Roland glanced at the two empty seats on either side of the long table. He had two choices. Either to sit beside the blonde boy, who could barely sit still from the looks of it, the deepening anger that swelled through his body was practically hard to miss. Or, he could sit beside the cold-looking boy with darker hair, whose disdain was slightly hidden but likely just as potent as the other boy glaring daggers into him.
'Either or is probably just as bad.' Roland thought to himself, already feeling tired from this fiasco.
Instead, he boldly decided to sit on the furthest chair away from everyone—the other high chair at the far end of the long table.
That decision looked to have twisted the atmosphere of hate towards him just a little more, but Roland couldn't care so much at this point. He sat with a straight back and stared directly ahead. His grandfather's expression was grave, but the old figure seemed slightly curious about his actions. The silver-haired figure slightly twitched before his lips parted aside as he said.
"Boy, where were you yesterday."
'Straight to the point.' Roland swallowed hard before immediately jumping into character.
"Huh? I…I don't understand wh-what's happened?" He asked the hall sounding worried.
There was a stiff pause against the air, and a few lowered voices might've sneered. But Roland was at ease with outside noises. Besides, he could already feel cold sweat surfacing against his collarbone. Being in the presence of his grandfather wasn't for the faint-hearted. And he certainly learned his lesson from the last time.
The old figure who sat as the epitome of strength tilted his head slightly. His narrowed eyes stared right into Roland's soul. Eventually, the elder's mouth moved, and he said.
"Alyssa Cloud is missing. And I suspect you know why that is."
Roland's eyes immediately widened out of shock, his breathing turning hurried and panicky. Darting from left to right for an unknown source of help.
"Th-that can't be! I…I j-just. I was just with her…are…are you sure?"
Roland stammered in distress.
He felt the intense glare from the Patriarch lazered towards him. The pressure was almost as bad as that time he fell unconscious. Inside, he was crying injustice; on the outside, the tears he conjured to life streaming down his cheeks were all a hoax.
"*sniff* she-she came to-to see me. After *sniff-sniff* the par-ty. We spoke for a while and she decided to spend…she decided to spend the night here with-"
There was a loud bang against the long table, and all eyes shifted towards the youth with bleach-blonde hair. Roland had to give the boy some credit; he held out a little longer than he expected him to.
"Why! Why are we wasting time with this cripple when she could be- "
*SLAM*
Another interruption shook the hard table. This time, however, the culprit was a middle-aged man who looked like a carbon copy of the enraged blonde. Roland made himself a little more comfortable in his seat. He sensed this was going to be good.
"Since when did you grow bold enough to open your mouth in an assembly of Lords? Have you no decency, you unfilial little brat!"
"B-but father! He's not even supposed to be here; this is a disho-"
"Shut your mouth!" the man practically roared. A tremor vibrated across the table, and Roland shifted his attention towards the middle-aged-looking man.
'What's his name again, Eric, was it?' Roland subtly shifted his gaze between the faces. Quickly he pieced together the faces with the mental image of the family tree,
'So he's the father of those three. Guess that makes him the eldest son.'
Roland looked down and noticed thin webs cracked against the table's edges.
'Nowhere near as scary as the patriarch, so I'm guessing… silver ranked body.'
Lotten kept quiet by force. He bit the corners of his bottom lip out of frustration while doing everything he could to suppress the obvious rage boiling in his heart.
Roland was still wondering about the probable link between Lotten and himself. He turned towards Mariah, who looked the most out of place and the most nervous looking around the table.
And then suddenly, something clicked. This type of anger could only be from a slightly familiar feeling he recalled experiencing a few times in his old life.
'Ah. that's it, must be jealously.' He nodded a few times before steering his attention back towards his grandfather.
The Patriarch exhaled deeply before raising his arm to silence the bickering. He lowered his lizard-like eyes before carefully moving across the long table towards Roland again. Staring into those hardened features sent a cold shiver down the nape of Roland's neck.
"I won't beat around the bush. Your actions are suspicious and there's no ruling out whether or not you're actively involved…but for the sake of seeing things as they are. You're too weak to threaten anyone possibly…on your own, that is."
Roland purposely lowered his gaze and shrieked in fright every so often. His entire body couldn't stop shaking, and for a brief moment, he wondered if he was happy the old timer had arrived at the logical road he had arrived at, logically absolving him from this crime. However, that last bit his Grandfather mentioned wasn't missed. Roland was aware he wasn't completely out of the woods.
"You will be under strict surveillance for a while, which means you are not to step foot outside of these castled walls. All the guards and servants will be alert to enforce this…forcefully if needed."
