No one dared to meet Roa's eyes, all avoiding his gaze.
Although indignant, none dared to be the first to step forward.
Since no one was stopping him, Roa wouldn't bother looking for trouble with a bunch of soldiers.
He swaggered towards his room.
Once Roa left, the crowd swarmed and rushed towards the main hall.
Some of the young women had fallen to the ground, while others hid behind pillars, trembling. The scene was a mess, marble tables smashed to pieces, pillars collapsed, and an old man sat on the ground, his clothes torn and tattered, looking extremely disheveled.
Not far from the shattered marble table lay a headless corpse.
A soldier mustered the courage to turn the body face up. The corpulent, greasy body and the noble attire were easily recognizable. Almost at a glance, the soldier knew who it was.
Darius, a favored courtier of the prince, a master of political maneuvering, notorious among both commoners and nobles.
Despite his age, Darius's favorite pastime was with girls of fourteen or fifteen. Any girl he took a fancy to would not escape his clutches.
For commoner girls, it was simple: either he would seize them directly, or spend a bit of gold to buy them under some legitimate pretense.
Noble daughters were also easy targets. Darius would inform the noble family, and smaller nobles, intimidated by Darius's power and authority, would obediently send their daughters. If Darius grew tired of them, he might, in a good mood, return the girls.
Of course, some nobles were unwilling to let their daughters suffer such humiliation. In such cases, Darius would use various means to ruin these nobles, either bankrupting them or creating a major crisis, forcing them to obey his wishes.
In short, Darius was a man of extremely vile character. Most of the girls sent to him would suffer mental breakdowns due to his abuse, and only a few would survive.
Even those who survived would have mental issues. After suffering at Darius's hands, their future lives were hard to predict.
Although Darius's reputation was utterly ruined, he was undeniably skilled in political struggles, with effective methods, and was deeply favored by the king.
Yet, such a figure was killed just like that, his head separated from his body, his neck severed.
The soldiers' palms were sweaty. They solemnly examined the surroundings, realizing that something major was about to happen in the Asura Kingdom.
…
What happened there was of no concern to Roa. After the earlier events, Roa returned to his residence and waited a short while before a knock came at the door.
Roa opened the door to find Ariel standing outside.
Compared to her previous pallor, the girl's cheeks were now much rosier. Not only her complexion, but her overall vitality seemed better than before.
This puzzled Roa.
Could being frightened actually improve one's health?
Somewhat perplexed, Roa stepped aside to invite Ariel in.
Ariel didn't stand on ceremony, entering the room directly and closing the door behind her.
Roa didn't think too much of it, pointing to the two chairs beside the table and saying casually, "Sit down, you can sit wherever you like."
Ariel smiled, but instead of sitting in a chair, she went to the bed and sat down.
Roa shrugged, saying, "You can sit there too, if you want."
Ariel smiled, patting the soft bed. It was large enough to accommodate three or four people for an orgy.
Because it was winter, Ariel was dressed quite warmly, the heavy clothing concealing her figure. Otherwise, Ariel could have shown what true 'Royal' assets looked like, but unfortunately, she was bundled up tightly.
Ariel looked at Roa, who tilted his head in confusion. Ariel patted the bed again, her clear, pleasant voice ringing out as she smiled and said, "A lone man and woman, alone in a room, don't you want anything else?"
She pulled open her collar, revealing the fair skin of her neck. When Ariel wasn't telling lewd jokes, she truly lived up to her princess status, dignified and serene, appearing quiet and elegant.
Ariel was in that state now.
Looking quite alluring.
However, Roa simply chuckled and said, "Ariel, if I hadn't seen you in that state yesterday, I might have actually been tempted, you know?"
That state, of course, referred to her losing control of her bladder in fear. Such a topic was a surefire conversation killer for any young lady of high birth. Roa brought it up to keep Ariel in line.
However, Roa had underestimated Ariel, or rather, underestimated her lack of scruples.
Not only was Ariel not embarrassed in the slightest, but she said with great interest, "Indeed, that feeling was truly unprecedented. Unlike doing that sort of thing before, I was genuinely frightened by you. My limbs wouldn't obey me, and it took me a while to recover."
Roa looked at Ariel, speechless. He hadn't expected that she could still handle the conversation.
Seeing Roa staring at her without saying anything, Ariel boldly stood up from the bed and walked to Roa's side.
Roa pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "Sit down, let's talk."
Ariel smiled and said, "Weren't we just talking?"
"Yes, but that was just casual chat. Now, perhaps we should talk about serious matters," Roa nodded slightly.
Ariel didn't refuse, sitting down in the chair Roa had indicated. They were very close, close enough to see each other's breath.
Roa started the conversation, afraid that this eccentric princess would steer the topic elsewhere again: "How have you considered it?"
Ariel was surprisingly frank this time, saying directly, "I can, I can agree to your request."
Hearing Ariel's words, Roa finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Killing Darius was indeed a troublesome matter. After all, Darius was no pushover. The connections he had cultivated and the intricate web of interests among the nobles were not something Roa could easily unravel.
At this point, Roa needed a plausible reason on the surface, otherwise the nobles would inevitably unite to oppose Roa, even making a desperate decision.
