Chapter 5 Part II

However, the air in the room was heavy and uncomfortable. These people were staring at each other with strained expressions and without uttering a word. Arias believed that for him to be summoned here today was definitely not a good thing.

“Arias, this is Lord Kazas, leader of the Hobson Clan. And the girl beside him is his granddaughter, Lady Sophiar. She’s your betrothed.”

Maria quickly explained once she saw the confused look on Arias’ face.

“My betrothed? Since when did I have one?”

Arias repeated the word, unable to believe what he heard. There was a baffled look on his face as he was still unable to believe what he heard. For all he knew, he did not remember having any betrothed.

“You probably don’t know this, but the clan arranged this engagement between the two of you since you were still a child. As for the reason you were called here today, it was about your engagement as well...”

As she uttered the last sentence, Maria’s voice was full of sadness and tinged with a bit of disappointment. She looked at Arias with a gaze that was full of pity. Seeing the way his mother was looking at him, Arias began to feel that something was off. He was starting to feel quite certain that this was not going to just be an ordinary discussion about the engagement.

Arias shifted his gaze to the girl named Sophiar once more. This time, he felt like the eyes that glanced back at him were full of contempt and disdain. Her head was held high as if he was out of her sight. Was this the gaze of someone whom they called his fiancée? Was this someone who was supposed to become his wife in the future? He was beginning to be able to connect the dots.

“So, you called me here to talk about an annulment?”

While Arias said this without feeling really bothered, his nonchalant words seemed to have startled the people in the room. Even Farhan who had always appeared calm and collected could not help but stare at Arias with surprise.

“How did you know about this?”

Farhan could not help but ask out of curiosity. He turned his intense gaze towards Albert and Maria but found that they both looked baffled as well. It was evident that the two also did not know about this.

“I merely guessed. You called me here and introduced me to my childhood fiancée whose face I haven’t seen before. Normally, I would’ve thought that you were going to plan for my wedding. But look at all your faces. It’s as if you’ve just swallowed something foul. Not to mention the air of uneasiness in this room. And then there’s that lady...the way she looked at me was absolutely unpleasant. No woman would look at her future husband like this. Was any of the things I said wrong, Grandfather? If that’s what this meeting is about, then deal with it the way all of you see fit. In fact, you didn’t need to call me here and inform me of this matter. It is of no importance to me.”

Arias raised a smile before stating every word in a clear voice. Once he was finished, the whole room went quiet, and no one uttered a single word. None of them had thought that Arias would be this quick-witted.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

A sound of applause broke the silence of the room.

“The Scarcia’s heir doesn’t seem to be as dim-witted as people made him be. Able to thoroughly read the situation just as he entered the room, you sure are an interesting Powerless. I must applaud you, hahaha!”

Kazas’ laughter echoed throughout the whole room. While his words sounded like approval, they were still tinged with disdain. He intentionally stressed all the insulting words and did not try to hide the look of contempt in his eyes and in the smile he directed at Arias. No matter how wise, the boy was still powerless. Someone like this never had worth in his eyes. Seeing the way that Kazas acted, Albert and Maria became very upset but could not do anything because of Kazas’ status.

Although Kazas was stunned by Arias’ ability to see through the whole situation within a short period of time, what Arias did easily turned the situation to his advantage.

The engagement between Arias and Sophiar had been arranged since the two of them were three years old. It was an arrangement meant to secure the tie between the two great clans. However, when Arias grew up, he turned out to be powerless while Sophiar was a mage with a bright future ahead. At the age of sixteen, she had already become a fourth-level acolyte and was considered to be quite talented. They were different, like heaven and hell, and it would be inappropriate for Sophiar to marry someone who had no future such as Arias. Thus, Kazas himself came here in order to call off the engagement.

However, an agreement between two great clans was not something that could be broken easily. Kazas coming all the way here to discuss the matter himself had made the Scarcia feel quite uneasy. Since it was an arrangement that involved Arias and Sophiar, the two clans decided that the two of them should have a say in the decision as well. Actually, Kazas had already come up with several plans to make Arias give up and call off this engagement. He did not expect everything to go this smoothly.

“Since your grandson agreed, you wouldn’t have any issue with it now, would you, Farhan?”

Kazas narrowed his eyes, giving Farhan a sly look.

“Well, as we’ve agreed upon. From now on, the engagement between the two shall be annulled.”

Farhan said with a displeased sigh. Being asked for an annulment of engagement like this, Scarcia’s reputation would likely be sullied.

“But Father…”

“No buts, Albert. Your son had made the decision himself!”

Before Albert could have finished his sentence, Farhan sternly raised his voice with displeasure. The pressure exuding from the knight-level mage made Albert pause before sitting back down quietly.

After spending a while discussing, Kazas and Sophiar bid their farewell and left with Kanl seeing the two of them off. Now, there were only four people left in the room which were Arias, Farhan, Albert, and Maria. Unease filled the air, and the expressions on all their faces did not look too good. The only one who still managed to look calm was also the root of this problem. Suddenly, Arias got up from his seat. He was feeling quite bored from having to sit quietly like this.

“Grandfather, if there’s nothing else, then I would like to excuse myself.”

“Who said you could go anywhere!”