Chapter 218: The Call to Assemble

Chapter 218

The Call to Assemble

News of the invasion of Ares by the Rhea Kingdom became a major topic of discussion. The Emperor of Ares had commanded Rhea to rectify their mistake by handing over all the criminals involved. However, this meant dealing with the Seven Night Poison, a group even Rhea feared.

The Emperor of Rhea had to weigh the fearsome reputation of Ares, backed by the Setter family, against the deeply entrenched Seven Night Poison group. Both were formidable. However, choosing Ares Kingdom would mean immediate destruction for many commoners and even the palace itself—this was the threat posed by the criminals.

After much deliberation, the Rhea Kingdom chose to side with the Seven Night Poison group, effectively declaring war on Ares. This was huge news, causing other kingdoms to react. Some sided with Ares, boycotting Rhea, while others did the opposite. Fortunately, the top 10 major kingdoms remained neutral, preferring to wait quietly and capitalize on the unfolding events.

With such significant developments, the institute issued numerous special missions. Ellie, who initially planned to stay in the tower, could no longer do so. The professors sent letters to the Setter family, thinking Ellie was with them, requesting the return of all students.

"Did the institute call me back from my mission because of the war between the kingdoms?"

"I got called back too. I heard that Rhea and Ares are at odds. It’s such bad luck. Couldn’t they wait another year? Why start fighting when I’m in my fourth year!?"

"Are we going to be sent to fight? Those guys are crazy dogs. This is going to be fighting against Rhea!!"

"Do we have a choice? Even if we’re from noble families, as long as we’re in the institute, we’re considered part of the royal family. We have to join the fight; hiding within our families isn’t an option."

Many students felt uneasy about the situation, understanding their likely fate. Each year, students were assigned special tasks, varying in difficulty according to the types. However, with the onset of war, their prospects seemed grim.

Ellie also felt anxious. The plot had changed completely, and she could no longer predict what would happen next. The presence of Rhea Kingdom as an enemy had never occurred in the story before. Nara had only faced minor events to develop relationships, nothing as significant as this.

As everyone waited in the grand hall for the professors to conduct an emergency assembly, a figure appeared, causing the students to fall silent.

"Isn’t that...Prince Jason?"

"Ah!! His Highness is as stunning as ever. We haven’t seen him in a while. It’s lucky the institute called us together like this, so we get to see him." The girls whispered among themselves, careful not to raise their voices too much, not wanting to cause a disturbance.

The prince walked with a composed expression, maintaining his dignified image. If Ellie didn’t know him as the troublesome hunter, she might not find him so annoying.

Wint sat next to Ellie from the beginning, with Aman and Koross surrounding them like unnecessary guards. When they saw such a high-ranking figure enter, they turned their attention to the petite girl, curious to see if she would react like everyone else. Seeing her reaction, they felt relieved...

"You’re sneering at royalty like this. Are you ready to face execution?" Aman teased, feeling more at ease than anyone. It wasn’t because he was glad Ellie didn’t care about the prince and maintained her status as a future sister-in-law, but because at least, he wasn’t the only one she liked to make a disgusted face to!

"If I’m to be executed, I’ll make sure to implicate the entire Setter family along with me." Hearing Ellie retorted like that, Koross looked distressed, but Aman laughed heartily.

"My lady, it’s not good to speak of such dreadful things."

"But your second young lord spoke first," Ellie argued back at Koross, who then glared at Aman in reproach.

"Many women admire the prince, but he’s already betrothed to Duchess Vida. No matter how much they like him, they can’t become his lover," Wint said, almost to himself. In fact, if he couldn’t follow Ellie and the Setter family, he had planned to align with Fifth Prince Jason.

In truth, there were many princes in the royal family. Even Prince Joseph, who had just graduated, was a candidate. However, many believed that the next emperor would likely be Prince Jason. It wasn’t surprising that people prioritized him. Even his Femon family supported this fifth prince.

Prince Jason was born with special abilities and immense intelligence, which solidified his status. The Jarlon family chose him, making them the future in-laws of the emperor. Their swift actions made other noble families envious. In comparison...only the Setter family was equally formidable. However, the Setter family wasn’t involved in power struggles, which relieved many, otherwise...

When Wint learned that there was a prince who was older than him and was destined to be the future emperor, he trained hard, intending to become his guard. But now his plans had changed. The Setter family didn’t need to compete with other nobles; they were seen as equal to the emperor by outsiders!

Thus, the Femon family assigned him to follow the Setter family, and Wint agreed.

"Your Highness, where should we sit?" Ryker asked the prince. He hadn’t been to the institute often; even when he did, it was only to deliver missions briefly before returning to the Tower of Eternity. Thus, Jason couldn’t immediately answer. He squinted to see better and then noticed the small figure surrounded by the members of the Setter family.

Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise. He took another look at the small figure to be sure, then it was as if he had found his target, so he strode toward the group of 4.

"Your Highness..." Ryker was slightly puzzled but followed obediently.

Ellie’s seat was near the back because she didn’t want to compete with others for a spot. The front seats were reserved for young nobles from prestigious families, including Vida. When Vida saw her fiancé approaching, she stood up quickly to catch his attention. Unfortunately, Prince Jason walked right past her without even glancing her way.

The beautiful woman watched the prince walk straight to the back and and stop in front of Duchess Ellie. Her eyebrows raised slightly, and a feeling of unease stirred in her heart. However, seeing Aman and several members of the Setter family surrounding Duchess Ellie, Vida exhaled slowly.

"It seems His Highness wants to build a good relationship with the Setter family," Aria, who was beside her, observed. Vida felt even more assured upon hearing this.

"In that case, we’ll have to be even kinder to Duchess Ellie. It would be a way to support Prince Jason, wouldn’t it? Actually...I’ve heard that my fiancé, Ryker, has also been trying to get closer to Duchess Ellie. It must be for the same reason,"

Aria said confidently. Vida let out a resigned sigh. In truth, she wanted to befriend Ellie genuinely. She didn’t expect the duties of a "future queen" to arrive so soon. Since the prince intended to befriend the Setter family, she, as his fiancée, had to support him as well.

Vida sat back down, planning to befriend Ellie in the future... All for the sake of her fiancé.

What Vida didn’t know was that Prince Jason wasn’t just approaching the Setter family. He stopped in front of the small girl with a victorious smile. Though he had to conceal his true identity from others, it didn’t mean he couldn’t use his status as a prince to his advantage. As long as no one realized that he and that hunter were the same person, he wouldn’t face any reprimands from the royal family.

He had plans to recruit "Luke" by any means necessary, but he didn’t expect to find Luke’s younger sister here. This was what he called "opportunity."

If he got to know the other party’s sister better and gave her the gifts she wanted through Luke...the other party would surely feel indebted. At the very least...Luke would wonder how he knew his sister and open up more.

This cunning plan made the prince smile. However, seeing the Setter family’s protective demeanor, Jason pretended to lose interest in Ellie and made it seem as if his real target was the Setter family, with his interest in the girl being merely because she was the "future lady of the Setter family"...

So...that’s why Luke needed to hide his identity so carefully. As a prince, it wasn’t strange for Jason to disguise himself, but for Luke, it wasn’t typical...Usually, those who completely conceal their faces were either criminals or high-ranking individuals testing their skills. It seemed Luke was the latter.

With a sister poised to become the lady of the Setter family, he was likely only focused on battle. Perhaps when Jason offered lucrative missions, Luke wasn’t interested because...his family had plenty of money, and he was simply aiming to enhance his strength by entering the tower.

"Your Highness? May I ask if you have any instructions for the Setter family?" Aman reverted to his usual self, with his sinister smile making Prince Jason raise his eyebrows.

Jason had heard of the "Demon of the Setter Family" that this guy was dubbed but didn’t expect the gaze of Aman to be like a serpent waiting to strike like this. The pressure Aman exuded made even the prince, who had faced numerous challenges, more cautious.

Watching this, Ellie felt as if the two had encountered their natural enemies. Perhaps these two were destined to oppose each other, as they exuded killing intent upon their first meeting.

"How could I dare to instruct you, Second Young Lord of the Setter family?"

"Oh, then I must have misunderstood. Seeing Your Highness approaching us suddenly made me uneasy."

"Is that so? Did my demeanor make you uneasy?" The prince raised his eyebrows, seemingly challenging Aman. Since Aman implied that Prince Jason’s presence was unsettling, he would have to see if Aman could handle the consequences of such words.

"Oh, I must have misspoken. Does Your Highness care that much about my words?" Aman didn’t give in. He instantly turned the tables without wasting much time thinking about it.

If the prince persisted, it would show he was overly concerned with the member of the Setter family’s remarks, almost like nitpicking. Turning a trivial matter into a significant issue could imply starting a conflict with the Setter family.

Jason laughed quietly, looking at the arrogant members of the Setter family with a desire to scoff. He disliked those who challenged the authority of the royal family, just like these people. If it weren’t for Ellie being his target, did they think he would bother with the members of the Setter family at all?

It was clear that they were overly arrogant. Did they think that having just the eldest young lord would allow them to cover the sky with one hand? After all, the royal family was the owner of the kingdom the Setter family lived in. How dare they be so arrogant!?

Though Jason was displeased, he didn’t say anything that would create a lasting rift. Instead, he only pretended to laugh lightly.

"Of course, I don’t care about the words that would lead to misunderstandings like this. I just wanted to discuss the impending war with you. After all, the Setter family is an important force in the Ares Kingdom. How could I make things more difficult for you?"

With that, he sat down right next to them, completely disregarding their expressions. Aman felt a surge of irritation, wanting to kick the prince’s chair so that he couldn’t sit, but in the end, he could only sit down with a calm expression.

It was evident that no matter how displeased he was, Aman could still keep his cool—except when he was alone with Ellie, he could be himself. Certainly, even though he acted as if he was unfazed, Ellie knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Sit." She gently touched his arm, signaling her understanding of his feelings.

Aman let out a small, bitter laugh and maintained his image as usual. The two sat with stern expressions, making it clear they weren’t pleased. Seeing their demeanor, the high-born prince couldn’t help but smile.

It seemed that these two being friends was indeed a fitting match. On second thought...having this girl join the Setter family might be very suitable. However, despite everything...he found himself genuinely more interested in her...

Not just as Luke’s sister, but as herself!