Rise of the Harem King
Chapter 39: Rivalry

Chapter 39: Rivalry

Carlos watched as Sophia walked away, his heart tightening with despair. Oh, how tragic his fate was! How could a man possibly endure such suffering? To be separated from his muse for so long, an eternity, some would say.

As she slowly walked farther from him, the man collapsed to his knees, tears escaping his eyes. He continued to watch those beautiful golden strands drift away with each step.

The worst part was knowing that it was his own fault. He was the one who had accepted this task instead of staying by his queen’s side, as he should have. And along with his sorrow came the burning frustration of not being with her.

"Why did you come up with this sudden meeting?" he turned, ready to vent his anger on Ana. "That spoiled, vain fool has no future, there’s no reason to waste time on him!"

Ana would normally have stayed quiet. The last thing she wanted was to irritate anyone in a position of power, even though she had long since abandoned any thoughts of seducing Carlos.

"He dismissed his honorary knight," she replied calmly, confident that this piece of information was valuable enough to change everything.

The man before her was left speechless. At first, he doubted what he had just heard, but Ana reaffirmed it. He then fell into deep contemplation, struggling to understand how anyone could be so foolish.

"A Valtherion knight came to visit. She said she’d like to speak with us," a maid interrupted their conversation, delivering the message.

Alexia had arrived much earlier than expected, perhaps because her mind and heart were too restless to wait any longer.

Carlos barely had time to process how idiotic that decision had been or to consider the immense advantages they could gain from it.

Either way, his expression turned serious as he calculated the best way to bring Luis down once and for all. If Sophia could absorb everything the blonde had, her position within the family would improve significantly.

Naturally, Louis wasn’t the only close relative she had. In fact, as was tradition, Belfort’s boss had several wives and more than a dozen children, but most of them didn’t even have their best abilities and were soon discarded in the competition for power within the family.

I must do a good job today so that one day my lady can rule this family of useless people.

The man pondered as he walked. Even if Sophia herself wasn’t particularly ambitious, her devoted follower certainly was.

Then, the two were guided by the maid to the reception room, where an elegant woman awaited them.

As usual, Alexia was dressed in her combat uniform and carried her sword. However, her expression didn’t resemble that of a soldier. she wore a serene and resigned smile instead.

Carlos was slightly surprised by this. As miserable as serving Luis must have been, he had expected the woman to be devastated. After dedicating her entire life to the role and executing it flawlessly, being discarded should have shattered her.

What he didn’t know was that her heart had already chosen its own path, a path she would now walk freely, without fear.

Regardless, he took a seat across from her. Ana, on the other hand, remained standing, quietly observing how things would unfold.

𓊖𓊖𓊖

For Ember, who chose to live near the academy, the walk to the auditorium was pleasant and perhaps even served as a morning workout. There was just one problem: it wasn’t to the auditorium that she needed to go.

The coronation would take place in the principal’s office, located on the third floor of the main bulding. A place that couldn’t have been farther from the auditorium she had walked to.

And Ember’s anger continued to build. Apparently, the walk hadn’t been enough to release all the stress.

Luckily, a good run would help solve the problem.

Listening to her friend this time, Ember followed Lara, and the two ran all over Enki, barely... arriving just in time.

"Not even living next to the academy, you can manage to arrive before me," Sophia laughed as she saw Ember getting there late. "Little fire, you really were born to stay behind me."

Then, Sophia puffed out her large chest, proudly displaying the gold brooch she had received, emphasizing how much bigger she was compared to Ember. Beside her, Luis wore a vacant expression, with a bronze brooch he had earned largely thanks to the girl he had fired.

Obviously, seeing the woman who had defeated her made Ember almost explode. And the nickname the blonde had given her, though silly, bothered her a lot.

Avoiding a fight from breaking out, Morrigan stepped forward and positioned herself between the two young women. Then, turning to Ember with her usual, emotionless expression, she said:

"Please, don’t cause trouble."

