Yondl and Dagga both walked side by side down the busy halls of the castle while the maids and butler's worked tirelessly to prepare the banquet.
It had been nearly 11 years since the last royal family meeting when Master Smith Tyrele first made the king's sword.
It was a testament that Myaki was just as important as when Smith Tyrele forged Devils Bane from the remains of a Grand Demon.
And that very person had saved Aria and her knights while killing a 7th Star Great Wyrm.
The two Prince's walked in complete silence until they reached their destination and saw Kentola standing outside a doorway to where Aria was preparing for the banquet.
"My lords, lady Aria is still in the middle of her preparations. If you wish to see her then you will have to wait." Kentola said with a slight bow.
Kentola held both prince's in the highest regard and both prince's valued Kentola's fiery spirit.
They entrusted Aria's safety to her and knew she was more capable then most and the fact that she was a woman.
Giving the role of Aria's protector to a man? Both prince's would rather die then let that happen.
"That's alright we can wait. In the meantime tell us about the one who saved our sister?" Yondl said.
Dagga rested on the floor while using Genel as a backrest.
Both of them waited for Kentola to tell them what she knew about Myaki to try and judge his character. But Kentola had already been given orders by both Hector and Aria.
"Forgive me my lord's. Both the King and Princess have forbade me to divulge information about Myaki." Kentola said.
Yondl and Dagga expected this response from Kentola and inwardly cursed their father before Aria opened the door and stepped out to greet them both.
Both brothers were speechless as they saw Aria's beautiful dress and hair. If Aria was queen without a king then everyone on the continent would ask for her hand in marriage.
The red and black dress with a golden rose engraving on the gowns lower half. However instead of the traditional red gloves to match the dress as Aria has worn countless times she wore a pair of spiked gauntlets.
Before both prince's could react they felt Aria's fist firmly driven into their gut.
"Stop causing trouble you two idiots!" Aria yelled as she looked at her older brothers in annoyance.
All her life Aria had been watched over heavily and not just by her knights but her family as well.
When she first tried to become an Adventurer she was discovered by Margaret who had placed a tracker spell on her.
Since then she had little freedom to do what she wanted how she wanted. It was only after reaching her 16th birthday that Hector and the others leaned back from being overprotective of Aria.
Yondl was quick to catch his breath as it was nothing compared to the pain he learned when mastering his father's swordsmanship techniques.
Dagga however wasn't the typical warrior type and was more of a support role with his summons.
"Dammit Aria, you know im not as physically strong as Yondl. Do you have to hit so hard? I might have a broken rib." Dagga said as he summoned another one of his familiar's in the form of a falcon with an emerald green healing aura that quickly mended Dagga's bruises.
Aria ignored Dagga's plead and tossed the spiked gauntlets to the side before ruffling up Genel's fur.
Yondl was silent as he noticed a change in Aria. They loved her just as much as she loved them but now that love shifted from them to someone else.
"Seems the one named Myaki has left quite the impression on you sister." Yondl said.
Aria turned to Yondl and looked right into his cloudy eyes.
"Don't even think of doing anything. If you try something then consider yourself dead to me understand?" Aria said.
Kentola, Yondl and Dagga were speechless at Aria's threat which only proved Yondl's words.
"Very well little sister, but should he be an enemy of the crown then I will be forced to act." Yondl said.
He was the crown princes and his rise to the throne was only a few years away before being named King of Tuonku. Only after taking a suitable bride as his queen would he be given the crown.
So Yondl would do anything to protect his future and the future of his nation regardless of the situation between his sister and a commoner.
-Meanwhile elsewhere in the capital-
"Father, when will you address the king about the newly discovered dungeon? We have been suffering countless losses from the adventurers we hired to investigate." Said the boy.
His father, Baron Ulat Cyrro, had just reached the capital after the three days journey with his son Philip Cyrro.
As of late for the Cyrro family they have been doing whatever it took to fully explore the newly discovered dungeon.
