Emperor's Reckoning

The onlookers couldn't say anything as the scene was breathtaking. This young man had surpassed all of their expectations and their brain was still processing on what's happening.

Lyon slowly put Princess Aelina down on her feet as he said with a wink, "Go somewhere safe and dry yourself unless you want to catch a cold."

She reluctantly moved away from him before stopping and made a slight bow, "My name is Aelina, I hope to see you soon."

Lyon nodded with a smile as he watched the beautiful figure made her exit in which the crowd instinctively made way for her. Averting his gaze back to the princess in front of him he said, "Now then, where were we?"

Princess Chloe closed her eyes and let down her stance, "Enough, there is no point in fighting further. I won't be here much longer anyway." She turned away as her hair whipped the air leaving Lyon standing alone on the balcony.

Lyon was amused by her reaction, he knew that the wild princess in front of him didn't go all out on the attack. She was composed albeit a little emotional during the fight. (I might have lost if the battle dragged too long) thought Lyon.

Currently, his body couldn't use True Dragon Blessing and its arts to the fullest. He knew he needed to break through to the next realm, however understanding it was the hard part.

"If fate permits, we will meet again," said Lyon to the departing princess.

She walked like she didn't hear what he just said and left the banquet to god knows where.

Lyon shrugged before he headed to the spot where Biane and Clemora were at. The crowd made way for him out of fear. "Man, I'm hungry," said Lyon as he took a lump of roasted meat and bite it like a savage.

Left and right, he took them all. The empty plates slowly stacked as the crowd had their eyes bulged. With his clothing still drenched by the seawater, he looked like a hungry caveman.

The crowd gulped as one of the nobles said softly under his breath, "What a beast, I thought this is a banquet for the elite, not an 'all you can eat' restaurant."

One of his friends smacked his head, "Shhh, better keep your opinion for yourself, besides, if you got the strength who would dare to oppose you even if you eat with stinky feet?"

The noble girls, however, had a different opinion on their own. "My, his savageness is, somehow appealing..."

"Speak for yourself, I like my man to be well mannered," one of them disagrees before they start their own discussion.

Clemora sighed as she reminded the hungry caveman, "Don't eat too fast, you might choke."

With a gulp, the chunk of food in his mouth went through his throat, "Yeah, that's the stuff."

Biane smiled as she offered him a red wine using her own glass in which Lyon happily obliged with Clemora wiping a stain of sauce on his cheek with her napkin. The scene proved to the crowd that the rumor was more than it was.

Prince Frey looked at him with rumbled thoughts. From the way he looked at it, he knew that he was with Biane and Clemora, which means that he was probably under Princess Aelina's banner.

While Prince Frey was in deep thought Prince Weiss was already approaching the satisfied Lyon. "Good evening, young man, I see that you have a lot of power in you that almost rivals mine."

With a smile, he continued, "I will give it to you straight, join me in my conquest to be the ruler of Luderia, I will make you the general of the army, all the resources you need, I will provide!"

This tempting offer made the crowd drolled. Given a prestigious position that was full of respect on top of massive resources, one would be crazy to even think of refusing it.

Clemora and Biane squinted her eyes with rage, however, before they could refute.

"Prince Weiss, I thought you would make me the general?", a foreign yet familiar voice suddenly heard as one figure distinguished himself from the crowd of nobles.

"Hey, it's Marques Raynoldus, son of Duke Armand," whispered one of the nobles.

Prince Weiss couldn't help but clicked his tongue as Marques Raynoldus approached him. "My brother Raynoldus, don't you worry about that thing, I will reimburse you well once I'm the ruler.

Though he was gritting his teeth behind his lips, he couldn't help but nod. However, he didn't stop there and actually approached the trio behind the long table.

"What is the meaning of this, I thought our father had an arrangement for our marriage?" said Raynoldus as he was fumed with anger. Since Prince Weiss was behind him, he took the chance he got to confront the ladies.

"That was our father's idea and without our consent, you think we would accept that? If we were weak women we would probably married off years ago," said Biane as her tone matched her red dress with black fire pattern.

"Gh! The agreement has already been decided, or are you two going to betray your own father? Your own family?"

"Family? Please, what do you know about 'family'?" replied Biane without hesitation before she continued, "Family supposed to be the one that supports each other, not sacrificing one for a selfish gain!"

The atmosphere suddenly fell into silence as Biane said her piece. In the end, in greater things, she was right. A family was never about blood, but about bonds.

"That's right, what Lady Biane just said is correct," said Prince Frey with a smile. Though he had a chubby figure, he still had a royalty demeanor. "That's what my vision is all about as I strive to become the ruler," continued Prince Frey with a nod.

"Hahaha," suddenly the room was filled with a burst of hearty laughter. The onlookers furrowed their eyebrows as they look at the savage standing between the two beautiful women.

"C'mon Biane, Clemora, we are going home, we are done here," said Lyon as he headed for the south door of the room while lightly chuckling. The two ladies were surprised before quickly catching up behind him.

*crack

At this point, no one noticed that the huge crack Lyon made on the side of the cliff was getting larger.