustered his courage to go to the Tower of Conclave and ask for her hand. Unfortunately, he found out that the Lord of the Tower was not allowed to leave. The Lord also refused to meet him. This infuriated him, so he decided to destroy the whole Tower to take her away by force. After realizing his determination and strength, the Lord was moved and finally relented. And so, she finally appeared before him and the two reconciled. Then she decided to spend some quality time with him. This way, they would be able to get to know each other better.

Of course, some employees just rolled their eyes when they heard these rumors.

One of them was the Head Cook, Smith.

Smith, a middle-aged man with gray short hair, dark eyes and a stocky build, had been serving the Tower Family for decades. And although he was not personally close with the Lord of the Tower, he knew her well enough. He believed that there were underlying circumstances to her decree, that she could not tell them.

Besides, even if she locked herself in her quarters, it was no different to them. Since she could go to any building within the Tower using the transmission arrays installed in every tower and building, they rarely see her walking outside.

Apart from that, there was no proof that the perpetrator was really staying with her. He had been preparing her meal every day, and the portion was only good for one person.

While Smith could not be bothered about the rumors, he did not stop the other kitchen staff from talking about it at work. After all, thanks to these 'light-hearted rumors', the atmosphere around them, especially inside the kitchen, slowly returned to normal.

Smith only focused on making sure that the Lord of the Tower could eat properly and on time.

That morning, Smith, with the rest of his staff, was busy preparing the ingredients they would use for breakfast when suddenly the Lord of the Tower appeared before them.

Stella personally came to request two breakfasts. She also specifically asked for a meal that would help replenish a person's stamina.

When all the female staff heard this, they could barely contain their excitement.

Why would the Lord asked for such a meal? Obviously, she needed such a meal because she was immersed in very rigorous activity.

Smith ignored the whisperings of his female staff and offered to make an appropriate meal for Stella. However, Stella rejected this idea and told him the second breakfast was not for her but 'Kyran'. Then she smiled. A smile that was full of affection they had never seen before.

Smith was dumbfounded.

This incident quickly spread among the employees of the Tower. And it further ignited when  Stella once again visited the kitchen to ask for another meal that could satisfy a person's craving.

Now, most employees, including Smith, believed that the second most talked about rumor might actually be true.

They were happy for their Lord. She was born in this place and was not allowed to leave. The only time she could mingle with other people was when they visit the Tower.

If she found the man she wanted to live the rest of her life with, they would definitely support her. They only wished that the Lord's love would be on par with her beauty. They already knew he was a powerful combat mage, but it would be such a waste of their Lord's beauty if he looked normal. Unfortunately, the people from the Security Unit who fought with him were too frightened to speak about him and could not give them any decent information.

If Stella knew what her people were thinking, she would likely go ballistic and go on a punishing spree. Fortunately, she was too occupied with many things that she did not notice the whispering around her.

Like right now, Stella had once again appeared in the kitchen. She told Smith about the meeting because whenever the Conclave's Council members meet, it would always be followed by a banquet.

For tonight's banquet, however, it would be a little special. Stella wanted to have an open banquet for everyone that the normal employees of the Tower of Conclave could attend.

This was also her way of thanking everyone for their patience and assuring them that the recent attack was now in the past.

Unbeknownst to Stella, because of this, another idea had surfaced in their minds.

The Lord of the Tower wanted an open banquet because she had an announcement to make! Could it be that she would finally introduce the man to the rest and officially accept his proposal?

They were all excited, especially the female staff.

Stella, who saw their reaction, was glad. However, she was not aware that they were all excited for an entirely different reason.

After her trip to the kitchen, Stella planned to return to her quarters first.

Before she could rouse her magic and operate the transmission array inside her quarters, she noticed her communication device lit up.

She took it out, and as soon as she opened it, Malek's silhouette appeared.

"Lord of the Tower," he greeted with a slight bow.

"What is it?"

"The others were already on their way to the Conference Hall."

Stella raised an eyebrow, "So early? Did you tell them the meeting is at eight?"

Malek nodded, "Yes, Milord. However, they wanted to meet and speak with the boy before the meeting starts."

Stella sighed. She was aware that there were still a few of them who were still dissatisfied with Kyran. And she wanted to let them meet Kyran during the meeting. That way, it would be more formal, and she could easily control the discussion, so it would be easy for Kyran to explain his side.

"Then they would have to wait in vain. Kyran is still training," she told Malek.

"Training?"

"Yes," she replied with a faint smile. "Right after waking up, he has been busy doing a lot of things. I doubt I can stop him with my magic even if I try."

"Is he... training in your quarters?"

"No," Stella shook her head. "He's at the training ground. I plan to return there 30 minutes before the start of the meeting. If the others wanted to meet him early..."

"You don't have to worry about it, Milord. I will try and convince them to wait until the meeting."

"Please do, Malek. I'm not sure if I can convince him to stop his training when he just started."

Malek simply nodded his head and replied, "I will."

After Stella and Malek disconnected, she suddenly felt something was wrong. As if she missed something from her conversation with Malek.

With a shake of her head, Stella resumed to rouse her magic and activate the transmission array.

She was still uneasy, but she could not think of why, so she decided to finish her preparation first.

====================

After almost an hour, in front of the training ground building.

Sigma stood and stared at the huge oak doors of the building's entrance. A smile formed at the corner of his lips as he finally moved and walked toward the doors.