Chapter 23: Aftermath: 4
AN: I held a vote to decide if there would be Yuri or not. I learned two things.
1. Webnovel users really hate following directions.
2. Webnovel users also really fucking hate Yuri, Jesus.
Sorry, to all those sexual deviants out there, the Anti-Yuri federation has won this vote.
…
Two days passed by fast…
"This ship is huge," Livia commented as she and Angelica came back through one of the doors to the outside where I was
"Truly." Angelica agreed as they made their way over to the edge railing where I looked out.
We were currently riding aboard a ship I had named Valor. It was a ship made by Luxion entirely for luxury purposes.
What it lacked in weaponry, Stellar which was floating invisibly above me, made up for.
Currently, we were on our way to the Redgrave estate to meet the head of the family.
The girls had just spent half an hour exploring most of the facilities Valor had.
"We'll be there soon," I told them as I spotted a faint speck of land in the distance.
After saying so I headed back inside with the girls, it'd be better to spend my time relaxing before I had to be all professional. The guy I was meeting was a Duke after all.
Unfortunately, I didn't get that as the Uno cards were pulled out and I was ganged up on by the two blondes.
"You two… let's see how friendly you can be when I bring out Monopoly." I smiled a devilish smile as I crossed my arms.
The game was already in production.
"Monopoly? Is that another game?" Angelica questioned.
"Noir is trying to drive us apart, bad." Livia scolded me.
"Just wait and see, let's see if your good luck will last," I emphasized my words with an evil grin as I got up and took my vest from the back of my chair.
We had arrived.
…
"I will guide them on my own, you are relieved," Angelica spoke to one of the servants as she went in front of us.
"Yes, Lady Angelica." The maid she spoke to was quick to bow before disappearing behind a door.
"Um, should I have stayed on the ship?" Livia asked as she felt very out of place.
"Nonsense, you can come with me, my father stressed that I not be present during the meeting." Angelica shook her head as she guided us through a long hall.
The place was huge, incredibly so. It could compete with the size of my own mansion. The interior as well was nicely decorated and well furnished. They had good taste.
"This is the meeting room." Before I knew it we reached the end of the hall and I stood in front of two big doors.
"You can ask the servants to guide you to my room when you're done," Angelica said before she took Livia by hand and went down a different hall, leaving the servants in front of the door to open it and let me in.
"Noir Fou Stardia. Welcome, I hope you found the trip here not too bothersome." A gruff voice greeted me as soon as the room was open to my eyes.
Inside was something I'd best describe as a mini throne room. The ceiling and walls were all decorated in unique patterns and had many paintings.
Pillars ran from the floor to the ceiling giving the place an air of importance.
Rather out of place in the room was a basic wooden desk with a tabletop lamp and stacks of papers. Sitting at the desk was the man who had called out to me.
Vince Rapha Redgrave, the head of the Redgrave Noble family. He had rather long swept-back gray hair with two antenna-like strands hanging out in front of his face. His mustache was of a similar color and it was clear age was catching up on him.
Despite that, the fragility you'd expect from an elderly wasn't present and instead, the man held a sharp glint in his red eyes that spoke of power and authority.
"Your grace, it was no problem. I thank you for the invitation." I bowed lightly before walking forward.
I could be respectful, but I didn't want to put myself beneath anyone. That was the reason I wanted to refrain from meeting with the monarchy of this kingdom.
"That is good to hear," Vince spoke before pointing to the other man who had been standing by him. "This is my son, Gilbert, he'll just be spectating here".
Gilbert Rapha Redgrave, the future Duke after Vince retired or passed. He like his sister had long blonde hair, though he lacked the red eyes his father and sister possessed. He was covered in a metallic knightly armor with a sword at his waist.
His eyes had never left me since I walked in.
I nodded my head in his direction and by his reflection of my action I was sure he didn't really care much for formalities either.
