The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 409: Round One: Results (3)

Chapter 409: Round One: Results (3)

’Why is she looking at me?’ Hex wondered. He hid his feelings perfectly, though. She failed to read him by the way she narrowed her eyes briefly.

She averted her eyes quickly but not quickly enough. No one inside the arena was slow on the uptake. After hearing Sven’s marriage proposal and request for a reply, everyone focused on her. She, on the other hand, had her eyes on someone else.

Hex looked calm despite each and every single gaze inside the arena directed at him. His abnormally sharp senses even detected the various emotions hidden behind every gaze.

Some were filled with curiosity. He could sense them observing and studying him. The underlings rushing out, perhaps to gather information on him, didn’t escape his senses either.

Some eyes were filled with pride and congratulations. They were the fewest...and closest. Sterling and his posse and Hestia, of course, were grinning under the hundreds of eyes, relishing in the attention their team was getting. Hex nearly rolled his eyes on them. Didn’t they know their suggestive grins were worsening the look on Sven’s face?

That was another look he felt and even saw. They were few too. Limited to Sven and his wives. They were looking at him with unfiltered and unhidden anger. If looks could kill...Hex’s soul would have been obliterated.

"Ahum." Alhea coughed a little. It was soft and actually pleasant. But in the silence, it startled quite a few people inside the arena. The soft yelps and cries destroyed any sense of being subtle on their part. Like one, they all turned their faces toward Althea. Hex had never known that the simple movement of turning one’s head could make enough noise to hurt the ears. Now he knew.

How Althea had managed to ignore the crowd as if they didn’t exist and continue was beyond Hex.

"I agree with you that we need to collaborate as much as possible to survive the upcoming disaster, Prince Sven." Her melodious voice seemed capable of making everyone happy. Sven looked with a smile, at her, awaiting her response. He seemed hopeful.

"But," she continued, causing the Sven smile to decrease ever so slightly while a smirk appeared on Hex’s face – no one would believe it but he had not intended to smirk, "you do have to agree with me that a partnership has to satisfy certain requirements. And in case of marriage, my partner should contribute as much as I will to this...bond."

"What do you mean?" Sven asked, confused. For once, Hex shared that feeling. He, too, had no idea where she was going with this.

"There are many rumors about me. Many believe it. Some don’t. In any case, the fact remains, I am the heir of the High Temple, and as such also the deputy leader of the Templars. I represent power, tradition, and authority."

"So?" One of Sven’s wives interjected. "Our dear lord has everything you mentioned."

"Whose background surpasses that of his?" Another one chimed in.

"Dears, let Lady Althea explain. I expect you all to treat her as you do each other," Sven said lovingly.

Hex had to give it to the guy. He was capable of smooth-talking in a way he would never be able to do.

"Indeed, Prince Sven has everything," Althea said. "He is the heir of the largest Empire, and as the sole student of the Golden Paladin, also the deputy leader of the Paladins."

Hex knew that once she had dropped a bomb. He had felt surprised. But the rest of the crowd, including the likes of Sterling, had jumped on their feet or slunk deep into their seats in shock. Sven, too, looked shocked.

’No one knew he was part of the Paladins,’ Hex realized, as he listened to the many exclaimed remarks doing the rounds within the crowd. The silence was replaced with murmurs and people rushing out, probably to give the shocking news to whoever was paying for such things.

"Fuck," he heard near him. Hex turned and saw Gronke eye Sven with a mixture of fear and hatred on his face. The big man noticed Hex looking at him.

"If he is truly who she says he is, this will be huge. The Golden Paladin wouldn’t have sent him here without any additional attention. Forget that emperor. The North is ruled by the Golden Paladin. Every ruler on the other side of those mountains obeys His words."

"Indeed. This is huge," the Star Sword said from the other side. She looked uncharacteristically grim. "No wonder he wished to have her for wife. The Golden Paladin has six wives. I am surprised He didn’t ask that little princess himself."

Seeing the questioning look on Hex’s face, she chuckled.

"The Golden Paladin has taken six of the most talented women in the world as his wife. They all excelled at sword fights. They are his six swords. Oh, and all six are at the Saint stage, in case you were wondering."

Things were getting out of hand. One after another bomb fell. The Star Sword had not kept her voice low. The people around her gathered everything she said. It spread out. More people rushed out.

Hex didn’t know how to feel about all this. Gronke was part of the Warlords and the Star Sword part of the Paladins. They obviously knew more about this stuff. He didn’t question her allegiance and how she would act now that her deputy leader was present. That was Ella’s headache.

"I am impressed by your information-gathering abilities," Sven said with narrowed eyes. "Or...the rumors are true. After all, only a few and Heaven would know this." He didn’t seem pleased with his secret being imposed. Why it mattered, Hex didn’t know. It did, however, judging by the looks on the faces of his wives. They appeared alarmed...and afraid.

"Oh, I am sorry," Althea said, with her hand over her mouth, "wasn’t I supposed to say?"

She was acting. She, caring about what someone thinks about her words? Never.

"Never mind," Sven said, trying to act cool about it. His voice betrayed him, though. "Now, will you tell me your reply?"

He had guts. Hex had to accept it. He would never have pressed on after all this.

"Well, what I was saying was that despite you having everything, we all know that the North has but one true heir. Only one person who was the true heir of the Old Empire and lineage of oldest human warriors."

"If you are referring to Mikhael Lichtenmane, he is dead."

’The Baron?’ Hex stood up. Everything was well and okay, but now his master had become part of the conversation. And that meant, he was now truly part of whatever was going on there.

"Yes, he is no more in the world," Althea continued. "But his heir is still with us, isn’t he?" She turned to look once again at Hex.