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Path to Prosperity - B2 Chapter 22
🕑 Added 2024-08-21 10:00:06 +0000 UTCPercy didn’t want to be here. He’d hoped his arrival at the capital would open new doors, but that was mostly related to becoming a businessman to make full use of his Ego.
Come to think of it. Since when did my plan change from becoming a Knight to transforming into a full-fledged businessman? Erdwin would be proud of me.
Pery snickered inwardly but his expression remained stoic. He would much rather be busy fighting a handful – maybe even dozens – of demons than standing around in an entrance hall, surrounded by more than a dozen butlers and maids, doing nothing.
First, Percy was being appraised by the butlers and maids, though silently and with fleeting glances. They were trying their best to hide their curiosity but failed miserably. Percy’s Tier and Augmentation pushed his senses high enough to perceive their gazes easily.
“Why am I here in the first place?” Percy mumbled, glancing to the side where he found the Glacia Knights. The Glacia Knights were at ease and chatted lightly until the heavy wooden doors at the side of the entrance hall opened smoothly. The heavy doors swung open without a creak, revealing a middle-aged man who looked eerily similar to Melissa Reeze. He was older, but his amber eyes were full of vigor. His gait was confident and graceful – on the verge of majestic – but even as he maintained his gait, Percy couldn’t discover a single opening.
The man before him didn’t lower his guard, not even in his own home.
That was the Reeze Duke, Melissa’s father.
The Glacia Knights stiffened and pressed their right hands against their left chests with enough vigor to smash their fists against their armors’ chest plates. The metallic thud resounded loudly, but nobody flinched at the sudden cacophony. In fact, nobody moved an inch.
That’s a bit impressive.
Percy acknowledged silently, his eyes trained on the Reeze Duke.
He didn’t need a highly sensitive perception to tell how powerful the Reeze Duke was. A single glance was more than enough to tell. The Reeze Duke was one of the strongest men in the kingdom.
He gestured to the Glacia Knights to be at ease and glanced over to Michael. The Duke was smiling, but Percy didn’t feel like he was in pleasant company. If anything, he felt like the Duke was going to rip him into shreds if he dared to make a single mistake. One wrong word and Percy’s life would be over.
“You must be Percy. I am honored to meet my daughter’s savior,” the Reeze Duke greeted him and stretched out his hand for a handshake.
Percy had [Hawk Eyes] activated the moment the Reeze Duke emerged from the side of the room, and that was probably for the best. The butlers and maids didn’t make any big moves, but their eyes widened in utter surprise when they saw their master’s stretched-out hand.
He tilted his head slightly to glance at the Glacia Knights, who were similarly surprised.
What am I supposed to do now? Shake his hand and get executed if that is a test to figure me out, or I will get executed for rejecting his handshake and humiliating the Reeze Duke in his estate. Great. That’s just great!
Percy felt like running away for a moment, but he regained control of his body and mind shortly afterward. He cursed his overthinking nature for another moment before raising his hand to shake the Reeze Duke’s hand. Percy looked straight into the vibrant ember eyes of the Duke, deciding to go with the flow rather than imagining getting executed for every mistake he may or may not have made. So what if he made a mistake?
The Reeze Duke grasped Percy’s hand tightly and was about to say something when he looked seriously into Percy’s eyes for the first time. His lips parted, but they closed a moment later. His head flicked to the old knight, Liam, and the Glacia Knight Captain, a trace of confusion and anger igniting in his eyes.
“His eyes.” He barely said, which resulted in Ulfhar nodding. Meanwhile, Knight Liam stepped forward.
“We planned to tell you right away, but–...” He was interrupted when the Reeze Duke raised his hand.
“But I told you to bring him over without delay. I see.”
The sound of heels clattering on the polished floor resounded, and the Reeze Duke turned around, revealing two women in beautiful, fluttering dresses. One of the women was Melissa, wearing a light dress in a dark bluish tone. It fit her very well and highlighted her beauty once again. Still, seeing Melissa in a dress was weird.
She looks better in armor. This feels wrong.
Melissa was clearly uncomfortable in the dress and didn’t even try to hide her discontent. She glared at the middle-aged woman next to her. The woman didn’t look much older, but the resemblance of their facial features was cunning. The unknown beauty was most definitely Melissa’s mother. She had long, black, silky hair and dark eyes. Her facial features weren’t exotic, but combined with her bright beige dress, Melissa’s mother looked completely different than her daughter. The combination of similarities between the daughter-mother pair and their difference created a unique scenery, which confused Percy much more than it should.
