Chapter 551: Do Not Read

Sorry for the late update.

I was a bit too relaxed after being freed from the stress of exams.

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Chapter 244

I opened the door and entered without any announcement. They were expecting me anyway so there wasn’t an issue.

I saw three people inside. Sirius, Cornelius, and another old man whose facial features matched the description of the Kalkstein family head from the novel.

In other words, no sign of a female.

No sign of a fiery red-headed female with an amazingly bombastic figure but unfortunately a phobia of the opposite gender.

What a waste.

But the fact that I didn’t see her remained the same. She was here somewhere but where, that was the real question.

I for sure knew my senses weren’t mistaken. She was here. But I couldn’t see her. And as soon as I opened the door, her presence was nowhere to be found.

As if I was mistaken.

Yeah, that would never happen so she must be hiding her presence somehow.

I looked around but since I couldn’t make it too obvious. I made my way to the couch where the three old men were seated.

The Kalkstein proxy was sitting on one side while Sirius and Cornelius were sitting on one side.

I took the seat on the side after Sirius nodded at me. The Kalkstein proxy glanced at me and then turned to Cornelius and said, “Since he’s here, we can begin.”

Cornelius nodded and Sirius looked at me with a gaze that said, ‘Keep your mouth shut.’

I smiled in return which greatly conveyed my message, ‘No promises.’

Sirius’s expression turned ugly and he glared at me very hard but he said nothing else as well. After all, the proxy was also in the same room.

“Mister president, we made it clear that Lady Vermillion was to be wed to my son, Lambert. If it is not done, then I will have to say that you are not honoring your word.” The man said while emitting an overbearing attitude as if he were in charge of the conversation.

Quite frankly, he was.

It was true that I was in the wrong here. Stealing someone’s fiancée wasn’t something correct from the beginning.

Even if Sophien wasn’t happy with that relationship, she should have been the one to break the relationship. My meddling was wrong.

Just because I was angry wasn’t a good excuse. I was in the wrong no matter how one looked at it so that gave the Kalkstein family an edge in the conversation.

[But…]

…So what?

“So I think it is fair if we demand an explanation from the president.” The Kalkstein proxy finally finished saying whatever he was saying.

I didn’t really focus on the start nor did I focus on the end. But I knew what he was trying to say all this while to which I just said with a smile, “Shut the fu*k up, you fat son of b*tch.”

Silence.

Well, I had spoken quite abruptly so they may have not heard it so just for clarification, I said it again, “Shut the fu*k up, you fat so–”

“He heard you the first time.” Said an enchanting voice that resonated deep within the souls of everyone present. Not mine of course.

Sirius and Cornelius were surprised but that didn’t last for long before panic set in. It was because the power they felt was stronger than them, just one level higher but the scale was different.

It was purer.

More terrifying.

“I was wondering when you would show up?” I said to the woman in red. Red as in completely in red. Even her skin was rosy so she looked like a cheerful girl from the looks of it but the cold expression on her face, correction, the disgusted expression on her face said otherwise.

“So you are the one who called me a dumb cu*t? I don’t what it means but it felt insulting.” She said as she took the seat where the proxy old man, who was now nowhere to be seen, was sitting.

Not before she cleaned it with her mana though.

“What do you mean insult? That’s the highest praise a woman could receive.” I said with a smile.

“Somehow I doubt that.” She said, and she wasn’t alone, the two old men on my side agreed with her as well.

Wow. They think so less of me.

[You’re surprised?]

‘Not really, no.’ I replied.

I then looked at her and asked, “So, what is the hidden matriarch of the Kalkstein family doing here? Exposing yourself to the ruler of your country isn’t a very wise move.” I said while pointing at Cornelius who was a little confused about the woman’s origin.

But when he heard the title I used to call her, he looked at me in surprise and then looked at the woman once again in realization.

‘But Lambert’s mother was supposed to be dead.’ I could hear what he was thinking even without reading his mind.

Exactly, Lambert Kalkstein’s mother was supposed to be dead. It made no sense that I was saying that.

Well, I was surprised when I found out all of these facts as well. A setting hidden so deep was surely a surprise. It was very rare for such a setting to remain hidden so far in the novel so if this fact wasn’t even revealed until the seventh volume or when Eric took down the Kalkstein family, then there must be an even greater hidden plot at work that I don’t know of and quite frankly, I couldn’t even imagine one.

“Not something you should be concerned about.” Lauran said before she moved on to the subject at hand, “Sophien Vermillion is engaged to my son and is soon to be his wedded wife. I cannot let you besmirch the name of the Kalkstein family like that.”

“And I take it you’re making a move now, after all this time, because of the situation back at the empire? The dispute between the church and the imperial family. You think the old men won’t come after you for such a small matter when they have a bigger headache to deal with?” I seem to have hit all the marks precisely but there wasn’t any change in Lauren’s expression. She knew what she was dealing with, that was for sure.

But I was also sure she wouldn’t do anything to me. As much as full of pride she was, she was still smart enough to know that she was no match against Orion, the holy emperor.

Even though they were both divine-ranked beings, not all divine-ranked beings were the same. Orion was superior in terms of experience, pure rank, and not to mention the technique of the imperial family that made them one rank stronger than their peers.

That was why many SSS ranks didn’t dare to move against Lucius because although he was an SS rank, he was still good enough to go toe to toe with all of them at once.

Not to mention there was also the threat of Rafael, Bayren and not to mention the grand elder, Zarden, who, although injured, was still a force to be reckoned with.

It was clear that Lauran had no chance against them so she sure as hell won’t target me.

But I wasn’t her target all along. Her target was the Vermillion family. Since targeting me would be bad for her, she was going with the safer approach.

And quite frankly, she was right to do so.

The imperial family wouldn’t interfere just because I asked them to. And for the sake of the Vermillion family? No chance.

In other words, the Vermillion family wasn’t getting any help from the superpower of that world, and that allowed Lauren, the one with more power in the central government to do whatever she wanted to do.

She was, after all, the strongest in that kingdom.

And ethically, I couldn’t interfere. I needed probable cause too. Sophien and I were just in a relationship, not engaged or anything.

My meddling would be just that, meddling.

[But…]

…So what?

When has the world ever favored those who were weak?

Why would I need to worry about ethical legalities or technicalities when I had all the power in the world on my side?

Just because I have never taken someone else’s spouse, didn’t mean I couldn’t do that now.

This wasn’t about Sophien’s misery or anything.

The world’s laws were made by the strong and they were taken down by the strong as well.

It wasn’t about anything.

It was about power.

Sophien loved me and put her faith in me so of course, I was going to reward that faith.

If there was one thing I never, ever failed to uphold, that was the faith others had in me.

The world obeyed the strong.

I was strong.

I was the very definition of power itself.

“So you don’t know what dumb cu*t means?” I asked with a smile, a maniacal one on my face, as I continued…

“But you do know what a who*e means, right?”