Rex could sense the intention behind Iris' flattery, she wanted sothing from him.
But then again, from the others' point of view, Rex was the Emperor, who killed the Fifthborn and also created a lot of powerful figures under his reign. He could manifest things from thin air that was unrivaled in mortal's comprehension.
It would be weird for Iris, who was in his presence to not take her chances.
One good item from Rex would set her for life.
"Naela, can you check the progression of the Divine Chalice?" Rex asked with eyes closed.
He was still enjoying Iris' head massage.
Upon hearing this—Naela glanced over at him and saw Iris was also looking at her peculiarly, and this sowhat made her uneasy, "Your Majesty, I don't think leaving you alone in a room when you don't know the place is a great idea"
Despite the carefulness of her words, it was obvious what she ant by that.
She was saying it would be a bad idea to leave him alone in a room with the Marchioness.
Not to ntion there was Evelyn in the area, it would be inappropriate.
"It's not what you think, give us so ti" Rex added, waving his hand in dismissal.
Having no other choice, Naela looked over to Iris, her eyes began to glow with a dark light, a blatant warning to Iris who replied with a light smirk as she focused back on the massage. It was only then that Naela stood up and left the room.
As the door was closed once again, Rex opened his eyes and pointed Iris to sit down.
He was already refreshed from the massage and was in a good mood.
Smiling lightly, Iris went over to sit on the black ottoman again and straightened her spine.
"So, what is it that you want, Iris?" Rex asked, glancing at her knowingly. He was expecting, Iris to ask him for sothing that could make her stronger or even aid in increasing her own political power. Either way, it was definitely sothing that would benefit her.
Upon hearing this, Iris smiled inwardly before she raised her gaze, "It's about the Tabaxis"
"I reckoned Your Majesty needs to be the one to go there," She added.
Not expecting such an answer, Rex raised an eyebrow, "Explain to why is that?"
"As Your Majesty might know, the Tabaxi Race was a low-rank Supernatural race before, but they have had their evolution and elevated their race to the mid-rank. Pride is overflowing in their race right now—and they would fight to the death if they were asked to fall underneath our Clarentium Empire..." Iris explained as concisely as possible.
Rex listened to this and found it logical, it made sense for the Tabaxi Race to be like that.
It was akin to a country's independence, they wouldn't want to kneel for anyone.
Iris inspected Rex's expression before she continued, "Since Your Majesty's decree to make contact with the Tabaxi Race, I've done my research, and I found their kingdom was located on the edge of a deep valley between two land masses—and the only possible way to cross over to the other side is through the Saltura Bridge, which was under their control"
"Based on Your Majesty's information, the Angel would arrive on that other side" She added.
Listening to her explanation, Rex's frown beca deeper and deeper.
"Are you saying...?" He mused questioningly.
Knowing what he wanted to say, Iris nodded, "If we get on the wrong foot with the Tabaxis, it would be akin to giving the Angel Race an ally, and also a geographical advantage, over all of us. It would be extrely bad for us"
Coming to this realization, Rex tapped his index finger on his single sofa in contemplation.
He was taking into account the new information he gained.
"So what are you suggesting? I know you want to offer a solution," Rex finally asked.
Despite the problem that cos with the new information—he could tell that Iris was already ready with an answer, a solution. Naela has so animosity toward her, but they aren't in the sa age range, Iris is way older. She didn't ask for anything, but told this information instead. Nevertheless, she must want sothing. Hmm... Is it to replace Naela? With Kyran?
Rex was already making guesses in his mind as he waited for Iris' answer.
Eventually, she answered, "Since we've established, that Your Majesty or one of the favored inner Silverstar Pack mbers needs to make contact directly—I wanted to be the one who taught the tradition of the Tabaxi Race. I'm well-versed in their way of life—I was quite well-acquainted with them in the past, so I'm sure I'm qualified to do that"
"If I may request, I want to teach Your Majesty himself" She added, smiling effervescently.
Upon hearing this, Rex's eyes widened in complete shock.
Is she crazy? Regardless if I won't do anything, does she not think the others would?
Adhara, Evelyn, Gistella, and especially Calidora would rip her to shreds.
Knowing exactly what Rex was thinking, Iris winked, and smiled wider, "I am sure the others wouldn't mind. After all, this is all strictly in order to tackle the Tabaxi Race's problem. Not a single thing more..."
"You wanted to be the trusted Dark Elf for my pack, is that it?" Rex asked, squinting his eyes.
Giggling lightly, Iris shrugged, "Maybe yes, maybe no, we'll have to see"
"Okay..." Rex nodded, giving Iris a sidelong glance before suddenly gripping her by the neck and pulling her closer. "But let make myself clear. I didn't accept this because the others wouldn't mind—but because I would not mind. Do not be mistaken and watch your words. In my eyes, there's nothing special about you, and it's up to you to change that"
"Do you understand?" He ended, asking Iris with a rasping tone.
Iris held Rex's arm gently and nodded her head, "Yes, Your Majesty. I understand..."
"Good," He let go of his hand and nodded.
Monts later, the Divine Chalice finally ca.
