Chapter 421: Postpone 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The collapsed palm print slowly recovered, and the wall returned to being smooth and clean.
And in the row of marks beside, there was a new and clear mark.
The mark appeared in the ninth position from the top, pus.h.i.+ng the one who was originally ninth down one spot.
"Ninth?" Only then did Garen’s eyes reveal a hint of surprise.
He reached out his hand and touched the ninth mark, his own, lightly. In terms of depth it wasn’t that far away from number eight, but further up, compared to the seventh, the difference was a lot bigger.
But having hidden half of his power, he believed he could do it.
Touching the fifth one and comparing further, Garen’s heart began to sink.
This person had evidently not used their full power either, but the mark left behind was far deeper than what he would expect his full power to create.
This meant that the other person’s full destructive force was a great chunk stronger than his. Starting from number five, the four above him were far, far stronger in destructive power. Although the Nine-Headed Dragon’s specialty wasn’t destructive power, this result was still way beyond Garen’s expectations.
This meant that in Kovistan, there were at least five people with more destructive power than him!
"The Royal Guard Captain, Edin?" He read out the fifth name.
"That’s right, Edin is the palace master of this Silver Palace." At some point, Avic had arrived behind Garen. "Garen, the fact that you have reached number nine is already way beyond my expectations. To be able to reach such heights at such a young age, impressive."
"You exaggerate, Your Majesty." Garen smiled slightly, took two steps back, and falling behind Avic. No matter what he was a famous part of the loyalist faction, so he had to watch these basic manners.
"Like you, Edin is also my strongest helper. You two are like my left and right hands, whereas Veska is my back. With you, the Empire can truly be stable and safe," Avic said pointedly.
Garen paused a bit, not because of Avic’s attempt at familiarisation, but because his words never mentioned the First Concubine Delouse. That surprised him.
Delouse was extremely capable and prevented the Empire from incurring extreme losses. She had always been known as Avic’s arms. At this time, however, she was ignored completely.
He understood what Avic meant by that, if he was smart enough this time, then from now on his position would be the same Edin, having been promoted to his right or left hand.
A thousand thoughts ran through his mind, and Garen didn’t hesitate in the slightest, immediately bowing to Avic.
"It is the honor and mission of the Trejons family to serve Your Majesty. From the beginning to the end, my father and I are loyal to the Empire." Garen lowered his head and replied.
As soon as he mentioned his father Vanderman, Avic couldn’t help but sigh.
"All of you from the Trejons family, well done!"
The royal sons and daughters who had come with them heard that sentence, their eyes sparkling.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Your Earldom certificate has already been spread around the whole Empire. From this day forward, the Trejons family territory has an extra piece of plains. And you, are a new Earl of our Kovistan Empire." Avic patted Garen’s shoulder.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Garen felt a surge of joy, and bowed again immediately.
Avic took out a purple-gold badge, smiling, and put it in Garen’s hand. "This is the palace’s Purple-Gold Badge, it can control the palace’s elite Black Fire Guard, the elite group in charge of the entire palace’s safety. Unlike the royal guard, they are a powerful team fully comprised of elite totem users! There aren’t many of them, and the structure is simple, but they are powerful. I want to give them to someone worth depending on. Your Excellency Garen, are you willing to accept this burden?!"
With those last words, his voice grew louder.
"I am willing!!" Garen replied loudly.
"Good! My safety, the safety of the entire royal family, they are now all on you." Avic hugged Garen heavily.
Nearby, the Eleventh Royal Daughter was biting her lip tightly.
"I was right, this is gonna be troublesome… Avic gave the Black Fire Guard to the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon. The Royal Guard has Edin. This is especially troubling…"
"Tina!" Avic’s voice came from ahead.
The Eleventh Royal Daughter have a shudder, and immediately reacted.
"Here! Father?" She went up hurriedly, bent her knees and curtsied. "Is there anything you want from me?"
"Didn’t you want to go out and play? From now on you can ask Your Excellency Garen for arrangements whenever you want to go out. The palace hall I arranged for him is not far from yours." Avic smiled, looking at the young one.
"Daisy, Andy. Come over here and meet the new Black Fire Palace Master." Avic called a few more important royal sons and daughters over.
Daisy was the ice-cold Second Princess. Andy was a young prince whose face was growing pale.
The Eleventh Royal Daughter Tina lowered her head. She could feel Avic’s disgusting gaze wandering over her body like a cold snake. She knew this was the sign that Avic had fallen for her. After raising her for so many years, this b.e.s.t.i.a.l Emperor with a human face finally couldn’t hold it in.
Her heart went a little cold, normally she was the most neglected one, but now Avic called her first. And recently the benefits her palace hall received increased drastically, more and more people coming to honor her.
She was only eleven, but Tina understood that all this meant clearly that Avic was going to visit her at night.
