Villain: The Play of Destiny

Chapter 556: Chapter 556

"Mama said that I can call you Father." Ethan, who was up in his arms, innocently said, and the hope reflecting in his eyes made Ayesha and Fiona sigh in their hearts. "Are you my father?" He meekly asked, and Keith smiled at his question.

"I am not." He truthfully said. "But you can call me Father if you want to."

"Oh..." The boy depressedly lowered his head.

"What? You are not happy that you get to call me Father?" He playfully questioned the boy.

"But you are not my father."

"That’s true. However, you should listen to what your mother said. You don’t want to become a disobedient child, do you?"

"No."

"What does she want you to call me?"

"Father."

"And what will you be calling me?" He smiled as he softly tickled the boy’s belly, eliciting giggles from him.

"Father!" He laughed, and unbeknownst to him, the guards at the door of the dining hall heard his call very clearly.

As Keith had expected, they were met with very curious eyes when they neared the door, and all the guards politely bowed to them before allowing them inside. The word had already reached the Hall as well.

As if moths were drawn to the flame, nearly everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look his way when he entered, their gazes drawn by the subtle weight of his presence.

It all began when the most powerful people reacted to the aura that he was oozing, and following their lead, everyone else was hooked as well as soon as they focused on him.

Subconsciously, a few people even stood up when they walked past their tables, heading towards the platform where the City Lord, the Heads of Four Founding Families, the delegates of Vulcan Kingdom and Aventine, as well as some very influential people of Westesia, were sitting.

Zyron Nemerus stood up first after giving Maria a meaningful glance, and following his lead, a few other people stood up as well.

Keith politely nodded in their direction as he stepped up the stairs, not even looking at the Prime Minister of the Vulcan Kingdom and the City Lord of the Crystal City, who had not bothered to stand up, and walked straight around the table to take his seat next to Maria, where there was a vacant chair.

"Master." Rin, the clever maid, immediately stepped forward to take Ethan from his arms, and her way of addressing him ignited a round of whispers in the hall.

"There’s only one seat." Maria smiled as she gave him a bright smile, and her words made Ayesha frown since she had stepped on the platform with Keith.

"No, there are two." He playfully said, and right in front of everyone, created a beautiful wooden chair next to his seat.

His gesture earned him a glare from the Enforcer, and Ayesha ignored her as she sat next to him, not even bothering to greet her or anyone else at the table.

To the guests, their interaction confirmed and cleared a lot of things.

The mysterious Poison Master, who had been the talk of the town, was, in fact, Maria Vulcan’s secret husband and the father of her child. Also, by the looks of things, the Enforcer was not happy with the idea of sharing him or having another lady be considered her equal. It was a woman’s jealousy, which every lady in the room could understand or relate to.

However, the real question was who was this Lord Argus? Almost none of them had seen him before, and how special could his identity be that even Maria, who was a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy, could not resist him?

If someone could read their minds, he would have found it a little funny that no one even considered Argus to just be a pretty boy who managed to capture her heart. And there was a reason why their minds would never entertain such a thought.

They were people who had seen nobles of all kinds, and the aura of nobility that this mysterious man exuded was suffocating.

Some people also glanced towards the Nemerus Table, where the other lady who had come with Argus was now sitting with the little Vulcan Prince and Maria’s maid. With them was Zarion Nemerus at the table. Next to him was Reha, his daughter, and next to her was her fiancé, Mir Haru.

Those who knew that the Son-in-Law of Zarion was Argus’ Disciple had the horses of their minds running wild now.

The bits and pieces were finally creating a whole picture, and this gave the interested factions a new perspective of what was truly happening behind the scenes.

Most felt that the Nemerus Family was playing a very big game, and a lot of them became wary of the Red-Haired Barbarian Family.

And no one was more conflicted than a certain man with a thick brown beard and a crown on his head, who was sitting on the left side of the City Lord, Armin, who too seemed a little tense.

Neither of them knew whom Maria was saving the seat for, but now they had their answer.

The tall bearded man was seemingly in his middle ages, oozing the aura of a Martial Emperor, and the astuteness in his eyes was disturbingly sharp.

"Princess." The Prime Minister of the Vulcan Kingdom called out to the Enforcer of Aventine, his voice ever so polite and respectful.

"Yes?" Maria looked at the man and raised her brow at him.

"This gentleman by your side, I have never met him before." He curiously said, mindful of not speaking too much.

"He’s not from Westesia."

"Oh." He understandingly nodded his head but had no intentions of dropping the subject. "You seem very familiar with him, My Lady. Would you like to introduce him to us?"

Maria meaningfully looked at him, and the man immediately lowered his eyes, not daring to keep eye contact.

He may be a Martial Emperor and a lot stronger than her, but his status was much lower than hers.

Even her Uncle, the Vulcan Monarch, did not dare to be disrespectful to her. After all, she was more powerful than any of them.

She was the Enforcer of Aventine. Her mother was from the Ancient Ashborn Family, and given the current circumstances, she was the Heir of the Ashborn Family as well.

With just a command, Maria could change the map of an entire Kingdom on this continent. Only a fool would speak too much in front of her.

