Chapter 541: I Am The One That Makes The Rules
The sound of music permeated the Grand Ballroom as two people danced at its center.
Princess Vanessa watched the two of them from afar in admiration, but it only ended in admiration.
She didn’t envy them, nor felt jealousy. In fact, she even felt happy because William had made his stance. Princess Vanessa hoped that after William’s show of force, her beloved Prince would give up on his pursuit from their cousin that hailed from the Southern Continent.
William firmly held Princess Sidonie’s hand, and waist, as they danced across the ballroom. The princess had a sweet smile on her face, as she looked at her lover lovingly. They were like a match made in heaven, and everyone couldn’t help but sigh in their hearts because the gorgeous pair looked good together.
What they didn’t know was that the two lovers were in fact having a serious talk as they danced.
‘What would you do if the Emperor didn’t give you permission to visit Aamon’s Temple out of spite?’ Princess Sidonie asked. ‘You should have endured a bit, Will, and talked to him properly.’
‘Sidonie, you and I both know that talking to him will not work,’ William replied. ‘The Emperor is merely gauging me to see what I can do. Well, if he refuses to give me permission, I’ll find other means to sneak into Aamon’s Temple.’
‘You’re still going even if it means burning the bridge between you and the Emperor?’
‘Yes. I don’t have much time left to do the things I need to do. I’m on a tight schedule.’
William’s smile stiffened because Morgana could also communicate with him directly due to the added feature on the Collar of Wisteria. As long as they were a mile away from each other, communication was possible.
The Half-Elf had also explained to Princess Sidonie that whenever her Divinity was going out of control, she should just immediately teleport to the Thousand Beast Domain, and ask William to help her.
Princess Sidonie knew that her lover couldn’t stay with her all the time because someone like him carried many responsibilities. This was why being able to enter the Thousand Beast Domain at any given time was an advantage on her part.
Among William’s lovers, she was the only one that had been given this capability. She could come and see him anytime, and return to the exact place where she activated the collar when she exited the domain.
‘You read too many novels, Morgana,’ William replied at Sidonie’s other half that had been inspired by the latest romance book that she had read.
Princess Sidonie chuckled internally as William and Morgana started a debate at the pros and cons of elopement. Soon, the music came to an end, and both of them bowed to each other.
Just as William expected, Prince Jason had stood up from his seat and walked towards Princess Sidonie. It was obvious that he was planning to ask her for a dance, but William had already taken this into consideration.
“Would you honor me with a dance, Princess?” Ian bowed respectfully and offered his hand to Princess sidonie.
“It will be my honor, Sir Ian,” Princess Sidonie replied and accepted the invitation.
Prince Jason stopped halfway when he saw the recent development, William shot him a smirk before going towards his table, where Chiffon was waiting for him.
The pink haired girl looked at William with a calm expression. She was waiting for William to sit beside her, so that she wouldn’t feel lonely, while Ian was away.
“Do you want to dance?” William asked.
Chiffon pondered William’s question for a while before giving her answer.
“I don’t know how to dance,” Chiffon replied. “But, I memorized how you danced with Princess Sidonie. I don’t know if I can fully imitate it, but I’ll know when I try.”
“Oh? Are you good at memorization?”
“Well, I can remember everything that I see.”
William looked at the adorable girl with a curious gaze. He had heard that there were people that had incredibly good memories because they could remember practically everything that they had seen.
The term used for this was Photographic Memory.
“Well then, why don’t we give it a try?” William asked. “Will you honor me with this dance, My Lady?”
Chiffon stood up from her seat and held William’s outstretched hand. Other people were also going to the dance floor with their partners.
Surprisingly, Prince Jason and Princess Vanessa were also on the dance floor, right next to Princess Sidonie and Ian.
The one that invited Prince Jason to dance was none other than Princess Vanessa. Since the Prince was already standing in the ballroom, it would be awkward if he returned to his seat empty handed.
Because of this, Princess Vanessa took the initiative to invite him to dance with her. The Prince politely accepted her request and led her to the center of the dance floor, where the apple of his eye was standing.
‘He really doesn’t know when to give up,’ William thought as she led Chiffon right next to Princess Sidonie.
Emperor Leonidas and Evexius looked at this scene from afar with knowing smiles on their faces.
“It’s good to be young,” Emperor Leonidas said.
Evexius nodded as he eyed the six children from afar. “Princess Vanessa had grown to be a fine and considerate lady. It’s just a shame that the one she likes doesn’t return her advances. Also, that girl, Chiffon, looks better now compared to how she was when she first arrived here.”
