Deymon was sipping soup while glaring at Enrico with anger in his eyes. When he saw Jago on the other side handing coins to Caelan, he smiled. He had paid the thief to steal from Jago and even helped with the coins, so he was quite satisfied.
"What are you doing here, Deymon? I didn't ask for a meeting today, did I?"
Deymon clenched his teeth upon seeing Elowyn arrive. She wasn't happy at all about having to look for him during the festival. In fact, she never understood why it existed—she saw it as a big waste of time, but since her father said the citizens needed to enjoy themselves to be satisfied with their king, she obeyed.
"I was just leaving, I was enjoying a pleasant moment."
"Pleasant? Deymon, let me ask you, you didn't ally with that guy, did you?"
She was talking about Jago—though she didn't know his name or appearance, since he had shown up covered in a cloak and proposed an alliance with her, which she immediately refused. Having seen his essence, she knew she would be betrayed by him one day. His essence wasn't just dark—it was also filled with moving marks, like snakes ready to strike.
"I didn't meet with him."
"You dare lie to me?"
"Tsk."
Deymon knew he couldn't lie to her. He didn't know how, but from what people said, it was some unique ability of hers kept secret from anyone outside the Royal Family.
"Deymon, I'm only keeping you around because I need your power, so shut up."
"I understand. I won't meet with him."
Seeing that his essence didn't lie, she turned away. She couldn't trust him, but she needed his power to pass through the Royal Dungeon, which all her descendants had to face to be deemed ready as successors.
'It's the only dungeon on the continent that hasn't disappeared, and it has several items for a descendant to choose from. But I want the best item, and for that, I need a power capable of corrupting the chains that bind it.'
She turned for Deymon to follow her. To her, Deymon was someone unstable and hard to control. If not for his power, she wouldn't have recruited him at all. Still, she was calm, because she didn't trust him even a little and would kill him as soon as she could. As for Deymon, he had the same thoughts—except the one he'd kill was her. Once he gained enough power, he would eliminate both Enrico and Elowyn, and for that, teaming up with Jago was the best choice.
'Well, I didn't lie, so I'm safe.'
Just as Jago said, they wouldn't meet again for a long time, so he managed to bypass Elowyn's ability.
"I win!"
"Damn it, I lost again!"
Elowyn and Deymon looked back to see Enrico standing with a confident pose, fist raised above his waist, while Kai was hitting both fists on the ground, wanting a rematch. Elowyn's eyes twitched when she saw Kai's light, but she calmed down when it was engulfed by nothingness as Enrico helped him up.
"Let's go. Everyone's waiting for our discussion about the class battle. We'll come back later with the others."
Just like her father said, she would let her subordinates have fun so they would obey her more—but still, she thought all this was idiotic and pointless. Deymon looked at Enrico and smiled, eager for the day Jago had promised to come.
"Damn, you're way too good with the bow. Can you teach me?"
"I wasn't going to lose to someone who relies on a unique ability."
"Unique ability?"
Enrico froze upon realizing Kai didn't even know he had awakened a unique ability. Everyone should know the moment they awaken one—this idiot hadn't even noticed. Gripping his shoulder, he decided to explain how it worked properly.
Meanwhile, the girls were quite pleased with their gifts: Valença got a bracelet, Seraphina a white teddy bear, Rina a purple brooch, Yumeha a magatama-shaped necklace, and Serenya a pair of golden earrings. Strangely enough, they were all things they liked, and that's why they were satisfied—though they would certainly be happier if Enrico hadn't given gifts to the boys too.
"How did he know I wanted a new brush?"
Giulio held up the brush in his hand. Elian had gotten a wind magic stone, and Liam was gripping Giulio's shoulder while eyeing the brush.
"He's a good friend."
Even Sílvia and Camila, who had arrived later, received a gift. Caelan showed up, raised an eyebrow at the group, and after asking what was going on, everything was explained—Enrico was giving away all the prizes he won from the archery game. Wanting to get something too, Caelan approached Enrico, who had just finished explaining Kai's ability.
"That's amazing, but how do you know that?"
"Don't ask questions."
"Got it."
After Caelan arrived and received a new prize, Aoi was the next to show up, calm and composed. Rina, seeing her show her gift to a friend, approached Enrico, making him think she also wanted a gift.
"Enrico."
"Yes?"
"Win that for me."
She pointed at a ring on the table, where the booth owner was crying from being cleaned out by Enrico and Kai. Shrugging, Enrico picked what was supposed to be his last arrow, as ordered by the booth owner, and won the prize.
"Here."
When he went to give Aoi the ring, she did something that made the five girls tremble—she took Enrico's hand and placed the ring on the ring finger of his left hand, as if they were getting married on the spot. Rina, seeing this, approached.
"What are you doing, Aoi?"
Aoi looked at her seriously, as if about to say something truly shocking. Enrico was very confused—after all, that girl was the hardest one for him to understand, even in the original story. She only ever appeared during battles alongside Rina, spoke very little, and her family's abilities were only revealed much later.
"Rina… you know my mother said I need to be one hundred percent sure if I ever choose someone to be my husband."
"But you said he still lacked things to be your type."
"There was only one thing missing to be sure… and now I'm sure nothing is missing anymore."
She turned to Enrico and lowered her mask a little, revealing only her red lips. Pulling him closer, she kissed his cheek, leaving a red mark. Yumeha froze, stunned by the boldest girl she'd ever seen. She grabbed her staff and began preparing her summoning. Serenya, Valença, and even Seraphina seemed ready to attack too.
"I don't know how it's going to be sharing him with Yumeha… but now I have to share him with Aoi too? I hope this works out."
Everyone turned to Rina, who had just said those words, and then asked what she meant by that. Well—almost everyone. Yumeha was ready to pounce but was calmed by Enrico, who began petting her head and asked her to stay calm.
Seeing Aoi adjusting her mask, Enrico looked at her and noticed she was trembling slightly. Realizing why she was nervous—since she had chosen him according to her family's rules—he decided to calm her.
"I saw your lips, Aoi."
Frozen in place, she stared at Enrico. Rina and Yumeha also looked surprised, since that wasn't supposed to be possible due to the curse placed on Aoi's family that made it impossible to see any part of her face.