Dukes of Vitoten Part 2

"Duke Shadowblade" Theo muttered

Duke Rosenberg nodded in confirmation at Theo's words.

"I heard that you met the Duke Shadowblade, the man in charge of the forces of the imperial family. He is second to the Emperor in strength, despite his old age. There's not a lot of things to say about him but a man that loves and cares for his family and people. Duke Elliot Shadowblade does not have much territory of his own as he mostly shares it with the imperial family because of the union between his daughter the Emperor. They are also received the title of Duke in the current Head's lifetime, though their family's history goes hand in hand with the imperial family even I wonder what secrets the Shadowblade family has."

I know that he's in charge of the shadows of the Emperor, who existed since the empire was simply one of the many kingdoms in the northern continent. The game stated that after overthrowing the last emperor, they were granted the title duke for siding with the current emperor. There's also the fact that Levana was a part of the Shadowblade family, making the process easier for them to receive such a title.

Theo glanced at the smile of Duke Florian.

He definitely knows about the shadows of the emperor. His just not allowed to speak about it to an outsider like me.

"Now for the last one" 

Duke Florian's gaze turned cold as he placed his sight to a red streaked black haired burly man in his forties, who was simply sitting farthest from the throne, on the corner of the venue, surrounded by multitudes of other nobles that looked elder and senile.

"Duke Campbell, ruler of the east and the "Defender" against Virtus, a foe in the past, now a great ally because of the treaty between empires. Duke Ryan Campbell, because of an old agreement that was formed between the Campbell family and imperial family, they have their very own army that consist almost 30% of the forces within the empire. The strongest, in terms of numbers, if you will. I hope Prince Theo is aware of the actions of Duke Campbell, he is a man that still has ire for the people of Virtus. A man stuck in the past"

Theo heard about everything there was to know about Duke Ryan Campbell. A petty man that clings to the past and does have intentions to overthrow the imperial family if given the chance.

So all of those old coots are probably the people that still have a grudge against my country, seeing that they're all basically openly glaring at me.

"Anyways, That's it for all the top brass of the country. Please understand that even if you're essentially an important ally of Vitoten, I still can't tell you the secrets of the country" Duke florian bowed politely for inability to say more to Theo.

"No, knowing all the dukes and their responsibilities is enough for me, Duke Florian, rather I am grateful to know anything at all. This will provide me with information to understand the country my fiance lives"

I can just ask Selene for the secrets anyway, so you don't need to tell me anything more, Duke Florian.

Duke Florian sighed, relieved that the person in front of him was a more sensible person than he thought.

My daughter will have an easier time doing business with the prince than I thought. I should give her an extra challenge to make things a little harder for her.

While both Theo and Duke Florian were thinking, Selene was slowly getting more annoyed at the waves of people still greeting her.

Agh!!!!! three more! three more and I'm done.

Selene shook hands with another noble that came as an ambassador from the central continent.

"Thank you for coming to my birthday, I hope you enjoy the ball as a thanks for your visit" Selene spoke with a small smile.

"No thank you, Your imperial highness, Selene Aventus. You have given me this gracious chance to this wonderful event! I hope that your god, Thanatos, keeps giving blessings to your family from here on out!"

Tsk, I've heard the same compliment ten times now, be more original.

"May, Thanatos bless your family and your nation as well"

After the noble left, another group was heading her way to bombard her with flattering praises.

Ugh, No, I gotta shoo them away even if it'll look like I'm ungrateful, they'll understand that I'm already tired. 

"Thank you, but I-!"

"Happy birthday, Darling Selene"

A soothing and familiar voice came from behind. The people who were about to raid her with flattery suddenly bowed politely and backed off.

Two hands hovered from the back embracing her from behind.

"You've grown patient and well. You used to refuse greetings from these pests, I wonder what's the change of heart."

Because in the past Selene, after meeting Theo, became more proactive on her 16th birthday and summoned her courage to talk to strangers. I'm just reenacting her to make sure some of the story hopefully stays the same.

She thought that showing herself in front of hundreds of people and greeting them would make it easier for her when she needed to travel around the world in the not so distant future.

"What do you want, Aunt Linda?" 

"Oh, suddenly cold all of a sudden. What happened to my meek Selene?"

The person that hugged Selene from behind was none other than Duchess Linda Lorraine, The Iron wall of the north, One of the strongest Grandmasters of the empire and boast of being the strongest Dark magician of the empire.

"Mother, please let go of Selene. She's clearly uncomfortable getting touched in public"

The person that followed behind her was the heir to the Lorraine household, Plato Lorraine, a man of immense talent, similar to Adrean Aventus, who was in the same age, a Master tier Dark magician.

"Your just jealous that I can hug your sister and you can't"

"Mother you can't speak of such secrets in front-!"

"Hush, I casted a soundproof barrier. It seems that someone still needs some more practice with their magic detection."

".... You can't expect me to easily detect a Grandmaster tier magic barrier, Mother." Plato muttered as he held his forehead in annoyance.

"Excuses, anyways you've grown since the last time I saw you, I heard from Levana that you beat a Chaos beast two years and partially healed your physic."

"What!? Mother, you never told me of this news!" Plato screamed in horror, because of the old news his mother just uttered.

"Ah. Hahaha, I forgot to tell you my son, you were too busy with your training that I didn't want you to get disturbed by such news."

"Ugh, I can't believe this. Father could have told me when we met two years ago, but he probably forgot to mention it, because of how busy he was or it was never thought to be brought up to discussion"

Plato was secretly the second son of the Emperor. A secret deal was made years ago to have the current emperor have a child with the current head in exchange for their support against the last emperor. The past head of the house of Lorraine wanted to use the child born from Renwick and Linda to be used to fight for the title of crown prince

Linda, luckily, did not desire the throne, unlike her predecessor who died years ago and raised her child not as the second prince that wanted the throne for himself, but as an astute child that would become the perfect heir to the house of Lorraine.

Selene liked his half-brother a lot. He wasn't as overprotective and clingy as his elder brother and he brought gifts that Selene liked a lot.

"I have tons of ice cream delivered to the Imperial freezer, so you don't need to worry about that running out for a year. There's also a new flavour that you'd love, though that's for you to find out on what it exactly is"

Selene ran away from Duchess Linda's embrace into Plato's with a cheerful tackle.

"Thank you so much, Brother! I'll finish them all before the academy starts!" Selene said with a genuine smile and sparkling stars in her eyes, excited to dig through the freezer for a midnight snack.

"I don't expect you to eat it all in a few months. There's enough for the rest of the year" Plato smiles awkwardly at his sister's inhuman appetite.

Crack*

"Tsk, A gigantic just intruded through the barrier, Watch out children" Linda muttered in a low voice, trying to convey information as discreetly as she could.

Linda glared at a certain man that approached them with a few elders following in his footsteps.

"Happy birthday, Selene Aventus. You've grown significantly taller and stronger since the last time I saw you. Truly, the Aventus family is blessed"

"Thank you, Duke Ryan Campbell." Selene coldly said with a face that was on the verge of raging.

I don't want to talk to you, you f*cking old coot! Go away!