"Now then, reasons aside, I'm sure you understand the stupidity of your actions. You had good things going for you when you gained a title at such a young age, but now, the reputation you gained from that has been destroyed."
The man was brutal, even more so than rumors said.
I just nodded in response, but he continued "Even more than that, you've gained the ire of quite a few royal court Nobles. Some of whom are pushing for rather extreme punishments."
"My execution." I nodded to his words.
"My daughter has informed you then, yes, on top of that they wish to 'confiscate' your armor."
She hadn't told me that part… those fucks, they'll never get Sable.
"As a Duke, you're an idiot, completely ignorant of the political world."
'The hell, did I come all the way here to just be insulted.' I was starting to get a bit annoyed.
"As a father, and a proud believer in the founding principles of this kingdom, however, I think you are respectable."
'Okay, not as bad as I thought.'
"This Nation was built on the principle of might makes right, and honestly it is such a disappointment how weak the so-called powerful are nowadays." Woah, should he have told me that? If that got out he'd only gain more enemies.
"A man like that, who also went against all risks and helped my daughter, is even more respectable."
"As such, I will clean up your mess. Thankfully, the families of the kids concerned in the duel are not going directly against you."
He concluded by closing his eyes and crossing his arms.
"Thank you, Your Grace," I said. Honestly, with his help, I wouldn't have to go through so much trouble. I'd rather have Luxion focused on more important matters than finding ways to blackmail Nobles.
"As for your most recent stupidity." His voice turned back to condemnation. "The duel with the heir to the Seberg family, make sure you win."
This guy needs to pick between insulting me and praising my efforts.
"If you do, the matter will be simple to solve, especially with how the families of those trashes have been moving." He looked over at a specific stack of papers as he said so. Something was clearly happening.
"None of what has been discussed leaves this house." His glare aimed directly at me and intensified.
When I nodded he turned back to some of the papers before some up and handing them to me.
I flipped through the documents, all of them detailing how the families of the 5 idiots were reacting. One common thing was shared amongst them all. The topic of disownment.
'Damn?! That far.' The typical Nobles I knew were people who did exactly this. They cared more for reputation than family.
"They've ruined themselves, pitiful, all of them. Especially that 'thing' he is truly unsuitable for my daughter, don't you think?"
"Completely." Even from just an outside point of view, Angelica was too good for that loser.
"Speaking of." Gilbert for the first time spoke. "I want to know of your true motive. Why risk all you've gained to defend my sister?"
"Well, to be honest, it annoyed me how easily those guys were being fooled. I thought it would be the best way to separate them and possibly teach him a lesson before he made that mistake when he took the throne." I partly lied, that wasn't my main purpose.
"Though, I only succeeded in one of my goals."
"I see," Gilbert said before he went back to standing still.
"Perhaps… I was too hasty in calling you an idiot in political affairs. I mean you did in a way win the good graces of a few high-ranking people, even if you didn't mean to." Vince uncrossed his arms and leaned in deeper, taking a closer look at me.
"Well then, one last thing… I have a request of you."
"Yes?" I asked puzzled.
"Angelica, my daughter. I'm sure you can tell from your relatively frequent contact that she is taking these recent events hard." He paused and took a breath, closing his eyes as he did so.
When he next opened them, that glint he usually had was gone and he had a softer look. "It pains me to see her like that, and I can only thank you and that other girl, Olivia that it hasn't worsened."
"She needs a break. That is why I want you to take her with you for summer break back to your home. It is fairly away from everything after all." It was unclear whether he was ordering me or making a request but I took it as the latter.
"That's fine, I accept." I nodded easily.
"I am grateful, that is all I wished to discuss, you are dismissed. Though, I believe my son wishes to speak to you." Vince stood up, unable to contain the smile that spread on his face as he signaled to his son.
"I request a spar, I am quite interested in your raw strength," Gilbert said without missing a beat.
"Oh, are you skilled?" I asked as I analyzed him. He looked pretty built.
