Chapter 312: It’s Natural to be Nervous the First Time
Finally,
The banquet came to an abrupt end after creatures known as cultists suddenly appeared and were suppressed by Viktor.
When the nobles' relatives learned of their deaths, they broke down in tears.
They struggled to identify their family members from the shriveled corpses that had been reduced to mere husks of skin.
Several well-dressed young nobles stumbled over to the bodies.
They clutched the withered remains of their family patriarchs, wailing loudly while trying to suppress the involuntary upward twitches at the corners of their mouths.
They gathered up the pitiful remains of their family heads and trudged away from the magnificent banquet hall.
Viktor stood at the entrance, holding his staff with its golden bird head.
He watched as the family members carried away their relatives' corpses one by one.
In truth, from the moment he entered the banquet hall,
Viktor had already activated [The Scales of the Goddess of Justice].
He had identified those cultists.
In the end, they were drawn out by the goddess's divine power, crawling out of the bodies of those long-dead nobles.
They had been dead for some time.
From the beginning, these cultists had possessed the bodies of these nobles.
After those filthy cultists left their bodies,
They became unrecognizable, shriveled corpses.
Just like what happened in the Delin family before, with the cultist who had possessed Gwen's brother.
Although these dead nobles weren't particularly high-ranking,
Most were just honorary barons and viscounts.
Their deaths couldn't shake the empire's foundations.
This showed that the goddess's cultists hadn't deeply infiltrated the capital yet.
After all, this was the capital, right under the emperor's feet.
It was difficult for cultists to establish a foothold here.
But this also indirectly demonstrated just how persistent these filthy followers were.
Even the capital had cultists.
So in other imperial cities, the cultists might be hiding even deeper.
The nobles' emotions were incredibly complex, like a tangled mess of threads. They departed with furrowed brows and worried expressions.
Even two people who normally couldn't stand each other due to opposing stances,
Now set aside their usual animosity born of different positions.
Everything had developed too quickly, too suddenly.
Even the banquet itself was suddenly arranged.
Probably even the two princes didn't know.
Today, Emperor Aubrey would publicly hand the throne to Aurelianne.
Well, now the nobles didn't need to choose sides anymore.
Thinking carefully, apart from gender, Aurelianne already possessed all the foundations and qualifications an heir should have.
First, regarding qualifications.
Although Erica's genius was too dazzling to ignore,
If one looked carefully, they would find,
Aurelianne's qualifications were definitely not inferior.
At just fifteen years old, and soon to turn sixteen after her upcoming birthday,
Aurelianne had already become a second-tier mage.
Her advancement speed was equally impressive.
After all, Erica had only become a second-tier mage around this time last year.
As for power base.
Military power came from the Northern Knights of House Delin, while political influence came from House Kravina's support.
Her teachers were the renowned strongest councilor of the Mage Council, Viktor, and the head of the Northern Knight family, Gwen Delin.
With these supporters, Aurelianne's backing was already very powerful.
But that wasn't all.
Aurelianne had even gained the Mage Council's support.
Although the Mage Council was indeed a neutral organization,
This organization still had two imperial mages.
Rachel Azure and Viktor Kravina.
These two councilors were proper imperial citizens.
With two imperial councilors openly supporting Aurelianne,
Plus the Mage Council's influence,
Aurelianne's position had already gained international recognition.
This already put her a class above the two princes.
Moreover...
There was an outrageous speculation they never dared voice.
At this rate,
The Mage Council was nearly becoming Viktor's domain.
Who was Viktor? He was Aurelianne Sol's teacher!
Was it reasonable for the Mage Council to support Aurelianne?
It was absolutely reasonable!
The nobles recognized reality - unless one of the two princes could achieve some astounding feat in this final stage of the succession struggle,
The final outcome couldn't be changed.
The ministers left the banquet hall one after another, making sure to greet Viktor as they passed by the entrance.
"See you next time, Count Viktor."
Viktor just nodded, leaning against the doorframe in acknowledgment.
Soon, the nobles in the banquet hall had all departed.
Until Lia and Henie walked out together.
Seeing Viktor, Lia crossed her arms and looked him up and down.
"Not bad, you made quite a scene again today."
"Why can't you ever stay quiet at these noble banquets?"
Although Lia knew clearly why Viktor did what he did.
Viktor gazed at her with profound eyes and calmly replied:
"It's late, go home early."
"I'll go back later."
Lia shrugged, saying nonchalantly.
"Don't worry, Henie is with me."
Thinking of Gwen's condition, Lia added:
"Remember to bring Gwen back early, you know her current situation."
"I'm a bit worried."
