"I am your biggest threat right now. And by the time your organization catches up, I would have become a bigger threat than them too."
Eren said and chuckled. He then scratched his beardless chin before verbally marching forward.
"But… if you want even more incentive or reason to join White Raven, then consider this.
Your sister Marla would join the guild in the future. I don't know how things are between you two sisters. But I imagine it wouldn't hurt you if you and your sister worked under the same roof.
Plus, I am Master Levine's official disciple. And she is working alongside my guild on this very land. There's no better way to convey to her that her decision to not take you under her wings because of your halfling lineage was wrong than excelling at the task I give you."
When blackmail failed, the butcher turned to emotional manipulation.
From his discussions with Marla, Eren could tell that she still cared about Marie despite her choice to be rogue and seek solutions outside the box. The half-sisters must have been very close to each other before one of them decided to become a cultist and the other decided to enter LA.
Eren was hoping Marie cared about her sister too. She would see Marla joining the same guild as one of the incentives of joining the guild.
He mentioned Levine's name for a different reason. His potioner teacher had told him about Marie. The Master ranker of the Montmorency clan had certain standards to maintain. Thus, she ignored all of Marie's pleas to become a disciple.
Marie was struggling with making potions at that time because ordinary methods wouldn't work for her. Levine's denial was the final nail in the coffin for Marie. As a result, she abandoned the usual and embraced cultist methods that promise greater results for her efforts.
Eren was sure that he would have done the same if he was in Marie's shoes. There was a certain charm in getting lost in the process of creating concoctions only a few people like him would understand. He could see Marie was one of them.
Marie didn't ask for an explanation from Eren about how he could learn so much about her. But her unflinching gaze was screaming at him for answers. The butcher smiled before explaining everything.
He told Marie about how he had served under Marla when he was in LA. He told her how he became Levine's disciple before proceeding to inform her about the current projects he and Levine were working on.
Marie's eyes shone with determination as she listened to Eren's words. She was having a feeling that the research she was doing on her projects and the experiments Eren and Levine were conducting in the guild's lab could complement each other.
'Maybe this is the missing ingredient I'm looking for.'
Marie had a sudden thought in her head as she looked at Eren's handsome face.
At the end of their discussions, Eren was able to get both the ladies on board. He then made a few arrangements for them before disappearing from the scene.
Agatha called him urgently to meet at the guild's headquarters.
***
"How long do I have to wait?"
A young man asked in a grim tone. He was in Agatha's office, standing by the large window which showed the cityscape in all its glory. There was a spacious balcony to the left side of the large window.
This man had long gray hair that was neatly styled. He had azure eyes and a sharp jawline. This handsome man had a kind of royal air around him. He acted like he was in charge of his surroundings.
She wore a concerned look on her face when she looked at this man. It's because he had Renar as his surname.
"I'm telling you, your highness Rehaal. You don't need to meet Eren. That's because he'd say the same thing. That we are not sheltering anyone named Rodrick Renar."
Agatha said in a careful tone. Meeting Rodrick who was a pretty easy guy to get along with had skewed her perception of the royals of Edinburgh. It was only after meeting Rehaal did she understand that the stereotypes were there for a reason.
Rehaal Renar knocked on White Raven's door for one reason. He wanted them to stop sheltering Rodrick so that he could eliminate him from the royal competition for all time. Of course, he didn't buy Agatha's argument that Rodrick wasn't with them.
Rehaal demanded that Eren Idril be summoned in front of him to discuss things further. Incidentally, Levine had sealed the entrance to the lab at this point. So Agatha couldn't reach her.
Agatha could only contact Eren after realizing that Rehaal wasn't someone she could handle on her own. She also hoped that things don't escalate any further.
Lightning flashed, and Eren appeared on the balcony. He had chosen to enter the guild's headquarters the same way he had exited.
"Nice to meet you, Adept Rehaal? How can we help you?"
He said casually as he entered the room that reeked of subtle tension. Agatha was relieved when she saw him and fought the urge to run toward him. She was in a royal's presence after all.
Rehaal looked at Eren keenly without saying a word as the latter sat down on the armrest of the chair Agatha was sitting on. He played with Agatha's hair as he waited for Rehaal to answer his question.
Rehaal didn't like that Eren had called him by his royal status and instead referred to him as an Adept. It indicated that Eren saw Rehaal on the same level as him because of their equal ranking status. However, he chose to ignore that and decided to pursue his goal.
"So you are the man they are talking about these days."
Rehaal spoke in a deep voice before walking up to Agatha's desk. Both his palms rested on the desk as he leaned towards the duo on the other side of the desk.
"I only want one thing from you guys. Kick out Rodrick Renar from your guild lands and we shall have no further problems.
Or else…"
Eren was stumped when he heard Rehaal's words. Not because he was scared of the royal. But because he couldn't help finding some sort of irony in the situation.
'Haha. What goes around comes around.'
AN: Marie's backstory has been explained in chapter 226. Rehaal Renar's name was first mentioned in chapter 485.
