Breakfast was steeped in a tension so heavy it felt as though it could stiffen bones.
One that doesn’t seem to bother Duke Lorcan at all.
In fact, he seemed to thrive in this kind of tension, looking more relaxed than the others.
Five people attended the breakfast.
Rex sat beside Princess Davina on the right side of the Duke, looking especially distanced.
Across the table, Rosa sat beside Princess Liliana.
Compared to the food he and April usually had inside the Forsaken Tower, modest—but delicious, the breakfast was extremely lavish. From a simple scan of the System, Rex could tell that all of them were made of strong Voidal Monster meat.
Poised at the center was a slab of meat seasoned and cooked to perfection.
It’s the meat of an Eternal Spirit rank Voidal Monster, which was an incredible delight.
Rex even obtained a great amount of exp from eating this dish, but he tried to be modest.
He wanted more, but Rosa was glaring at him, telling him to restrain himself using her eyes alone.
“So,” Duke Lorcan’s voice cut through the silence, as he turned to Rex, a smile plastered on his face. “Tell us about yourself, Lord Rex. Since you’re going to be a part of this family, we have to get to know each other. A secret between family members is bad luck, don’t you think?”
Rex wiped his mouth with a napkin and cleared his throat.
“I agree with you on that, Your Grace.”
“Your Highness.”
Princess Liliana cuts him off before he can speak further.
“Father’s ties to the Emperor make him practically royalty. You’ll refer to him as ‘Your Highness’.”
“No need to be so formal.”
Duke Lorcan waved his hand dismissively, as if that didn’t matter.
He knew Rex wasn’t from nobility, wasn’t born of high-class blood, so he already expected this.
“Your Highness,” Rex corrected without much thinking and continued what he was saying. “My origin is a humble one. I was born and grew up in Amalta, a secluded bubble on th-“
“On the southeast side of the House of Aurelius?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Realizing this, Duke Lorcan leaned back a little—looking at Rex with a slight tenderness that he had never shown to just anyone. He looked down, sighed lightly, and placed a hand on his chest, “It’s unfortunate. You have my condolences, Lord Rex.”
Hearing this, Princess Davina turned to him.
“What’s wrong with Amalta, Father?”
“It was recently destroyed. The bubble cracked, and the land was overrun by Voidal Monsters.”
For the first time, Princess Davina’s face showed a glimpse of an emotion.
Even Princess Liliana looked at Rex with pity.
Of course, Rex knew about this.
Rosa specifically told him to say that he came from there because it was recently destroyed, which will dissuade Duke Lorcan or any of them from doing a background check. Considering the Black Rift’s situation, a destroyed city means all records are lost.
“Any siblings?” Duke Lorcan asked with a low tone, hesitant.
“No,” Rex shook his head and smiled, “I have no family for a long time already. This is the first time I feel lucky for not having one.”
“Always seeing the good, even in the worst—that’s admirable. I commend your big heart.”
All of them resumed eating again.
Princess Davina was modestly stealing glances at Rex from the side, trying to see whether he was really devastated as they assumed, or not. But seeing that there was no crack at all in Rex’s face, she sighed lightly without anyone noticing.
‘Amalta… He might be grieving. It’s probably why he seemed unbothered.’ She thought.
Knowing that Rex was possibly grieving, the tone of the conversation shifted to a lighter one.
Duke Lorcan talked about his hobby of hunting and keeping unique Voidal Monsters, which came as a surprise, as Rex also has Kraken with him. Of course—it wasn’t like Duke Lorcan, who considered the captured Voidal Monsters as pets, but that still made them common in this matter.
He also brought up embarrassing things about Princess Davina and Princess Davina.
Such as how Princess Liliana was always scolded for ditching study, and how scared Princess Davina was during her first practical training to fight Voidal Monsters that she locked herself inside her room, unwilling to step out.
Rex laughed and seemed genuinely interested.
Of course, he needed to do this to gain Duke Lorcan’s approval.
But on the other hand, talking with him also reminded Rex of his foster father, Robert.
Though he wasn’t particularly close with Robert since he was busy, during the time Robert was home, he grew accustomed to him talking about random things, and even teasing Mrs.Greene about her own embarrassing moments.
It made talking with Duke Lorcan more pleasant than he anticipated.
No political pressure, no subtle threats—only genuine conversation to know each other.
Of course, earlier, there was a threat about having secrets.
But then again, it was understandable why Duke Lorcan was worried about that, and Rex didn’t mind.
From how the conversation went, Rex learned two things.
Duke Lorcan is a lot easier to manage than he looks, and his relationship with Princess Davina was not great. Not the slightest bit great. A few times, Duke Lorcan tried to include her in the conversation, but she replied with short answers only.
It was Princess Liliana who covered for her and engaged in the conversation.
Considering that he pressured Princess Davina into this, Rex wasn’t surprised.
“I forgot to mention,” Duke Lorcan leaned back slightly, his posture now far more relaxed than before. “Her Majesty will be granting your knighthood in two days. Everything’s been arranged. But before that, a knight must have land. I was thinking…”
“It’s already taken care of, Your Highness,” Rosa smoothly interjected. “My house has several places that could be assigned to Lord Rex. One of them is the Mahkam Ruin. I believe Your Highness is aware of Lord Rex’s recent accomplishment there.”
Upon hearing this, Duke Lorcan’s eyes slightly flashed with curiosity.
He didn’t know about that as he didn’t read the reports about all the contenders.