Seeing Viktor had no reaction, she knew he had it under control.
So she nodded to Viktor and walked toward the carriage.
But Henie hadn't moved, standing beside Viktor, seeming somewhat shy.
Until Lia had walked some distance, without looking back, she called out:
"Henie, hurry up!"
"Coming!"
Henie responded, seeing Lia hadn't turned back.
Then, she adjusted her position to stand in front of Viktor.
Seemingly giving Viktor no chance to react, she boldly threw herself at him.
Her arms tightly embraced Viktor, as if trying to completely press her body against his.
She buried her head in Viktor's chest, her warm breath rising and falling as she greedily inhaled his scent.
As if her desire had been fully satisfied, Henie lifted her face, eyes slightly narrowed.
She looked at Viktor with what seemed like a teasing smile, like a pink crescent moon hanging on her lips.
Henie's arms continued to tightly embrace Viktor, her hands wandering across his back.
"I'll be waiting for you at home?"
After speaking, Henie released Viktor.
She stepped back several paces, her body slightly tilted, hair falling with gravity.
Her curved smile was like a spring breeze, seeming to brighten even the night somewhat.
"Professor, come back early."
With that, she completely ignored Viktor's reaction and quickly ran toward Lia's direction.
Until both got into the carriage and slowly departed, like a blurry point of light gradually fading into the night.
Viktor remained expressionless, slightly lowering his head to look at the impression left on his chest.
That warmth seemed to still linger there.
Vega flapped its black wings, stretched its beak, and began arranging its messy black feathers.
It lowered its single eye to look at Viktor, clicking its tongue twice before continuing:
"Even when given the chance, you're useless."
"You weren't even brave enough to hug back?"
However, thinking about the perfect view it had from atop Viktor's head,
It had to admit, the view from above made things more obvious.
Vega considered its small form - stuck between them, it would probably suffocate.
Viktor's expression remained as calm as a still lake atop snowy peaks, without a ripple.
Recently, Henie had indeed become bolder.
Even in the imperial palace, with Lia nearby, she dared to actively embrace him.
It was hard to imagine how such a formerly self-deprecating girl,
Had experienced something to become like this now.
But even so, he certainly wouldn't ignore Vega's mockery.
He shot back at Vega:
"Jealous?"
"I can prepare a body like Henie's for you too."
Vega's hoarse laughter suddenly stopped.
Arguing with Viktor was never a good choice.
He would always find ways to leave it speechless.
At this point, Viktor put away his staff.
The heavy staff with its golden bird head dissolved into points of starlight in Viktor's hands and vanished.
He put his hands back in his pockets and said casually to the black crow on his shoulder:
"Let's go, time to pick up Gwen."
Viktor turned around and walked toward the quiet banquet hall.
In the magnificent hall, only a few people remained.
Three councilors, and Duke Levi.
After the banquet, Erica had already bid farewell to Viktor and left early.
She seemed to dislike the banquet atmosphere as much as Viktor did.
But due to her status, Erica had no choice but to attend.
Levi and the three councilors sat together, chatting idly.
After all, it was already late at night.
Emperor Aubrey had returned to his chambers to sleep after announcing the most important matter.
However, he had specially permitted everyone to remain and enjoy themselves in the banquet hall.
But how could those noble lords continue to enjoy themselves?
From the cultists' appearance to their suppression took only about ten minutes.
They all quickly found excuses to leave.
Until now only a few people remained at the banquet.
But today, Aubrey was in a good mood.
He had finally resolved one of his concerns.
Making Aurelianne the empire's heir.
But this matter absolutely couldn't be handled carelessly.
He needed a suitable reason, one that the nobles couldn't find fault with, a reason to convince them to accept Aurelianne.
So Viktor gave him this reason.
Strongly supporting Aurelianne in his position as her teacher.
When Viktor returned to the banquet hall, he saw Gwen still standing alert by the golden platform.
She was very obedient - even though everyone had left, she remained there without moving.
Because this was Viktor's order.
Gwen always remembered what Viktor told her.
For this banquet, she only needed to escort the princess into the hall, then stand in her designated place for everyone to see.
So she just kept standing there, like an ice sculpture carved from wind and snow.
A noble knight like a work of art.
He was about to call Gwen over, but Aurelianne had already come to his side.
After escorting her father back, Aurelianne had returned,
Just to see Viktor again.
In the flickering candlelight, her figure seemed almost blurry.
Just like her heart, uneasy, like rolling waves and tides.
"Tea...teacher."
Standing beside Viktor, even speaking seemed to become nervous.
Just like the first time she trained with her teacher.
The first time, everyone is very nervous.
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