"T-The royal consort? How can this poor soul possibly know?" Kookus said with his hands clasped together to garner some pity from her.
"You are his servant," Eradicator stressed as her tone became a tad more fierce.
Kookus gulped and said, "Kookus swears on his mother that he really doesn't know. How could a mere servant like me keep up with such a powerful genius? I had to leave my poor sick mother back at the castle to loyally serve my—Ayooo!!" Before Kookus could finish his sentence, he found himself flying out of the tower gate like a speeding arrow before crashing against a tree, leaving behind a body print on it.
Eradicator didn't have the patience to listen to his blabber since she already realized this idiot was wasting her time and threw him out of annoyance. Killing him would just sully the floor of this sacred tower.
She couldn't understand why the royal consort would keep someone like him around. But seeing that nobody here would know where the royal consort slipped off to, she decided to find him on her own with a determined gaze. If something happens to the royal consort, then she will have to take responsibility.
…
Two young men were walking through the most classy town in the kingdom named Darkhelm, the most classy town in the kingdom…A town only for nobles and powerful people filled with opulence and luxury.
The town was small but consisted of grand and imposing architecture, with tall towers and spires reaching toward the sky. The buildings were made of dark, polished stone, with intricate carvings and sculptures adorning their exteriors.
The streets were lined with statues and fountains, and the town was lit up by flickering torches and eerie, glowing orbs. The buildings were spacious and well-appointed, with large windows that looked out over the town. These buildings were heavily guarded by fierce and powerful demons, as expected. To run a business in this town, one better have the necessary insurance to protect it, considering how most of the demons in this town can't be underestimated.
Since mostly only the strong were present, especially some dangerous ones, this town had a dark and ominous atmosphere, with a sense of danger lurking around every corner. No weak demon would dare enter this town on their own, even if they were allowed to.
If taking a step into this town, it was common sense that they better have the power or a decent noble last name to survive the night.
However, the reason this town was quite famous was that this was the place where most of the powerful demons came to not only enjoy but also to make deals, forge alliances and wield power.
And in the main street of this town, two men were walking, dressed in neat and noble clothes. The people walking past them easily recognized Darren from House Aleister since his House was quite renowned for having quite talented blacksmiths. However, they couldn't recognize the young man walking beside him and thought that maybe he must be from a lower class who somehow befriended Darren, and he brought him here just to show him around.
"Whew, I still can't believe you did it. How did you escape her senses?" Darren asked with a look of disbelief as he walked beside a tall young man with above-average looks with casual bearings.
"I have my ways," The young man casually said as if it was nothing big. The reason nobody could recognize him was that this man was in disguise. If people knew his true identity, things would have become a little chaotic in this town, especially after knowing what happened today.
Darren didn't press on the matter since he knew every person had some "tricks" they wanted to keep secret. Still, how could he not feel curious about how one could trick a Bloodborn Guard and get past them.
However, he had no idea that all Asher did was deactivate his ring, making his aura seem like nothing more than a cripple. Experts like Eradicator recognize and track people by the aura of their mana circuit. But if she can't sense any familiar aura, it would be no different than being invisible to her.
Asher was glad Darren brought him to the right place. Still, he was a bit surprised how even a 'small' town in this kingdom could look so big. He could recognize a lot of faces he saw during his celebration.
This gave him even more reason to disguise himself, considering the place he was going to. But his wallet felt some pain after shelling out 200 Life Crystals to buy a top-tier enchanted mask to disguise himself.
Apparently, it was made by the experts of House Valentine, who were best known for making things that illuded others. One good thing about it was he could use this at least 5 more times before the enchantment lost its power.
On the horizon, he saw a towering dark blue castle and could easily recognize it as the Dreadthorne Castle…the place where people of one of the three Great Houses, House Thorne, resided.
Because of this, nobody would dare cause any inconvenience to the members of this House with them so nearby.
Asher had seen the tallest statue of a man in the middle of this town before, which resembled Lord Thorin Thorne, though he could tell it was probably his ancestor.
"This town is run by House Thorne?" Asher asked since this town was also located near the seas, just like the Dreadthorne Castle. He heard how House Thorne controls the territories near the seas and so can't come to any other conclusion.
Darren squinted his eyes as he answered, "Officially…no, the queen has the highest authority anywhere in this kingdom. But unofficially, yea, people know who the true big boss of this town is, just like the places surrounding this town. As long as things seem alright, the queen won't meddle in these things, nor does she have the time to. They all have their own duties to look after."
He added, "Each of these three Great Houses plays a vital role in protecting and strengthening this kingdom. House Drake is the core strength of our kingdom. Their combat power surpasses any other House in this kingdom, even the other two Great Houses. So if, by some unfortunate chance, our kingdom is under attack, without House Drake, our kingdom will get crushed. Our skies are always guarded by their dragons, discouraging our enemies further."
Asher already knew this since he was staying with them all this while. He knew the combat strength of House Drake couldn't be questioned.
"As for House Valentine, they are the diplomats of our kingdom. They bring and recruit extra power from outside the kingdom, which helps our kingdom to strengthen and grow. They are also the one who manages the dangerous borders, especially against the werewolf clans. Without them, our kingdom would never be this big or strong," Darren said with a slight shake of his head.
Asher softly nodded, feeling that the members of House Valentine must be quite good at dealing with people, especially because of how friendly and easy to approach they seemed, though he was sure they might sometimes use their "persuasive" methods to get things done.
He had experienced it firsthand from their spoilt brat. Thinking about it, he can't let her off easy after what she tried to do to him.
Darren went on, "Then, of course, House Thorne is quite indispensable to our kingdom. They create the most jobs and bring in huge revenue, followed by their own power to the kingdom. This is why the queen won't meddle in the matters of any of the other two Great Houses unless it threatens or hurts the kingdom as a whole. If she tries to meddle without a good reason, it would only upset them, which isn't good for the kingdom, considering how vital their influence is."
Asher realized that despite being the queen, she didn't have as complete power and authority as he initially thought. Things were more complicated than he thought, and her hands were tied in certain matters, especially because of her status.
He knew that Rowena's duty as the queen was to keep the kingdom stable and prosperous as best as she could. This also involved not rattling the other two Great Houses without good reason, which could otherwise potentially destabilize the kingdom. And if the kingdom gets destabilized, all the demons of this kingdom would suffer even more, especially against their biggest enemies…the people of the Severed Realm. Once humans get the upper hand for real, then it would be very hard to make a comeback.
In the end, some things were similar in this society compared to the human world.
"About House Thorne, if they really bring that much revenue, why is it that most of the people outside of this town are struggling to even buy a flimsy weapon to protect themselves or fight? I even saw a lot of them die because they ran out of life crystals…Dropping dead just like that," Asher said as he snapped his fingers, to which Darren lowered his gaze since it was a question he couldn't answer, especially since his House was a vassal to House Thorne.
But his silence was enough to let Asher confirm his speculations.
"Let's stop talking about these boring things. We have reached the place we are looking for, though quite crowded, I must say," Asher said while Darren had a delighted smile as he looked at the grand building before him.
