"Is there something wrong, my lord?"

Rea followed Siderius to a more secluded area. Her mind already jumped to all kinds of scenarios. Maybe Siderius finally noticed her.

"Do you want to follow me, Rea?"

"What do you mean, my lord?"

"Can I have your eternal loyalty? Will you die for me if I tell you to do so?"

Rea shrunk back because of his questions. She thought he was joking but she could see the seriousness in his eyes, showing behind the lenses of the mask.

She didn't answer right away but looked at the surrounding of the estate.

Siderius was a good man and a powerful witch. She wanted to seduce him because… Well, she admired him and wanted to give herself to a great man.

Rea was born a commoner and that was only a few little things she could decide for her life.

She wouldn't deny the fact that she was shameless. After all, to survive in Eldoria, a human had to.

Rea shook her head. Her answer surprised Siderius.

"I can't betray the Arist, Lord Nyx. I don't know what you want me to do. But these questions must be leading to something big. I am only a commoner… But I have my honor.

Even though there isn't much of it left."

Rea smiled bitterly. "I know if I say this, you must kill me to keep your secret.

You can do it, my lord. I won't blame you."

Siderius chuckled then started to laugh manically. He removed the Joker Mask, letting his angelic face be revealed.

Rea couldn't get tired of looking at that face. Her eyes widened and she stared at that perfect creation. Everyone wanted to admire the beauty.

"You have integrity, my dear Rea.

Ruben won't care about the lives of you commoners.

I admit. I didn't care either."

"What are you talking about, my lord…"

"Those servants would probably be cannon fodders when the time comes. But seeing that you have served me well, I want to see if I should save you.

You show me enough character. From now on, you follow me now. I am your new lord."

"But Lord Nyx… I already said…"

Siderius shook his head. He put the iron mask back on.

"This is no betrayal to the Arist. Rather, this is to save them. They will be attacked tonight. The helpless servants probably are going to die the most.

I can save you if you stay close to me."

"I… I am forever indebted to you, my lord."

"As you should be."

The banquet began.

The night howled. The wind blew. And the candles shined.

All the guests and their companions sat down at the table.

Lord Ruben Arist sat at the top where the host should be. Around him were dozens of armed men.

Slade's brow furrowed. He didn't care if Ruben knew about the attack. But he was sure that Ruben didn't know.

Seeing the armed soldiers made him think otherwise.

"Tonight might not be so easy." Ruben thought to himself.

Suddenly, everyone turned toward the entrance. Siderius with his iron mask, gray armor and grizzly-bear cloak, entered the courtyard.

He immediately attracted attention to himself.

"So that is the mysterious witch… White hair… Wait a minute!"

Accompanied by Siderius was Rea. She kept her distance close to Siderius like his personal servant.

The hunter chose an empty seat near the Arist Clan.

The banquet continued in peace. Everything seemed to be normal and everyone feasted to their desire.

But they quickly noticed what was wrong on the other side.

No one was drinking. Friends or foes. No one even touched the cup.

Ruben stood up and clapped his hand loudly.

"My friends! I invited you all here to inform you about the death of the Foglight's Vulture and the return of the Western Trading Route. It was all thanks to Lord Nyx here that the threat was handled."

Siderius nodded to the crowd.

Suddenly, Ruben's face hardened. "But it seems like someone has been mistaking my hospitality for weakness.

I don't know why you came here and who sent you. But as long as you haven't pulled out your sword. You are still the friend of the Arist Clan.

However, I must warn you. If you dare to cause harm in this banquet. Me and Lord Nyx will not tolerate you."

Lord Slade stood up and clapped his hand.

"What a great speech! What a great speech… What a pitiful attempt at saving yourself, Ruben.

Everyone here came because of the order of one honorable man. Count Rufus of Southpara."

Ruben clenched his fist. "Rufus… That damn witch."

"I don't know why you found out about everything, Ruben. But no one here will back off because of your words. Not even the White Witch. Hahaha!"

"The White Witch?"

"Who is the White Witch?"

The crowd erupted to chatters.

"Lord Nyx? I haven't heard any name like that in our kingdom. But there is this one new Baron of the North.

Lord Satterblade of Snowfell. The only witch with white hair of all Eldoria.

That must be your real identity, right, Nyx?"

Siderius smiled behind the mask. He nodded.

"Satterblade…" Ruben mumbled the name. He couldn't remember any clan with that name.

"Siderius Satterblade was a commoner. He has no clan nor allies. All he has is a barren wasteland in the North! You chose your ally wrong, Ruben!"

Slade fell into non-stop laughter. Everyone didn't dare to interrupt him. Not even Ruben.

Suddenly, an arrow pierced through the air and aimed directly at Ruben. No one expected that arrow but Siderius.

His pupils constricted further and his Dynamic Eyes activated. Siderius saw the trajectory of the arrow and immediately hurled a rock to stop it.

The arrow reached for Ruben's head but was miraculously saved because of the rock. The rock hit the tip of the arrow just in time to divert it away.

"What?!" Ruben still didn't understand what just happened. Neither did Slade.

Slade stood up to distract everyone on purpose. He created a chance to kill Ruben instantly. A snake without its head was useless. Slade wanted to kill the head of the house before the battle.

But he failed because of Siderius.

Siderius flipped the fireswitch and pulled out his sword. The orange flame of the Blazing Soul illuminated the area.

With that, everyone erupted into violence.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.