Silence filled the room.
Ray sighed. He was about to explain his reasoning to Aren when the two men entered the room again.
The older man bowed once more and said, "Young Master, it's time for you to attend the meeting."
Ray stared at them with wide eyes. Didn't William say the meeting would start in an hour?
He cursed inwardly. It felt as though they were deliberately making sure he had no time to prepare.
Now he was genuinely interested to see what these people had in store for Aren.
He put on his boots and turned to the two men. "Lead the way."
Without wasting time, the two men started moving. The medical room was connected to a familiar large corridor.
After a few turns and flights of stairs, they reached the entrance of a narrow corridor.
Both men stopped and pointed inside. "Young Master, the gate to the meeting chamber is at the other end." With that, they walked away in the opposite direction, leaving him alone.
Ray took a glance before walking forward.
As he reached the first bend, a man in a white suit appeared in front of him.
Startled, Ray stepped back, but the man merely nodded and pointed toward a small silver gate that had mysteriously appeared beside him.
Ray looked back and forth between the man and the gate. 'Space hex art? No, it was probably rune hex art.'
Without thinking further, he pushed the gate open and stepped inside.
The light around him shifted from blue to bright white. He found himself standing at the edge of a massive chamber.
The chamber had an inclined floor, with the center approximately two floors lower than the edges.
The entire structure was shaped like an inverted cone with a flat bottom. At the center was a massive round table, surrounded by around twenty empty chairs.
There were two circular rings of flat flooring at the first- and second-floor levels.
The lower ring, at first-floor height, held three massive chairs.
The upper ring, at the second-floor level, had eleven large chairs arranged around the central area of the hall.
Looking around, Ray noticed three more gates, one at the opposite end and two on the left and right sides.
Long staircases extended from each gate down toward the bottom of the chamber.
He walked down the stairs and approached the round table.
He was the first to arrive. From up close, he noticed six silver chairs that were distinct from the other red ones.
This arrangement completely changed his perception of the meeting. It was far more serious than he had initially assumed.
He sat down on one of the silver chairs and closed his eyes, waiting for the others to arrive.
Soon, the remaining three doors opened, and one by one, other teenagers entered the chamber.
All of them wore far more luxurious clothing than he did. While most looked a couple of years older than Aren, there were a few who seemed to be the same age or even younger.
Since Ray was already seated, everyone who entered stared at him as they walked in.
He was surprised by the disgust evident on many of their faces.
'Are they disgusted by Aren's low talent?' Ray wondered.
Just then, a silver-haired beauty entered from the left side. She wore a sleek black suit over an elegant red dress.
The black suit accentuated her silver hair.
Her bright blue eyes, paired with her stone-cold expression, swept over the hall.
Silence fell for a brief moment before many people erupted in greetings.
Unbothered, she walked to one of the empty silver seats.
'It's her,' Ray muttered inwardly. At a single glance, it was obvious why she was part of the protagonist's harem.
Still, he was unsure how to feel. For a brief moment, he felt relieved to finally see a character from the novel. It erased the last trace of doubt from his mind.
That relief vanished as the description from the novel surfaced in his thoughts. 'The ruthless demoness, Melina.'
Aren's situation was already a mess, and Ray had no idea whether she had any dealings with Aren.
For such a troublesome character, it was better to consult Aren first.
He leaned back and observed the others while waiting for the meeting to begin.
One by one, everyone took their seats until all the chairs at the center were filled.
A few minutes later, three middle-aged army generals and several elders entered the chamber and seated themselves in the designated chairs on the first and second levels.
The moment every seat was occupied, a booming echo rang through the chamber.
"The selection of the next Lord begins!"
Everyone straightened in their seats. Ray did the same, scanning the room.
What intrigued him was that everyone present had different shades of blue eyes.
Suddenly, an immature voice rang out from the front. "You really have no shame!"
Ray looked ahead, tilting his head in confusion. A boy who appeared a year younger than Aren was shouting at him.
The boy yelled again, "How dare you sit there after doing all that? Why don't you just disappear? Leave Mom alone!"
Only then did Ray notice that while the boy had silver hair, he looked almost exactly like Aren. Looking closer, the resemblance between their faces was uncanny.
So this was the golden child who received all the support.
Intrigued, Ray asked calmly, "You're Blane, right?"
As Ray asked that, inside, Aren stared at his brother, stoic. His emotions were in turmoil, and he did not even know what to feel right now.
'Am I happy to see someone from my family? Or is this sadness, seeing someone who looks like me but lived a completely different life? No, maybe this is anger. But toward whom? It's not like this kid was responsible for my condition. Is this sympathy…?'
Aren kept staring at his brother, trying to sort out the inner madness.
Blane, on the other hand, fixed his gaze on the most despised person in his life. It was the first time he had laid eyes on his so-called brother, but he had heard countless times from others how much of an embarrassment Aren was.
Blane clenched his teeth. He did not want to associate with this person. It would have been much better if Aren had died in the trial. He asked, full of resentment, "Why did you survive? Haven't you tortured us enough?"