Arena Forty-Four: Their Secrets IV

I looked at myself in the mirror, wearing the custom-tailored suit Grey provided me for the ceremony.

My black hair was combed partially, giving it a messy yet elegant look, while my face had a slight touch of makeup on it. My body was donned in a black dress with golden works on it. It had a golden chain around the chest pocket, connected with the base of my collar. The dress was full-sleeved, leaving only my palms out... Which were covered with white gloves.

My body had become significantly more muscled than before, and if observed correctly, one could see the toned lines of my budding abs and hard chest.

Now, whether it was the effects of the skills, or due to the hell I had been through... that I didn't know.

"It's almost time."

A staff suddenly came inside the washroom and notified me. I was waiting for the car in the designated hotel lobby... Seemed like that car had arrived.

"I'm coming."

I turned towards the staff and nodded, who quickly bowed and left.

Taking another deep breath, I walked out of the washroom and towards the luxurious white car waiting for me.

It was time to meet the emperor.

...

I looked outside through the window as we entered the core of the empire, the Imperial Castle area. The Castle Area itself was large and held several important facilities inside, with the Imperial Castle in the middle.

As I gazed at the majestic blue and white castle sparkling in the distance, rising above everything around it, I once again realized how wealthy and powerful the empire was... Or at least, the Imperial Family was.

I clenched my fists once again and let loose. I didn't know why I was getting so nervous... I had been through a lot worse.

Perhaps the words said by Alicia, Anastasia and Felicia were affecting me negatively.

Shaking my head to repel such thoughts, I waited for the car to reach the central area where the castle was.

It didn't take long. Soon, the car was stopped in front of a large, majestic yet fortified gate, with heavily armed soldiers, the Imperial Guards, standing in front of it on guard.

The Imperial Guards, unlike the normal army, solely focused on protecting the Imperial Family. Even if the whole empire was against the emperor, these heavily armed elites would fight for him.

They were the proofs of absolute loyalty... And those same guards checked through my clothes and the insides of the car before giving us the pass.

The gate opened with a hiss. Contrary to its appearance which made it look like a gate from right out a storybook, it was a fully automated advanced gate.

The car entered an extremely beautiful area coloured with rare flowers and trees, along with white marble statues of the past emperors and empresses. Seeing the statues of the first Divine Emperor and the Holy Maiden standing tall above the rest, I remembered the name of the place.

It was the renowned Garden Of Fame, where successful and powerful emperors and their wives would be enshrined for eternity.

As I took in the gorgeous sights, the car passed through the garden and stopped in front of a fountain. Beyond that fountain was the main entrance of the castle.

Realizing that I had reached the most worrisome part of the whole day, I slowly got down while listening to my beating heart.

Was it because the emperor was always glorified? Or perhaps was it because of my worry that something would go wrong?

No matter the reason, I felt more nervous than ever as I stood in front of the large entrance.

Then, realizing that I had been standing like a fool while staring at the entrance, I hurriedly walked up the stairs. The entrance doors were already open, so I entered the castle by myself.

'I want to find Anastasia and Roxy first...'

I thought as one of the servants inside the castle offered to guide me to the hall. I accepted the offer while keeping an eye out for either one of those two.

Fortunately, I found them soon after... Or more precisely, they found me.

""Arnold!""

I heard the familiar voices call out to me together. I turned around, and saw both of them walking towards me with bright smiles on their faces.

Roxy was wearing a black gown, adorned with silver ornaments. Her hair was flowing down her shoulder to the small of her back and had a silver jewel over her right ear, while her golden eyes were radiant. I could see a faint shine to them too, probably due to using contact lenses.

I hadn't seen her wearing her glasses since our first meeting... But with her wealth, couldn't she have just fixed them up using advanced medicines? But that aside, she looked extremely lovely.

And the usual sense of rejection I felt from her was quite low, almost negligible.

On the other hand, Anastasia was wearing a dark purple gown with emerald ornaments on it. Her hair was tied in a bun with two small stick-like decorations sticking out of the base of the bun. She also had a small red flower-like jewel over her left ear which complimented her crimson eyes.

And as always, looking at her made my heart skip a beat.

I kept my face calm as I greeted both of them with a smile.

"Hey there, Anastasia, Roxy. It's great to see you both here... Though I would say I hadn't expected you two to be together."

I walked towards the two while dismissing the servant, who bowed with a smile and left.

"Ah, well, we just thought that it would be better if we... set our issues aside for tonight."

Roxy was the one to answer first with a wry smile. Anastasia nodded while slightly averting her gaze.

Then, her eyes fell on my clothes and she immediately brightened up. This girl had quite a mood swing.

"You look dashing in those clothes."

She commented while looking at me intensely. I scratched my head in embarrassment as the other girl also gave her own comment.

"Agreed. You look amazing, Arnold... Too amazing, in fact. Be careful of the other girls inside the ballroom."

She giggled as she gestured me to follow her. I walked up to her side along with Anastasia as the three of us headed towards the hall.

"Well, you guys will protect me when that happens, won't you?"

I joked, but the next actions of the girls startled me. Both of them intertwined their arms with mine, occupying both sides. While I understood Anastasia's feelings... But why Roxy?

I turned towards the girl in question, who smiled sweetly at me.

"Well, of course we will... And besides, I'd hate to see you with another girl..."

The latter part, which she spoke in a barely audible whisper, stunned me further.

I knew she had favourable feelings towards me... But was she too...

