Path To Godhood Begins With Marrying Wife And Gaining SSS Rank Skill - Chapter 462: Neutrality
Chapter 462: Neutrality
Duke Lancelot chuckled softly.
“No.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly.
“No?”
“You are not neutral,” Lancelot said while swirling the wine again.
“You are simply not involved yet.”
He glanced toward Ethan and continued calmly.
“That is exactly why you are valuable.”
Ethan remained silent.
Lancelot continued speaking in a calm tone.
“You came from Ruthiana. You have no strong ties with the old noble families. Your rise happened through battle and merit.”
He took a small sip from his glass.
“And you already had some conflicts with certain people. Those tensions are slowly brewing.”
He paused before adding quietly.
“And right now, most factions in the capital are still trying to figure out where you stand.”
Ethan let out a quiet breath.
“Unfortunately for them, I don’t even know where I stand myself.”
That answer made Lancelot laugh.
“That is exactly the answer I expected.”
The duke leaned slightly against the stone wall beside Ethan while looking out over the fortress.
“You are dangerous for them,” he continued calmly.
“Not because of your strength.”
He tapped the rim of his glass lightly.
“But because you are unpredictable.”
Ethan looked at him and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Wonderful. Now I have assassins after me and nervous nobles watching me.”
Lancelot smirked slightly.
“That is the usual reward for becoming important.”
Ethan shook his head with a faint laugh.”I miss the days when my biggest problem was clearing the beast near Blanks.”
Lancelot chuckled.”Those days are gone.”
The wind moved gently across the fortress walls while sparks from the bonfires drifted upward into the dark night sky.
After a moment Ethan spoke again.
“So let me ask something honestly.”
Lancelot looked at him.
“Go ahead.”
“If I did marry Amber,” Ethan said slowly, “would that help you politically?”
Lancelot paused for a moment.
Then he answered honestly.
“Yes.”
He did not try to hide it.
“But not in the way most people think.”
Ethan waited for Lancelot to continue.
“It would send a message.”
“What message?”
“That I have retired and I really don’t plan to involve myself in the matters of the crown.”
The duke looked directly at Ethan.
“And in the capital, trust between powerful people is more valuable than alliances written on paper.”
Ethan looked thoughtful.
Below them the celebration continued to grow louder. Some soldiers had already started dancing clumsily around the bonfire while others cheered loudly.
Lancelot finished the remaining wine in his glass.
“Think about it,” he said calmly.
“I am not asking for an answer tonight.”
Then he placed the empty glass on the stone railing.
“But I do not make offers like this often.”
With that Duke Lancelot turned around and slowly walked away, leaving Ethan standing alone on the fortress wall.
The festive noise from the courtyard continued behind him, but Ethan’s mind was no longer focused on the celebration.
The situation was becoming complicated.The assassins were already a huge problem.
If the Emperor ever withdrew his protection, the attacks would start again.That alone was enough to give him a headache.
But there was something else bothering him even more.
Ethan stared quietly into the dark distance beyond Frostvele.
“The Emperor’s protection…”
He murmured softly to himself.
“Why is the Emperor protecting me?”
His brow slowly furrowed.
“What does he want?”
Ethan had never believed that emperors acted out of kindness.
Those who sat on thrones rarely did anything without purpose.Every move they made carried calculation.And that thought gave Ethan a strange feeling of unease.
A faint sense of déjà vu lingered inside his mind, like a shadow he could not clearly see but still felt lurking somewhere ahead.
His mind kept returning to everything that had happened during the past few days.
Assassins.
A bounty placed on his head.
And the Emperor’s sudden protection.
Ethan slowly exhaled and rubbed his temple as he stood on the wall of Frostvele.
“This is getting complicated,” he muttered quietly.
The Assassin Tower was not some random group of killers. It was one of the most powerful organizations in the world, and many of the most dangerous assassins operated under its banner.
Once a bounty was posted there, the contract rarely disappeared.That meant someone powerful truly wanted him dead.
But the real question was who.
“Who is it?” Ethan murmured under his breath.
He immediately shook his head.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
The demons were clearly his enemies, but the Assassin Tower was known for its strict rules. They rarely accepted contracts from non-human factions.
Which meant the person behind the bounty was most likely human.
A noble.
Or someone with deep influence.
Ethan let out another breath.
“Is it the Adventurer Guild… or is this the work of noble houses?”
Now the nobles in the capital were already watching him carefully. Someone had already placed a bounty on his head.
And the Emperor had suddenly stepped in to protect him.
Ethan lifted his head and stared quietly at the distant mountains.
“The Emperor…”
He slowly repeated the word.
“If he just wanted to reward me for the war, a title would have been enough.”
He had already been promoted to Marquise.
That alone was a massive reward.
But protection from the throne itself was something far more serious.It meant the Emperor had decided that Ethan was valuable enough to shield from assassination.
Which raised another question.
Valuable for what?
Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly.
“A pawn?”
He remembered the words Duke Lancelot had spoken earlier.
In politics, powerful people were often treated like pieces on a board.
Some pieces were protected while some were sacrificed depending on their worth.
Some were pushed forward into dangerous places.
“What if this is the work of those old families,” Ethan murmured slowly, “and the Emperor wants to use me as a pawn to clash with them?”
The thought lingered in his mind.
Ethan slowly shook his head and pushed himself away from the railing.
“No matter what happens…”
He spoke quietly to himself.”I cannot afford to be weak.”
Assassins would come again one day.
The Emperor’s protection would not last forever.
And the nobles in the capital were already watching his every move.
Ethan clenched his fist slightly.
“Stronger…”
“The only thing I can do is get stronger.”
The cold wind blew across the fortress wall while Ethan stood silently under the night sky.
…..
Inside another quiet room of Frostvele Castle, a soft lamp glowed beside a tall window.
Amber stood near the window while looking outside.
The moonlight filtered through the glass and gently illuminated her figure.
She had already changed into a simple night dress. The soft fabric fell lightly over her shoulders and down to her ankles. Her long hair was loose and slightly messy, flowing naturally down her back as the faint breeze from the open window moved it gently.
Her expression was calm, but her eyes carried a thoughtful look.
In her hand she held a letter.Amber looked down at the paper again.
It was written by Ethan.
“Whats in this?”
“For some reason it’s unsettling me.”
….
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