While this was occurring on the lower tier, Aritzia had made her way back to the SNN Tower, patiently waiting for news on the capture of Virvor, when suddenly an attendant of hers knocked on the door.
"Empress Aritzia, the masked wi – I mean a man who calls himself Jaws is here to see you."
Of course, this Empress title was referring to the one earned by Aritzia's tower trial and not referring to her position within the Sapientia.
Hearing these words, Aritzia's eyes flashed with an imperceptible light. She continued to look out on Central City below, taking her time with her answer. It felt as though if she wanted it to be so, the world would pause all action for her.
Who would have known that while she was taking her time, her door would suddenly swing open?
"Hey, wait, you can't –" The attendant was cut off by a closing door.
Aritzia giggled lightly, her voice full of air and innocence. Her chair swung around from its view, turning to face 'Jaws'.
"Ah, Lady Aritzia, this is our second meeting, no?"
Aritzia smiled. "And yet you're still masked, why is it that I feel so hurt?"
Dyon smirked. "If you agree to marry into my Clan, let alone my face, everything of mine will be yours. How about it?"
To such an unexpected attack, how could Aritzia react the way one would expect a normal woman to? There was no embarrassed blushing or even cute hesitation in her eyes, instead, she seemed to be quite amused by Dyon's words.
It also had to be said that Dyon's Presence was also only at 20% of its full strength. So, Aritzia was very much unlike the flustered young maiden she had been when speaking to Dyon before. Now, she was in full control of her thoughts and actions.
"You were once on my short list of husband candidates. Unfortunately, the rules of my Sapientia Clan are quite strict. If they weren't, we wouldn't have survived until now."
Of course, Dyon was aware of what Aritzia was speaking about.
To the outside world, the Sapientia were neutral researchers. In order to maintain that image, it was impossible for their women, especially their most talented women, to marry into the Clans of others. Doing so would taint their neutrality.
Imagine for a moment, with how widespread the Sapientia were, if they allowed their clansmen and women to wantonly marry whomever they wished. Now imagine how powerful Clans would react to such a thing.
Suddenly, one Clan, who claims to be neutral, had numerous members who entered Clans spanning across numerous quadrants. Would you feel safe knowing that a single clan had cast such a wide net? Of course not. If anything, this would greatly boost the hostility powerful clans already had toward the Sapientia.
For this reason, not just women, but even men, should they want to betroth themselves to a Sapientia, would have to enter the Sapientia Clan. For a man, it could easily be seen how such a matter was unacceptable. It was, after all, their role in the martial society to carry on the name of their ancestors. How could they simply change their names and abandon their heritage?
It was for this reason that the Sapientia didn't even bother to target men from powerful Clans. There was no need to antagonize such large hegemons in this way. It was also for this reason that the Sapientia instead targeted great geniuses from weaker Clans as the marriage candidates for their talented women.
Up to now, Aritzia had decided that only Emytheus met her lofty standards. Before, Dyon had been on the list until he was revealed to be connected to what remained of the Elves.
"Was once?" Dyon smiled lightly, seemingly unperturbed by Aritzia's rejection.
He silently walked to the side of Aritzia's desk, pushing her rolling chair back slightly, he lightly hopped to sit on the edge of her desk.
At this point, even Aritzia was a bit stunned by Dyon's brazen attitude. He actually sat on her desk, looking down at her. The worst part was that his legs were casually spread. From Aritzia's vantage point, it would hardly take any effort for her eyes to land on his crotch area.
Too shameless! These were the only words Aritzia had to describe this 'Jaws' character.
Of course, Aritzia had been sexually harassed by Emytheus many times before. Maybe not with his hands, but definitely with his eyes. For others, with Aritzia's personality, even if she would smile and ignore it while it was happening, she would definitely teach this person a lesson in the future. However, she allowed Emytheus a small advantage because he was potentially her future husband.
However, how is it that she should deal with this Jaws person?
Aritzia had to admit that she was surprised by this visit. She was maybe willing to admit that she might have been wrong about Dyon and Jaws being the same person, but this visit definitely made her feel that even if they weren't the same person, they were definitely related in some way.
Didn't Dyon come from the Celestial Deer Quadrant? Was it a coincidence that he was also seemingly tied to the Elves? Maybe not… After all, it was common knowledge that the Celestial Deer Sect were allies with the Elves. In fact, it was because of this alliance that the Elves had suffered the near end of their species.
Aritzia's pupils contracted once more. Could this mean that Dyon was a successor of the Celestial Deer Sect?
'Wait no… That isn't right. The 25th White Mother gave her Legacy to Jaws, not Dyon.' The swirling complexity made even the intelligent Aritzia pause. She realized that she was dipping into a web of mysteries she wasn't yet qualified to deal with. However, this didn't make her apprehensive. Instead, she felt a faint excitement.
This was what she was looking for all this time. Someone or something that could challenge her mentally. She needed it. She didn't want to sit atop some ivory tower, nor did she want to live that so-called 'normal life of woman.'
She wanted to command the lives and deaths of trillions with a single thought. She wanted to be the reason Kingdoms rose and Empires fell. She wanted to be the shadow of mystery, a hand that covered the skies and shattered the earth. She wanted the final stamp that ended this pitiful mortal plane to be signed by herself!
"Of course, was once." Aritzia smiled lightly. "You are quite the genius, that much is clear. I'm sure that with the 25th White Mother's Legacy you received, it's very much possible that you've become even greater. It's just that your Elvin Kingdom is too powerful for my small Sapientia Clan to provoke, so you cannot marry into my Clan."
Dyon chuckled. "I didn't expect the ever-so intelligent Aritzia to be deaf. I want you to marry into my Clan, not the other way around."
The slight domineering Presence of Dyon's shook Aritzia. Even Emytheus had never been so brazen.
Aritzia's features turned cold, her carefree smile disappearing.
"Although I play the role of dutiful, quiet lady, there's a bottom line you shouldn't cross."
