110 Countess Sera

Many things had happened over the course of this long year. Tanya had gone from a mere 1st ascension ant to a powerhouse of the 4th ascension, vastly overpowering all of her peers in all categories. 

For her actions during the massacre, she was already promised a peerage of a count after her valedictory. While his noble title was still nothing when she compared it to her former title as an emperor, Tanya still appreciated the rise in rank.

Now, in the academy ballroom, it had finally come the time for the bestowal of titles and the official climax of a short and regal ceremony. Many high nobles were present, including Tanya's parents.

"Tanya Vermillion, for your actions during the tragedy of the Academy Massacre as well as your amazing performance in your studies throughout the year, you have been granted the noble peerage of countess. Please continue to strive for excellence as a noble. It should be at this point that you choose a name to take on officially."

These words came from none other than the king. With this title, he also gave Tanya opportunities to advance. While Tanya may be the second child of her family, she now had her own noble title and was by all measures a self made noble prodigy that had never been seen in all generations. Having the title of a countess would at the very least make her eligible to marry Serena.

'If that son of mine can't marry Tanya and my daughter doesn't want Benjamin, I will just have my daughter pair with Tanya. At the very least, I can get grandchildren through the magic technologies around these days…' The king had already thought through his options.

He had already dishonoured his dear friend, duke Vermillion, when his son annulled the engagement, so he needed to make amends and fix the issues Evan had caused.

"Thank you, your majesty." Tanya responded, kneeling down as an ornate golden sword was tapped on both of her shoulders.

"I shall be Countess Sera, but my last name shall always be Vermillion. I shall be Tanya Sera Vermillion from now on."

With this, Tanya had finally stepped halfway towards her first major goal in this new life of hers.

Along with her, Yuna had also come to be bestowed the title of baroness. While not as powerful as Tanya's title, Yuna had become a real noble. This was not expected if one was using information from the beginning of the year.

Yuna had been an average student until Tanya took her in. Only with Tanya's nurturing did Yuna become the genius she is today. The girl had already let go of the chains binding her from the past and had replaced them with a warmth that only radiated for Tanya.

The crowd immediately became loud. It was already a stretch for a mere teenager to become a countess, but a marchioness? The nobles all though that this was crazy.

"Your majesty! Surely this is too much…! She is still a child! How can you bestow on her so much even when she has contributed so little to the general state of affairs? Please reconsider this matter, I sincerely contest!" An old noble shouted from across the room.

He wore a monocle on his left eye and was the epitome of a conservative noble in appearance, everything about him seemed like a standard noble. He was quite the default to Tanya.

"Impudent!" The king raised his voice, waving his palms in the direction of the contesting noble.

"Countess Sera is responsible for saving the lives of children from amongst almost every noble house in this very room. If I am not mistaken, your son was also among the people she saved. Or am I wrong, Marquis Vick?" The King raised one eyebrow. His voice was chilling to the bone, without any sense of friendliness. He would definitely not allow the woman that he had selected as his daughter in law so many years ago be dishonoured in such a way.

Meanwhile, Tanya was watching the scene with nothing but boredom written all over her body. The good stuff had ended for her and now the old men were left to argue over her quick rise to power. Sometimes she wondered if she should just prove some of her strength to help cope with this type of issue.

'Give me a break, I need to manage the documents for my county now. Being a noble is not all fun and games, I know this from experience.'

Of course Tanya remembered the days when she was a count in her life as Tane. Life could be characterised as greeting visiting nobles and filing various forms while wasting her free time to work on demand in her territory. Although she had much more help in this current life, she still needed to manage a few things.

This meeting could become quite an issue if it dragged on for an entire day. Tanya really was not a person that liked wasting too much time doing not so pleasurable things.

"Alpha, come here."

BOOM

A figure suddenly appeared in the centre of the argument. The blue hair and the dark metallic plate that covered the body of the figure were smoking with steam and drenched in crimson blood. If one did not look closely, they might not be able to recognise the battle hardened Neya Alpha that had just poofed into the centre.

"Master, what is it that you need?" Neya knelt down in Tanya's direction, bowing her head respectfully to her supreme creator.

The crowd turned silent.

They could all sense the unsurpassed power that Neya exhibited when she appeared in the room. All of them could understand that Tanya's servant was not a person they could trifle with by any means. Her aura alone was enough to suppress them.

"The champion of our kingdom is only a [Swordsman Elite 10], that is only the peak of 3rd ascension… how can countess Sera's servant be at the 4th ascension? This doesn't make sense…" Marquis Vick murmured.

"She called her 'master'."

With this aggressive display of power, Tanya hoped that the argument would finally be over.

The king would certainly win and the Marquis would cease speaking on this matter. While Neya would be known as the champion of the kingdom, it would not affect the political structure of the continent too much as Neya isn't an all powerful 5th ascension calamity. Nevertheless, other nations would have to think carefully if they wanted to invade.

"Everyone, this is my loyal follower, Neya Alpha. If you have any doubts about my capabilities, please consult her. I am far too busy to look into every single inquiry you have for me." Tanya yawned, walking out of the room, leaving behind a gobsmacked crowd.

Of course, the girls were not too surprised. But this did not carry through for her parents, they did not even know that Tanya broke past the 1st ascension.

'We are going to have a long family meeting when you come home.' Tanya's mother thought to herself.

"TANYA! PLEASE MARRY MY DAUGHTER!"