“I didn’t know, but I’m intrigued. What kind of accomplishment did Lord Rex attain?”
“It’s nothing much to brag about, Your Highness.”
Rex meddled, trying to act firm but humble at the same time.
Hearing this, Duke Lorcan waved his hand impatiently and gestured for Rosa to continue.
“Lord Rex worked directly under me, and I sent him to the Mahkam Ruin that has been in trouble for years now. I thought it was going to be easy, but no, he was faced with a Special Voidal Knight, and it’s also a Favored,” Rosa said truthfully, boasting of Rex proudly.
Everyone was impressed.
A Special Voidal Knight who is also a Favored is a tough opponent to beat.
It must at least possess the Master Immortal Spirit-rank power.
Only Princess Davina was the one who seemed unimpressed, drinking from her cup nonchalantly.
But Rosa didn’t stop there.
“At the moment, Lord Rex is still at the Immortal-Spirit rank, but he fought that creature alone,” Rosa grinned as she said that. “It was only because of that endeavor did he stumbled on an opportunity, allowing him to reach the Master Immortal Spirit rank.”
Princess Davina choked on her drink when she heard this.
All eyes turned towards her instantly.
“What’s wrong, daughter?” Duke Lorcan smirked. “Your soon-to-be husband is quite capable, isn’t he?”
Not even Princess Davina was capable of such a feat.
Killing a Special Voidal Knight—who so happened to also be a Favored, is impressive, but it was still within the realm of possibilities. Princess Davina herself has done that, and for her, it wasn’t something to brag about.
But realizing that Rex has one major realm disadvantage was too surprising.
Princess Davina would need to risk her life if she were in Rex’s position, and even then, victory wasn’t guaranteed. So, it came as a surprise that Rex was able to achieve that, but still, she tried to remain as composed as she could.
Too embarrassed to admit that she was shocked.
“Anything less would be a disgrace to the House of Castillon. I expected no less.” She answered.
Hearing this, Duke Lorcan sneered as she was still too stubborn.
Being one of the strongest from the young generation swelled her ego too much.
Once breakfast ended, Duke Lorcan placed the utensils down and gestured for the servants to clean up.
Then, he looked at Rex and then at Princess Davina with a serious gaze.
“You slept in separate rooms last night. That won’t happen again. Starting tonight, you’ll share the same room. How else are you supposed to grow close?” His tone left no room for argument, firm and final. “Take this marriage seriously. I need a grandson, and both of you are going to give it to me.”
Princess Davina was taken aback.
It was too soon.
More importantly, they weren’t even married yet.
She wanted to argue, to say that it wasn’t necessary, but Duke Lorcan had already raised his hand.
Nothing she says would change his decision.
Even Princess Liliana tried to help, but she was also shot down.
Rex glanced at Princess Davina and found her clenching her fists under the table, angry at the ultimatum.
So, he decided to speak up.
“Forgive me for my bluntness, but I don’t think that’s a good idea, Your Highness.”
“Hmm? You’re against this, too?”
“No, on the contrary, I’m not against this. But you don’t want any grandson, a weak grandson, do you?” Rex said smoothly, his words flowing with practiced ease. “From where I come from, a child’s strength isn’t born from the talent of their parents alone, but from the strength of the bond between them.”
It was what Mrs.Greene taught him a long time ago, not that she has any say in this.
Regardless, it seemed appropriate to use at this moment.
“Is this another excuse? Are you working together with my daughter?”
“No. I haven’t even spoken to her directly.”
“Then what are you suggesting?”
“Maybe a mandatory meeting in the morning or at night, just until the wedding day.”
Upon hearing this, Duke Lorcan rubbed his chin in contemplation.
As he sat silently, Princess Davina looked at him expectantly, hoping that he’d accept this proposal.
“Fine. Both of you will be mandated to meet every morning at sunrise—and again at midnight,” Duke Lorcan declared, rising from his seat. “No more excuses. You will attend without fail, and I expect great progress by the next time we gather.”
He stared straight at Rex when he said ‘progress’.
It was clear that he was going to hold Rex responsible if there was no progress.
Then, Duke Lorcan turned to Princess Davina.
“I’m doing this because of him, not because of you, daughter.”
As soon as he said that, he turned around and left the room, that was completely silent.
Everyone who was left behind was silent.
Though the breakfast started well, it ended quite badly with Duke Lorcan’s ultimatum.
Clearing her throat, Rosa looked at Rex and gestured for them to leave, too.
It seemed she had something to say.
Rex stood up and looked at both princesses with a polite smile.
“It’s a pleasant breakfast, thank you. I shall take my leave first.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Rosa also added, standing up to leave.
Both of them walked out of the room side by side, leaving behind the two stunned princesses, confused whether they should be relieved or not by Duke Lorcan’s decision. On one hand, they avoided the very unreasonable ultimatum; on the other, Princess Davina now needed to spend time with Rex.
Along the corridor, passing by a couple of servants on standby, Rosa leaned towards him.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be winning Duke Lorcan’s approval? You defied him!”
“If I don’t speak up, the princesses will turn hostile towards me. I saw Princess Davina clenching her fists under the table.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. And besides, Duke Lorcan would respect me more if I stood up for her.”
Even though Rex said that, the breakfast didn’t end exactly as he wanted.
The responsibility of showing ‘progress’ to Duke Lorcan was now on his shoulders.
And he didn’t know how to show it.
Damn it. Should I be direct and ask him to grant me his seal?
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter