Chapter 282 - 277 — Agreement
"A hundred..."
Garrick’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Rathen was no different. A single high-grade elixir of substantial quality was worth around five thousand gold coins. A hundred of them amounted to five hundred thousand gold coins!
"Yeah, alright, that sounds pretty fucking—"
"Too little." Garaxe calmly chimed in. Garrick’s mouth remained half-open as Garaxe continued without so much as glancing at him.
"You seem to be underestimating the scale of Zephyrion’s disadvantage. He is competing against a house receiving direct assistance from its House Commander. A hundred hardly reflects that." Garaxe regarded Severin evenly. "A thousand should suffice."
"What the..."
Garrick slowly turned towards Garaxe, utterly dumbfounded. Even he was momentarily taken aback by the sheer extent of his brother’s greed.
The truth was, Garrick had been absolutely livid the moment he heard about the situation. He had been ready for war. However, during the brief time it took the three brothers to reach the academy, they had already discussed and decided how best to handle the matter.
They had no doubt that Severin was somehow involved. Something like this simply couldn’t have happened otherwise, especially considering Rathen, a man notoriously strict about maintaining his neutrality, had allowed it to continue.
They had also known that Severin would be keeping an eye on the academy and would notice the moment the three of them arrived.
In essence, they had known the bastard would come out to stop them.
If this had happened before, Garrick would have happily proposed caving Severin’s skull in and calling it a day. However, because all three brothers knew exactly what Zephyrion was capable of, they had instead seen an opportunity.
Strangely enough, it had been Garaxe who suggested they swindle the fool.
Garrick had instantly fallen in love with the idea, while Kastor hadn’t objected.
And now, their plan had finally been put into action. Five hundred thousand gold coins was already an astonishing amount, but to think Garaxe’s greed would reach all the way to the heavens.
A thousand high-grade elixirs...
Garrick did the calculation in his head.
’F-five million coins...’
Garrick swallowed, suddenly feeling a little strange. This felt extremely wrong. Was earning this much money really supposed to be this easy?
’He’s going to refuse.’
No man in his right mind would ever agree to such ridiculous terms.
However, it seemed Garrick had severely underestimated both the extent of Severin’s ego and his overwhelming confidence in the capabilities of his own blood, because after only a moment of consideration, the man nodded.
"I accept."
Garrick stared blankly at the madman, momentarily wondering if he had somehow misheard him. But no, judging by the small smile that appeared on Garaxe’s face as he nodded, he had heard perfectly well.
"Good. Then, to make this official, we—"
"My, my. And here I was beginning to think you intended to divide such a lovely prize without inviting me."
Every gaze immediately turned towards the voice. Kastor, however, was somehow already staring in that direction.
In the seemingly empty space, the air suddenly cracked, splitting apart as a figure stepped through.
He was broad, tall, and elegant, clad in a blazing golden ceremonial robe. His beard and hair were intricately braided, golden streaks running through both, while five golden lines traced down from beneath each eye.
At the sight of the man, Rathen visibly paled. He immediately lowered himself into a bow.
"Y-your Majesty!"
The man was none other than Cassian Aur Eryndor, the exalted king and ruler of the Ferran Empire. More importantly, he was also a member of the Ten Thrones.
The king acknowledged Rathen with a small nod before casting easy smiles towards Kastor and Severin.
Neither man bowed, merely returning his greeting with curt nods of their own. While the royal family supposedly ruled the empire, the truth was that power had long since been divided amongst the great dynasties. As heads of their respective houses, Kastor and Severin stood at the very pinnacle of that power.
In that regard, the king might as well have been their peer.
Smiling lightly, the king cast a glance towards another seemingly empty stretch of air. "You can come out now, Torvak. Watching quietly from the shadows was mysterious at first, but at this point, it’s becoming a little creepy."
There was silence for a moment before the air shattered once more.
From within the fractured space emerged a humongous man with a bald head and a hard, impassive face. Countless golden runes covered his skin, tracing across his face and disappearing beneath his clothes, while his sheer presence seemed to make the surrounding air noticeably heavier.
Again, Rathen paled at the sight of him.
He was Torvak Kharadun, head of House Kharadun. Due to their constructs, the Kharadun made up a significant portion of the Ferran Empire’s military forces, and as a result, their influence throughout the empire could never be questioned.
’They’re... they’re all here...’
Rathen swallowed dryly. What had started as a confrontation over a broken academy rule had somehow transformed into a gathering of the empire’s greatest powers. Right now, some of the most important figures in the entire Ferran Empire were gathered in one place!
"I want in," Torvak simply said before falling silent, as though those three words were all the explanation anyone needed.
The king nodded, the same easy smile remaining on his face. "As do I. No matter how you dress this matter, it concerns every house participating in the exercise. It seems rather unfair for only two of us to have some fun." His smile widened slightly. "So, if we’re going to gamble on our descendants, shouldn’t we at least give everyone the opportunity to gain some money?
Severin’s expression shifted, the darkness on his face slowly giving way to contemplation. "And what exactly are you proposing?"
"Nothing complicated." The king smiled. "We leave the wager open. Whichever house wins the exercise takes the entire prize. Simple, fair, and considerably more entertaining. Agreed?"
Rathen couldn’t help but swallow as the four heads gave their agreement.