King Of Limbo

Esmeralda and Aron continued to exchange words a little while longer near the buffet table before she realized more and more gazes were on her.

Did she have a close relationship with him? A number of students thought the longer they observed.

"*ahem*, right I wanted to ask if you have any demands regarding the information you hold. My family is more than willing to pay an adequate price depending on it's usefulness." Esmeralda offered sincerely but Aron gave no immediate answer and instead began to swirl the beverage in his glass.

After Esmeralda asked this their interaction began to make more sense. Before today no one had seen the two interact so it was only natural for them to assume that she only approached him to try and gain the information for her family and they wouldn't be wrong as this was indeed her true intention in approaching him.

"I'll be sure to tell you if any ideas pop up in my mind but as of now no, it's far too early wouldn't you agree?" Aron's reply wasn't what Esmeralda was hoping for and she quickly showed a frown.

It being early was exactly what she was trying to take advantage of before Aron began to receive other offers. It was currently hard to tell just what what sort of offers could move him.

Thus far he hadn't shown any excessive interest in wealth which was was also good as it meant the information wouldn't just go to the highest bidder. The second method one would try would be blackmail or something along those lines but Aron left no such thing for anyone to exploit.

The last would be trying to seduce using feminine charming but this was also a dead end considering he hadn't once shown desire towards anyone. This made her question his relationship with Lady Rose even more.

"I won't press the issue then, but allow me to keep you company. Would you like to be introduced to other prominent families here?" Esmeralda wasn't going to push the issue but she also wasn't about to give up entirely.

Rather than let Aron approach others on his own it was more advantageous to accompany him and listen in on what the other families were willing to offer while also gaining some favor from them due to introducing Aron.

"I have no reason to refuse, after you." Aron's tone was neither polite nor condescending, even here he wouldn't change his mannerisms and speak more politely just to please others.

So just like that Esmeralda began to introduce Aron to group after group of students to establish at least a basic relationship of acquaintances. They didn't waste time and only stayed with each group for short amounts of time but that was enough to get a general idea of each family thus far.

Aristocrats loved to boast of their wealth and power so all Aron needed to do was listen quietly and occasionally nod as they chatted away. By doing so their opinion of him began to slightly change for the better.

"Next I'll introduce you to the Kroos. They are all a bit timid but have excellent elemental mages." Esmeralda praised as she began to lead Aron towards yet another group of students.

"Before that, do you know anyone by the name of Arkus Vonstein?" Since coming here Aron was yet to see the man who had passed him the information so he asked out of curiosity but Esmeralda showed a sour expression upon hearing that name.

"Tch, he's one of the high ranking stewards of the Vonsteins and he came here as an emissary. Of all the families it could be said the Vonsteins are among the most opposed to commoners as you've probably seen with Brutas. But Arkus... he's far worse so I suggest you steer clear of him no matter his offer." Esmeralda warned in a seemingly genuine manner but Aron couldn't put aside the fact that she may just be bad mouthing another family to lessen the competition.

"I see, well let's hold off on meeting the others for a bit. I need to step out of the hall briefly." Aron suddenly came to a halt and excused himself.

Esmeralda didn't press him by what he meant and assumed he was just referring to using the rest room.

"Alright then, seek me out when you return." Esmeralda said her goodbyes rather politely before walking away.

'It's amazing how quickly humans can change their attitudes to suit a given scenario.' Aron thought as he watched Esmeralda walk away. This was someone who wished for his death more than once yet here she was acting as his chaperone like they were long time friends.

Aron didn't dwell on this and proceeded to walk out of the hall but not before receiving a glance from Lady Rose as he did so. However soon after he left a familiar figure could be seen leaving as well. 'Hmm?' Her interest was roused but she chose to remain and continue to converse with the individuals present, as she did so she subtly began to move her fingers in strange motions.

...

Outside of the hall not many people were present, only a few who perhaps wanted to visit the ablution blocks or talk privately.

As Aron stepped out of the hall and prepared to leave a hand tapped his shoulder from behind causing him to turn.

"Arkus?" Aron turned his head and immediately recognized the smiling older man behind him. "Lord Aron, I do hope you're enjoying your evening. Forgive me for not escorting you here personally but things are a little difficult in the family at the moment... may we speak in private?" Arkus chuckled nervously before glancing around cautiously as if not wanting to be heard.

Aron couldn't detect any immediate lies according to his body language but the uncertainty behind his words remained.

Still given the location it was unlikely they would try anything drastic so Aron didn't reject the offer out of curiosity. "We may speak in one of the classes then."

The two made their way to another passageway before entering one of the unoccupied lecture halls.

Arkus quickly closed the door before heaving a sigh of relief. Aron who chose to stand a few meters away from him as a precaution just tilted his head at this action.

"Luckily we weren't followed. I'll be frank with Lord Aron, the Vonstein family is currently having an internal dispute regarding you. Lady Victoria, our current family head thinks it's best that we establish a relationship with you but her daughter and heir Lady Ursula is against this and says it is better to have you eliminated. She's held a great dislike towards you after what happened to her third son young Lord Brutas."

Arkus explained while shaking his head helplessly. Aron could now see why Arkus was showing caution and didn't approach him publicly, most likely out of fear from being reported to Lady Ursula.

"Such a shame, normally Lady Victoria would have her way without argument but Lady Ursula has support from her siblings, children and even father regarding how to deal with you. Many see Lady Victoria's time coming to an end so it's natural they support her." Arkus continued to speak but Aron remained skeptical, it did make sense but it could also be a story forged and the roles may even be reversed.

"So then Lady Victoria asked you to warn me of this or did she get her way in the end since you're here?" Aron asked bluntly but Arkus slowly shook his head. "I never said I was part of Lady Victoria's faction."

[ Vonstein Augmentation Art: Quick Step ]

The smile on Arkus's face faded and his eyes showed a bright glow as a coating of mana covered his body. In that very moment he took a step forward and his figure appeared right in front of Aron ready to strike.

Aron furrowed his brows and stopped the attack by holding Arkus by both of his wrists. "You underestimated me." Aron muttered before before applying force to his hold upon Arkus, slowly crushing Arkus's bones, however the man only smiled sinisterly at this.

"No I expected this much. HELP ME! PLEASE!!" Arkus suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, since his body was in an augmented state the voice travelled further than normal thus alerting more people.

"So that's his plan? To make it seem like I attacked you?" Aron could see Arkus was clearly trying to create a problematic situation for him but he remained calm as this was still quite easy to handle.

However what happened next was beyond Aron's expectations as Arkus just smiled before his body jerked violently and blood spewed from multiple parts.

Aron felt something was off and he quickly separated from him letting his body drop to the ground. "May you suffer an even worse fate you disgusting commoner, you won't be let off! I've done my mission *cough*" Arkus proudly declared before coughing up large amounts of blood and soon the light in his eyes faded entirely.

He had just killed himself...