But it was proving costly as the first wave of C-Rank adventurers were killed by a goblin King which was a A-Rank equivalent monster.
Each expedition team of adventurers were payed before being sent to the dungeon as there was no greater danger then exploring an unknown dungeon.
But each time was met with failure with only a couple of survivors who spoke of monsters beyond human understanding and demons.
Even after sending nearly 80 B-Rank and 25 A-Rank adventurers did they finally fully explore the first floor and retrieve something of immense value.
A greatsword 7ft in length and 2ft in width with a serrated cross guard and chain wrapped around the handle.
It was this very item the Baron Cyrro was carrying with his in a locked case next to him.
"Once the royal banquet starts I will present this as a gift to his majesty. He will then send more men and resources to help clear the expedition which will give even more riches." Ulat said while wiping his fingers from the chicken grease using a cloth he had tucked into his shirt.
The Cyrro family were industry men not fighters but it was common sense that in a dungeon the further you go the better riches awaited.
So in Ulat's eyes exploring the dungeon fully would more then make up for their previous losses.
All that was needed was to give the king the blade and ask for assistance in clearing the dungeon.
'If everything works out then I might just be made a Count or Marquis.' Ulat thought in silence as he enter the gates to the palace.
He knew better then to try his luck with the royal family because each and everyone of them were monsters in strength and abilities.
Even Dotcanu could rival multiple industry households like Cyrro all at the same time as his intelligence was beyond that of a genius.
However Philip wasn't so reserved about the royal family and had more sinister thoughts in mind.
'This will be my chance to win the heart of the Princess! Then I'll be able to create a new household!' Philip thought to himself.
He had long since wanted to marry the Princess and had ignored his father's warnings not to try and get involved with the princess because of what happened to the last noble who tried.
Philip only disregarded his father's words because he thought it were only lies to keep him in the family business of slaving away for the greater houses.
But if he were able the marry a princess then all of that would changed.
-A few hours later-
The heads of noble houses had filled the ball room with some tables offering snacks before the banquet officially started while there were some performers.
Many gave their respects and greetings to Hector and Margaret who sat in their golden thrones.
Margaret was the first to notice Aria fiddling with her hands and leaned towards her.
"Aria my dear, everything will be alright. Nothing will happen so long as we be careful." Margaret said.
Aria calmed down a little just was Edward walked up in his armor that clearly looked fresh from a battle of life or death.
"The Crown prince sure has gotten stronger since he left the capital. Perhaps we should let him take my position as General." Edward said happily.
If anyone was to be named Yondl's master who taught him how to use a blade it was Edward.
And Hector knew of Yondl and Dagga's accomplishments during their time away.
"Once Yondl finds a suitable bride to his liking then he'll be given the crown. He doesn't have Divinity like Aria otherwise I would have given him the crown right now." Hector said.
He had wanted for his own son's and daughter to find the one they would want to spend the rest of their lives with. But that was impossible for Aria because of the three princes who ever very protective of their sister.
And not one of the prince's sought out marriage, including Yondl who was the oldest.
So until either Yondl awakened Divinity or gained a fiancée he could not ascend the throne.
But just as Hector was thinking of sending word to the neighboring kingdoms about an arranged marriage for Yondl the bell wrung.
Anyone who had attended the previous Royal Family Meeting knew what the ball signified.
"Now presenting the guest of honor, Myaki!" The announcer yelled as the ballroom door was opened.
Myaki felt like hundreds of snakes were slithering over his body as everyone in the hall looked at him. But he ignored this feeling and entered the ballroom.
While others looked at Myaki with curiosity and awe some were interested in other things about Myaki, especially Baroness Snow who was a merchant by trade.
She had recently been given a Great Wyrm carcass to dissect and trade with neighboring kingdoms for profit. So she instantly recognized the materials Myaki's clothes were made of.
She had notice Myaki had started grabbing some desserts from the nearby table and walked up.
"It's most impressive to kill a Great Wyrm, the kingdom will greatly profit from your deeds." Snow said as she too grabbed a tart.
