Villain: The Play of Destiny

Chapter 554: Chapter 554

"I, Maria Rovena Ashborn-Vulcan, the Sixth Enforcer of Aventine, Amaya, Head of the Regional Administration and War Council of Westesia, hereby announce the accession of the Crystal City and the Redwood City to the Vulcan Kingdom. With the inclusion of these two Independent Cities, the Vulcan Kingdom now meets the requirements to be deemed an Empire of Westesia..." A lady, gracefully dressed in black, with long, wavy brown hair cascading over her shoulders and flowing down her back, spoke as she stood on the podium with a large holographic screen behind her.

Her soft voice, carrying a faint melodic resonance, possessed a charm that effortlessly drew people in, and if that was not enough, she had also been blessed with exceptional beauty, enough to rouse envy in the hearts of the ladies without even trying.

"...With the permission of Aventine, the new Vulcan Empire will gain control of the Northern Grasslands, which will fall directly under the jurisdiction of the new Crystal Kingdom." Her deep violet eyes scanned the auditorium before her red lips curved into a slight smile. "I am sure you are all curious why you have been summoned on such short notice. The reason is that Aventine has put forth certain terms that need to be accepted by the Vulcan Kingdom. These are the requirements that need to be met for the formation of the Vulcan Empire."

Keith, who was standing on the balcony of his lounge with Ayesha beside him, curiously looked at the map of the future Vulcan Empire that had been approved by Aventine.

The map was displayed on the large holographic screen, and now new markers were slowly appearing upon it, glowing faintly against the backdrop of the projected terrain.

"Six new Towns, planned to become cities in the future, are to be built within the next year, and the Kingdom needs to convince the villages and tribes living within its territory to move to these new cities and become subjects of the Empire. Four of these six future cities, as you can see on the map, will fall under the jurisdiction of the Crystal Kingdom. The City Lord, Armin, has decided to grant the right of governance over these four new Towns to the Four Founding Families of Crystal City. Each Family will govern one of these Towns, and they will be responsible for their security and development..."

Her words caught everyone off guard, including Keith, who meaningfully looked at the woman on the Golden Platform.

Behind her, the other delegates, and even the Prime Minister of the Vulcan Kingdom, were standing at attention, almost as though they were her subordinates.

Just as Keith was about to look away, Maria happened to meet his eyes.

It lasted only a couple of seconds, but the lady had indeed frozen in surprise and shock, something that did not escape Ayesha’s keen eyes, and she curiously glanced at him.

"You know her?"

"No," Keith truthfully answered before curiously smiling at the woman on the Platform, who outwardly appeared composed, though her heart was anything but calm after their exchange.

"How strong is she?" Another curious question, but given that Maria had a treasure on her body that concealed her Cultivation Realm, it was understandable for Ayesha to be curious about it.

"Martial Queen. Fifty-two years old, and she possesses a Violet Talent."

"What?" She looked at him in surprise, even shock, before following him inside the lounge as he was no longer interested in listening to the announcements.

That only made her more curious, but she soon understood what had caught Keith’s attention.

Outside the door, in the aisle, they heard Fiona happily chatting with a little boy who wanted to enter their lounge.

"Come in," Keith suddenly said, and for a moment, everyone outside froze as they heard his voice in their ears.

A few seconds later, a little boy opened the door and rushed inside, his large violet eyes already fixed on Keith.

There was something in the boy’s hand, a sparkling orb shining with brilliant white light, and when the child saw it brighten even further, he laughed joyfully as though he had just discovered an invaluable treasure.

"I found you!" he exclaimed, making both Keith and Ayesha raise their brows.

"Found whom?" Ayesha curiously asked.

The boy first rushed over to her, bringing the orb close to her, before moving it towards Keith, causing it to shine even more brilliantly.

"I found you." The beautiful little boy beamed at Keith, looking directly into his eyes.

"Congratulations." Keith chuckled as he ruffled the boy’s hair, making the maids who had entered behind Fiona visibly tense. "But what is all this about?" he genuinely asked, looking at the glowing orb, and the child grinned.

"This is the Orb of Truth. My mother gifted it to me." The boy eagerly began explaining. "The Orb of Truth tells a person’s disposition. It tells you whether a person is good or evil."

"Interesting. So, what does it say about me?" Keith smiled.

"You are a good person! Even more than my Mother and my Grandfather." The boy excitedly replied before suddenly looking a little guilty. "My mother is a good person too. She loves me very much."

