King Of Limbo

As Aron and Evanora came up to the pedestal Lady Rose went to sit alone at the empty front row arrangement which Aron and Evanora just came from.

Upon reaching the pedestal a brief silence enveloped the square as if something was wrong.

"Do you two not know how to bow before your superiors? You may be commoners but that's no excuse for poor manners." Yohan had a dislike towards commoners so seeing their lack in etiquette greatly irritated him.

Lady Rose wasn't expected to perform such given her position but not only were these two students but commoners standing in front of Lords and Ladies, yet they didn't even try to act respectful.

"I have no reason to bow to any of you, it should be enough that I'm willing to answer your questions." The second Aron said these words he left everyone astounded. He had basically just insulted every aristocratic figure present without hesitation.

"Insolence!" Yohan stood from his seat and glared intensely at Aron but made no move nor did Aron show any fear.

"There are no rules in this academy demanding a student of my rank to bow their heads to anyone so why should I when I don't want to? To please your useless ego? Don't mistaken me for your junior because in my short time here my achievements already overshadow yours. If anyone should bow, it's you Yohan." Aron's harsh words struck like heated daggers on bare skin.

Every fiber of Yohan's being was enraged at this blatant disrespect and many other aristocrats eagerly awaited for him to be taught a lesson but no such thing came.

Why? Because Aron's words were true and the glowing orb was testament to this. If Yohan did indeed attack Aron he would be in the wrong and he knew this. So he could only swallow his rage.

"What he said." Evanora pointed to Aron and also made her stance clear although rather oddly.

However Lord Treiss also felt insulted by this statement. "That may be the case here but citizens of Ettenheim are required to show respect to aristocrats, you are but a commoner do not forget that."

Aron felt amused by this and chuckled, aristocrats were so sensitive to such matters that it made them so easy to toy with and carry the conversation. It was like they were asking to be humiliated.

He placed his hand once again on the orb and spoke. "Ettenheim's laws do not apply in the Galos region and even if they did I am not a citizen of Ettenheim and thanks to your words today, I will never make the mistake of becoming one." Aron declared coldly and the orb glowed brightly in response.

In truth he had never ever considered becoming a citizen, he only wished to worsen the image of Lord Treiss in the eyes of other families especially Ettenheim itself since it meant they missed out on a valuable piece.

Anastasia and Henry watched this scene of their grand father being humiliated the same way they were in disbelief.

Just how was this happening?

Simple, because of the laws they themselves made. If the situation had been different and this were perhaps a private meeting then the result of Aron's words may have been different.

But here where basically the whole of Ettenheim could see... no one dared act against the law as they had grave consequences that even Lord Treiss couldn't risk invoking for one commoner.

Belle saw that Lord Treiss was getting nowhere and so she decided to promptly intervene. "You little girl, if you are willing to share what you know about the ruin then I guarantee you will be rewarded greatly or are you going to manipulate her decision?" Belle glanced at Aron seeing as the two seemed close but Aron simply lifted his hand off the orb and gave way to Evanora.

"Evanora doesn't remember everything but there was a big light then voosh it sent us somewhere but it was dark and Evanora likes to sleep when it's dark so she didn't pay attention. But when the big light faded and we were outside again there was a big snake. Pow pow, Aron killed it and we had a feast with animal people. That's all Evanora knows, what is her reward?" Evanora gave a less than helpful statement that many thought was a joke but the glowing orb suggested otherwise.

Belle didn't give up here and tried to push further.

"Come now try harder, I'm sure that's not the only secret you saw or learned from Aron and Lady Rose while on the island. Don't be scared, no one will get angry with you." Belle comforted in a gentle tone and showed a warm smile.

Evanora seemed a bit fidgety after hearing this which showed she had something to hide which internally worried Aron but he chose to observe still. If he jumped in now it would ruin the flow of how well things were going for him.

Meanwhile Ronald and the other Ettenheim crest bearer looked very much amused by the current situation and were even sipping beverages from fine glasses while watching the spectacle unfold.