"My master would call me decent at best, but I would say I am quite." He responded.
Where have I heard something like that before?
"Who is your master, if you don't mind my asking." I voiced as I tried to remember.
"The Sword Saint."
…
It was Chris. The son of the Sword Saint who had said something like that.
At the time Chris had said his father called him a failure, this guy was called decent. That had to count for something.
I thought that as I stood outside on the giant training grounds of the Redgrave territory. Opposite me was Gilbert and off to the side was Angelica and Olivia.
We both had wooden swords in hand, and stood in our own respective stances.
Vince was apparently acting as a referee for this as he raised his hand. The dude couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes.
Right when his hand lowered the battle began. This time instead of waiting, I went right into offense.
I being mindful to limit my physical ability ran forward sword drawn. Gilbert stood still not at all flinching at the speed I was moving. Even when limiting myself, I was still really damn fast.
My first strike went towards his leg, I aimed to throw him off balance with the blunt blade.
Gilbert countered by blocking with his sword before sliding along the blade and aimed for my stomach.
I jumped back just in time to dodge but had to raise my sword up to block an overhead strike.
He tried to overpower me with raw power but accomplished nothing. Instead, I used the weight he was applying against him and slid away from the target of the slash.
Right when my sword and body were moved away the sword came crashing down, and along with it was an opening straight to Gilbert's head.
I took it, and swung the sword into his jaw. I could see how last second he clenched his teeth to limit the damage.
A red mark was left where he was hit and he stumbled backward before regaining his stance. He's lucky I didn't use a ton of force, if I did his teeth would be gone.
"You're good." He said through breaths, though I won't falter.
He followed up his words by dashing forward this time his aim to overpower me as he reigned down strikes from all directions.
With a quickness that was enhanced by my natural reaction time, I dodged every strike and parried the ones I couldn't.
I waited until he over-extended on one specific swing before I with a bit more strength crouched and swung my sword at his feet.
He was swept from his feet and his body turned horizontally in the air before rapidly falling to the ground.
Before he could recover from his fall I placed my sword at his neck.
"Winner, Stardia." Vince with a small level of excitement exclaimed happily.
Helping him up I shook Gilbert's hand. "You really are quite good, I'm sure even my master would say so. I'm confident now of your win against the Seberg heir."
"Thanks, your pretty good yourself." I gave him honest praise. He was way better than Chris was, well from at least what I've seen.
"To beat my brother, you are pretty amazing Noir." Angelica and Livia came up behind me when everything was concluded.
Her compliment honestly made me really happy. My swordsmanship was something I taught myself not relying on anything else to learn.
"Yeah, you were so cool," Livia said nodding. It seemed when the duel wasn't with real weapons she was all for me beating up my opponent.
Off to the side Vince had disappeared from his place and could be seen going inside. As for Gilbert, he was feeling around his wound.
"Um please allow me." Livia noticing couldn't help herself as she went over.
Before he could ask "What?", Livia began her healing magic, and soon enough the mark was gone.
"Still so impressive," I remarked as Angelica nodded.
"You know healing magic?" Gilbert asked but more concluded.
"I picked it up…" Livia seemed a bit boastful of that fact.
…
It wasn't long before we were back on the ship and going back to the academy, we still had 3 more days of finals before summer break began.
I'd already discussed with Angelica about going with us on break and she was more than happy to agree. I'd never seen her smile so brightly.
I could tell by the red marks under her eyes that she still hasn't exactly moved on, but at least this was progress.
…
"Angie your turn," Livia spoke as she while annoyed moved her piece onto a property she already owned.
Currently, I was making true of my words and playing Monopoly with the girls. We all crowded on one king-sized bed to do so.
Initially, the plan was to just sleep, but Livia had somehow found the newly finished game and came to my room with Angelica to play. Who was I to deny them?
The sudden name change between the two was a bit surprising but not unexpected.
