Chapter 3: Son of the Ravenmoon III

After taking a couple of steps forward, Herbert did not show any signs of turning back. Just as he was about to take his tenth step, Princess Amelia couldn't let this farce carry on anymore so she looked at Lady Elena with a face saying do something about this. While Lady Elena still felt indignant in her heart, she soon followed her orders and loudly called out for Herbert.

"My lord, I believe that tea can help one sober up, why don't we have a chat together with her highness, Princess Amelia, once you've had a cup or two?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to do that; I do appreciate the offer though. If there's nothing else then-"

Just before he could finish his words, he was once again cut off by Lady Elena who wanted to deny the possibility of Herbert leaving without giving up the Awakening Crystal. At this moment, Lady Elena could finally feel her heart turning cold. In this short while, she had decided to temporarily throw away her fiery rage to instead think of a way to use Herbert's logic against him with the use of her oratory skills.

"Perhaps Sir Herbert has had too much to drink that he does not remember. Weren't you planning to gift the Awakening Crystal to her highness? Surely you must have put a lot of thought into your gift to decide to give such a precious opportunity to your soon-to-be fiance."

Seeing that Herbert had remained silent after hearing her words, Lady Elena could feel that she had once again grasped control over this conversation. The nobles who were watching on the sidelines merely looked on as they observed how Herbert would deal with this situation thinking that he must've been on his wit's end after trying to get smart with the princess and her loyal hound.

Just as they had expected, Herbert soon took out the Awakening Crystal from his breast pocket. It attracted the gazes of all the people around them, some murmured about how beautiful it looked while others showed an aggrieved expression at how easily Herbert took such priceless items for him to give to others. But contrary to their expectations, just as Lady Elena was about to get her grubby hands on the crystal, Herbert pulled his hand back and admired the crystal. Whilst he was doing so, he then continued with a monologue.

"This is odd. I believe that I never once mentioned that I would be giving this thing out, now did I? Although I did say that I may have drunk a little too much, now that Lady Elena has mentioned it, why don't you answer my question? Since when did I ever mention that I would do such a thing?"

Lady Elena confidently opened her mouth but just as the words were about to pour out, she seems to have suddenly choked as no sound ever came out of her lusciously red lips. Her mind was in disarray as she clearly remembered each conversation with Herbert and among all of them, the number of times that he ever mentioned that he would be giving the Awakening Crystal as a gift was zero. Their conversations were always under the implicit understanding of each other so there really wasn't any reason for Herbert to specifically say it out loud, besides that, he was never a man of many words. All this time, she was always the one who would speak in detail while Herbert would reply in vague and ambiguous words but she never really minded it as he always got the job done as if he could thoroughly read her mind. This is impossible, as those three words repeatedly echoed through her mind, she stood there, speechless. Seeing Lady Elena like this, Herbert took a step closer as he lifted his empty hand and had his finger gently close Lady Elena's gaping mouth.

"Lying is a bad thing, especially when someone wants to intentionally defame a noble. It's a good thing that Lady Elena is not such a naughty girl. Perhaps Lady Elena has also drunk a little too much, maybe you should take a cup of tea."

Feeling his finger touch her face, Lady Elena woke up from her stupor. Although she had lost and no longer had any hidden cards to play, her anger had long rushed up to her head and she still wanted to argue with him just for the sake of making a stand against him but before she could continue she suddenly saw him walk even closer to the point where his breath tickled her ears.

"How long do you think can worms survive in a Hawk's nest without a Raven to help them?"

Hearing this sudden cryptic whisper, Lady Elena couldn't help but tense up. She remembered the previous scene where she felt pleased with hearing his words of support towards her situation with the Hawkwood Barony. He was undeniably threatening her. After thinking about it, the issue with the Hawkwood Barony had always felt oddly suspicious to her. It suddenly came out of nowhere when she believed that things were just about to end perfectly. At this stage, feeling the danger and malice in Herbert's words she couldn't help but think that he might even have a hand in it.

As Herbert took a step back, he suddenly twirled a strand of her hair away and acted as if he was just wiping off dirt.

"Well then, I believe I have already been delayed long enough. Since I will be leaving early, please, convey my apologies to the princess."

Walking slowly, he left behind the pale-faced Lady Elena who could only look at him with fear. She had understood that she had been wrong this whole time. Along with the princess, they had believed that Herbert would be an easy target and had been underestimating him and his intelligence. They hadn't been getting away with their tricks because they were skilled enough to do so, no. They had only been able to get away with their tricks because Herbert had been letting them get away with it, and now that he no longer wants to play around, no amount of tricks could get their vested interests out of the quickly devouring quicksand that is Herbert.

The moment that the other nobles saw Herbert's servant fetching his carriage outside made their brains run quick in understanding this rather incomprehensible scene. Shouldn't Herbert be inside spending some time together with the princess? This thought could not help but leak out of their mouths as they muttered under their breaths. Did their relationship take a turn for the worse? Countless speculations like these flooded their minds as they soon made their own choices. Inevitably, with the departure of Herbert, the inside of the party seems to have also been dimmed as countless others also followed suit by greeting the princess and giving their gifts before leaving. The people who followed Herbert's actions weren't instructed by him as they intend to show that they made their independent actions to highlight their support for the ducal household. It wasn't that they show little regard for the royal household, it was just that Herbert was the heir to the Ravenmoon Duchy while Amelia is just another princess born from a concubine, not to mention that she only was ranked 9th in terms of age. Be it in terms of immediate power or future strength, Amelia stands no chance.

The other nobles used to also look up to Princess Amelia, after all, there was a high likelihood of her becoming the lady of the house Ravenmoon. The importance that Herbert's position had given her a chance to become a phoenix and be reborn to hold actual authority. Unfortunately, with Herbert's blatant show of disrespect, the odds of that happening had become increasingly lower.

As Herbert's carriage once again entered his sight, one of his servants who was similarly dressed in black went down from the driver's seat to open the door for him. This servant did not ask him for the reason why Herbert had decided to return quickly, instead, he just stood there with a bow and a stiff look on his face. Seeing his actions, Herbert inwardly sighed and boarded the carriage.

"Head west and take the long route home."

After saying those words, the servant nodded his head and closed the door for Herbert. He then returned back to his previous post and drove the carriage away with an expressionless face.

Meanwhile, Herbert who was now seating comfortably on his carriage quickly took off both of his gloves and replaced them with another one from his pocket. It was as if he had felt extremely relieved that he had finally worn something that he considered clean.

With his eyes closed, he started to organize his newfound memories. The experience felt surreal and unbelievable, to think that there were worlds that were completely different from what he had known all his life, and to realize that his current world might even be just a work of fiction from a novel.

"Is the author a god?"