Three figures sat in silence.

Neither party spoke as Aldric looked at the white paper in front of his desk.

It said;

-Viscount Evenus

The words were etched in gold.

Aldric stared at the paper for an unknown period of time. By the time he raised his head, he felt two gazes on him.

One belonged to someone he knew, Viscount Verlice, while another belonged to a man with long white hair and handsome features. His eyes were extremely deep, and despite his young appearance, he was the oldest person in the room.

Wearing sleek white clothing that perfectly matched his hair, he sat back on his chair with a relaxed expression as he crossed his legs together.

A faint smile tugged at his lips as he glanced down at the paper in front of Aldric's desk.

"....I think you've had enough time to process the piece of news. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your promotion."

"Congratulations, Viscount Evenus."

Viscount Verlice added from the side with a smile.

He was also quite happy with Aldric's promotion. He had benefitted quite a lot from Aldric's plans.

While he didn't gain any land, he gained a lot of money.

...And that was all that mattered to him. He already had enough land. He wasn't interested in more of it.

More land wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Sometimes, it was just added trouble.

He was more than content with monetary compensation. His goal was to enrich and invest in his already existing land rather than developing a new one.

"Thank you."

Aldric's expression didn't show many changes despite the words of congratulations.

He was more wary of the man who sat alongside Viscount Verlice.

...I didn't expect him to come of all people.'

The situation was outside of his expectations.

Nonetheless, he had no choice but to keep himself composed.

"I figure you're not just here to congratulate me on my promotion, right?"

"Haha, you're correct."

The man in white laughed while passing over another letter.

"I'm sure you already know why I'm here. I'd like to formally invite you to join Central."

Aldric lowered his head to look at the letter passed onto him.

He didn't open it and just looked at the man in white.

"....A lot of people will be displeased by your choice. Are you sure you want to invite him?"

Joining Central was no easy matter.

There were a lot of candidates each year, and there was no guarantee one could join the already existing council. Each candidate was a high-ranking noble with a certain amount of influence.

The Ramsail County was one such example.

Despite trying for so many years, they were still unable to join Central. The same was true for many other noble Households.

...And it was for this reason that Aldric was confused by the latter.

Was Central so eager to recruit him that they were willing to face backlash from the other noble households vying for inclusion?

If so...

He pressed the letter back.

"I'll join."

They had shown how much they valued him, and he accepted.

His immediate acceptance took the Viscount and the man in white aback. They didn't expect him to agree so readily.

"....Do you not need time to think?"

"No, I've already made my decision."

Central was a good way for him to further increase his influence. Aldric was a greedy man. If he could get more, he would get more.

His way of thought was that simple.

....Unfortunately, after everything that had happened, he'd need several years or even decades to get more.

He was a patient person, but if he could get something faster, he'd choose the faster option.

And Central was the best option for him currently.

11

The room grew silent as all parties stopped talking.

Aldric stared directly at the man in white. Despite his gaze being suffocating, he remained cool-headed and calm.

Eventually, a smile tugged at the man's mouth.

"Alright."

He leaned forward.

"If that's the case, we can discuss the terms of your acceptance. One must pay a price to join Central. You can say that it's one way participating members contribute to the organization. This could involve monetary fees or other forms of negotiation. We are quite flexible in this

regard."

The next few minutes were spent talking about the fees that Aldric would have to pay in order

to join Central.

This was a rather common situation and Aldric didn't mind it too much.

Especially since the price he was going to pay was well worth the perks he would receive from

joining Central.

....The discussion was rather efficient.

Aldric agreed to essentially all the terms presented and soon a paper was signed between the

two.

"Perfect."

The man in white stood up, extending his hand towards Aldric.

"....It's with great pleasure that I welcome you to Central."

"Thank you."

Aldric similarly stood up to shake his hand.

While Aldric didn't smile, there were faint traces of joy on his face.

"Oh, right..."

As if remembering something, the man in white glanced around the room before settling back

into his chair.

"I heard that your son and his escort are both present. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a chance to meet them. I watched their performance in the Summit and I'd like to say that they've done a great job. It'd be my pleasure to meet the future stars of our Empire."

"....That's alright."

Aldric similarly sat back down. Placing the paperwork away, he glanced towards the door. "I've already notified them before. The two of them should be on their way here right at this

very moment."

He had long expected for such a request.

To Tok-

And as expected...

A few minutes after his words fell, the three heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." Aldric's soft voice echoed throughout as the door opened shortly after to reveal three figures.

Julien stood at the center while Evelyn and Leon stood by his side. The moment they entered

the room, the expression of each person present changed.

Evelyn's face stiffened at the sight of her dad.