Even a cornered dog will bite, let alone those shrewd nobles.
He had to give them a glimmer of hope, not pushing them too far.
Roa didn't want to become king, nor could he become king, because once Roa became king, the Asura Kingdom's power would fall into the hands of an outsider. The nobles who held power would never allow this to happen.
But it was different if Ariel became king. Although in essence, Roa would still control the country, at least the king on the surface would still be Ariel, still of this bloodline. Everyone's power might be damaged, but at least there would still be a glimmer of hope for preservation.
In the end, Roa was an outsider, and they couldn't trust an outsider.
And although Ariel was not favored, whether it was those who supported Ariel or those who didn't, they didn't have much resistance to Ariel's ascension to the throne.
But if Roa became king, it would mean a major reshuffle of power. At that time, the old nobles who held those powers would inevitably be purged by Roa.
So compared to Roa, they were more willing to choose Ariel, who at least had been held as a baby.
In short, it would be too troublesome for Roa to become king, with too many variables, so Roa chose to support someone to take the position.
And Ariel was the one Roa had set his sights on.
Seeing Roa's expression soften, Ariel immediately asked while Roa seemed to be in a good mood, "Although I know you are the Sword God, with my current strength, it is indeed difficult to compete with my brothers."
Roa leaned back in the chair. Now that they had reached an agreement, Roa didn't put on the airs of a Sword God, but casually crossed his legs, a faint smile on his handsome face.
Roa said, "It's simple, you don't need to worry about this matter. I always have a way to solve it."
Ariel nodded slightly. She said, "Since you are confident, then I won't say much more on this matter. Then, can you give me some small compensation, as compensation for being forced to be tied to this position for the rest of my life?"
Regarding Ariel's statement, Roa simply said, "The fact that this country can be preserved, and that you can get the support of a Great Power, isn't that reason enough?"
"It's enough, but that's for the Asura Kingdom. What I want is personal compensation."
Saying this, Ariel's face was flushed, as if she had said something very embarrassing.
However, Roa remained unmoved by such an Ariel.
Just kidding, someone who can chat about lewd jokes with a guard would blush because of a few words?
It was probably just Ariel pretending.
In fact, that was indeed the case. Seeing that Roa didn't respond, Ariel couldn't help but sigh, putting away her girlish posture.
Ariel complained, "You really are insensible."
Faced with such a complaint, Roa simply replied, "I was just deceived by someone who looked very innocent."
As the two were talking, Roa's door was knocked on, and an abrupt voice came.
"Roa, is that bastard here?"
Rapid footsteps and an angry shout could be heard outside the door. It was Isolte's voice, and only Isolte would shout like that.
The door was pushed open heavily with a bang. Isolte, wearing armor, immediately saw Roa and Ariel sitting in the room. Isolte was slightly stunned, but quickly reacted.
The girl first gave a slight bow to Ariel, then glared at Roa.
Ariel's mouth curved up, watching the two with a playful smile. Ariel chose to be an observer at this moment.
Isolte didn't waste any words, saying directly, "How could you do such a thing, directly killing Darius!"
Isolte was very excited, her voice very loud. The girl, covered in armor, stared sharply at Roa.
Isolte's mood was very bad at the moment.
Reida was Isolte's family. From childhood to adulthood, she had always been raised by Reida. Although Reida was very strict with Isolte, Isolte knew that Reida was doing it for her own good. Isolte was also very competitive, constantly improving her swordsmanship in order not to embarrass Reida. Talent was the foundation, and her diligence was what built the current foundation.
But such a Reida was now sitting on the ground in a state of despair.
Faced with Isolte's questioning, Roa said calmly, "First of all, Reida is not dead, don't overthink it. I showed mercy, otherwise I could have killed her completely."
Just this sentence completely blocked Isolte's words.
"Secondly, what kind of person Darius is, I believe you, who have been here all along, should be clearer than I am, right?"
Isolte was speechless. She now found that she couldn't say anything. Isolte's eyes flickered.
Roa continued, "If you really want to say it, he should be the villain in your mouth."
Isolte wanted to refute, but Roa directly interrupted, "Oh, you saw those girls too, right? It seems that you two, master and disciple, have a good relationship with him, but having a good relationship is one thing, whether he is a villain cannot be determined by just saying that you have a good relationship. Maybe in your eyes, Darius is a gentle and kind old man, but in the eyes of those girls, he is an out-and-out demon."
What Roa said made sense, and the fact was indeed so.
Isolte was not completely ignorant of Darius's actions.
After all, such things were circulating in the current noble circles, and his reputation was already so bad that it couldn't be worse.
It was impossible for Darius's reputation to reach this point without any basis. There must be a reason for its existence, but because Darius had always treated Isolte well, she turned a blind eye and pretended not to see or hear these things.
But pretending is pretending, and the fact exists. Isolte pretended not to see it, but this fact had already happened.
After Roa finished speaking, he didn't say anything more.
Ariel was originally watching the show, but when she heard the news of Darius's death, her expression became serious, and her originally relaxed mood disappeared.
Ariel didn't know that Roa had directly killed Darius. She had been constantly struggling before, weighing the pros and cons in her mind.