"Aww..." Fiona gushed over his innocence, making the boy blush.

"So, my husband is a good person?" Ayesha curiously asked.

When the boy confidently nodded, Keith could sense that she was struggling not to burst into laughter.

"Are you sure? He’s rarely good to me." She playfully remarked, and her mischievousness made Fiona and the boy’s maids smile.

"You must be a bad person then." The child innocently frowned at her before bringing the orb close to her again to verify his conclusion.

The orb stopped shining and then began shining once more. However, the brilliant radiance was noticeably dimmer than before.

"You are a good person too." He tilted his head in confusion, clearly puzzled by the result. Then he turned back to Keith. "Why are you not good to your wife?"

"She’s annoying."

"Oh..." The boy’s mouth opened in realisation before he absently nodded, accepting Keith’s explanation as the absolute truth.

Keith chuckled when he felt Ayesha elbow him in the ribs and feigned pain, prompting her to respond with an exaggerated scoff.

Their playful interaction eased the worries of the maids, who had been rather anxious upon entering the lounge.

"You haven’t told us your name yet," Ayesha reminded the boy.

"My apologies." The child respectfully bowed before straightening his back. "My name is Ethan Icarus Ashborn-Vulcan. My mother is Maria Rovena Ashborn-Vulcan."

"Interesting." She smiled before gently ruffling his hair. "And why are you wandering around the hallways without your guards?"

"I just wanted to meet the person the Orb of Truth was blinking for." He smiled brightly at Keith. "What’s your name?"

"Argus."

"Will you be my friend?" the little boy hopefully asked. "Mother said that I can only be friends with people who are better than her."

"Did she?" Keith smiled. "I am sure your mother was not expecting you to find me."

"Why do you say that?" Ethan tilted his head in confusion once again.

"Ask her if she would allow you to be friends with me," he gently replied. "If she says yes, I will be your friend."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He nodded, making Ayesha glance at him in surprise.

She knew he was not a man who made promises lightly, and this prompted her to take another look at the young boy, whose bright smile was remarkably infectious.

"Okay! I will go ask Mother now!" Ethan declared before rushing towards the door, only for his plans to come to an abrupt halt when one of the maids caught him in her arms.

"Put me down, Rin." His tone suddenly turned cold, nearly catching everyone in the room off guard, but the maid holding him seemed accustomed to this side of him.

"My apologies, Young Master. Lady Maria is handling some very important business right now. You can see her once she is free."

Contrary to Ayesha’s expectations, Ethan did not throw a tantrum and simply accepted his maid’s words.

"When will she be free?" he gently asked.

"In an hour." The maid smiled.

"I can wait an hour." Ethan nodded, though he still looked a little dejected.

Seeing his reaction, Fiona gushed over him again and giggled when he blushed at her teasing.

To her, Ethan reminded her of Roy, and even though it had not been very long since she had last seen her son, she missed him dearly, the quiet ache of separation tugging strongly at her heart with every passing day.

After the unexpected guests took their leave, Ayesha wasted no time looking directly into Keith’s eyes, silently waiting for an explanation.

"It seems I was mistaken about you. You are the paragon of righteousness." She grinned, and he looked at her in confusion.

"You thought I wasn’t a good person?"

"Nope."

"Really?" He smiled before leaning very close to her face.

He looked straight into her hazel-green eyes before gently nudging his nose against hers.

"You are right."

Ayesha blushed faintly at his affection and shyly looked away, mostly because Fiona was blushing on the side as she watched their interaction.

"The orb in his hand isn’t a Truth-Seeking Orb. It’s a treasure that responds to how blessed a person is by the Divine Law of Life and whether they possess an affinity for the Element of Light. However, there is some truth in his words. An evil person cannot be greatly blessed by the Divine Law of Life, and Light has always been regarded as the symbol of righteousness," he explained, and she nodded in understanding.

"That explains it." She smiled. "Is the boy special?"

"He is."

"How so?" she curiously asked.

"He’s an Evil Star. And he’s very talented." Keith meaningfully smiled, and though Fiona did not understand what he meant, Ayesha, who had read enough stories and listened to even more from Minami and the others, knew exactly what an Evil Star signified.

Inadvertently, she looked towards the balcony and focused on Maria’s voice again, which had a faint echo of her words drifting and bouncing off the crystalline walls around them.

A number of unsettling thoughts crossed her mind, but in the end, she simply sighed and pushed them aside.