Emperor Leonidas shifted his attention to the pink-haired girl that was dressed like a princess. Although he wouldn’t say it out loud, he was quite happy with the way the little girl was being cared for by William, Princess Sidonie, and Ian.
“Her father is a bastard,” Emperor Leonidas commented. “Seriously, we should have stopped April back then. She deserves someone better.”
Evexius sighed as he nodded his head. “Sometimes, I think that she would have been happier if you had taken her as your concubine, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. I should have done that. At least, she wouldn’t be dead,” Emperor Leonidas replied. His voice was tinged with regret. “Even if everyone in the family had opposed it back then, I should have been more bold. Now, it’s too late.
“The only thing I can do is to watch over her daughter in her place, which I’ve also failed to do quite miserably. If not for that boy, William, Chiffon might still be eating at that Garbage Dump right now.”
Emperor Leonidas looked at the little girl who was dancing with the red-headed teenager. Although her movements were a bit stiff, William was able to guide her properly.
“I forgot to tell you, Your Majesty, that person’s envoys arrived at our borders yesterday. They will arrive in the Academy anytime. I’m sure that they will not be very happy if they see her being treated well. They will definitely demand that we cut any form of support to her immediately.”
“Ignore them.”
“They might insist that it is their duty and make contact with Chiffon,” Evexius stated. “It’s very possible that they might take her away by force if we don’t comply.”
Emperor Leonidas chuckled as he shifted his attention to his Grand Archmage.
“If they make any trouble, you have my permission to kick them out by force,” Emperor Leonidas replied. “This is my Empire. I am the one that makes the rules.
“If we can’t even protect one little girl then wouldn’t we become the laughingstock of the Central Continent? Also, I doubt that He of all people will care. Afterall, he was the one that tossed the child away. Someone like him… doesn’t deserve to be a father.”
Evexius nodded. “Do I have your permission to eliminate them, Your Majesty?”
“I leave it in your care, Evexius. Just make it so that it doesn’t get traced back to us.”
“Understood.”
—–
When the second dance ended, Prince Jason approached Princess Sidonie to invite her to dance with him.
However, the Princess politely declined his request with the excuse that she was tired from dancing.
She then walked towards the table of the Emperor and sat on his right side. Prince Jason had no choice but to let her go, and joined the other Princes’ at the table reserved for them.
The night went on, and the party went without any mishaps. Prince Jason made several attempts, but all of them were in vain because William blocked him every time.
After several attempts, Prince Jason reluctantly backed off. He didn’t want to create a scene, so he held back his anger as he stared hatefully at the Half-Elf who was chatting happily with Chiffon.
‘Just you wait, I will show you your place in the tournament,’ Prince Jason vowed. ‘It is not only you that can jump in the ranks using an ability. I can do that, too.’
A week ago, Prince Jason had been called by the Oracle at Aamon’s Temple. There he received an artifact that was said to be one of Aamon’s possessions.
Although the Prince was surprised at the unexpected gift that came from the Kraetor Family’s Patron God, he was quite happy to receive it. He believed that William was only superior to him due to the Half-Elf’s ability to jump to the Ranks of a Saint, for a short period of time.
Now that Prince Jason had the same ability in his possession, he wanted everyone to witness that William was nothing special. The only reason why he hadn’t used this ability yet was because of Aamon’s condition was that he could only use it during the tournament.
—–
Outside of the academy…
“Let us in, we want to see Chiffon,” a man wearing a black robe demanded. “We have an agreement.”
“I know, but we can’t allow you to enter the Academy right now,” the Captain of the Guards of the Academy replied. “Today is Princess Sidonie’s birthday, and the Royal Family is inside. If the Emperor sees you right now, he might become annoyed. I advise you to come back in two days. I promise that I won’t get in your way then.”
The black-robed man frowned, and exchanged a glance with their leader. He was only the spokesperson of their envoy, and it was not up to him to call the shots.
“Fine. We will leave for now,” a deep and powerful voice stated. “We will return in two days. Make sure that you won’t get in our way then.”
“As long as you don’t do anything unnecessary to the students of the Academy then I will allow you to pass. Remember, you are only allowed to see and talk to Chiffon. Contact with the other students is prohibited.”
The leader of the envoy nodded. He gave the gates of the Academy one last glance before walking away under the cover of darkness.
Their mission was to check on Chiffon to make sure she was suffering. If she was not then they would do their best to make her life miserable.
It was the mission that had been assigned to them by their Lord who ruled in the Northern Continent, and they were duty bound to see it through at all cost.