Chapter 91 Invitation

Although he only showed up in the town once every few years, Lexus still was welcomed by the whole city once he arrived. The inhabitants sure looked ecstatic while they said his name. Lexus wasn't the type to show his emotions often, but at least he smiled and waved his hands a few times at the people.

When he reached the mansion with a few guards, they raised their guards since they saw a tall and heavy armored figure guarding the entrance. No one knew who that was, but they could tell that it was someone strong. Lexus felt that he had met that person before, but since he had two swords in his waist, Lexus shook his head… he couldn't recall any dual wielder that looked impressive to him.

"Sorry for showing up without telling you beforehand," Lexus said when he arrived at Aion's office. "Where is your mother? I heard that she was helping you manage the land."

"From spies? Don't make that surprised expression. It is clear that the king has some people keeping their eyes on me," Aion said. "Anyway, she has been pushing herself too hard these days with the new lands. So, I asked her to take a few days off."

"I see… I actually came here without warning to confirm that," Lexus said. "The rumor about you defeating Caelis seemed like a trap, but once we reached the region, we confirmed that you annexed his lands and even got the dungeon. I am more than a little bit impressed."

"When you warned me about his possible wish to fight me, mother said that it would be better if we make our move first, and then things ended like that," Aion said. "While the size of the land doubled, we can't do much more than using the dungeon. At least for now."

While he didn't use normal means or safe ones, for that matter, Lexus was surprised that his son doubled his territory in just six months. The territory will be hard to manage, but he was certain that he would do something about it.

What he still found it hard to believe was that Aion truly defeated Caelis… that guy could defeat a whole battalion in a couple of minutes just by rolling around, after all. Aion won the tournament, but he had time to prepare for many situations, and the same thing couldn't be said about the battle against Caelis.

"I also heard that you deal with the problems of bandits and convinced them to work for you," Lexus said. "Even without guards, they are building a channel to help the town… if you keep doing things like that, then this territory will truly grow insanely fast."

"That is the plan," Aion said.

"Well, I am glad that you are doing well," Lexus said. "Putting those topics aside, I would like you to organize your activities to give you some time to return to the capital in little more than a year."

"... Why?" Aion asked while furrowing his eyebrows.

"Don't worry… it is just for a few weeks," Lexus said. "Things are still being decided, but once he becomes seventeen, Henri will marry the princess."

Medieval words sure were crazy… to make two underaged kids marry. Still, that was Aion's old mindset in action. He learned a long time ago that kids are considered adults once they become fifteen, and most of them get married before they become twenty.

"What about Henri, is he still bothered by that arranged marriage?" Aion asked.

"He isn't that bothered by the marriage. The real problem is the fact that she idolizes him a bit too much, and that is uncomfortable to him," Lexus replied. "Due to his position as the next head of the family, he is aware of his own shortcomings, and he feels that the princess will feel disappointed once she sees the real him, instead of the one inside her head."

That seemed like something troublesome… Regardless, that wasn't a problem that Aion had to worry about. Besides, the romance in someone else's life wasn't something that Aion was interested in. That kind of thing was too bittersweet for Aion's tastes…

"I know that you are kind of busy, but you should write things aside from the economical reports of the territory, "Lexus said. "Your brothers ask about you pretty often, but I can only tell that you are making more money here."

"Speaking of them, how are they doing?" Aion asked.

​ "Henri and Philip will end their training soon enough, and since Henri will mostly stay in the capital, Philip will lead some of your soldiers when the necessity arises and will spend his time training them," Lexus said. "Elio and Georges will keep training for two more years. I don't know what they are going to do after that, though."

They were doing well, and they will be fine in the future as well. That was enough for Aion to hear.

"Once I return and confirm the rumors, your Image will improve a lot in the kingdom. That will probably counter the backslash of the rumors that you are trying to build your own army," Lexus said. "I understand that you feel that you can't rely on the people here that much, but don't exaggerate. Speaking of exaggeration, who is that guy outside?"

"Someone who decided to work for me, but they want to keep their identity hidden for some reason," Aion said.

"He sure looks strong… Anyway, your ability to make others work for you scares me," Lexus said.

"That scares me as well," Aion said.