No, I decided not to get too ahead of myself just yet. Even if she had any kind of romantic feelings towards me, that would make things much more complicated... So for now, I decided to push these thoughts to the back of my mind.

Smiling while blushing, Anastasia also muttered something along the lines of "I don't want other girls to get close to you...".

Sighing, I decided to go with the flow. I connected my arms with theirs tightly as we approached the main venue of the ceremony.

Soon, we were in front of a large door, guarded by two more Imperial Guards. As soon as they saw us, they opened the door and announced our presence.

"Arnold Tilgen, along with Lady Anastasia Valentina and Lady Roxy Rubiat is entering the room!"

The moment we entered, all eyes turned towards us. The nobles and other major personnel inside the room first glanced at me, then at the girls on my both sides.

I could feel some relatively hostile stares too... And I could guess why.

I let myself my guided by the two flowers on my hands. They quickly led me to the table where the heads of the three major families were conversing. As soon as they saw us, they stopped their conversation and welcomed us with a smile... Or in Lord Winchester's case, I hoped he did. I couldn't see his face due to the mask. Roxy and Anastasia gently let go of my hands, probably due to their embarrassment.

Besides Principal Flora, Lady Rubiat and Lord Winchester was another woman, with her hands connected with Lord Winchester's. I could more or guess less who she was.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Valentina, Lady Rubiat, Lord Winchester... And Lady Winchester."

I bowed towards the well-dressed nobles, who smiled and gestured me to straighten myself.

I didn't see Anastasia's father or Roxy's father anywhere... And I didn't dare to ask either.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Arnold. It's the first time we are meeting, isn't it?"

Lord Winchester asked in a gentle yet slightly mischievous tone. I nodded.

"Yes, that may be so, Lord Winchester."

"You don't need to use such stiff tones while conversing with us, Arnold."

Principal Flora... Or Lady Valentina said with a slight smile. I nodded in relief. Then I turned towards Lady Winchester, who was looking at me with kind eyes.

"Lady Winchester, it's a pleasure to meet you, again. Raymond has been helping me ever since I had come to the academy, so I would like to express my thanks to you for that."

I said in gratitude. Lady Winchester smiled brightly and shook her head.

"You don't need to. I'm sure that child does whatever he wants to do."

As I thought, she was considerate just like Raymond... Then Phillips probably got his crafty nature from Lord Winchester.

And as I thought that, Lord Winchester's chuckled.

"Ouch, I received no thanks. Sadness."

"I... I didn't..."

I realized my blunder and tried to apologize, but Lord Winchester just laughed it off.

"It's fine. He is just joking."

Lady Rubiat's words calmed me. I couldn't see her expression due to the black veil, but I felt like she had a kind expression on her face.

"I see..."

I replied with a relieved tone. Then, as if a switch was flipped, all four nobles around me changed their expression to a cold one.

"Listen Arnold."

Lady Valentina was the first one to speak up. She stepped closer to me and whispered in a really low voice.

"The emperor might have something for you... But whatever it is, it can't be good. If he asks your help for anything at all or offers you something, it'll be best for you to decline it politely. Or, at the very least, ask for some time to think about it."

Lord Winchester spoke up next. Just like Lady Valentina, he brought his voice to the absolute minimum. I could feel the other nobles giving us dubious gazes, but the masked noble didn't seem to care.

"I don't think I can help you in any way here, but just know this, the current situation between the major nobles and the Imperial Family is shaky, to say the least. I would advise you to be cautious about what you decide, as it might very well tilt the balance between the Imperial Family and our houses."

Hearing those ominous words, I whispered back.

"Are you sure you want to tell me that? About the relationship between the Imperial Family and the noble houses?"

Hearing my words, Lord Winchester shrugged.

"You are underestimating yourself, Arnold. You are the second SSS-grade Technician in the history of Alpha... No, perhaps the second one in the history of humanity. You are quite a powerful, and at the same time, an unreliable card."

Hearing the word 'Unreliable', I remembered that the shard had also listed me as unreliable... Why was that, really?

It seemed that I wouldn't get any answers right now, though.

Oblivious to my thoughts, Lord Winchester continued while leaning slightly forward.

"Not to mention, if something happens to you, those two will probably explode."

He chuckled while gazing affectionately through his mask at the two girls a few steps behind us. Both Roxy and Anastasia had decided to stay out of this conversation... Probably because they already knew about the contents.

"Anyhow, you get the point. So, whatever you decide, think about the long term consequences first before selecting that option."

Lord Winchester said before leaning backwards.

"I agree with what Lady Valentina and Lord Winchester said... Be careful, Arnold."

Lady Rubiat said in a grim voice. All three of them seemed to be getting close to me, evident by their growing concerns for my safety.

While I appreciated their sentiment, I decided to calm them down for now.

"I understand. But it's not like the emperor giving me something is set in the stone, right? For all we know... He might just follow the standard procedure."

Hearing my words, the masked noble laughed again, while the other three, including Lady Winchester, frowned.

Then stopping his laugh, Lord Winchester turned towards the door at the end of the hall room and spoke up with a distant voice.

"I sure hope that, Arnold. I sure hope that will be the case."

Something in his voice seemed off... Making me feel extremely uncomfortable.

But without giving any time for these feelings to set in, the door opened and the guards announced in the loudest voice they could muster.

"All kneel before His Majesty, the Divine Emperor, Christopher Von Emerald!"