"He’s my husband and the father of my child, Lord Harren. Of course, I am familiar with him." She lightly said and continued with her voice turning a bit cold. "I would rather not have you speak your mind in front of my husband. So, be careful with your questions."

"My apologies, My Lady. I understand." The man immediately said, and then glanced towards Argus, who was seemingly busy chatting with his other wife, not caring about what was happening around him.

Harren did indeed want to strike up a conversation, but keeping the warning in mind, he did not disturb Argus.

As the dinner continued, people observed that Maria and Argus seemed a little estranged and were not even talking to each other. And most of them linked it to the presence of the lady who had all of her husband’s attention.

Everything seemed to be going well until the City Lord, Armin, the future King of Crystal Kingdom, stood up to make one last announcement for the night.

"I believe it is the right time to make some things official. It’s my duty as the Head of my Family, the City Lord of this City, as well as the father of my children, that I formally announce the Heir to my Seat of Power and the next Head of my Family." Armin’s words were soft, and the amiable expression on his face was a stark contrast to how serious the atmosphere in the Hall had suddenly become. "I, Armin Beric Crystol, hereby announce that my Eldest Son, Fabian Crystol..."

As soon as his name was taken, the City Prince in question stood up with a bright smile, together with his mother and retainers.

"...will be the future Military Head of the Crystal Kingdom. He will be joining the War Sect, the Battle Tower, to study and learn so that when the day comes and he has to take charge, he is ready."

The words not just stunned Fabian, but every single person in the room.

Even Maria curiously looked at the City Lord again, and by now, a lot of people were up on their feet just in the sheer shock of what had just been announced.

"Father..." Fabian tried to call out to him, but Armin raised his hand to stop him and smiled.

"I know you are happy with your father’s arrangements and you do not wish to disappoint me. One of the Harolds of the Battle Tower will be here shortly to take you with him. Go, prepare for it."

Even the people who had known the man for years could not believe the decisiveness of his decision, and the amiable smile on his face suddenly seemed so alien to them.

"After me, the next Head of the Crystol Family will be my youngest son, Simon Crystol, who will hold the title of Duke in the future."

The little boy and his mother surprisedly looked at him, and a lot of guests had questions running through their minds now.

Was Armin planning on separating the Royal Family from the Crystol Family?

"As for the Heir to my Seat of Power, the future Crown Prince of the Crystal Kingdom, it will be my second son, Darian Crystol." Armin smiled at his boy, who was shell-shocked at the announcement, without a hint of excitement on his face.

It was clear as day to everyone that Darian had not expected such a decision from his father, and nothing could have prepared him for tonight.

"You do me great honour, Father. I shall not disappoint you." However, he soon composed himself and went down on one knee to show his gratitude and obedience.

"Stand," Armin ordered, still wearing his smile, and then looked at his Guards and the Heads of the Four Families. "I hope you will honour my decision, and stay loyal to the Crystol Family and the future Crystal Crown, just like I have stayed loyal to all of you and honoured you."

His words embarrassed quite a lot of people, including Zyron, and they all stood up to declare that they had witnessed and remembered his words.

Keith, who stayed silent throughout the affair, caught quite a few ugly expressions on the faces of the Vulcan Delegation, especially the Prime Minister, Harren, who was openly frowning.

However, no one was more enraged and in disbelief than Fabian Crystol, who left the Hall with his mother as soon as the cheers rose for his younger brother, Darian, who had been declared the Crown Prince over him.

An hour later, when the guests started taking their leave, Maria stood up and tugged his sleeve, asking him to follow her as she walked towards the back door.

"Excuse us." He smiled at the people at the table who were looking their way and then walked out of the hall with Ayesha.

They found the Vulcan Enforcer standing on the balcony, overlooking the Crystal City, and as soon as she saw that he had not come alone, she frowned.

However, whatever she felt, she kept it in her heart and then smiled at him.

"Did you know that Armin was going to announce Fabian as the Crown Prince tonight?"

"Really?"

"Yes. That’s what he had discussed with the Delegation. And the Vulcan Crown had even offered the hand of their youngest princess to Fabian, to give him a future Queen of the Crystal Kingdom." There was a deep meaning behind her words, and Keith narrowed his eyes as he saw through what was happening.

"Armin has made an enemy out of the Vulcan Crown by spoiling their plans."

"Yes. And you know why?" She grinned.

"Why?"

"Come on, think!" She urged, looking quite excited.

"Is it because of us?" He raised his brow, and she nodded her head.

"He has taken a gamble." She lightly jumped up and sat down on the railing, swinging her legs. "Blood will be shed now. Want to make a bet on who’s going to die first?"

Ayesha raised her brow at her sudden question, and she narrowed her eyes at the Enforcer.

"You have very strange interests."

"Thank you." Maria smiled at her but then looked into Keith’s eyes again.

"Who’s going to die first?" He curiously asked her, and the smile on her face brightened.

"Ameer Ziad." She confidently took the name of the Head of the Ameer Family, her voice carrying a chilling certainty that echoed softly in the dark of the night.