Leon's face stiffened at the sight of the man in white.

.... And Julien's face only showed subtle changes. He was the one who appeared to be the

calmest out of the three.

"It's good that you three are here. We were just talking about you."

Aldric stood up and gestured for the three to sit down on the large sofa positioned a bit

further away from the desk.

The three looked alright with the arrangement.

However, Leon's gaze couldn't help but shift towards the man in white from time to time.

His face was extremely stiff, and from time to time his head would flick in Julien's direction. It

was almost as if he was desperately trying to get his attention. Unfortunately, Julien was too busy thinking about other things to pay attention to Leon.

'... Considering how they were talking about us and Evelyn's dad is present, I'm afraid that my worst

fears are coming to light.'

The more he dwelled on the situation the more his heart sank.

'I need to find an excuse to stop this nonsense.'

He turned his head to meet Evelyn's. As if she had the same thoughts as him, she nodded her

head.

"Father."

She was the first one to speak, addressing her father first.

He was a tall man with sharp features. Unlike Evelyn, he sported a pair of glasses that lent him

a scholarly air. His attire was dark, accented by faint purple outlines. As Evelyn called for him,

The gently tilted his head and smiled.

"What is it, Evelyn? Is there something that—"

"I don't wish to get married yet."

11

The room grew silent right after her words. Julien pressed his lips.

He didn't expect her to be so direct. However, there was no going back. They had already

made their bed.

".... You don't wish to get married yet?"

"Is that not why you're here? To engage me with Julien?"

""

At her words, Viscount Verlice was taken aback.

In all honesty, no. This wasn't the reason he had come here. He was here on behalf of Central

to negotiate the Evenus County's entry into the organization.

The thought of engaging Julien with his daughter hadn't crossed his mind yet.

'However, now that I think about it... It wouldn't be a bad idea if it happened.'

....The reason talks broke down in the past was due to Julien's behavior and lack of maturity.

He also didn't show any promising future which resulted in the breakdown of the talks.

But things were different now.

'He's handsome, his father has a promising future, is very talented, and Evelyn doesn't seem to hate

him as much as before...'

If the thought hadn't occurred to him before, it certainly did now as he turned to look at

Aldric. He was also lost in thought.

From his point of view, a marriage between Julien and Evelyn would be quite beneficial.

Not only was the Verlice territory rich, but it was also next to theirs. If the two were to ally

themselves through marriage, then...

A change occurred in his eyes.

'Oh, no.'

As if realizing that her words had backfired, Evelyn started to panic.

'....This, my father, is actually considering it.'

She knew him well enough to know this.

'Oh, no...'

On the other hand, while Julien didn't know Aldric all that well, he was no fool. He could see

he was actually thinking about it.

'This is bad.'

His mind started to work on overdrive.

'...He probably won't buy my excuse of wanting to focus on my training and all that. I could just

disappear from the Empire, but that would be inconvenient. I need an excuse to get him off my back for

now. Something like.... A new target?'

A bold idea sprung up in Julien's mind all of a sudden.

'Right!'

He almost had the urge to smack his fist on his palm.

'I'll just pretend like I'm in love with someone else and that if it's not her then I won't be engaged with

anyone. It'll have to be someone impossible, but worth my admiration...'

A person appeared in his mind.

He didn't really have to think too much about who.

Lifting his head, he took a deep breath. Then, staring directly at his father, he mumbled,

"Actually, about an engagement... I'd like to have one."

"....!"

Leon's head flicked up all of a sudden as the room grew silent. All eyes fell on Julien.

Thump. Thump.

Leon rapidly tapped his thigh against Julien's as his eyes grew bloodshot.

'No, Julien...'

Flick, flick.

His gaze flicked between Julien and the white-haired man.

Thump. Thump.

Leon's bumping became more pronounced.

However, Julien ignored him as he cleared his throat and Aldric opened his mouth.

"You want to be engaged? ...Do you have a candidate?"

"Yes."

Leon recalled a certain scene in the past and his face grew pale.

"....Who is it?"

"Delilah V. Rosemberg."

Julien replied flatly.

"....She's the one I'd like to get engaged with."

Thump!

Leon slumped onto his chair as he turned to look at the white-haired man who had a sudden

shift in his expression.

'Ah..'

Leon wanted to bury himself in the ground.

'Why...? Why now of all times?'

Leon's expression twisted as he scooched away from Julien. Of all places to do this, he had to

do it right when he was present.

By him... He meant;

Orson Rosenmberg.

Delilah's father and Central's Head.

"Ah."

Leon closed his eyes and stopped thinking.

He could only silently pray for Julien.

'Rip, bozo.'