At first, she thought Edin had something on and would leave, so she would have a temporary chance of escape. But now there was another Garen.
She had long since heard about Garen’s reputation, or rather the Trejons family’s reputation. Garen’s father Vanderman was a loyalist through and through, and though his reputation was in tatters, no one dared to touch him on that fact alone.
His son Garen was even more exaggeratedly evil, legends say that the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon must eat ten virgins and twenty children every day. When he was frustrated, even the elderly couldn’t escape. Wherever he went, blood would flow like rivers. His favorite hobby was collecting human hearts, and last time the Kingdom prison would send him about a hundred prisoners every month, just so he could choose fresh new hearts.
Just thinking about all these rumors, the Eleventh Royal Daughter Tina’s heart began to pound. "If only Stone and the others were here..."
It wasn’t the first time she thought that, that weak and defenseless need to find someone to rely on kept surging from her heart.
When he heard the name Tina, Garen’s body gave a jolt.
He looked closely at the royal daughters and found the Eleventh Royal Daughter Tina.
It was the little one with the cunning eyes who had explained to him. She looked sweet and cute, her body was soft and pet.i.te, the young girl’s thin waist wrapped in a white lace dress. Her slender legs wore white silk socks, the black ponytail behind her head had a silver b.u.t.terfly ornament stuck in it.
Tina’s skin was fair but rosy, and somehow utterly flawless, making her look like a pet.i.te snow doll.
Garen glanced at Avic. As expected, this demon father’s eyes had a glimmer of b.e.s.t.i.a.l desire.
But for some reason, Avic seemed to be trying his best to hold back this desire. His gaze stopped on Tina briefly, and then quickly moved away. After a blink, it was replaced with a strange determination, as though he had just made some huge decision.
"From now on, Earl Garen, the new Black Fire Palace Master, and the Trejons family will contribute greatly to our Kovistan, you must refer to him as a senior! Do you understand?" Avic said such a surprising thing.
Not just Garen, even Barton and the royal sons and daughters nearby, all looked surprised.
"Alright, I’m tired, I’ll return to the palace now and rest. Come!"
"Here!" A guard jogged over, replying loudly.
"Take the Earl to the Black Fire Palace! Introduce him to his new subordinates!" Avic patted Garen’s shoulder without allowing for any protest, arranged the matters from now on, and left first of his own accord.
"Safe travel, Your Majesty (Father)!" Everyone bowed at the same time, and sent Avic off with their gazes.
Garen straightened up and glanced at everyone, his gaze staying on the Eleventh Royal Daughter Tina’s body for a few more seconds.
"Tina… Tina…" He suddenly remembered the original path of history, the few people who appeared behind Beckstone. One of the girls looked a lot like the Tina he was seeing.
Coincidentally, that girl also had a graceful body language and an elegant aura, her every move emitting the feeling of royalty that normal n.o.bility couldn’t accomplish.
Judging from what he saw now, this Tina…
But now Beckstone and company should still be at the Marquess Black Snake’s place, so they wouldn’t arrive that quickly. Even if she really was that girl, she probably still didn’t know Beckstone at all now, right?
Garen thought about it a bit and then relaxed.
Barton followed behind closely and just smiled at Garen, without saying anything more, before leaving.
The other royal sons and daughters looked at each other. The Twelfth Royal Daughter was adorable at only seven or eight years old, her long white-golden hair combed neatly, and she wore a black silk dress with little leather boots, walking in front of Garen first.
"Uncle Garen, Ivy’s going ahead first."
After the first one, there was the second, the third. Each of the royal sons and daughters began to ask for leave from Garen.
Tina glanced at the Fourth Princess, who was biting down on her lower lip, her face turning green. When Avic left without taking her along, everyone knew clearly that Avic was already bored of playing with her. The fact that he changed his att.i.tude so quickly probably had something to do with the Fourth Princess’ bad att.i.tude towards Garen just now.
Suddenly all the royal sons and daughters made a decision in their hearts.
Tina was the last to go up to Garen.
"Uncle Garen, please take care of me from now on. My Eleventh Princess Hall is just next to your Black Fire Palace."
She tried her best to act obedient and pure, giving him a saccharine smile.
"You’re too kind, Your Highness, Garen will do everything in my power to ensure your safety." Garen smiled, his handsome features and beautiful golden hair making even Tina’s eyes spin a little.
But put together with the rumors she had heard, she instantly gave a shudder, afraid to look anymore as she lowered her head.
Finally, the Fourth Princess walked over, her face pale, as she bowed at Garen.
"Uncle Garen…"
By then, Tina had already walked away. She turned around and looked at the Fourth Princess, her previously arrogant Fourth Sister now had tears pooling in her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.
She was saying something to Garen quietly, but it was rather far away, so she couldn’t hear it properly.