The redhead, showing how quickly her mood could shift, smiled faintly upon seeing the maid. She then thanked the woman and complimented her hair.

After passing the second test, Ember anxiously waited to know if Davi had passed as well. That anxiety only grew when Lara and Aden passed and said they didn’t know where the boy was.

It was at that moment that the impassive woman appeared, helping to calm her down. Even though it wasn’t allowed to share information about what was happening outside the exam, she confirmed that Davi was alive.

Moreover, Morrigan was kind enough to pass along some more information after the test, such as the fact that he was fine and had passed the rank F test.

Now, thinking she might meet her beloved, Ember completely forgot about the coronation ceremony. Humming lightly, she followed the instructions and stood between Sophia and Luis.

She was appropriately given a silver brooch. Afterward, she heard a brief speech from Morrigan about responsibility and such things. Finally, a photo was taken to immortalize the moment.

Additionally, it was customary for the acting principal to give a small gift to the top three finishers. And although Amelia hadn’t returned from the rift, she had already prepared some presents.

Morrigan handed out three black boxes, one for each of them. Inside, there would be some interesting items collected from the rifts. The randomness was part of the fun, at least for Amelia it was.

"One more thing, if you want to talk to Davi," Morrigan began saying to Ember as she guided the three of them out of the office. "He just got his student ID. I imagine he’s heading to the rank F classroom right now."

As soon as Ember heard that, she decided she would go find the boy. At the same time, a certain blonde, who was also listening, made the same decision.

"let’s go right now," Ember said to Lara as they left the office.

"Hohoho, so you want to stay behind me in this too?" Sophia puffed out her chest proudly, interrupting the conversation.

It took Ember a moment to understand what that woman meant. Since when did Davi have any relation to her? The girl thought.

"What do you want?" Finally, she stepped forward, facing her enemy directly.

The blonde smiled confidently, and sparks seemed to fly between their gazes. Then she said arrogantly:

"I’m going to get him for myself." She caressed her own lips with the tip of her index finger in a sensual way. Then, she deliberately added ambiguously, "I need to finish what I already started."

And the person most shocked by this response was Lara. She hadn’t seen the moment when Sophia’s spirit kissed Davi and didn’t know anything about it. Furthermore, it seemed even more suspicious considering the relationship Davi already had with Ember.

Not to mention the fact that the boy had kissed her too. Well, technically, she kissed him. Still, was Davi some sort of womanizer? She wanted to believe the master she chose was a good person, but...

"I’m sorry to inform you, but Davi is already mine!" The girl huffed and turned, heading towards the rank F classroom.

Lara, of course, followed right behind her friend. Sophia, in turn, tried to quicken her pace to overtake the redhead. She didn’t want to give the impression that she was following such an inferior girl.

Naturally, this turned into a small race, with both of them running in no time.

And who won the race?

Obviously, Lara.

Anyway, the two latecomers entered the room, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. It was impossible for them not to be noticed, as both had enough beauty to turn heads wherever they went. However, the brooches they wore on their chests attracted even more attention.

"Why are two rank S students here?" A random girl murmured, a mix of admiration and concern in her voice.

"Not only that, but they’re the top 1 and 2 of this year," a boy added.

Soon the room was filled with whispers from surprised people. But neither of the two cared much about it. They walked straight to the table of a boy who was accompanied by a woman who, at that moment, wasn’t attracting attention due to her appearance.

"Consider yourself honored, peasant," Sophia spoke first in an unnecessarily arrogant tone. "I’ve decided to allow you to join the team I’ll be forming this year."

Seeing this happen, Ember grew irritated and stepped forward, placing herself between the blonde and DAvi. Without thinking much, she said:

"Wait, you should join my team." It’s important to note that the redhead had no plans of forming a team.

"Aren’t you joining the Salamanders?" Sophia asked provocatively .

However, the question irked Ember, not because she disagreed, but because she had no answer. After all, that was her plan. With no response, she glared at the blonde woman in frustration, her hand subtly brushing the hilt of her sword.