Aion thought his father that he wasn't interested in anyone. Usually, few people in the kingdom would, but now that he was so famous like that, some will try to win him over with the prospect of marriage. The ones interested in his strength would be the heads of many families, but they will use their daughter to seduce him. Once that happens, Lexus said that he would have to be firm in the refusal. Otherwise, they might keep coming.
"Easier said than done…" Aion thought while he was heading to the castle.
Although Aion dislikes most nobles, they have a sense of duty, and even if they dislike his lineage or fear him, some women or girls will follow the orders of their fathers or grandfathers and endure that kind of thing. Aion hated that kind of situation since his mother was forced to endure something similar. She probably didn't suffer a worse fate because Lexus still had his honor.
Aion wasn't that honorable, but he didn't want to make anyone feel ashamed either… from his perspective, girls around his age were only kids. So, his only option was to play dumb and refuse their advances… talk about such a complicated situation. Even more, now that Aion's hormones were starting to affect his mind and body more and more.
Lexus also told him that he could find his own partner to avoid entering that kind of game of power between noble families, but as if he had time for that. Aion imagined that he would eventually find someone while traveling the world, one that wouldn't know of his fame. He preferred a thick redhead, a slightly more mature type of woman… his preference didn't change that much since he died…
In any case, it seemed that Aion would receive his reward while frowning since he had to consider his future like that. Hopefully, Lexus won't be like Artemisia and ask about that every week.
When Aion arrived at the castle, he found some people around, but it seemed that only the ones being rewarded and the noble families in the capital had been invited. Naturally, Lexus and his wives we there… After seeing that so many times, one would think that Aion would get used to it, but it always looked like his father was showing off.
In any case, the throne room was already opened, and most people were already there, with the exception of the royal family. Aion was told that he should go wearing his armor, and so he found other guys and three women there wearing their gear as well. One of them was Vanessa, and among the guys, Jagger was there as well, not looking very pleased, as usual.
They were all aligned side by side, and it seemed that Aion was the last to arrive. After exactly ten minutes, some guards showed up carrying some boxes, and then Vangel appeared as well. It wasn't like Aion was interested in all redhead women that had kids, but he truly wondered where the hell was the queen.
"Today, in the name of the king, I was called to deliver the rewards to the noble warriors that protected our kingdom," Vangel said. "When your name is called, step forward to receive your rewards."
It seemed that Aion wouldn't have to waste all his day in the castle. That was good… still, now that he thought about it, the king must be in pretty bad shape if he can't attend such an event. That being said, Aion won't have to get too close to the person who let his mother live in a prison to obtain some gains. It was a weird feeling to think about that since Aion was only alive because of that.
"Captain Seif Elrand… for your bravery protecting the people of Dismaz port town, the king rewards you with twenty gold coins," Vangel said
An armored soldier said and then bent the knee before receiving a small box with the gold coins. The people around clapped to congratulate him. It wasn't a small amount. Aion could obtain that much with a week of work, so it seemed that coming wouldn't be a total waste of time. Bending the knee sucked, but since Vangel wasn't his father, that wouldn't be that much annoying.
"Headmaster of the magic school, Vanessa Fernandez… for your bravery protecting the people of Histartia city and recovering the city with your students, the king rewards you with fifty gold coins," Vangel said
Vanessa was applauded as well. Come to think of it. The reward was basically money incoming from taxes, so began to think that he was being fooled by receiving a small part of the money that was originally his. In any case, things stayed like that for a while until Aion's turn came.
Eventually, Aion's turn came, and one could almost touch and see the tension in the air. Some looked at him, and they sure looked annoyed, but they soon hid their expressions.
"Aion Kresnik… for your bravery protecting the people of your territory without letting a single one of them die, and for recovering Histartia city and defeating the enemies commanders when dueling both of them, the king rewards you with two hundred gold coins, and increased the area of their territory by fifty kilometers to North and South," Vangel said.
Aion received the box with the gold coins. The unexpected surprise of the lands wasn't half bad either, but the real surprise was when he got up, Aion received applause from everyone around. It seemed that his fame was finally taking a positive turn. Still, such a thing was useless since Aion wasn't expecting anything from the nobles.
Regardless, two hundred coins were the money that Aion could make in three months, so the trip hadn't been a total waste of time. Moreover, the extra land also came with a few extra villages, so Aion's income would increase as well… no wonder the rich liked wars so much…
Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.