Chapter 191: Party People

Chapter 191: Party People

Erec adjusted his collar. The dorm's common room wasn’t exactly quiet—not with Garin nearby, humming a tune to himself as he pieced together his suit. That small measure of music was interrupted whenever he turned a critical eye to Colin and Erec’s outfits as they prepared for the Gala.

As for Enide and Olivia, both were sectioned off in Olivia’s room, as promised, and they’d picked dresses together. However, Olivia said that Enide’s would be a surprise.

What shocked Erec more than anything was that although he’d said he’d foot the bill for anything Enide needed in the Kingdom, Olivia covered the cost of the dress with her own savings. Another gesture of goodwill, on top of that, she’d gone out of her way to invite Enide out on several little trips together.

Enide was still suspicious of the other girl, but she was starting to warm a bit now that the former maid no longer presented an iced-over front of hostility.

For his part, Erec didn’t know what to think. Maybe it was a lingering doubt in him, but he couldn’t forget her weird nature when they first met, nor her ties to house Luculentus or the overall odd impression he’d had from the daughter of that house—Lyotte—whom he hadn’t seen for quite some time. But past warning her, Enide would make her own decisions on what she wanted to think about Olivia.

The thoughts roamed by as he stared at himself in a mirror. His red hair was growing a touch longer—he’d need a haircut soon.

So much had changed since he’d first become a Knight. Looks aside, he could see he was bigger. Stronger. His face hardened with the conflicts he’d seen.

But that wasn’t the only thing that differed from when he was an Initiate. Numbly, Erec pulled up his Virtues.

Name: Erec of House Audax

Health: 100% | Mana: 100% | Stamina: 100%

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Virtues:The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.

Strength: [Rank C] | [Tier 7]

Vigor: [Rank D] | [Tier 8]

Agility: [Rank D] | [Tier 6]

Perception: [Rank E] | [Tier 7]

Cognition: [Rank E] | [Tier 6]

Psyche: [Rank D] | [Tier 1]

Mysticism: [Rank F] | [Tier 4]

Soul (Aspect: Fire): [Rank C] | [Tier 1]

———————————————————————

Divine Talents:

Fury

There were significant changes there. His hardships had brought two of his Virtues into the C Rank, though he knew full well those were deceptive. The truth was that with Fury and his advancing Soul’s rank, it would be folly to consider them the absolute power he could wield. Somewhere above that lie what he was capable of.

It was all Erec could do not to drop his jaw at Enide and want to abandon this entire thing entirely for a more romantic evening down in the caverns below—but before he could put the pieces of that half-baked plan together, Garin pulled them out of their room and outside of the Academy—to a carriage, which would take them to the gala.

With Garin and Olivia herding them off like a bunch of wild cats, they headed to the gala.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —

“Your Kingdom sure likes to show off,” Enide muttered as she stared at the manor outside the carriage— a large structure. And, on the surface. Unlike House Nitidus, House Luculentus was not shy about abandoning their ancestral home in the caverns. The moment the Kingdom reclaimed the surface and secured it with the massive steel walls, this Duchy made their home above.

“Great houses are meant to show the height of what wealth and prestige can get you. Being earned or not isn’t their point,” Alexandra Doctus said, her arms stretched out on the cozy backrest of the carriage’s interior, draped not so subtly behind Colin. Erec’s friend was straight-backed and more on edge than Erec had ever seen him in the midst of a fight.

“A noble acts with their station and has much power invested in them,” Colin replied.

Alexandra gave him a lazy grin and leaned in closer.

If Colin were a cat, Erec swore he would’ve seen all the hairs on him rise, and his ears shoot up as she effortlessly raised his hackles—as it was, his friend did his best not to meet the eyes of his betrothed.

“We are born with our titles to live up to them in the name of the Kingdom. It’s not for show but a trust that we deserve through virtue of our station.” Colin continued, trying to pretend he didn’t see her.

“And... What have you done for your house, my sweet Colin?” When she called him her ‘sweet,’ Colin’s face turned red.

As tempted as he was to let her continue her odd way of shattering through Colin’s outer shell, Erec felt compelled to correct Alexandra on one account. Since Colin couldn’t find his tongue to speak directly to her now, “Colin has done right by his house. First and foremost, which I don’t think anyone will disagree with, is the part he had to play in taking down the White Stag. Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to track it down as fast.” Erec said.

Alexandra’s eyes never left Colin’s face, even as she listened. “Of course. I didn’t forget that; I know this one has quite a lot under the surface. I intend to peel him back and see every little bit underneath.” She set a finger on Colin’s neck and trailed downward, tugging at the shirt.

Garin laughed awkwardly and stood up, throwing the door to their carriage open. “Well! Time is wasting; let’s get on with it.” He waited for Olivia to follow, who was just as eager to get out of the suddenly too-cramped carriage. She let him help her down, not that she needed it.

Still, they got out one by one, cutting the conversation short.

Erec offered an arm to Enide, who took it. They pulled behind the rest of the group, letting Garin and Olivia lead the way into the social Warfield, hand-in-hand—behind them was Alexandra, pulling along Colin, who seemed determined with every step to drag his heels, if nothing else than not to show the woman he might marry that he did not embrace this event, nor her teasing.

Though Erec began to suspect, based on Colin’s stubbornness to hang on to their betrothal, something about this appealed to him.

Gwen and Bedwyr even passed by Erec and Enide as they slowed, firm, but both seemed intimidated by the sight of the Duchess’ home in front of them. It was shocking to Erec that even Bedwyr looked intimidated at the sight of the grand manor. A crack in the facade of what he saw his brother as growing up. But, understandable. All of them, including Erec, grew up so low on the nobility scale that something like this was always out of grasp. Gwen hadn’t even been a landless noble.

Now, Erec was more adjusted; he could’ve sworn he felt more at ease with the situation than his brother looked to him. Though, those tells were only perceptible since they grew up together.

Slowly, Enide and Erec fell to the back of their group. She was pressed at his side, her eyes never leaving the sight ahead. It was one of the few times he saw her wear a forced expression, a brave face to deal with a situation that scared her. She wore the same sort of mask when seeing the Vortex Industries facility.

Erec leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Shall we burn up the courts together?”

She snorted.

“Dramatic. But if you wanna play that game, sure. How about this hero: you pick the biggest, meanest son of a bitch there and start slugging. Then, when you get him nice and distracted, I’ll hit him in the back of the head from behind. If we go full scorched Earth on this thing, best to go in with the right game plan.”

“Pick the guy, give me the cue, then I’ll start it off,” Erec promised, and a smile slid on her face, replacing the worry.

He wasn’t like Garin or Robin. Even if he worked on court skills, his way of dealing with these events and his life would never be the same. But no matter what happened, he would do his best to keep her feeling secure at his side if he had to drag her to this part of his life. She gave him Strength, so it was only natural that he should give her Strength, too.