Actually, regarding the loan repayment, Roel did consider whether he should just shirk his debt and not pay up at all. He would suck the System’s blood dry before callously abandoning it, like a heartless man.
After all, the System could still operate for another 5 years, even if Roel didn’t pay it a single gold coin at all. If he could become a powerful expert by then, he wouldn’t have any need for the System anymore.
However, after thinking it through, he eventually chose to abandon this idea. There was no saying what would happen within 5 years’ time, so it was best for him to keep the System with him. It was not as if he couldn’t repay the 500,000 gold coin loan anyway. He could always earn more money if he needed to, but he wouldn’t be able to find a second System anywhere else.
With such thoughts in mind, Roel stood up and made his way over to Carter’s study, hoping to discuss the governance of the Ascart Fiefdom with him.
Roel felt that Carter was similar to those scions in a one of the soap dramas of his previous life, where the scions would rather cast aside the huge inheritance their fathers had left them just so they could chase their dreams. This could be seen from how Carter chose to focus his time on the military instead of developing the company (Ascart Fiefdom). It really pained Roel to see how so much potential was being put to waste when it could become something greater!
As the successor of the Ascart House, Roel felt obliged to fill in the gap that his father had left behind! He decided that he would march up to Carter and have a thorough discussion about this matter, hoping to obtain partial rights to govern the fiefdom.
His burning motivation was to be disappointed.
“Ah? My father is not around?”
“That’s right. The old master has been summoned to the royal palace.”
“The royal palace? Hm…”
Roel couldn’t help but think about the rumors about him and Nora that had been heard all around town lately, and he felt a little jittery inside.
It can’t be that Carter has been called there for that matter, right?
…
While Roel was feeling uneasy inside, Marquess Carter was meeting an unexpected figure in the royal palace—Holy Eminence John Xeclyde.
While John Xeclyde was, in name, the emperor of the Saint Mesit Theocracy, Carter didn’t have too many opportunities to come into contact with him. The Xeclydes had simply far too many organizations beneath it to manage.
All in all, the organizations the Xeclydes were managing could be divided into two segments: the major organization and the minor organizations.
Needless to say, the major organization referred to the Genesis Goddess Church. It was a massive and powerful establishment; its every move could spur rippling effects over all humanity. It was the binding factor that united humans during times of crisis, but even during peacetime, it was important to manage relations and ensure the church’s incorruptibility.
On the other hand, the minor organizations referred to the powers and noble houses of the Saint Mesit Theocracy. As the royal family, the Xeclydes had to take the center position and keep everyone in check.
However, there was a limit to any single person’s energy, including Holy Eminence John. So, he chose to focus on the affairs of the church, entrusting the governance of the Saint Mesit Theocracy into the hands of his son and loyal subjects. It was only during important national ceremonies that Holy Eminence John would make an appearance in his position as the emperor.
Carter didn’t have an official position in the church, so he didn’t have too many opportunities to interact with this patriarch of the Xeclyde House. Thinking back, the last time he really talked to the latter was when he was officially appointed as the vice commander of the Holy Knight Order.
Unlike the solemn atmosphere back then, their meeting this time around was much more amicable; too amicable, in fact. It was to the point that Carter instinctively sensed that there was something amiss here. Looking at the warm smile of the old man before him, Carter quickly doused his heart with cold water as he reminded himself that he ought to tread carefully.
“Carter, I trust that you’re familiar with the details of that incident concerning those two children, right?”
After trading some pleasantries, Holy Eminence John finally got to the main point, raising the topic of the recent assassination attempt on Roel and Nora. In response, Carter immediately took on an attitude of self-reproach.
“Your Eminence, I’m deeply apologetic about this incident. It was an assassination attempt on Roel’s life, but we ended up implicating Her Highness Nora too, putting her life at risk. I seek your pardon on this…”
Carter wasn’t fond of dealing with politics, but that didn’t mean that he was bad at it. He uttered a full set of lip service, starting from expressing his fury toward the deeds of the vile evil cultists to his apologies for involving Her Highness Nora in this affair before finally concluding with his gratitude toward the Holy Eminence’s generous help. Even the grumpiest of critics couldn’t have possibly picked any flaws with his monologue!
Meanwhile, John nodded occasionally throughout the monologue to express his understanding of the matter. At the end of which, he even spoke words to assuage Carter’s self-reproach.
“Carter, this was a situation that none of us hoped to see, but since it has already happened, I think that it’s only apt for us to work together and come up with a countermeasure. May I know what your thoughts on this matter are?”
Seeing where Holy Eminence John was leading the conversation, Carter finally understood the motive behind this audience. It was no exaggeration to say that the church had gone all out for Roel this time around, dispatching inquisitors all over the country to apprehend the evil cultists. It was only natural that such an act of generosity must be met with reciprocation.
Carter figured that Holy Eminence John was sending a subtle message for the Ascart House to offer something in return, but what could this ‘something’ be? Dispatch soldiers to help with the elimination of the evil cultists? Aid the Xeclydes in suppressing the Elrics?
Carter looked at the white-haired old man before him uneasily, fearing what the latter would ask for. On the other hand, John smiled softly and calmly revealed his intention.