Everyone nearby was silent as if listening to see how Myaki would respond, but it was the opposite of what they had hoped as Myaki turned to look at Snow.
"I'm not going to talk to snakes and vultures who only seek to fill their own pockets off of the work of others." Myaki said before piling up a lot of sweets onto his plate.
Snow and the surrounding nobles who overheard their brief talk were stunned, especially Snow.
She wasn't born a noble and was given the title of Baroness thanks to developing trade routes with other nations and bringing in massive profits for the kingdom.
She had never once tried to line her own pockets with the profits made from others as she knew the struggle all commoners faced when it came to making a living.
But now she was being called a vulture who only cared about filling her own coffers.
If not for Hector who clapped his hands to get everyone's attention then everyone would have seen Snow's face filled with anger.
"Thank you all for coming to this assembly. Tonight we are to celebrate our guest of honor who not only defeated a 7th Star Great Wyrm but also saved my Daughter, Princess Aria Salazan. May we forever remember this greet deed to the Tuonku Kingdom." Hector announced to the ballroom.
But while all the nobles clapped Myaki was more interested in the sweets stacked on his plate rather then the applause.
Just as Hector was about to officially start the banquet he noticed Ulat Cyrro and his son Philip approach while Philip held a case in his hand.
"Your Majesty may I have a moment of your time? It is in regard to the new dungeon found in Hollow's Edge." Ulat said.
Hector and Margaret both eyed the case in Philip's hands as they could feel a chill crawl up their spine before turning to Ulat.
"Baron Cyrro, I have heard your expedition teams sent have suffered enormous losses. I will be sending additional forces to aid you should it be necessary." Hector said.
Although he promised reinforcements to Ulat he had no intention of following through since it was most definitely Myaki's home that was labeled the new found dungeon.
Even when Dotcanu told him about the huge loss of adventurers sent to explore the dungeon Hector thought it truly was a new dungeon while Myaki's home was near it.
However even a beggar wouldn't leave his home unguarded much less someone like Myaki.
But just as Hector was about to open the case to see what was inside a hand was firmly placed over it, Myaki's hand to be precise.
Hector and Margaret immediately saw the look in Myaki's eyes as he noticed longer held a plate of sweets in his hands.
Even Edward could see something was about to happen and was about to reach for his sword.
But he noticed it was gone and saw Myaki holding it.
'When did he get my sword from me?! And without me noticing at all?!' Edward thought to himself.
Hector however noticed the sword in Myaki's hand and noticed the ice cold gaze in Myaki's eyes as he spoke.
"How did you get this blade?" Myaki said.
Without even seeing what was inside the case Myaki recognized what it was instantly.
Ulat however had a look of disgust for Myaki.
"Even if you are a guest of honor for the royal family you are still a commoner. Remove your hand from this case at once! Your kind is lucky to even attend such an extravagant event such as this!" Ulat yelled.
Hector was about to intervene to stop what was to come but he was a step too late as Myaki elbowed Ulat's face and kicked Philip into a table rendering both unconscious in seconds before catching the create in his open hand.
Aria was about to try and calm Myaki down before Margaret stepped in front of her with an atmosphere of a ruler.
"That is enough, today is meant to be a day of celebration and not of aggression. Any further fighting will be prohibited within these halls." Margaret commanded.
All the nobles instinctively kneeled while only Myaki stood firm in place.
His gaze wasn't on Margaret or Edward who looked ready to fight despite not having a weapon but to Hector.
"Your majesty... grant me ownership of Hollow's Edge." Myaki said.
It wasn't a request but a blatant demand that was almost a threat.
But now Hector now had to make a choice and one that could effect the entire kingdom.
"Hear me now! From this moment forward I name Myaki Count of Hollow's Edge and give him the surname of Yolige!" Hector said to the noble's shock.
Myaki Yolige was now a Count of Hollow's Edge and not one of the nobles could refute this as they didn't want to become like Ulat and his son who were still unconscious.