Chapter 79 House Erudite Influence

Leonardo and Juvia spent the rest of the day and the entire night indulging in a celebratory atmosphere. Well, it was as celebratory as it was sensually satisfying.

Only the midday sun of the following day managed to rattle the pair awake from their deep slumber.

The first to wake up was Juvia. She wrapped her arm around Leonardo's shoulders, softly caressing his sharp countenance, meticulously tracing the sharp angles of his face as her heart throbbed.

Leonardo slowly woke up, only to find the beautiful elf weighing down on his chest with her bountiful breasts, her misty eyes as though soulbound to him. Juvia stared down Leonardo's eyes searching for an expression of affection in his befuddled eyes, but ultimately, his unfocused gaze was as lifeless as it would have been during his focus.

Sharpness quickly returned to his eyes as he reciprocated her infatuated experience with a faint, flat smile.

"Things are bound to get lively in no time, hurry up and accompany me back to the Imperial Capital so that we coordinate with Queen Adeline."

Leonardo then kissed Juvia's flat forehead, hinting for her to get off him already. Very quickly, Leonardo and Juvia left the bedroom chambers and entered the bathing chambers to get themselves ready for a long day in the Imperial Capital.

…

The Imperial Capital was as bustling as usual with its millions of citizens and visitors for the purpose of culture and trade. However, the closer one got to the heart of the city, the less hustle and bustle there was. Apparently, a solemn atmosphere clouded the ever-bright skies of the capital.

An emergency assembly of the royal court was called for today, with representatives of the Venus and Exodia households joining the session. This would be marked as an unprecedented occasion where the three powers, seven vassals, thirty-six prefectures, and seventy-two provinces convene for an emergency meeting.

Each of the three powers is in joint control of twelve prefectures between themselves and House Erudite, a behemoth neutral power that is claimed to be the founding power behind the religious faith of the Arcadian Church.

One can even say that if the ruling powers control the martial prowess of the human domain, then the public might lay in the hands of House Erudite. Since ancient times and through the War of Dominion, House Erudite maintained a neutral stance as long as no one infringed upon or blasphemed the dignity of Goddess Arcadia.

They only began to make movements after the phenomenon was publicly recognized as a manifestation of Arcadia's Wrath after the bloody massacre in the Crouching Dragon Province.

Hence, the only power capable of summoning the various factions of the human domain would be House Erudite. As for why everyone was gathering in the royal court for the upcoming meeting, those with sufficient resources and deep enough foundations already know the answer, and those with wide enough connections know a thing or two about it.

On this day and after a long flight on the back of an imperial wyvern, Leonardo and Juvia stepped down in front of the massive entrance gates to the Imperial Palace.

This time, Leonardo didn't need to waste time going through the royal palaces, but he would directly make his way into the vast halls of the imperial palace to engage in some small talk with the various vassals and feudal lords.

As Leonardo and Juvia made their way through the gates and winding, narrow pathways, they were escorted into a spacious open courtyard not the least bit inferior to a grand football stadium in Leonardo's eyes.

The various representatives young and old suddenly quieted down following Leonardo's arrival. Looking through the crowd, Leonardo spotted a particularly inconspicuous servant with flashy golden hair and baby blue eyes shuttling through the crowd with some champagne and refreshments.

Leonardo beckoned over, and the servant made his way toward them. Juvia clasped her mouth In unconcealed shock upon witnessing Lucas passing his time as an imperial servant in the heart of the capital, unable to believe her eyes.

Leonardo tucked at her white, elbow-length gloves to calm down. If it weren't for her martial intent of a much superior law, she wouldn't have noticed Lucas mingling with the crowd of servants.

Lucas' martial intent revolves around the mystery of oblivion, confusing the senses of those actively attempting to remember him. He was like an ephemeral ghost in the memories of people, illusory and vague. This has nothing to do with one's cultivation, but it leans towards the laws which their martial intents are derived from.

The laws of oblivion in the middle realms can't compare to the laws of desolation in the higher realms. Thus, the mystifying sense of loss encompassing everyone present didn't include Leonardo and Juvia.

Lucas was also moved that there existed people who wouldn't forget about his existence the moment they turned the other way. In fact, while others may envy his martial intent, he detested it.

Not even his closest of kin remember he even existed ever since he awakened this martial intent. Heck, not even his birth mother had any recollections of giving birth to a son, let alone someone in his late twenties already. This contradiction of being confident she gave birth yet not remembering her own son drove the woman insane.

His father was also confused, and countless theories and suspicions arose.

Was the child kidnapped?

Was he aborted?

Was he the father? He didn't remember making his wife pregnant at all.

Did she cheat on him? She couldn't remember the process of pregnancy or getting impregnated at all, but her body wouldn't lie to her.

Lucas always treated his oblivion martial intent as a curse, he simply drifted along with life like the clouds in the sky. Only recently on that eve while drinking wine did someone notice his existence in this world, and that was Leonardo.

Actually, not even Sitri and the rest were aware of Lucas seated right next to them back then. If it wasn't for Leonardo pointing it out, they might have overlooked the young man entirely.

Thus, Lucas was always enthusiastic about meeting and talking with Leonardo, even if he didn't know how to exactly express it.

"How are you blending in so far?" Leonardo asked in a whisper as he picked up a wine glass from the silver plate, red as blood, swaying gently in his hand before he took a sip.

"It shouldn't be a problem to infiltrate the delegates from House Erudite during the meeting, boss!" Responded Lucas as he handed a wine glass to Juvia, who calmed down considerably by now. Listening to their conversation, Juvia's eyes brightened with comprehension.

She realized that Lucas must have joined the delegation of a certain vassal and switched professions the moment he made it into the Imperial Capital, that would be the only explanation.

She had to admit that Lucas was more suited to espionage and infiltration than Pandora. The latter could only work as a proficient assassin, the former can work as an intelligence agent.

Leonardo nodded. He thought to bring Lucas with him to the higher realms and offer his virginity to a woman of higher potential, that way his martial intent wouldn't be wasted. However, he quickly denied that thought because it would be unfair to Lucas for one, and a higher cultivation base doesn't necessarily attribute better to this kind of profession.

Furthermore, there was no guarantee that a middle realm's law would function as smoothly in the higher realms, not to mention that this intent could be exclusive to Arcadia as a planet, not the middle realm as a whole. Hence, he was quick to deny the notion.

"Good, I want you to infiltrate the intelligence network established by House Erudite," Leonardo smiled faintly, patted Lucas on the shoulder, and walked past him into the courtyard.

House Erudite's intelligence network is spread throughout the three domains, all thanks to their Arcadian Doctrine of the Arcadian Church. It could be said that House Erudite is the only power with deep roots in all three domains due to its neutrality and ancient foundations. The only blind eye to them is the Forbidden Domain, as the supreme power endorsing House Erudite is nothing but an ancient pact between the three sovereigns and five emperors.

Of the five emperors, Leonardo only met Queen Adeline, but meeting one is already enough. Since the meeting is scheduled for later this evening, Leonardo felt like walking aimlessly around the Imperial Palace with Juvia.

As the two of them roamed the halls at their lax pace, they seemed to go deeper and deeper without realizing that they'd already deviated from the public areas. However, the guards simply watched them roam around without any hint of disturbing them, especially after Leonardo's last visit.

Suddenly, after a random turn, Leonardo and Juvia bumped into someone unexpectedly.

A gasp of shock followed by the sound of ornaments crashing into the cold tiles, and a young, tall, blonde woman stumbled back into one of the high walls while covering her mouth.

"Oh, if it isn't Princess Veronica? What a pleasant surprise," Leonardo smiled faintly at this encounter.