Royal Palace.
Bang!
The door was slammed open, startling a lot of people inside.
"We've got big news!" The guard rushed inside. His expression was in complete shock, and his breath was hoarse. It was clear that he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Before anyone could say anything, he declared out loud, "We've gotten the news from the north that… Noel Ardagan and Anna Stargaze are now officially engaged!"
Instead of the throne room, this one was a meeting room, usually used to hold an important meeting that not a lot of people would know.
Inside the room sat down a few people, such as the king, Josephine, and other people from the king's faction.
"!!!" All of them couldn't help but widen their eyes in shock as though they didn't believe what they had just heard.
"What did you say?!" The king asked, confirming the news.
"We've received the words from our spy. It appears that Noel Ardagan and Anna Stargaze are now officially engaged. They've announced it together in front of the people in that city." The guard repeated.
"Damn!" Josephine slammed the table. As Anna's teacher, she was the first to understand the situation. She noticed that Anna had actually broken the brainwashing and hidden it from everyone else, including her. "Since when…"
Josephine's reaction was enough for the quick-witted king to reach the same conclusion. "We've been fooled. Anna Stargaze was never on the same side… No, it should actually explain everything."
The king looked down for a moment, recounting every news regarding Noel and Anna. "Is it from the very start? Noel and Anna have been together since the start. That's the reason why Anna Stargaze enlisted in the Demon Banner Army.
"When the news about her killing Noel Ardagan spread and his corpse was never found, I should have realized that she had hidden the truth. Noel Ardagan never died and used that opportunity to not only hide his identity but also make us trust Anna.
"The Water Lord and Stone Lord supporting him shouldn't be weird, considering they met him when he used his fake identity to travel together with the Demon Relief Squad.
"After that, the rune was spread, and a lot of things happened… until eventually Anna Stargaze became an Arbiter."
The people realized the severity of this matter after that explanation. Their faces became pale as a few of them raised their voices.
"Then, does that mean the Ardagan Family and the Stargaze Family have planned all this from the start?"
"Kevin Stargaze must already know this."
"But he was fighting with his own daughter in front of everyone else…"
"That's exactly the reason. They were acting like that, so no one doubted them. Meanwhile, the truth was that Anna and Noel had been planning their engagement all this time."
Josephine bit her lips while recalling what Anna said about Noel's territory. Wanting to mess with Noel? Wanting to hinder his progress? Destroying his plan? All of them were lies.
The reason why Anna wanted to head to Noel's territory was so that she could finally drop all her acts and show the truth.
"That damned brat!" Josephine clutched her head; her heart was filled with frustration and anger. If she had known all this from the start, she could have pressured Anna and the Stargaze Family.
"What will happen now?"
"The Stargaze Family will definitely support this. Knowing Kevin, he will even give his blessing and spread that news!"
"That's right. The Stargaze Family still has a successor. While he is shadowed by Anna's achievement, he is still decent."
"Then, Kevin's plan must be to marry his daughter to Noel. If the two most talented people marry, their descendants would be stars!"
"No, that shouldn't be everything. If we act right now and separate them by attacking them, we will get a backlash from all other nobles. No, with the influence of Noel Ardagan, other countries would definitely make their moves."
"The Greenwood Kingdom should have known about this. If I'm not wrong, he has been visiting the Greenwood Kingdom in the past."
"The Zaecuria Kingdom will take advantage of this opportunity to protect Noel so as to owe him a favor."
"No, the Atracaeca Kingdom will be the most desperate since they want to fix their relationship with Noel. After all, they are the only countries banned from learning runes from Noel himself."
"This is not good."
"Yeah. This has become an international problem!"
The people inside the room were panicking. What could they actually do?
With Anna's existence, the Ardagan Family had four Spirit Grandmasters. If it was only a low level grandmaster, they could still do it somehow.
However, Anna had proven herself in the battle against Count Heirden. Noel's strength was still unknown, but the fact that his brain was enough to kill a Devil Saint showed how dangerous it would be to attack him without a concrete plan.
There was also Dimitri, the number one assassin. If they wanted to attack them, they should have someone at Dimitri's level to stop him.
Howard might not be as good as the other three, but he was still the vice captain of the previous Ardagan Family. He had the strength and experience to lead the soldiers, which would be extremely crucial in the defense part.
"We can't attack the Ardagan Family, Your Majesty."
"That's right. If we attack them right now, the others won't let us off."
"We have to find another plan to hinder their progress. If the situation becomes even more complicated, there is a chance that we won't be able to harm them anymore."
"If they're going to use this opportunity to attack us…"
The people became silent. Their faces were already pale enough as though the blood was leaving their bodies.
Anna had been with them for a while, so she must have figured out their identities and told Noel about it.
With Noel's brain, he should be able to create a countermeasure, if not a counterattack, to their respective families.
The king couldn't say anything. He was too shocked by this news and even if he came up with something, it would just risk everything he had built so far.
The king leaned his back on the chair helplessly.
"What are we going to do?" The king muttered while recounting the time when Anna was still in the court. He noticed something. "Wait a minute… If they are together in this, why would Anna Stargaze suggest this dangerous territory?"
"Eh?"
The people began to realize something was wrong. If they were together, there was no way Anna would give up this new territory and endanger her future husband.
Yet, she still gave them. If they thought about it, it was easy to notice that Anna wasn't the one who created that plan. It was Noel.
That was right. Noel was the one suggesting that territory himself. And the remaining question was why? Why would he place himself in that territory instead of the former Ardagan's territory?
"Check the information about Lounstein."
"I have checked. Anna had said a few characteristics as well. The territory was fertile and good for a city, but safety was their concern. Due to the rampaging demon, the territory wouldn't be able to function."
"But…" One of them asked, "What if Noel Ardagan and Anna Stargaze are strong enough to solve that drawback?"
The people sucked a cold breath.
"Then, the territory is a perfect place for people to live. It has a vast fertile land. There are two mountains and two rivers, which are good terrain for defensive battles. We don't know much about the mining, but one of the elders in the Tower Association is eyeing that territory due to a certain vein. There should be a mineral vein, but we don't know the exact details."
That explanation alone was enough to tell everyone how good the territory was. Although it hadn't been developed, if Noel played his card right, it would be one of the most prosperous cities in the whole kingdom.
"I think… you should have known that the Ardagan Family has exhausted a lot of its resources. Even if they develop there, almost everything has been exploited. While it's true that the territory has been developed, it's going to crumble sooner or later."
"Don't tell me, Noel Ardagan knows about this all along?"
"His father should have told him. Luke Ardagan was the god of wealth, so his eyes should be able to see the state of the Ardagan Family and tell his son…"
The people became more panicked. If Noel was allowed to be developed, they would be devoured sooner or later.
Noel and Anna's reputation was huge, but if they were enemies, the opinions would split. However, if they actually combined their reputation and strength, the nobles wouldn't hesitate to help them.
Despair started to fill the room.
Josephine couldn't help but rise from her seat while stating, "I'm going!"
"Wait, Josephine!" The king gritted his teeth. "If you go, you will definitely die."
"Then, are you going to let them off just like this?" Josephine roared in desperation. While it was rude to the king, no one actually reprimanded her because of the shock they were experiencing.
"Even then… we couldn't do anything without any plan. Making a rash decision is something they want!" The king shook his head. Even he couldn't think of anything. That showed how much of a threat Anna and Noel combined.
Josephine's expression became cold, but she didn't say anything else and just sat down.
The king stated, "We have to investigate Lounstein right now. If they want to develop the city, they will bring in more people, so get ready to send your trusted subordinates into the mix. We need to come up with a plan in less than a week!"