Rex could not see how it looked, as he was only given a beautifully made golden box, but the content of energy inside was evident that it contained a powerful item. And he didn't need to be worried if it was the wrong item either as a notification from the System assured him.
...
Objective: Heal the Countess of the Dark Lunirich from her Chaos Corruption!
Find the Divine Chalice: 1 / 1 √
Find a Lotus of Lunar Heart: 1 / 1 √
Find a Phoenix Feather: 0 / 1
Gather 10,000 Strands of Divine Energy: 12,000 /10,000 √
...
Alright, one more item to go and I could heal the Countess.
Now, he only needs one more item, and that is the Phoenix Feather.
In order to gain the last item he would need to et with the Spirit Emperor—but he needs to prepare first before Rex could et him. Other than eting the Spirit Emperor to bargain for the phoenix's feather, he also needs to prepare both Amanir and Devo.
Having more spirits would be a hassle, he rather make Amanir and Devo stronger.
Both could contain more elents if their aptitude was increased.
And in order to do that, they would need to fight other spirits, so Rex needs to train them.
Maybe in the spirit world, they are quite strong, because of their age. But in terms of fighting, especially close-quarter combat, they were nothing more than amateurs. I need to train them before bringing them to the Spirit Emperor.
Just like that, the visit to the Dark Elf ended.
Rex went back to the carriage with Naela, heading to Qonvale's abode before going back.
Looking through the window of the carriage, Rex could see Iris was seeing him leave.
She was putting on a smile and even saying with lips alone, "See you later, Your Majesty"
Upon seeing this Rex could only shake his head at the bravery Iris possesses, there was not a lot who would be brave enough to do what she did. Rex agreed that he would be taught in the way of the Tabaxi Race and that he would visit as often as he could.
Soon, the carriage moved, taking them to another part of the Dark Elf's great tree.
It was then arrived in front of Qonvale's abode.
Rex and Naela got out of the carriage and rode on a mutated plant that acted as an elevator, bringing them both to Qonvale's place. Arriving there, the guards were startled and instantly went to their knees.
Not even bothering them, Rex knocked on the door lightly.
It didn't take long before the door was opened from the inside, revealing a beautiful woman.
Her face was puffy as she seed to have spent the day crying.
Evelyn was on the other side, and she had a straight face, not surprised at Rex's arrival.
"May I co in...?" Rex asked with a wry smile.
Despite coming to check on Evelyn since he was already in the area, he was t with a cold, distant deanor, from her. He had anticipated this frosty reception, given that they had not spoken since the incident.
At the very least, it was fortunate enough that Evelyn didn't punch him on sight.
Keeping her silence, Evelyn stepped to the side, allowing Rex to step inside.
Feeling the tension, Naela decided to stay outside.
Upon entering the room, it was a wreckage ss with broken things scattered everywhere.
Standing motionlessly, Rex could hear the steady breaths in the other room and deduced the person of the house, Qonvale was already sleeping. Pivoting around, he looked at Evelyn and asked, "What happened to Madam Qonvale?"
"Everyone said she had gone crazy, but she was not," Evelyn replied shortly.
Rex nodded and asked again, "And why are you doing here?"
"She helped to overwrite the Witch's cursed power—of course, I'll be here to take care of her," She replied, her voice filled with disdain and hostility. "Also—she was seeing things, she was seeing a calamity brought by the Angels"
Listening to this, Rex frowned as that was also what Garret said, a calamity was coming.
Despite the connection, Rex put it on the back of his mind.
He has sothing more important to deal with right now, other than the calamity.
"Explain..." Evelyn suddenly said, pinching the edges of her clothes hard.
Upon hearing this, Rex instantly knew, what she was talking about and sighed. He looked to the side and found a room there, and he brought her in there so as to not disturb, Qonvale's sleep as this was her ho.
Closing the door, Rex cald his breath before he turned around.
But he was instantly t by Evelyn's teary eyes, desperately seeking an explanation.
Both of them had been avoiding each other ever since the accident, their emotions naturally piled up inside, threatening to break free at this mont. Through Evelyn's eyes, blocked by a few strands of her crimson hair, Rex saw a mixture of pain, sadness, and anger.
Her beautiful face, once gazed upon him with warmth, now struggled to hold back tears.
Similarly, her lips quivered for the sa effort.
It pained Rex to see her like this.
Evelyn had been abandoned by her family and Humanity because of him, and now he had made her cry, just as they did. The weight of his actions, even though it wasn't his to take responsibility fully, pressed heavily upon him.
He couldn't bear to look at her like this, so he decided to be more truthful towards her.
"It was an accident..." Rex finally said and looked up to the ceiling. "During my first mission in the military, I was tasked to mark a Ghoul's den but that ended up in a bad success. I should have died that night, but an unknown power ca to , and that power, turned into the person you know right now—a Werewolf, the monster I once hated, and I wanted to die back then..."
Rex paused for a second, reminiscing that ti before he took in a deep breath.
"Sohow, the Fifthborn knows that power and I fell to his ploy," He added whisperingly. "It was because of that ploy, that Calidora took advantage of my condition—and provoked , when I blacked out. I didn't rember what happened, so that happened"
"I'm sorry... for what had happened. And I promise, Evelyn, I will never leave you"
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