Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 680: Friends

As Asher’s mind was wandering through different thoughts, he heard a series of loud knocks on his door, his head turning towards the direction of the door. He was tempted to use his Omni Perception and find out who it was, since he usually kept his Omni Perception restricted whenever he was not fighting or was within his own room.

’Let’s just see who it is,’ Asher thought to himself as he walked towards the door with an indifferent expression.

Upon reaching and opening the door, he saw two people he was very familiar with, the Royal twins, Princess Vaelra Lux Vanthelmor, and Prince Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor. Asher briefly wondered why they were here, before he threw that thought away from his mind as he could already guess why they were here without needing to speculate further.

They stared at him with their brown eyes for a moment, silence passing between them, their expressions heavy as Vaelric, the Prince, finally spoke, "can we come in?" His words calm but somewhat rigid, as he didn’t dare sound authoritative or commanding at this moment, despite his status.

Asher stayed silent for a moment as though considering the request, his gaze resting on them with quiet indifference, before after a moment, he spoke, "sure, no problem," and with those words, he stepped aside for them to enter.

Vaelra, the Princess, was the first to enter as though she owned the place, her brother following behind her with a more reserved demeanor. Asher closed the door and led them to his living room; as they seated themselves, Asher simply took out juices and wines, along with various glass cups, setting them neatly on the table before them.

He didn’t have any personal issues or conflict with either of them, and since this was their first time here, he simply offered them refreshments as the guests they were, maintaining a basic level of courtesy befitting their positions.

"How did you know I was back?" Asher asked as he leaned back into his seat with a glass of juice in hand, always preferring juice over wine. It hadn’t even been up to an hour since his return, yet these two were already here, which spoke volumes about the speed of information within the Academy... well, practically anywhere.

"News and rumours travel faster than light, Tenth Sun," the Prince, Vaelric, stated as he ignored the drinks on the table as though they weren’t even there, his attention solely focused on Asher.

"I guess so," Asher replied, not disputing those words, as he took a calm sip from his glass.

With that, silence returned to the living room for a moment. The Royal Twins stared at Asher with certain expressions; it wasn’t that they didn’t know what to ask, they did, but the words just didn’t come out immediately. If it had been another family or Noble Household, the both of them might have already been lashing out in anger or demanding answers without restraint.

But the man, the being seated before them was a Wargrave, and not just any Wargrave, but the same individual who had taken on the whole class during a hand-to-hand combat session and won with insulting ease. The same man who had handled Prince Vaelric’s challenge with a single attack, leaving behind an impression that was not easily forgotten.

’Has he grown stronger again?’ Vaelra, the Princess, was the first to have this thought, as she stared at Asher with a subtle intensity. She wasn’t entirely sure, as Asher didn’t seem any different on the surface; if he wore normal commoner clothing, one could simply tag him as a handsome unawakened commoner without a second thought.

But as for why she was able to come to the guess that Asher had grown, it was due to the subtle observation that he had grown two inches taller, moving from six feet seven to six feet nine.

"We’ve heard the rumours," Prince Vaelric began to speak first, his words calm yet carrying a certain weight, "that the Wargrave Ducal Household attacked the Imperial family and went out on a full scale war," his brown eyes meeting Asher’s purple ones without wavering.

Although Asher had once left a deep-seated mental scar and fear within the Prince, as could be seen during the hand-to-hand combat session against the whole class where the Prince collapsed out of fear, at this very moment, that fear didn’t exist, or at the very least, it was buried deep beneath layers of resolve. That psychological scar seemed to have diminished as the Prince was now more concerned about his family than his own lingering fear.

Of course, after that hand-to-hand combat spar, his sister, Vaelra, had suggested going to the Healing Department for psychological treatment, which the Prince had declined, stating that he would overcome his fears alone, as a warrior and as one who would inherit the Empire in the future.

"And?" Asher asked with calm indifference, as though telling them to get to the point already and stop dragging the matter unnecessarily.

"We wish to know if this is true, and also to confirm it from you, who is a Wargrave and was at the Empire when it happened," Vaelra, the Princess, spoke this time, her voice calm yet firm, her gaze narrowing as she sought clarity.

Asher stayed silent for a moment, allowing the weight of their question to linger in the air before he replied, "why not take a mission, head back to the Imperial Palace, and confirm with the Emperor? Isn’t that a better way to handle this than coming to one of the family members that is rumoured to have waged war against your family? Besides, I’m not some ’beggar sect’ member of some sort that gives out information," his words flat and calm as he sipped his juice, clearly uninterested in entertaining the matter further than necessary.

The Princess and Prince looked slightly confused, as they weren’t familiar with the term ’beggar sect,’ the phrase sounding foreign and out of place to them.

Asher’s words made sense to them; of course, they could simply return and ask their father, who was the Emperor, but... they would rather not, perhaps due to the gravity of the situation or the implications behind such a question... or something more.

"Can’t you tell us? We are friends after all, Tenth Sun," Vaelra stated calmly, attempting to bridge the gap with a softer approach.

Asher’s hand paused at Vaelra’s words, his eyes shifting to her as he spoke, "with all due respect, Princess Vaelra Lux Vanthelmor, we are not friends. I take the word ’friends’ very seriously. Within this entire Empire, I only have three friends: Finch Whale, William Canestane, and Ryaen Silvershade, and neither you nor your brother are on that list," Asher corrected, his tone turning slightly brisk for a moment, as he was one to value friendships deeply and disliked throwing the word around carelessly like did everyday.

While Asher had exchanged words with Vaelra on two or more occasions, that didn’t mean he immediately categorized her as his friend. Even if he were a deranged man who counted beautiful women as friends, Ryaen Silvershade was more beautiful than her either way, making such a notion even more baseless in his perspective.