A marriage? I thought to myself as I slightly frowned. Why would the Patriarch call upon his most troublesome son for a marriage proposition?
Aria guided me toward my seat, and I quickly realized that the whole family seemed to have been summoned as I spotted Lucien next to what seemed to be my big brother. On my right, there was a woman around my age who somewhat resembled me.
She had blonde hair just like mine, and her eyes were blue. The resemblance was striking.
In fact, as I continued to stare at her for a good second, it seemed she felt my gaze as she turned and looked at me strangely.
"Jake? Father asked for you here?"
There didn't seem to be any taunting in her tone of voice; she was truly shocked to see me or the previous Jake here.
I only briefly nodded as I continued to stare in her direction. I wanted to see if there was at least one of my siblings that I could potentially trust since, unlike Lucien, she hadn't been mean to him within seconds.
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[Name]: Maria Vale
[Age]: 23
[Stage]: Fourth Mana Circle
[Affinity]: Ice (High), Water (High), Space (Low)
[Stats]
• Strength: B+
• Agility: B
• Vitality: B
• Charm: A
[Skills]
• Icicle (Rare) [Comprehension: 71%]
• Water Sphere (Common) [Comprehension: 57%]
• Water Manipulation (Rare) [Comprehension: 81%]
• Space Distortion (Very Rare) [Comprehension: 11%]
• Noble Presence (Passive)
[Loyalty]: 51/100 — On the fence.
[Mental State]: Calm. Composed. Curious.
[Hypnosis Resistance]: Medium
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She was two years older than Lucien, and she seemed to be a lot more powerful. Her loyalty was right at the crossroad, well, barely above it, and her resistance to hypnosis was medium.
It was hard to tell if I would be able to use my skill on her. But compared to Lucien, there was at least a chance for it to work.
She seems to appreciate me a little more, at least. That's a start. The chances of her being the one who poisoned me are definitely low.
I couldn't try using hypnosis on her right away since we were in public, and it would definitely be weird if her whole behavior changed within seconds. I'll just have to have a "talk" with her once this whole thing is done.
Then, my gaze shifted toward the person sitting next to Lucien, and within seconds, another information panel appeared before me.
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[Name]: Alex Vale
[Age]: 20
[Stage]: Third Mana Circle
[Affinity]: Fire (Pinnacle), Darkness (Medium)
[Stats]
• Strength: B
• Agility: C+
• Vitality: C-
• Charm: A-
[Skills]
• Fire Ball (Common) [Comprehension: 100%]
• Fire Manipulation (Rare) [Comprehension: 100%]
• Ember Step (Very Rare) [Comprehension: 69%]
• Fire Body (Legendary) [Comprehension: 12%]
• Darkvision (Common) [Comprehension: 9%]
• Noble Presence (Passive)
[Loyalty]: 3/100 — Hates You.
[Mental State]: Angry. Anxious.
[Hypnosis Resistance]: Impossible
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He was even younger than Lucien, but his stats were much better than his while lacking compared to Maria. However, in terms of skills and affinities, he seemed to have greater talent compared to her.
Still, as far as I could tell, he was definitely the number one suspect when it came to the person who tried to poison me.
His loyalty was so low that it's even written that he hates me right beside it. If that wasn't a sign, I have no idea what could be.
"Who are you looking at?" Alex said with a frown on his face as he finally realized that I was staring.
I didn't answer anything as I kept my thoughts to myself, and simultaneously, a strong cold silenced the room at once, which finally made me look toward the stage where two people were seated on very large and imposing thrones while a good-looking, white-haired woman was standing behind them both.
"Thank you to everyone present. It's an honor."
My eyes widened as I heard his voice. This man was unlike anything I had seen before.
His voice boomed, filled with confidence and respect. It was incredible, and I couldn't help but feel shivers run down my spine at the presence of this man.
Don't tell me that this is the Patriarch of the family?! One of us four will have to replace him? I thought with a slight frown, hoping that the old man wouldn't be dying too soon as I would need his help to deal with whatever was going to be attacking this world ten years from now.
"As most of you know already, we are here to celebrate the union between the Vale Family and the current Royal Family. We have gathered here to announce who will be honored to have the hand of Lady Beaufort standing behind me."
She slightly bowed as I continued to stare into the eyes of the man speaking, waiting for the information panel to appear before me. But no matter how much I stared, nothing happened.
Still, marriage with the Royal Family. That was a pretty big deal. Though, the chances of me being picked considering my background were so low that there was little point in paying attention to this whole thing.
Alex would probably be the one picked here. He was the most talented between Alex and Lucien; the choice was definitely easy.
The room was filled with applause as my father finished speaking before quickly dying down as he began talking once more.
"Can Alex, Lucien, and Jake please stand up and take a step forward?"
Alex and Lucien immediately got on their feet as I was currently thinking about how I would be able to prove who the culprit was in the attempt on my life.
I couldn't come out and point at Alex without the slightest proof. I needed a lot more than that.
I felt a slight tap on my shoulder coming from Maria, waking me up from my lack of attention as I realized that everyone inside the room was looking straight at me.
Am I supposed to do something here? I wondered as I felt Maria push me forward onto my feet.
Murmurs immediately filled the room as I "stood up," almost falling down in the process.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you," I murmured under my breath, the shivers down my back growing as I felt the gaze of the Patriarch.
"Look at him. Even now he can't pay attention to what's happening."
"The Royal Family is here, and even now, he's causing trouble."
But then, as the murmurs filled the room, a loud laughter came from the man standing beside the Patriarch of the Vale Family.
"HAHAHA!"
Immediately, the murmurs died down in an instant as the man began speaking.
"I like him!" he said as he tapped on the Patriarch's shoulder, still laughing loudly. "What's your name, young man?"
I looked beside me, thinking that he was speaking to someone else. But it seemed I couldn't get out of this situation this easily.
"I'm Jake. Nice to meet you, sir," I said clumsily, realizing that something was missing. "It's an honor. I didn't think the King was visiting our estate today."
"No one told you?" the King said with another laugh.
"I don't think so. My memories are a little fuzzy lately."
"Hahaha! Eddie, why didn't you talk about this son of yours? He seems to be pretty interesting, don't you think?"
Fuck. Why does he like me so much? I didn't even say anything funny. I released a sigh. Don't tell me that he wants me to be the one to marry his daughter now?
I already had to figure out who had tried to kill me. If something like that was added on, I'd have way too much stuff to deal with here. My family would be even more mad at me.
"T-That's… just forget about him. He wasn't even supposed to be here."
Ouch. That hurt.
My own father didn't want me here.
"No, no. Tell me more; there's something special about him I can feel it."
"If I can interrupt here," Alex, who had been silent since earlier, took a step forward as he spoke up. "Sir, this man is my younger brother. He's a total troublemaker who has done nothing but laze around for his entire life. In no way is he worthy of your daughter's hand."
The King, who had been laughing, lost his smile as he frowned.
He turned toward his daughter, who stood right behind him, and whispered in her ear.
No one could hear what he was saying, but once he was done, the girl blushed before slowly raising her finger in my direction.
Ah, fuck. Don't tell me this is what I think it is… Why does he like me that much?! I'm literally the worst choice for his daughter!
"HAHAHA! See! Even my daughter prefers Jake right there."
Everyone in the room was silenced as their eyes widened at the exact same time.
"I think I made my decision, Eddie! I want my daughter to marry this son of yours!"