1408 Duality Of Man

Noisy chatter filled the beautiful garden.

The officials, big and small, discussed in hushed voices. These men and women were at most rank 7s, but were masters in their particular field.

These were foreign envoys, financial ministers, law makers and so on. As experienced as they were, they were confused by the king's order.

The same went for Varian and his group.

Isadora opined that they might be given a light punishment. The king wouldn't want his image to be damaged but he would also be unwilling to offend Isadora who already reached the divine ranks.

Something like 'Staying in the capital for a few months' would have fit the bill.

Yet, the King not only did not punish, he also gave what appeared to be a well-sought-after opportunity.

Perhaps it's nothing strange. Isadora herself had little understanding of the king. During her time, she barely maintained any political relationships.

As thoughts rose and dissipated like fumes, an old man with a gentle smile approached the group in long steps.

He took a long look at Enigma, smiling to himself, glancing at Sarah for a moment before nodding at Sonya and finally turning to Varian.

With an excited expression, he patted the young man's shoulder. "I am interested in seeing the heights you'll reach."

"Thanks for speaking up for me," Varian replied in a polite tone.

Sarah frowned and Enigma's eyes turned purple for a moment.

It was a very subtle difference but Varian was being polite only for the sake of being polite, as if something about the old man was bothering him.

"I am a son of this soil, I will always protect the talent of this soil, whether other old bastards like it or not." Archduke Micheal proclaimed before narrowing his eyes.

"Since you're with Princess Isadora and she allowed you to marry her sister, I will boldly presume she's done the rare ritual to elevate you from your former lowly race into an esteemed Palarian, because the life energy you radiate, it's not something the inferior races in this kingdom can ever hope to rival."

Varian suddenly understood why his intuition, backed by his soul power was sending mixed signals about this man. Palarians…these guys were very hierarchical. If the internal classification was one thing, their views towards other races were something else.

"And with equal boldness, I also presume you have an…excellent natal treasure befitting your status. I tell you, these petty court officials are all jealous of your natal treasure. They can't help but envy those who are going to be always better than them."

Spirited and Spiritless. You either were born with one or you weren't. Even though the Palarian society respected Spiritless who reached rank 7 and higher, these were the exception and not the norm.

"That is of course. Anyone would be envious of me." Varian said, imitating the tone and temperament of the arrogant young masters he'd encountered so far. "Our fates diverged right from our births. We were never equal and will never be."

It's a similar to wealth inequality but way more rigid—if you're born poor, you'd stay poor and if you're rich, you'd stay rich—no matter how much effort you put in. This was even worse than former Valos and Ubiq.

"Exactly! I can only wish more people were like you!" Archduke Micheal slapped his own chest and exclaimed. "But really, I'm getting old, aren't I? A man so bold that he could face the king, how dare I put you and Spiritless in the same sentence, even if it's just for a way of speech, hahaha!"

He began laughing at his own joke that he found so funny for some reason.

Varian wanted to punch this annoying old dude in the face. Having personally experienced the dark side of Ubiq where drugs ran rampant and families had to face tremendous hardship just to survive, it was hard not to grow angry at people like Micheal who not only allowed but also ensued for such societies.

But he neither yelled nor punched, he just faithfully continued the act of 'Arrogant' brother-in-law.

"Of course, Archduke! My natal treasure is something those low lives can't touch even in a million lives! Sometimes, I feel a stain in my identity that they belong to the same race as I do."

His remarks pleased the old man. Rather than viewing such views to be borne out of overconfidence and hubris, the Archduke viewed it as the true virtue of a great Spirited Palarian.

"If only everyone understood, but there are still some idiots who don't even have this common sense." The Archduke seemed genuinely disappointed and even a bit disgusted. "Can you believe there were organizations in the kingdom batting to treat the Spiritless better? It's insane!"

"Really?!" Varian was actually surprised.

"Exactly my reaction! There was someone powerful backing them up. Even though I took it upon myself to crush all of them centuries ago, remnants still linger and pop up from time to time. It's a disease, I tell you, a disease that cannot be eradicated. It catches them young and the only way to get rid of it is to cut down the diseased."

Varian kept a straight face but his innards twisted at this guy boasting about killing children and young people.

But he reminded himself that he didn't come here to save the unfortunate. He's here to save his own life and was in no position to do 'charity' for others, out of a heroic complex.

"Speaking of, I was in the middle of hunting one down before I got this meeting's message. Screw those ants! I'll need to eradicate the disease!" The Duke muttered to himself and disappeared leaving behind a few words. "Make yourself comfortable here. We'll go hunting sometimes."

'You crazy son of a bitch!' Varian closed his eyes and cursed the old bastard to just die already.

Unfortunately, that's the best he could do. Any slip-ups and not only him but even his beloved women could get killed.

With the detachment of a monk, Varian decided to do the essential and leave the age-old problems to a new age.

"I just want to take a break," Varian spoke through the link of synergy, exhaustion evident in his tone.

"Listening to these kinds of people and not driving a sword into their heads, politics is really tiring. Thankfully, we don't have to deal with this back home or I'd just hand it all over to Oob."

"You already handed over most things to Alison, but okay." Sarah looked into his eyes and her sweet voice sounded with a hint of sarcasm.

Varian rolled his eyes.

Enigma stepped forward and locked arms with him.

For some reason, the mental fatigue from the conversation seemed to dissipate, like a puff of smoke.

As if she understood the condition, Enigma turned to the little princess. "Let us rest."

"No instructions or suggestions were given to you guys," Sonya tilted her head. "That means you're free to make your own choices, within reasonable bounds. Any guest quarter within the royal district would be allowed."

"Only the best one for this young master!" Varian announced and the group set out to leave.

But two men stood between them and the exit.

Archdukes Coronthian and Kriad.

The biggest supporters of Prince Rudolph.