A smile suddenly appeared on Noel's face. He looked at the middle-aged man and gave the answer he had prepared before.
"Even though the Ardagan Family was a noble family, my father was more of a merchant than a noble. As his son, of course, I have been taught as a merchant. That's why there is only one answer from me. I will choose the third option."
The middle-aged man looked at Noel's expression. Because he hailed from the Greenwood Kingdom, from his perspective, this was the least desirable outcome.
After all, they couldn't get Noel entirely and only acted for a matter of interest. In fact, if Noel was someone who came from the Greenwood Kingdom, marrying the second princess would do him good.
As someone that smart, the princess lived far away from the throne war. Although she might still end up getting involved in it, if they worked together, it was possible to escape from the throne war. This way, he wouldn't repeat what happened to the Ardagan Family when supporting the Third Prince.
However, he could understand if that matter had given him trauma, which stopped him from choosing the first option.
That was why the second option existed. As a friend of the royal family, specifically their king, Noel would be able to get a lot of resources and stand away from the throne war, considering the king would hide him until it was over.
And with his protection, the Muivell Kingdom wouldn't be able to do anything to him. Once it was over, he might be granted a fief and a family name due to his achievement in runes.
Yet, Noel actually chose the third option. He had even pressured him to choose the best option, but he refused to become one of them and wanted to take a risk by living in this kingdom.
When he was about to feel disappointed by Noel's choice, the latter added, "I'm sure that His Majesty sends you here to observe me. If not, then you won't be sticking around me for a long time without making an appearance.
"I don't know the time limit for that observation, but I think it's more beneficial for both of us if we do this."
Noel smirked while pointing at him. "Why don't you continue observing me until the time limit? During the time you are around, I'll call you when I need your help. Depending on the matter, we can negotiate the terms.
"For example, I have thought about two more ways of utilizing the runes. It's true that the only 'known' way to utilize it, is to use it as a Spirit Enchantment, but…"
Noel raised his finger, forming a small rune. He used the Strength Blessing Rune to grant a temporary boost to this man called Damian Fletcher.
Damian was startled by the sudden burst of strength. Although the rune wasn't that effective with his current level, it should be useful for the lower level people. And if the runes could still be improved, there might be a rune strong enough that would give enough strength where it truly mattered for him.
"This is…" Damian looked at his hands, startled. But Noel's surprise didn't end there.
He lifted up the cup and embedded the Enhance Forward Rune to add a motion to the cup. Suddenly, the cup flew toward Damian.
At that speed, it would strike him and splash all the content in it, but Damian skillfully caught the cup. He even used Spiritual Energy to stop the fluid from leaving the cup.
Still, Damian couldn't help but gasp, realizing what Noel had just shown him.
"This is just the prototype though. I still have to experiment more to understand the extent of this power."
"That's why I am offering you this deal. You should know that my current path is full of thorns. So, I'm sure that there will come a time when I need your power."
"Every time I ask for your help, we can negotiate the reward. I still have a few more ideas where I can explore the usage of the runes. But if I'm too greedy, I won't be able to offer you a good piece. So, I'm going to focus on these two applications first. I think it's enough, right?"
Damian narrowed his eyes. He never thought that the situation had changed. If Noel wanted to propose a deal, he would need time to gather the reward. This way, he could somehow force Noel to take the second option.
Yet, Noel dumbfounded him by the two applications of runes. In that instant, he realized that the creator understood the rune more than anyone else. And if they wanted to advance far faster than any kingdom, he would have to agree to this condition.
He could easily report it to the kingdom and have Noel eliminated. But the king had told him to make a friendly approach first. And if he returned to the Greenwood Kingdom, the man behind Noel would find out about it. That way, he would lose Noel's trust since there was a possibility that he came for the sake of eliminating the future threat.
In other words, he had to make the decision here.
He couldn't help but remember what he said to him after presenting the three options.
"I hope you can make the right choice."
And somehow, the situation had been turned around and these words were imposed on him instead.
Damian raised his head, looking at Dimitri behind Noel. He realized that this man's strength was similar to him. If they fought here, they would create a huge disturbance. And the Muivell Kingdom would use that as an excuse to demand compensation for infiltrating their kingdom.
That was why even though the situation had been turned around and Noel seemed to give him a few options to choose from, he actually only had one path.
Damian took a deep breath, feeling defeated. He said, "It's a pleasure to work with you."
