There was a reason why the whole Empire feared and respected the House Augustus. And it was clearly shown by the fact that they didn't need to bow before anyone except the Emperor himself.

That was the level of status they held in this Empire.

Aegon didn't kneel or bow before the Prince and Princess because of that. There wasn't any need to, considering that the House Valeria never bowed before the Emperor.

'I don't like them,' Aegon thought as he averted his eyes from the royalty. 'Especially that guy. He's creepy.'

[He's the Fifth Prince, Boss. I've heard some nasty rumours about him. Want me to investigate more?]

'Forget it,' Aegon replied to Hecte and looked around the stadium and the hovering stands upon which the nobles sat. 'Wasn't this supposed to be a quiet event?'

As far as he was aware, there wasn't usually anything exciting about the entrance exams since most participants were still weak, so the stadium typically remained half-empty.

But this time it was filled to the brim and even the Royalty had come. It was suspicious.

[It's because of you.]

'I can tell,' Aegon said, ignoring all the stares he was getting along with the hushed words exchanged by everyone.

It was, after all, his first public appearance in the Empire.

Even the Prince and Princess had shown their interest in him, but he didn't care about them. The Prince gave him the creeps, while the Princess's eyes were far too cold for his liking.

It was as if she was looking down on everything beneath her.

He didn't like people like that.

Sadly, just because he didn't want to interact with them didn't mean others shared the same intention.

"Brother Aegon doesn't need to bow or anything," Raphael said with a smile. "He's one of us, after all."

"I would appreciate it if the Prince didn't say things like that," Aegon said, staring straight at the Prince. "People may misunderstand. I carry the blood of Augustus and Valeria. That's all."

"Haha! I apologize if I made you angry, Brother," Raphael laughed it off and continued, "I just respect your family a lot, so I consider them the same as my own. I would like to formally apologize for my slip-up, so I wish to treat you to a meal."

'So that was your plan all along?' Aegon thought and smiled faintly. "There's no need for that, Your Highness. I have a lot of things to do, so I'll be busy for the next few days or maybe even months."

Everyone silently listened to their conversation, but no one was particularly surprised. This was, after all, how an average conversation between members of House Augustus and House Morningstar went.

Or rather, any other Augustus wouldn't even have been this polite compared to Aegon.

'I really need to thank my family for this.'

One thing everyone knew was that the Augustus were always straightforward and often came across as rude. Even in front of the Imperial Family, they remained the same.

So Aegon talking back to the Prince wasn't surprising at all.

"I understand," Raphael said, still smiling. "I am a persistent one, Brother, so I'll wait for you. If I ever do something wrong, I'll always apologize, even if I have to wait a long time for it."

'This guy sure is shameless,' Aegon thought, speechless but wary, raising his guard against the Prince. 'He's a snake.'

"Sure, I won't reject Your Highness's offer," Aegon smiled and said. "But I think we've already wasted quite a bit of time here. Everyone must be cursing us for it, so let's stop here."

Everyone gave him strange, speechless stares. Who was cursing who? Who would even dare to curse these two families? Did anyone have a death wish?

On the other hand, Amon, who was watching the exchange with amusement, couldn't help but think as his eyes lingered on Aegon's smile, 'That lass surely left her mark on him. His tongue really doesn't see the identity of anyone before firing at them.'

"I would like to see who dares to curse the Imperial Family here," the Princess, Gabriel, finally spoke up. Sensing the tension, she smiled faintly. "See? Nobody curses us."

Aegon turned toward her and shrugged his shoulders. "Your Highness, one has to be living in a delusion if they think nobody ever thinks about them negatively."

"Did you just call me delusional?" Gabriel's voice sharpened as she glared at Aegon.

"Oh my, he didn't say anything like that, Sister," Raphael quickly interjected, clearly enjoying the situation. "And what Brother Aegon said is true. It's not like there aren't people who curse us, they just won't do it openly."

"I see one clearly doing it in public," Gabriel snorted before turning to Aegon. "But I'm willing to look away if you apologize properly by treating me to a meal."

'Damn! These two are actors,' Aegon thought, dumbfounded as he finally understood their schemes. 'They just want to have dinner with me so they can try to recruit me? What the hell?'

Only now did he understand why Arnold had warned him that aristocrats would try to drag him into their politics. Even the Royalty was doing it.

"Let's stop here, shall we?" Amon finally spoke up before things could escalate. "Aegon will surely pass the exams, so he'll be in the Academy. You can meet him later."

'Yo, this guy is actually useful,' Aegon silently thanked Amon in his heart. 'But his name is Amon, so he's probably scheming something.'

As the Dean of the Supreme Apostle Academy, Amon held a high status, so Raphael and Gabriel could only agree with him.

"You're right. We can first witness Brother Aegon's miraculous talent," Raphael smiled, a mysterious glint flashing through his eyes.

'Alright. Time to ignore these people,' Aegon thought before asking Hecte, 'How many powerful people are here?'

[Quite a lot. There's the Dean, the protectors of the Prince and Princess who are hiding, Duke Armstrong and Duke Constantine are also here. None of the High Dukes came, but their sons and daughters are present. There are also heads of various other organizations and clans.]

'The line-up is crazy,' Aegon smiled faintly. 'Then, you can watch this show.'

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