Upon hearing about Viktoria's faction, Lothur remembered his conversation with Annaliese during the auction a few days ago. He smiled and said. "I'm not sure. Ice Feathers is only ranked 2nd, right?"
"Only?" She smiled at him. "Do you know how many factions there are in the academy?"
"How many?"
Elke said. "Over 50!"
"Viktoria's is ranked 2nd in the factions, but there isn't a big difference between it and the first group in terms of quality of missions."
"On the other hand, as far as I know, your wife's faction has fewer people than the first ranked one. So, it will be easier for you to get good missions by being in her and not Angelic Feathers."
"Hmm, then I will have to move on to my dear wife's faction." He maliciously laughed. "Damn, and me wanting to defeat her being in another faction..."
Elke shook her head as she closed her eyes, trying to ignore Lothur's words while swallowing her jealousy.
She might be his lover, but she did not like the idea of him having a good relationship with his wife...
"Tell me about the competition between these factions. Is it only regarding the academy missions?" He asked after a few moments.
"No." She thoughtfully looked at him. "Many students take faction affairs very seriously, and some even maintain their connection with them after graduation."
"For example, it is not uncommon for graduates to partner with former faction colleagues. In extreme cases, sometimes there are even those who create organizations outside the academy with members originating from their former factions."
"The number 3 ranked faction is such a case. Draconic Feathers was created by the father of the current Duke of Linn Province. When Chirs Waldauer's father graduated from the academy, he created this family with his friends. Since that time, the best members of that faction have always been invited to join the family."
"With the rise of the Waldauer family centuries later, that faction became even stronger because of that, reaching up to the present day."
She looked at him earnestly, a little worried. "Because of the seriousness of these factions, many end up getting involved in political affairs outside the academy. So, the competition goes far beyond these silly missions we do..."
The academy's missions were vital for the lives of these students in this institution. But they only stayed a short period of their lives in this place. So obviously, the competition would not be limited to such a thing.
"Is that so?" He said in surprise. 'I didn't expect that!'
He bitterly smiled and sought Elke's confirmation. "Then I can expect a lot of resistance when I join Viktoria's faction, right?"
"Yes, the Frost family hasn't had many friends recently..." She said in a whining tone. "Because of that, every kind of opportunity other factions have, they will cause trouble for the members of your wife's faction."
"The official competitions are the most practical events to see this, but there are other possibilities. Anyway, you will see this in the competition for the Secret Realm slots. Many members of different factions will challenge Ice Feathers members to narrow down the number of them that will get into that place."
'That is one of their ways to weaken the Frost family...' He understood such a thing, as he considered that the members of Ice Feathers would undoubtedly have the potential to become at least friends with that organization.
In that case, by depriving the members of that faction of going further due to the many stones in their way, such factions or organizations behind them were acting against Viktoria's family!
With potentially weaker friends, the Frost family's resistance to trouble would naturally considerably diminish!
"Well, I don't mind trouble... Someone with my features will naturally have plenty of it, so I'll help my wife." He smiled at Elke before taking one of her hands and directing her to the front counter of the Mission Hall.
After that, Lothur and Elke quickly logged that investigative mission into their IDs, marking it for no other group to pick it up.
With that, they were soon preoccupied with their departure, which had to happen tonight for the two to arrive in that town the following day.
The mission in question had a short deadline, and the two wanted to finish such a thing by Sunday evening. So, soon they went to get ready for it.
...
After separating from Elke, Lothur met with Annaliese on his way back to the Frost estate.
He had arranged with Elke that she would pick him up at 7 pm for dinner at her house, so he still had time to prepare to meet his future in-laws.
With that, he took the opportunity to tell his sister-in-law some of his plans.
"Anna, I will be leaving later for dinner with the Becker family, and after that, I will leave on a mission with Elke out of Peters City. Then we will go a few days without seeing each other." He said as he looked into the eyes of the beautiful brown-haired woman in front of him.
"Dinner with the Becker family?" She found that part strange since she had already expected something to happen with him this weekend as he had not scheduled training with her at the Cultivation House.
"Lothur, you know that our family and House Becker are not close to each other, right?"
"Hmm, I am aware." He nodded to her. "Then, isn't this a good opportunity? Since you probably won't abandon your family in the future, I can only help my women's family in my own way. Right?"
"Your women?" She blushed but could not help but feel good to see him less hostile to her family. "Lothur..." She looked at him with complicated eyes.
After that, she sat on his lap and hugged him for a moment, feeling protected like never before in her life.
However, after a few moments, she smells Elke's scent on his body. "But you're not going to do this just for me... Sigh, I wish you weren't so involved with her." She said in a less gentle tone, with a little bit of a jealous tone.
Annaliese already knew how far Lothur had gone with Elke. So she no longer saw how that redhead could separate herself from him. After all, in this society, a woman's purity was precious.
As she felt her jealousy reach a new level, while Lothur was silent, she had an idea. "You two will be alone for the next few days, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll leave something so that she doesn't forget that you're not just hers..." She smiled at him before kneeling in front of him and start taking off his trousers.
Gulp!
"Are you truly going to do this?" He asked, seeing how determined she was.
"She does this kind of thing with you, right? So, I'll leave something for her and show her how annoying it is for me to have to smell her when I'm with you." She said without looking at him, watching only the thing in front of her.
After that, Lothur held himself back from making any noises as the coachman in that carriage ignorantly drove it towards the Frost estate.
...
Meanwhile, Elise was standing outside the Frost estate, talking to someone in secret, while she seemed to be just caring for some flowers.
"So?" She asked.
"My contact at the Mission Hall said he is going on a mission with the Becker girl this weekend." Elise's young contact at the Morning Star Academy softly said.
"Oh? Where are they going?"
He replied. "Lewerenz. They should leave today or tomorrow since the mission deadline is pretty short."
"Hmm," Elise smiled as she closed her eyes, feeling that she could finally deal with this hindrance. "All right, if your information proves true, you will receive your payment by Monday."
"Hehe, I'll wait for that." He said before making his way away from that place.
After that, Elise walked for a few moments until she arrived near where Lothur and Annaliese were just getting off a carriage.
He had a strange look on his face, and that brown-haired woman was smiling as she used a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth...
'Hmm? Why is Annaliese so flushed? Could it be that she got sick?' Elise looked at those two in curiosity, but seeing Lothur's annoying face, she put that thought aside.
'Well, standing next to someone so obnoxious every day truly can make anyone sick, haha.'
'But don't worry, Annaliese, you won't have to live with such a scumbag for long anymore.' Elise clenched her fists, feeling an incredible thrill in her heart.
She looked into Lothur's eyes and coldly smiled. 'Little do you know what will happen to you, worm! Even though you have an excellent lineage, you will die without even knowing anything.'
Meanwhile, Lothur looked in Elise's direction, but her expression had already returned to normal...