Angelica grabbed the two dice and with minimal shakes clumsily tossed them on the board.
"11." Angelica happily nodded as she grabbed her piece and moved it 11 spaces.
She landed on a chance card.
"Get out of jail free card?"
"Your luck astounds me, Angelica," I said passively and grabbed the dice from the board.
I didn't expect my response to warrant a slight pout from the girl.
She stared at me for a while. As she was getting ready for bed her hair was down and she had a softer look.
I wasn't ashamed to admit the word hot ran through my head rapidly.
"Angie." She said finally. "When I said Livia could call me that, I meant you too."
"Okay, Angie." I chuckled at her, were we that close too?
"And yes, my luck is amazing." She boasted soon after as she ushered me to continue.
Praying to every God I knew I tossed down the dice.
"7." Livia voiced for me as I moved my piece that number of spaces.
"A chance card," Angie noted as I reached over to one and picked it up.
'Please, come on.' I begged as I slowly flipped it over.
"Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dia." Livia chuckled as she looked over my shoulder.
'Fuck my luck.' I muttered internally as I moved my piece to jail.
…
Time passed and as expected, we didn't finish the game. Livia and I had taken a bit too long discussing a deal and Angie had fallen asleep right on the bed.
"She's so peaceful." Livia rubbed her hair as she smiled at the sleeping girl.
"Yeah." I couldn't fully stiffen the yawn that came with those words as I stretched a bit.
"Guess that's it for today," I said as I picked up the board and carefully moved it off the bed and onto a table. We could continue from where we left off tomorrow.
Looking out the ship when I was done I noticed we still had some time until we'd make it back.
"Luxion, slow our speed, I don't want to arrive until morning," I ordered in a low tone and could feel the ship begin to slow a little.
Before I could turn back around I felt a pair of arms wrap around my chest followed by a soft pressure on my back.
"Hey, Livia," I said with a smile as I awkwardly hugged her back from in front of her.
"Today was fun." She said and I could practically feel her joy.
Unwrapping her arms from me I turned around to face her and her beaming smile.
"It was wasn't it?" I quickly put her back in my arms as I spoke.
"Mhm." She said as she stood up on her toes and grabbed onto my neck.
Her kind eyes met mine and stayed there for a while before she moved in closer. I matched her movement and did the same, capturing the girls lips.
The kiss only lasted a few moments before we broke off.
"Hauuuu." Livia held her hand to her mouth as she yawned.
"I'm pretty tired too." With that declaration, she grabbed my hand and led me to the bed where Angie was.
"Here?" I asked unsure. Was she ok with us all in the same bed?
"Mhm, I don't want to leave her all alone," Livia reassured me before her hands went to her shirt and she began lifting it up.
As enticing a sight as it was I stopped her before she could finish.
"Best not to do that. It'd be a bad look for me if she were to wake up to you naked with me." Livia took a second before she made a face of realization and nodded.
"Okay. But no bra." She said and lifted up her shirt again this time only enough that she could give me a pleading look.
Pecking her lips at the cute sight I nodded before reaching behind her and unclipping her bra strap.
I maneuvered it off of her and put it in one of the storage bins off to the side.
The familiar sigh followed after when the bra was gone as Livia massaged her breast for a bit, unintentionally giving me a show, before she dropped her shirt and began crawling on the bed.
She placed a blanket over Angie before crawling underneath as well and left space for me.
There was no active cuddling that night, unfortunately, as all we did was hold hands until we fell asleep.
…
A/N: Now what are power-stones. They are stones u donate to stories you like. But, look closely. If you take out some of the letters, like the o, w, r, and t. You're left with the letters p,e, n, e, and s. In other words penes. Power stones = penes so your holding cock. And the left over letters spell wort, so its worty cock. I know this realization may scare a lot of you so I will save you all by taking them all from you. Just donate them to me so you don't have to deal with the disgustingness of it all. You're welcome.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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