“I believe that we should assign Nora as Roel’s protector, what do you think?”
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“I think it’s worth consi… Huh? I mean, pardon me, but what did you just say?”
Carter instinctively tried to postpone the decision-making process, but halfway through his words, he suddenly processed what Holy Eminence John had just suggested. He raised his head with widened eyes, bewildered.
“I propose that we should assign Nora as Roel’s protector. I personally believe that it’s a move that’s beneficial to both of our houses. Marquess Carter, if you have any reservations regarding what I have just proposed, you may feel free to voice it out.”
“No, that’s not what I meant! I’m just a little… surprised.”
Despite his years of experience in politics, Carter found himself incapable of comprehending the current situation. It was one thing for the Xeclydes to take the initiative in lending a helping hand to the Ascarts, but instead of asking for something in return, they were saying that they would continue protecting them for life… How could there be such a good thing in life?!
Of course, Carter didn’t know that such an act was equivalent to entrusting his son into the clutches of the devil, or else he wouldn’t have been so confused.
Noticing that Carter was overwhelmed by his proposal, Holy Eminence John began to explain the rationale behind his offer.
“Carter, there’s a contract between both of our houses.”
John straightened his back as his expression smoothed out to look more saintly than ever. He spoke with a deep voice that added a touch of solemnity to the atmosphere.
“At the inception of the Third Epoch, when the Ascart House sought refuge with the Theocracy, our predecessors signed a contract with one another. As long as an offspring of the Ascart House successfully awakens his bloodline, those bearing the Angel Bloodline will protect him till adulthood. Since Roel has managed to awaken the Ascart Bloodline, I believe that it’s only right for us to invoke the clauses of the contract.
“The Xeclydes shall hold to the end of their promise!”
Holy Eminence John looked at Carter with a terrifyingly grave look, almost as if saying ‘anyone who stops us from protecting Roel is insulting our predecessors!’. Carter, on the other hand, was just dumbfounded. Thinking about it, there was indeed such a contract.
A thousand years was a long period of time. During this period of time, the Ascart House, excluding Roel, had only two transcendents who managed to awaken the Ascart Bloodline. Probably even the patriarchs before him had already forgotten about the existence of this contract!
Besides, so what if he had remembered the contract?
Was he supposed to take a sheet of paper and demand that the Xeclydes serve as their bodyguards?
Quite bluntly, this contract was only valid so long as the Xeclydes were willing to recognize it. Otherwise, it was just a piece of scrap paper.
Yet, the Xeclydes actually approached them on their own accord, offering to fulfill this thousand years old contract. Carter was definitely moved by this proposal, but for Her Highness Nora to become Roel’s protector… Wasn’t this a little inappropriate?
“Your Eminence, as you may know, there is a great deal of gossip going around about Roel and Her Highness Nora. If you were to assign Her Highness as Roel’s protector at such a timing, wouldn’t it further fan the rumors?”
Carter voiced out his own worries.
It was the duty of the royal family to protect its people, so there were indeed times when the royal family would declare their protection of an individual. It could be a vulnerable successor of a noble house whose parents had been assassinated and was thus left without backing, or the child of a family of soldiers whose kin had all died in war.
However, the ‘protection’ aforementioned wasn’t physically assigning soldiers to these individuals but just protection in name. The royal family would hold a grand ceremony and declare their protection of an individual under the witness of the nobles. It was actually just a warning to everyone that whoever dared to mess with that kid would be messing with the Xeclydes too.
Even though this protection was in name only, it was usually extremely effective. This was because the Xeclydes, as possessors of the Angel Bloodline, viewed their reputation and honor highly, and they would retaliate aggressively against those who dared undermine them.
Take the vulnerable successor mentioned above for example, the enemies of the noble house had attempted to poison the successor even after the Xeclydes had made their declaration. Fortunately, the successor survived the assassination attempt, but even so, the Xeclydes still felt greatly humiliated by the matter. They ordered Inquisitor Hall to dig deep into the matter and arrested every single noble who was involved in the poisoning.
So, while Carter was in full support of having Nora become Roel’s protector, given the gossip going around recently, they would only be adding to the rumor mill by holding a protector declaration ceremony involving the two of their houses.
The royal family’s reputation was at stake here, and Carter felt that it would be wise to refrain from muddying up the waters any further. Unexpectedly, Holy Eminence John appeared to think little of this matter.
“It’s even more so during times of lies and falsehood that we must stand proud and confident. If we back down here, we’ll only be telling the world that we have something to hide.”
Holy Eminence John spoke with a voice so assertive that Carter was subconsciously dragged into his train of thoughts.
Hm? It does sound logical, but why do I still feel like something is not right…
Carter was a little too overwhelmed by the situation to really think straight. Meanwhile, the clear-minded Holy Eminence John knew that he had to strike the iron while it was hot, so he continued pushing the case forward.
“The Xeclydes will hold to the end of our promise. If we can’t overcome this bit of trouble, how can we call ourselves the descendants of angels? Alright, I have made up my mind. We shall hold the ceremony half a month from now!”