“Melissa. Why did you not tell me about Percy’s eyes,” The Reeze Duke asked, ignoring his daughter’s displeasure.
“What about his eyes, father? They’re nice, but that’s it.” Melissa responded with a shrug. Her mother’s tongue clicked quietly, clearly not happy about the way Melissa spoke, but Melisa didn’t mind. At this very moment, Melissa was too annoyed about her mother forcing a dress on her to realize her father’s reaction.
“So, you didn’t think his eye color would be of any importance? Are you serious right now?”
Melissa slowed down and looked at Percy for the first time. She saw the glint of his azure eyes without saying anything. However, her mother, who glanced at Percy for the first time as well, exclaimed quietly.
“Oh my!”
The Reeze Duke grunted, “Yes. Oh my.”
“I…am sorry to butt into your little discussion…but I hope you can let go of my hand, please…sir…” Percy grit his teeth through pain, his hand already crunching from the force the Reeze Duke had applied while calling out his daughter.
He was frustrated and let off some steam through the handshake. Percy’s hand didn’t like that.
The Reeze Duke glanced back at Percy and looked down at his hand before letting go.
“Thank you, sir,” Percy said, genuinely happy to keep his hand. It hurt a bit but wasn’t broken. That was enough for him. Or, it would have been enough if their discussion hadn’t revolved around him and his eye color.
“I don’t want to sound rude or break any common rules of courtesy, but since everyone here is talking about me and my eyes, I guess it is fine to ask what exactly everyone is talking about. Why is my eye color such a big deal?”
One of the butlers gasped quietly but quickly sealed his mouth and looked to the ground, trying to avoid punishment by all means.
The Reeze Duke and his wife looked at him, while Melissa continued down the flight of steps to the entrance hall, where everyone stood.
“Your eye color is not commonly seen in the Kainesh kingdom…or anywhere in the mortal realm,” The Duchess explained before anyone could say something. She arrived next to her daughter and approached Percy and her husband. However, her eyes were trained on Percy the whole time.
“Have you heard about the Manyeas theory?”
Percy shook his head slowly, which resulted in an expecting nod.
“The theory is complex and lengthy, but to summarize it in a single sentence, The theory revolves around the influence mana has on eye colors. The higher your mana purity, the brighter your eyes will be. That is how Melissa’s brown eyes – her eye color was just like mine – shifted into vibrant amber eyes when she gained access to mana and manifested an Ego. For the records, I do have access to mana, but my family rarely awakens an Ego. The Egos in our family are much stronger than the norm, though. Don’t underestimate my family,” She winked at Percy when the last words echoed through the entrance hall.
Percy was unsure if revealing this much in the entrance hall was okay. He expected some of the information he’d just learned to be secretive, but nobody bats an eyelid at it.
Still, Percy was confused at the input of information. He unsheathed his sword a few centimeters until he could see his reflection in the blade. A few seconds overflowing with tension passed before Percy sheathed his blade again. The tension subsided as Percy shrugged.
“I figured that my mana purity was higher than the norm when I Melissa and some heirs, but my eyes have always been like this. The Gift and Ego I manifested a few months ago didn’t alter my eye color,” Percy clarified, which resulted in a deep sigh from the Reeze Duke.
“That is even more problematic, kid,” He said, “There are only two families in the kingdom’s records speaking about babies born with azure eyes. One of the families betrayed the king.”
The Reeze Duke pinched his nosebridge, “The family was executed for siding with the Devil, who cursed the heir of the throne. It might not surprise you, but the traitors were killed. The Old King decreed the death of all family members without a single exception since the corruption of the Devil spread across the Synther household, infesting everyone. We do not judge the Old King for his actions. After all, the Old King lost his grandson to the terrors of the Devil.”
Percy was unsure how to react to this news. Was he the only survivor of the Synther household? That possibility was possible, but it didn’t feel quite right.
“What about the other family? You mentioned another family giving birth to babies with azure-colored eyes,” Percy asked before quickly adding,” Sir.”
His heart palpated wildly, and it felt like his heart was about to explode at any moment, but the Reeze Duke shook his head slowly.
“The other family is the Royal house, but the heir to the crown is their only male heir. He died tragically, cursed by the Devil as a baby, and tormented by the curse until he took his last breath.”
That’s sad and all, but I don’t care about the crown prince’s tragic story, the kingdom’s traitors and all that nonsense. Who the hell am I?!
