Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Bribery I
Deep in the northernmost part of the Lionstone Kingdom where Raven's nest is where the tall walls that stood erect over the land divided that where civilization stands and the edge of the place where monsters rest. On this day, when the cold breeze from winter comes down onto the earth is where the beasts go out to feast.
Once every year, the world trembles with grief, to show its sadness, it is said that the skies shed tears of little white clouds. During this period, countless monsters would become restless and would go berserk and attack other humans. This was why the territories that border monster regions had to be well prepared to face them during winter.
It had now been a couple of days since Herbert had become a Transcendent rank. Klaus, who had seen him on his return had been surprised at his success and immediately sent a messenger to inform Herman of Herbert's achievement.
Because Herbert had already mentioned that he would be stationed at the Featherwing Fortress during this winter, he abided by his words and wholeheartedly defended his side of the wall when the first snow fell.
With his newfound strength, he had to familiarize himself to maintain a good understanding of his capabilities. It wasn't only his abilities that got an upgrade, it was also his basic physical fitness that had improved.
Oblivious to his changes, Princess Amelia still tried to reconnect with Herbert. During the past few days, she recognized Herbert's friendliness towards her had once again increased. She had attributed this to her hard work and thought that Herbert would soon once again return to their previous relationship. Because of this, her weariness toward Lady Elena who had previously been meeting Herbert alone had dropped. Although she still had vigilance towards her, she no longer felt the stuffy feeling in her heart that occasionally flares up whenever she thinks that she might have betrayed her.
Lady Elena, on the other hand, did not have the same attitude as the Ninth Princess. She had been agonized at how devilish Herbert had been. She knew that if somebody were to know what she did then it would not only her who would have a head on the chopping board. Poisoning the royal family is almost equivalent to giving her own family the death sentence.
Because of her worries, she had become a lot more lowkey compared to the past. Every time she would come near Herbert, she would feel all the hairs on her body stand on alert. She was never at ease during the entire period that she spent on the Ravenmoon territory. It wasn't only Herbert that made her feel this way, she had become paranoid to the point that she would even feel goosebumps whenever she came across one of the Ravenmoon maids or guards.
Since she didn't feel safe, she still hadn't used the Awakening Crystal. She never bothered with it after she had received it from Herbert. The whole time, she was keeping it in a pouch where she could keep it safe near her.
As someone who came from a noble family, she naturally had a bloodline that could be awakened with an Awakening Crystal, however, she had long past the age where she could awaken naturally. Therefore, it would cause her trouble if she indeed uses the Awakening Crystal and becomes awakened. She knew that this treasure could soon be a source of threat for her in the future if she continued to keep it without using it.
So, she continued to think it over properly. Every day she had spent agonizing over her current predicament that she would have nightmares about it. Eventually, the day when the last snow fell came.
The sun had finally started to shine bright in the sky, the ground had started to become slippery and the world became lively.
With the departure of the snow came the day when Lady Elena could propose to depart from the northern lands. This was something that she had been waiting for a long time, however, she still needed to convince the Ninth Princess to leave with her, or else she would never be able to get out of this place.
When they left the Featherwing fortress to return to the Ravenmoon manor, Herbert saw the growth and improvement that Ingrid had over the past few days. Since she had been entrusted to utilize her powers as an awakened by Herbert to Klaus, she had reached another breakthrough in her rank, reaching the second rank as an awakened.
During her stay, she had occasionally been made to experience a live fight against a weakened monster that is of similar or lower rank to her. Coupled with guidance from the Ravenmoons, she had been able to grow in a stable environment with resources being funneled over to her because of Herbert's influence.
Herbert believed that with her speed in increasing her ranks, she would soon rival the protagonist. However, he also worried that the resources that are being funneled to her through the use of the Ravenmoon might not be enough as compared to the resources that should have been given to her if she had become a puppet of the church.
Since the original story did not mention how she had been nurtured, Herbert did not have a clue about how she had been trained to reach the level where she can fight head-to-head with the protagonist at their final battle.
All that he knew, for now, was that her potential should be solid and her growth should be stable. If she had been training at the same time that he did, Herbert believed that she would have long taken overtaken his pace.
After arriving at the Ravenmoon manor, Herbert once again found himself in a very peculiar scene. When he first went down from his carriage, he saw the princess immediately rushing towards him. With her flushed face, she then thanked him for something that he didn't do.
"Sir Herbert! Thank you very much!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone