Chapter: 161
A few days later, the Lion’s Order returned to Rahern Academy.
Everything regarding Hardenhartz had been tidied up, and they couldn’t stay there forever, after all.
The moment they returned to Rahern Academy, it was complete chaos.
Charlotte’s Lion’s Order and Felray’s Crew had excellently completed a mission related to the World Erosion.
Of course, the names of the two groups soared in fame like rockets.
So much so that most of the noble students prioritized joining the Lion’s Order as their first choice, while commoners aimed for Felray’s Crew.
However, Kraush’s name was barely mentioned at all.
Raina, Sera, and Haring knew of Kraush’s contributions, but few had actually witnessed his exploits firsthand.
To make matters worse, Kraush had no intention of blowing his own horn about what happened.
‘It’s still too early.’
There were just too many parties involved in this affair. From the Empire and Starlon to the World Erosion being Ixion.
Plus, quite a few people connected to Kraush were mixed in too.
So, he casually dropped hints to those around him.
Fortunately, most of them weren’t the type to gossip wildly.
And while Hardenhartz’s situation seemed to settle down, Kraush faced yet another gigantic problem.
“What in the world happened?”
“I-I’m sorry! I sent the report…”
Kraush found himself sitting in the guest waiting area of Rahern Academy with Haring.
The reason was simple.
The Poison King, who had suffered severe injuries at the hands of the Luminary, made arrangements to visit Kraush.
The legendary world-class powerhouse had decided to pay a visit.
Given his title, sneaking around would not be possible, so the Poison King announced he’d be visiting under the name of House Lagrain.
As a result, Rahern Academy was a flurry of activity.
And the person caught up in that commotion—Kraush—had a slightly tired expression.
It just never ends.
‘It’s only been a month since I enrolled.’
How many incidents had happened in between?
Originally, Ebelasque would take a good while to turn the Luminary into a corpse.
During that time, Kraush was prepared to fend off the Black Witch’s advances and focus on training for the upcoming mid-evaluation.
But now, out of the blue, the Poison King was making a visit.
With things piling up like this, it felt like he might just die from stress.
[ Isn’t this all a result of your own actions? ]
“Chirp chirp.”
At that, both Crimson Garden and Ebelasque’s corpse rat nodded in agreement.
And now there was one more snarky little critter to deal with.
“…It was your duty to report, so don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”
Kraush said this to Haring, who looked rather downtrodden.
He had taken down the Luminary, who was a long-standing enemy of House Lagrain.
It was probably an age-old grudge for the Poison King, so he wanted to share the news for his sake.
‘But why is he coming to see me?’
Honestly, it wasn’t Kraush who took down the Luminary; it was Rai.
Kraush was still not fit to face a World Erosion on his own.
Seeing the Luminary moving about just fine after eating the Master’s fake moonflower made Kraush feel the limits of his power.
He had a long way to go.
Anyway, the one who contributed the most to taking down the Luminary was none other than the Sword King, Rai Balheim.
‘If he came just to thank my brother, that I could understand.’
But why was he hell-bent on meeting me?
This thought lingered in Kraush’s mind.
‘I know next to nothing about the Poison King.’
During Kraush’s active years, the Poison King had already bitten the dust at the hands of the White Ghost, Bianca.
Perhaps that was what made him even more anxious.
He had an inkling that whatever happened next could irrevocably change the future.
Just when he was waiting with a slightly tense expression…
Creeeak—
The door to the guest reception opened.
Kraush and Haring’s gazes shifted toward the door simultaneously.
And entering was a man of average stature, middle-aged.
Hair with a dark hue mixed with violet, just like Haring.
His cold eyes bore a striking resemblance to hers.
Plus, the subtle scent emanating from him was a pungent mixture of various poisons.
The Poison King.
Hauran Lagrain.
Another member of the Ten Great Lords had appeared here.
With thick brows, Hauran’s gaze extended slowly throughout the room.
The first target of his sight was none other than Haring.
Each step he took seemed to loom over Kraush, even though he wasn’t walking in his direction.
“Haring.”
As Hauran’s icy gaze met hers, Haring instinctively shrunk back.
It was due to the fear of what would follow.
Hauran’s eyebrows made it quite clear he was not pleased.
“I told you to stay put and not wander off.”
His chilling voice filled the room.
At that moment, both Haring and Kraush felt as if they were suddenly deprived of their breath.
Indeed, the Ten Great Lords.
The aura radiating from him was on another level entirely.
Under the weight of that pressure, Haring hung her head low.
Watching her intently, Hauran let out a heavy sigh.
“I was worried sick, thinking something bad had happened to you.”
And just like that, when those words reached Kraush’s ears, he blinked.
Because along with those words, all the pressure pouring off Hauran dissipated in an instant.
His once icy demeanor melted into one that was surprisingly gentle.
He was simply angry that his daughter had wandered into a dangerous place.
It appeared that he didn’t really intend to berate Haring.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m sorry.”
“As long as you’re unscathed, that’s all that matters.”
Before long, Hauran had approached and gently tousled Haring’s hair.
Haring seemed to be extremely familiar with this affectionate gesture.
‘Is the Poison King really like this?’
Kraush, who knew little about Haring’s family history, was caught off guard.
And somehow, he felt he started to understand why Haring was willing to risk her life for revenge against the White Ghost, Bianca.
‘Looks like there were some good family ties here.’
For Kraush, families always clawed and bit at each other, so he never expected to find such a harmonious household.
Eventually, Hauran’s gaze landed on Kraush.
“And you must be…”
“Oh, I’m Kraush Balheim.”
As Kraush hurriedly introduced himself, a jolt ran through him!
Sizzle!
His gut instinct triggered, signaling him to flee right then and there.
Before he could even register the warning, he felt a deathly chill pressing against his throat.
Whoosh!
Almost instinctively, the dark magic of Annihilation Erosion surged through Kraush’s body.
In a flash, he reached for the Thunder Prime, but hesitated.
‘Oh boy, I’m caught!’
Realization hit him hard.
As Hauran’s eyes turned to slits, he spoke in an unimpressed tone.
“Seems like the usual aftereffect of the post-training process isn’t that common after all.”
It turned out Hauran was deliberately testing him by releasing his murderous intent.
Maybe it was because he had rolled around on the battlefield for too long, but Kraush was way too quick to react.
However, Hauran didn’t let up on the pressure.
Instead, he continued to unleash his sensation of killing intent openly.
Kraush, beads of cold sweat forming on his brow, puzzled over Hauran’s intentions.
‘Wasn’t he just testing me?’
But for some reason, the pressure didn’t recede.
What was he thinking?
In that moment, Haring finally caught on to what was happening.
“Daddy, what are you doing to Kraush?”
Haring’s eyes sharpened.
At that, Hauran hesitated, dissipating his aura.
“Oh, um, nothing special.”
As Hauran tried to play it off, Haring regarded him suspiciously.
Then she moved away from her father and positioned herself near Kraush.
She had picked up on her father’s disapproval of Kraush.
Yet Hauran’s gaze sharpened even further.
Kraush couldn’t shake the thought that he might get poisoned today.
“Father?”
At Haring’s voice, Hauran swiftly adjusted his expression.
Seeing this, Kraush discerned Hauran’s personality.
‘What a piece of work.’
He was rather full of himself, to say the least.
“That’s enough! I’m here to discuss the behind-the-scenes of this incident.”
Hauran coughed lightly and dove right to the main point.
“House Lagrain will take responsibility for this incident and will temporarily step down from the Central Nobility.”
“Huh?”
Haring’s eyes widened.
Those words came completely out of left field.
“That’s ridiculous! We handled everything well!”
Haring exclaimed as if she couldn’t accept it.
But Hauran had reverted back to his business face.
The face of a patriarch.
“I suffered heavy injuries while pursuing the Night Ravens’ leader and lost him in the process. In the end, it’s like a failed mission.”
Haring bit her lip, unable to grasp why the Empire would dismiss her family.
House Lagrain had been loyal to the Empire and even had the Poison King in hand.
And now, to be ousted from the Central Nobility was hard to fathom.
But when Kraush heard those words, he quickly pieced together the actual reason.
“…Is this the price of acting on your own?”
That was just the surface reason.
The real truth of why the Empire wanted to cast House Lagrain out was something else entirely.
Kraush asked, and Hauran fell silent.
Haring looked back and forth between Kraush and Hauran, confused.
Kraush let out a low cluck of his tongue.
“Typical of the Empire.”
There were two individuals known for their independent actions in this incident.
One was Sigrid Ephania.
And the other was Haring Lagrain.
The Empire likely intended to target Ebelasque after this incident.
Having lost their long-relying limbs, the Night Ravens, they needed to drag Ebelasque back into the fold.
But with these two stepping in, the Empire had lost its justification to poke its nose into Hardenhartz.
And the outcome?
Only the unfortunate Luminary got captured, while Ebelasque slipped through the cracks.
Sure, the Empire could assert a new claim to act, but with House Lagrain and the Luminary now entangled, Haring’s name had gained considerable prominence.
Now, there were reckless rumors flying about concerning Haring, who had avenged House Lagrain, and the Sword King Rai, who had severely injured a World Erosion.
As a result, the tale of the Night Ravens’ leader—the one who had been wounded—had been completely buried.
It was now revealed that the Luminary, not the Night Ravens’ leader, had inflicted injuries upon the Poison King.
Thus, the Empire lost its justification to conduct a search-and-destroy operation against the Night Ravens’ leader.
From the Empire’s perspective, it was utterly infuriating.
Nobles wouldn’t be oblivious to this internal turmoil.
There was a real chance the imperial family’s prestige could plummet due to this incident.
With prestige as their top priority, the imperial family couldn’t just let this matter slide.
Yet, they couldn’t hold Princess Sigrid accountable either.
So naturally, their targets fell on House Lagrain.
‘Had the Poison King Hauran not been injured right off the bat, or if he had been captured, things might’ve ended well.’
This was their reasoning to banish them from the Central Nobility.
And for punishment for failing to properly execute the imperial family’s command.
Ultimately, this all boiled down to a petty internal strife.
“Because of this incident, Haring is now out of favor with the imperial family.”
Due to Haring’s reckless actions, all plans had gone awry.
Naturally, the imperial family wouldn’t look kindly upon her.
Kraush frowned.
Because he was the one who dragged Haring into this incident.
While it was still Haring’s choice, it had been Kraush who had lured her in.
There were responsibilities to bear, beyond just the rationale of wanting to avoid a war.
“If we leave it be like this, Haring won’t be able to exert influence in the political realm again.”
It was only natural, as she had fallen out of the imperial family’s favor.
While Haring was taken aback by the conversation unfolding about her, Kraush, with his life experience and memory, quickly assessed the situation.
But for 15-year-old Haring, this judgment was beyond her grasp.
Hauran watched Kraush curiously.
He never thought he’d pierce the complexities of the Empire’s situation just from a few exchanged lines.
But it was for the better.
“Thank you for avenging my son and quelling my daughter’s grievances. Yet, I believe you should feel some responsibility, given what has transpired.”
Kraush felt the energy trying to spill out from Hauran.
Instead, Hauran’s teeth seemed to grit together.
The uncertainty of his daughter’s future was weighing on him heavily.
Hauran surely figured out that it was Kraush who suggested joining the Lion’s Order.
Kraush hadn’t done it solely to help Haring; it hadn’t been a harmless act.
“Exactly.”
Thus, Kraush didn’t throw in any excuses.
If he had to take responsibility, then so be it.
After all, he was set to overturn the Empire in due time.
Ultimately, it would lead to its downfall.
‘In that case, I might get the chance to reinstate House Lagrain to the Central Nobility.’
Besides, if Haring became active in the Sky Generation, the Empire would have to welcome her back without question.
“So, take responsibility and marry our daughter.”
Hauran’s next words struck Kraush like a slap to the back of the head.
Marriage.
An absurd proposal had just been flung directly in front of him.
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