Free Web NovelChapter 173: Chapter 173 - Fearsome Warning
- At Future Academy - freeweɓnovel.cøm
On his way back to the carriage Julianne arrived in, Duke Reuben Valentine walked with an unyielding posture, his right hand resting firmly on the hilt of his blade.
Julianne herself followed next to him with her head up straight so as to not show weakness. Her eyes were still red from the tears she had shed in the office, but she kept her face regal.
The rhythmic clicking of their steps against the stone was suddenly interrupted by the sound of hurried, echoing footsteps from behind.
"Lord Reuben! Please, wait!"
Reuben paused in his tracks. He turned around slowly and narrowed his eyes as he waited for the approaching figure.
It was Everette.
He stopped a few feet away before smoothing down his clothes and adjusting his silk neckcloth, restoring his picture-perfect, aristocratic composure.
With a theatrical bow, Everette turned to Julianne. "Madam Valentine, it is an honor to see you again. I hope the day finds you well."
Julianne offered a small, strained nod. Her smile was tight and thoroughly forced.
"Hello, Everette," she greeted back in a tone completely devoid of her usual enthusiasm.
The image of her daughter sobbing in Kurt’s arms was still burned into her retina, and she found herself lacking the energy for noble pleasantries.
Everette turned his attention back to the duke. "Are you already returning to the estate, Lord Reuben?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Ah, well. I happened to see Diana down at the arena just a short while ago. She was there with that pathetic F-rank I told you about. I tried to approach her, to offer my greetings, but she vanished into thin air with him before I could even utter a full sentence."
The moment the words "pathetic F-rank" left Everette’s mouth, Julianne subtly flinched.
A sharp pang of discomfort shot through her chest, but she clamped her jaw shut, forcing herself to remain silent.
Reuben, however, didn’t seem bothered by the description. "I am aware. I met with my daughter and Kurt Rossana in her office just a moment ago."
"You did?! My Lord, how did it go? Did she finally realise–"
Before Everette could finish his question, a faint hum of telekinetic energy vibrated through the air above them.
Emelie came floating down from the sky and landed her softly on the ground with a faint tap.
"Everette. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t just run away like that. In case I can’t find my friend, you’re my ride out of here. I’d rather not waste my mana flying around."
Reuben gave a stiff, formal nod toward the young woman. "Good afternoon, Emelie Herst."
"Oh. Hey, old man Reuben. Good afternoon to you too."
"E-Emelie!" Everette hissed, his face flushing with a mixture of embarrassment and anger as he turned to scold his sister. "Mind your manners. You can’t speak to my future father-in-law so casually. Show some respect to the duke."
Julianne’s hands subtly clenched into tight fists against her dress when she heard the phrase "future father-in-law".
The arrogant presumption of it made her blood boil. She opened her mouth, wanting nothing more than to put the pompous young noble in his place, but Wendy placed a soothing hand on her shoulder and shook her head.
Julianne swallowed her anger and slumped her shoulders, forcing herself to back down.
Emelie, meanwhile, rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful.
"Everette, why are you still going on about that ridiculous fantasy? Seriously, let it go. Principal Valentine already has a lover. She’s taken. You need to accept reality and just move on."
Reuben stepped forward, drawing all eyes back to his imposing figure.
"Do not waste your breath worrying about that, Everette," the duke stated with a chilling certainty. "I have already given the two of them a talking-to in the office."
"Ah! As expected of the great Lord Reuben! A man of true vision! An F-rank nobody like that ruffian has absolutely no right standing next to a woman of Diana’s stature."
"What do you mean by that, old man?" Emelie asked.
Reuben met her gaze with an impassive stare. "I told her to break off her ridiculous relationship with him immediately."
"You did what...? Ha! You think she’s just going to happily comply? I mean, do you really think she’s just going to say ’Yes, dad,’ and throw away the man she loves because you told her to?"
’Even in all my other cycles where Kurt wasn’t a factor, she still refused. If that doesn’t speak of her resolve, I don’t know what will.’
"It does not matter what she wishes," Reuben replied coolly. "She is the daughter of House Valentine. Her betrothal to Everette has already been decided by me, and that is final. My word is law to her. She will obey."
Julianne tightly closed her eyes as an agonising sorrow weighed on her chest.
She wanted to scream, to tell her husband how wrong he was, to tell him that he was driving their only child away, but the lifelong conditioning of noble submission kept her throat locked.
Everette smiled warmly, his chest puffing out in complete satisfaction. He looked at Emelie with a proud smirk that practically shouted, ’I won’.
Reuben turned his back to the siblings, gesturing toward the carriage. "I wish you both a good day."
"... Pfft–hahaha! Ahahaha!"