'Shit, that damned old fool. You couldn't just let me have it, could you? Tsk! Omega, we'll need to find a safe route out of this place. Can you produce a blueprint of this entire castle?'
{Omega should be capable of such, yes. The process will take no longer than 3 hours.}
'Music to my ears.' Roland inwardly relaxed and slowly raised his lowered head to meet the piercing glare of his family members.
"I…I…I wo-won't leave this pla-place…I pro-pro-promise." He stammered before he bowed solemnly.
He squirmed on his seat for a bit longer, twiddling his thumbs together, waiting for what he expected was about to arrive...now.
"You're dismissed", Echoed the imposing voice from the Patriarch.
"If I need you again… I'll call."
He quickly shot up from his chair and performed another nervous bow before scurrying towards the door. Along the way, a familiar face proudly stepped forward, wearing the most sinister feline-wide smile.
Roland didn't know his name, but his ghost-pale face was imprinted on the front of his brain from the very first day he awoke in this strange new world.
He slowed his walk and slightly tilted his head to the side with a curious look.
"Oh right, I know you, don't I?" Roland's voice sounded spirited.
The young man seemed slightly surprised initially, but his proud smile swiftly resurfaced, and he held out his hand.
"No hard feelings eh? Besides, kudos for surviving, you know." The young man started to make a playful stabbing motion. "I was sure I severed a lot, aha, pardon my frankness."
Roland lowered his gaze and thought about something for a moment. Then he raised his hand and shook the young man's.
"Ahh-no-no I should say thank you. Luckily I ran into a bunch of two P**** who failed to take care of a weak cripple like me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here to see what he'll do now that I know where he rests his greased-up head at night."
Roland wore a boyishly charming smile whilst he squeezed the young man's hand.
"Oh right, how's your dead comrade doing? Sucks it couldn't be you though right."
His iron body clenched and firmly held on like a vice grip. Now, the young man looked a little troubled. It wasn't fear per se, but a real deep surprise.
"Heh, looks like I judged an iron for a lame stone. Nonetheless, low iron might as well be stone before a peak Iron, ahaha." Roland heard his bones rattle as the force he gave doubled back against him. The surprise caught him off guard a little, but with the added help of Omega.
{Predator Mode Active}
An adrenaline rush surged through his blood like ice. Roland exhaled a calm breath and pressed against the force aiming to harm him.
"Stop being so cocky, you ghost-looking b*****; I always pay back my debts. So be careful the shadows don't bewitch you."
The young man's mood soured drastically. He stared with deep confusion as to how Roland's hand wasn't broken yet. In fact, the pressure against it was subtly but surely growing stronger. The fear of losing his face before a low Iron body would be devastating, so he released his grip and pulled away.
"Aha, I only jest cripple Prince. Thank you for the blessing." He said with a bow.
"I pray you don't one day die in your bed like the cripple you are." He whispered as he rose upright.
Roland flinched briefly but creased a boyish smile as he replied dutifully.
"And I hope this world doesn't claim your black heart before I get to you."
Roland smiled back at him with a light wave of his hand.
He sidestepped the young man and walked away. Before he reached the end of the hall, the doors parted aside.
The guards gave him way; stiffened faces remained impassive as he walked through the door.
Roland took his tenth step along the wide hall when a shadow materialised and walked beside him. His death knight loomed like a slender ghoul. Roland couldn't help but release a pent-up breath and suddenly felt safe again.
He twisted his chin upwards towards his guardian and said.
"I need to make plans to leave as soon as possible. Has little Swallow left?" Roland asked the figure beside him.
"Yes. She should already have reached Lord Brutus manor by now."
'That was quick.' Roland thought to himself
"Good. Then I'll be out of this dump tomorrow at the latest."
Roland had already motioned Lord Brutus to send a small convoy with quick horses and lightweight apparel to camp halfway inside the jungle.
He just needed to find a way to get there. Afterwards, he will be escorted to a small windmill inn 3 miles south. That undeveloped Wizard, Belle Violetseed, should be waiting for him. The only current problem was figuring out how to complete what she had tasked him to do in 7 days, which now needed to be done in 2.
'If I stay here for any longer, I'm dead. Lady Herone knows of my involvement in this coup.' Even if she spared him, if it wasn't one of his psycho cousins. A hired killer would attempt to take his life. That much Roland was rather assured of, especially after staring at their faces today.
'There's only one thing I need to do right now. And that's going through Wizard Grey's stuff. There's gotta be something there I can use to help me learn an incantation quickly.'