System vs Rebirth

Chapter 1504: Apologizing

"Please cease your action, Marquis." A man in his late twenties said with a stern face.

The one in front of him was one of the people who had been fighting Raincart ever since he became a spirit transcendence.

"Don’t you know what happened? This kingdom has a delicate balance, but Raincart Ezenholm has broken that balance. Isn’t that why the royal family has been turning a blind eye to it?"

"I am not talking about the balance. As you said, the balance has been broken. But it has shattered into pieces and I’m afraid nothing remains."

"..." The marquis gritted his teeth. He knew the messenger was talking about Noel Ardagan.

The moment he became a spirit king, there was no such thing as balance anymore. Raincart had become one of the most powerful people in the world.

"You bastard!" The marquis stood up and raised his voice.

"There’s no need to raise your voice. You may be able to raise your voice toward me, but even His Majesty can’t do such a thing right now."

"..."

The royal family had sent messengers to all parties involved. It wasn’t just about stopping them. They had no choice but to personally take action to settle the grievance so that the situation didn’t escalate from here.

As the messenger said, the king couldn’t even raise his voice or even his head.

The king visited Raincart personally and lowered his head to apologize.

Raincart was simply tired. After serving the country for so long, he had been maintaining that balance and remained at the peak spirit grandmaster despite already finding his transcendent path.

However, it was true that, thanks to Noel, the balance had become extremely delicate. Someone like Raincart obviously chose his family.

After Leysha’s ’execution,’ he chose to take responsibility for the loss of face by retiring. He couldn’t support Noel as much as he liked, but Noel was able to grow up just fine.

Unfortunately, the light they had found was much brighter than anyone could have imagined. They were blinded by the light, which turned them greedy.

The king had always asked Raincart about Noel. Raincart always downplayed Noel’s achievement and demands to balance everything.

Yet, the king came again and again. Eventually, it reached the point where he demanded an unreasonable request from Noel and Raincart.

If he stopped at the airships, the balance might not be broken. Raincart wouldn’t have to be compelled to become a spirit transcendence.

Sadly, the king’s decision had pushed him to cross that line, even if it meant getting besieged by a lot of people. While the king didn’t make him an enemy, their relationship had been broken.

Right now, there is only a king and a former duke, not a student and his teacher.

Raincart let out a long sigh before saying with a tired voice. "Please rise, Your Majesty. This old man doesn’t dare to accept your grace. I am nothing but a retired old man."

"..." The king remained still.

"I just want to live the remainder of my life peacefully. That’s all I want." Raincart shook his head helplessly. However, the king didn’t budge.

Raincart wasn’t the only one who had this problem.

...

Ardagan family.

Noel was sitting in his seat while squinting his eyes. "What are you doing, Livia? Have I taught you to kneel?"

Yes, Livia was actually kneeling in front of Noel. It was a sight to behold. For a foreign princess, let alone one that was adored by many, to kneel before someone.

People might hear the rumor about him becoming a spirit king, but the one in the Ardagan family was not a rumor. It was a fact.

Livia’s body was shaking. The moment she heard the news, there were a lot of thoughts in her mind.

However, if Noel chose to break their relationship as master and disciple right now, she could do nothing. Other kingdoms might just think she deserved it.

Anyone was willing to die to become Noel’s disciple after all. No matter if it was rune or combat, Noel was the master of all.

Livia had been sending a letter to her family. It was something Noel had agreed upon when he took him away from the Greenwood Kingdom.

Obviously, he was already aware of the conflict within the Greenwood Kingdom.

So, she had a reason to stop the conflict. That was what she had been sending to her father, the king. Yet, there was no support for the Ezenholm family.

If Noel wanted, he simply needed to send a few of his airships equipped with that advanced level rune.

Even as his disciple, Noel hadn’t taught her about the advanced level rune. But the fact that he brought only Tristan to the battlefield and showed that advanced level rune, it was clear that Livia was less favored.

Without Noel’s intervention, the balance had collapsed with just the advanced level runes. But with Noel becoming a spirit king, the balance was practically erased from existence.

In other words, the one kneeling in front of him was not Noel’s second disciple but the second princess of the Greenwood Kingdom.

"In the agreement, you are not allowed to return to the Greenwood Kingdom. Maybe I was too harsh. Why don’t you make a trip there?" Noel asked.

Livia trembled even more, her voice cracking. "M-Master. Please... anything but that. I’m your loyal disciple. I dare not break the agreement you set previously."

"..." Noel sighed. Normally, his words meant she should return to fix things back home because Noel was so sure that the Greenwood Kingdom was in a mess after the information about him spread.

Now that he had become a spirit king, his words changed their meaning. It was as if he was trying to break their student-and-teacher relationship and sent her back home.

This meant Noel was angry and might direct his anger at the Greenwood Kingdom.

’It’s no wonder that people who have achieved the peak will be drunk on their power. Even when they mean something, that meaning will change as if they’re looking down on others. It might be addicting.

’I, too, might become corrupted if I’m not careful. Then again, looking at my ancestor’s strength and even the connection of the spirit god... I’d rather choose to chase that and become free rather than staying here. Chasing a dragon rather than becoming a tiger on a farm...

’This is so... troublesome...’