Out of absolutely nowhere, an echoing burst of laughter shattered the tense atmosphere of the plaza.
It wasn’t a polite little giggle. It was a fully unrestrained, and mocking laugh.
Emelie was bent over, her hands resting on her stomach as she laughed so hard her silver-and-mint hair whipped around her face. It sounded like she had just heard the funniest joke in the history of the continent.
"Emelie? What on earth is wrong with you? What is so funny?" Everette asked confusingly.
Reuben slowly turned around and stared at the laughing girl.
When Emelie finally managed to catch her breath, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and straightened up.
"You want to know what’s funny? You two are." She pointed a finger between Everette and the Duke. "You and the old man. The two of you... you’re the joke."
Reuben narrowed his eyes while Everette, looking utterly bewildered, asked her, "What are you even saying, Emelie?"
"I’m saying that I find it funny that you two truly think that you can stop Principal Valentine and Kurt from being together. Because let me tell you something, ’Lord Reuben’. It doesn’t matter who says it. Be it you or the King himself... those two will never be broken apart."
"Emelie, stop it! Why does it sound like you are actively taking the side of that F-rank?" Everette looked at Emelie with hurt in his eyes. "Shouldn’t you be happy that your favourite principal and your own brother are getting married?"
"What I think doesn’t matter. Because you two getting married is never going to happen. Not as long as Kurt has something to say about it."
"Who cares about what that F-rank thinks? His opinion is entirely irrelevant!"
"... Hold on." Emelie raised an eyebrow at her brother. "I meant to ask this, but why do you keep calling him an F-rank?"
"Because I personally went to the Adventurer’s Guild and had his records checked. That is exactly what he is officially registered as. An F-rank."
"You do know his registered rank is not indicative of his strength, right?"
"Oh? And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that if Kurt Rossana really wanted to... he could beat you to a bloody pulp."
"Wha–!"
"""......"""
Dead silence descended upon the plaza.
Suddenly, Everette threw his head back and burst into a loud, arrogant laugh of his own.
"Hahaha! Oh, wow! Now that is a funny joke, Emelie! Me? A high-tier noble prodigy, trained by the best masters in the kingdom, beaten by an F-rank? Ahahahaha!"
Emelie didn’t laugh back. She just stood there, a serene, chilling smile on her face as she watched him laugh.
Finally, Reuben spoke. "What exactly are you basing this absurd claim off of, Emelie Herst?"
"I’m basing it off the time I’ve actually spent with him. And you should know, Duke Valentine... my word actually means something when it comes to assessing threats."
As she spoke, a vibrant green glow ignited deep within Emelie’s eyes. Reuben stared at her, his expression turning deeply serious.
He knew Emelie wasn’t a fool; she was a prodigy in her own right, and the unyielding confidence in her eyes was not the look of someone telling a fairy tale.
Reuben didn’t say another word after that.
He turned back around and held the heavy carriage door open for his wife. Julianne quickly stepped into the luxurious interior, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere.
But before Reuben could climb in behind her, Emelie stepped up to the edge of the carriage. Her voice was quiet, but it carried a chilling cadence that made the hair on the back of the duke’s neck stand up.
"Let me give you a piece of friendly advice, old man," Emelie whispered, her green eyes boring into his side profile.
"Kurt Rossana could be your greatest, most unstoppable ally... or he could become your most fearsome, catastrophic nightmare. If I were in your shoes, I would desperately pray for the former. Do not make an enemy out of him. For your own sake, and the sake of your precious house." freёwebnovel.com
Reuben’s jaw tightened. He didn’t acknowledge her warning. He simply stepped into the carriage and settled onto the cushioned seat.
Wendy stepped forward and closed the wooden door. She turned, offering a polite bow to the siblings, before gracefully climbing up onto the front bench beside the driver.
With a sharp snap of the reins, the Valentine carriage steadily left.
Everette waited for the carriage to disappear through the outer gates before he ran toward his sister. "What’s going with you, Emelie? Why are you so hell-bent on defending that pathetic F-rank over your brother’s happiness?"
Emelie looked at her brother as a wave of genuine pity washing over her features. She walked over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.
"Oh, Everette... you poor, ignorant fool. You have no idea what you’ve just done. You are already at the very top of Kurt’s shit book."
Everette blinked, completely bewildered. "H-Huh? Shit..what?"
"Later bro. I’ll be at the dorms with Amy."
Before Everette could even process her words or demand an explanation, a sudden burst of telekinetic mana erupted from beneath Emelie’s boots.
She floated directly up into the air, ascending rapidly into the sky before flying away toward the student dorms, leaving her brother standing entirely alone in the empty plaza, staring up at the clouds in helpless confusion.
