As those words echoed throughout the coliseum, a great portion of the audience stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction of the origin of the voice. After realizing whose voice that was, a few people in the audience let out light gasps, surprised that such people were willing to jump away from the seating area and head straight to where Valyr and the guards were.
As a frown adorned Lucas’ face as he watched two figures from the seating area make their way to where they were, a composed smile appeared on Valyr’s face as he watched the two figures moved closer. Nevertheless, he was inwardly filled with worry for the two, even though he appreciated their gesture.
“Are you two going to bar the city guards from carrying out their duties to detain this person?” Lucas shifted his gaze to the two that had appeared before them, his expression solemn. “If so, then we would have to detain you two as well on the count of hampering the city guards’ duty.”
“We won’t.” In response to Lucas’ words, Arcenne lightly shook her head. “Instead, we just wanted to ask if there was a way for Valyr to not have to go to prison.”
“There is none.” Lucas shook his head. “Though he had no clue that the life and death duel he had participated in was not permitted by the city, he still committed murder nevertheless. That alone is more than enough reason for him to be detained.”
“And here I thought I wouldn’t have to resort to doing this.” Letting out a low sigh, Arcenne took in a deep breath before releasing her aura in its entirety, allowing the guards, Valyr, as well as the entire audience to feel the air of nobility emanating from her. “As a Countess of the Astella Region, I, Arcenne Stelyra, order you to free Valyr right this instant. He shall be under my supervision after this, so you don’t have to worry about him wreaking havoc in the city.”
“So it’s actually Countess Stelyra.” Finally realizing who one of the two figures were, Lucas gave Arcenne a respectful bow as a bitter smile appeared on his face. “Even though I would be willing to grant any of your other requests, this request of yours is somewhat difficult to fulfill as this involves the safety of the city.”
“In front of two nobles? Really?” In response to Lucas’ words, Wells allowed his aura to cover the entire battleground. Though it was weaker in terms of intensity due to his inferior strength, the nobility it gave off was only slightly inferior to Arcenne’s. “As a Viscount of the Astella Region, I, Wells Anadhar, order you to free Valyr right this instant.”
As those words escaped Wells’ mouth, Valyr’s eyes widened in surprise. Though he knew that his friend was from a noble family, he expected the man’s rank to be around the Lord or Baronet level at most. Never in his wildest dreams did he think his friend was a Viscount.
Naturally, Arcenne was left surprised as well, thinking all this time that Wells was just a friend that Valyr made while he was in the village he stayed in. Of course, that part was true since Valyr and Wells met each other back at Astarto Village. However, she thought that Wells wasn’t of nobility at all, which made his reveal of being a Viscount all the more surprising to her.
On the other hand, a frown appeared once more on Lucas’ face after Wells revealed himself to be a Viscount. It was still okay for him to decline the request of a single noble since he had ways to compensate them for the rejection. However, dealing with two nobles or more that requested the same thing was a different story.
After all, if he failed to appease all of the nobles, then the reputation of the city guards, as well as the city itself would swiftly disappear.
But of course, Lucas had other reasons as to why he wanted to detain Valyr in prison, so he remained adamant in not giving him to the two nobles. “I sincerely apologize for not being able to agree to your requests. As I’ve said earlier, this request of yours is difficult to fulfill since it involves the safety of the city.”
“What if I were to make the request?” Out of nowhere, another voice resounded throughout the coliseum, prompting everyone on the battleground to turn their heads in the direction of the voice’s origin. With that, everyone was greeted by the sight of a five man group that radiated imposing yet regal auras, all of them wearing light gray plate armor.
“Let me ask you once again. If I were to make the request, would you set Valyr free?” Looking at Lucas, the man at the very front of the five man group posed the question to him once more, causing the frown on Lucas’ face to deepen.𝑶𝔳𝓵xt.𝑐𝚘𝐌
“And you are?” Though he had a feeling that the man at the front of the group was highly likely to be a noble as well, Lucas thought that the man would only be around the same level as Arcenne at most, with the other four people accompanying the man possibly being nobles as well.
However, once the man started to talk, it was only then did he find out that he was incredibly and utterly wrong.
“Braum Gladios, Marquis of the Astella Region,” the man said in response to Lucas’ question before shifting his gaze to the four people behind him. “Behind me are Neia, Paul, Tyrst, and Madeline, the lowest rank of nobility among them being Earl.”
After that, as if the words he had just spoken to Lucas weren’t enough to persuade the latter to giving Valyr to the five man group, Braum brought out a piece of parchment out of his pocket before unfurling it, allowing Arcenne, Wells, Valyr, Lucas, and the guards to read what was written on it.
“Just like the two nobles before you, we request that you free Valyr right this instant. However, unlike them, we have a Royal Decree, signed personally by the king of the Algerie Kingdom, that states that we have been tasked by the kingdom itself to bring Valyr to the kingdom at any cost. You could choose to help us make our lives easier by letting him go, or you could choose to continue withholding his freedom from us.”
“However, be prepared to face the consequences that come along with such a choice.” As Braum said these words, he released his aura in full swing, the strength emanating from his body far greater than what Arcenne gave off, making it seem as if Arcenne was just a firefly standing in front of the sun.
“Now then.”
“What shall you choose?”