"No..." Evanora muttered but the orb didn't glow which meant she was lying.

Belle smirked at this and chose to capitalize on it. "See, That was a lie. Come on tell us everything you're hiding." She urged in gentle tone before showing a victorious smile towards Lady Rose.

In that moment Lady Rose wanted to intervene because the worst case scenario was they'd think she was hiding something which she was so it was better she remained quiet and was under watch from Lady Rose. They'd most likely encounter many issues such as attacks later on but it was better than having what they knew revealed.

However Aron shot her a glance and shook his head. This made many believe Evanora did indeed know something and that Rose was trying to hide it.

"Now, now Lady Rose let's not try to convince the child otherwise. Come now you shall reveal what you know in private to us." Lord Treiss added and referred to the Galos only group. He already made his stance clear so there was no point in changing it now.

"It's fine, Evanora didn't want to say but... after Aron beat up the big snake he looked at Miss Rose's butt." Evanora revealed with complete seriousness as the orb glowed in response.

"...."

"...."

"You're joking, is that seriously all?" Belle questioned in disbelief causing Evanora to fidget again.

"Miss Rose also said they are partners and chased Evanora from Aron's room because of partner business... that's everything Evanora was hiding. She doesn't know what partner business is but it lasted all night. Can Evanora get her reward now?" Evanora spoke slowly and the orb glowed brightly at her words.

"..."

"..."

*cough* Ronald couldn't help but choke on his drink upon hearing this while many others were left in great disbelief as well.

Aron could only rub his temples while sighing not because of what she said but because he felt relief. Meanwhile Lady Rose wore a smile on her face and denied nothing.

"This can't be true..." Belle was truly shaken by this, just how.

'Let's finish this.' Aron chose to step back closer to the podium and placed his hand on it's surface before speaking again.

"It's like she's said, only Lady Rose and I know of the real contents of the ruin. Why we are hesitant to share this is because is we simply worry of the effects it will have... the knowledge we hold can shift the power dynamic in Ettenheim. A low class family can become big and a big can become great, as for those already great they would become legendary. I'm sure you all agree such information shouldn't be so easily spread."

As Aron spoke the orb glowed brightly and he smirked internally. After seeing Evanora's display he realized that the orb was easy to manipulate depending on how you worded your questions and answers.

His statement just now didn't specify that the knowledge he was talking about came from the Komi Islands. The knowledge he was referring to was the one present in his legacy ring and it was also true that he worried about the effects revealing such knowledge would have.

However after saying that no one would care about the source, they now knew where the current location was and that was all that mattered.

The only problem was getting said locations to cooperate. But Belle who was basically on bad terms now with both Aron and Lady Rose knew she wouldn't be able to acquire this information easily.

"Dear Aron I understand what you're saying and I completely agree but it's best to share this knowledge with a source that can protect you, your friends and family as some people would be willing to go to extremes to acquire such." Belle suggested in a kind tone but the threat was clear to many.

However Aron only chuckled and shook his head before placing his hand on the orb. "I do appreciate your kindness Lady Belle but you need not worry because I have no family and no friends." Aron revealed while the orb under his hand glowed in response.

p This statement shattered hopes as it now meant if anyone wanted the information they'd need to directly go after either him or Lady Rose...

Aron chose to leave the podium at his time while everyone was shaken, if they were left to recover they could see the wordplay and perhaps ask more accurate questions. This result was more than satisfactory for him.

'Checkmate.'

Meanwhile back on the deck of the Sovereign, Jin and Jagu had been observing the entire scene via the large broadcast hovering above the skies of Galos City.

"So that's how he truly feels." Jagu growled but didn't seem surprised, It would have been more strange if Aron had someone he cared for deeply. He could only imagine how the others would feel when they awoke to this piece of news.

However Jagu just laughed. "Brilliant! What a mad man haha! Oh don't be like that Jagu, remember he said he had no friends or family..."

"He never said anything about allies..." Jin revealed while showing a large grin.