Chapter 1060: Engagement
Anthony stared at Tiara; he could sense her reluctance to speak, but it didn’t matter. Bryan had already given him the full gist, so her silence didn’t matter anymore.
Tiara sighed as she began to explain, "after our graduation, I returned home, you know, the usual, celebration with my parents and all that. After all, nobody has graduated during the first year of the Omni Peak Academy," her voice was calm and low, yet beneath that calmness lay a faint trace of something heavier, something restrained.
"I was given a month of free time by my master, to enjoy, walk around, and do whatever I wanted to do. She said she had given me that one month because, after that, my training would be literal hell," she paused for a moment, as though recalling the exact tone her master had used, then continued speaking, "but when I returned a month later, I didn’t only meet my master, I met her with the Blood Queen, Elara Bloodmoon. Together, they told me about a proposition, about me getting engaged to the son of the Blood Queen," her voice dipped slightly at the end, carrying an unmistakable note of disdain.
Tiara sighed as she leaned back into her seat as though she could still remember that day as clearly as day, as though every second of it had been engraved into her mind, refusing to fade no matter how much time passed, "of course, I wanted to refuse, but what could I do? I was just an S ranker at the time. Could I go against the Ruler and Queen of the Vampire Domain? Certainly not. Even though I’m at the King Mana Realm, I’m still too weak to have an opinion," she stated as she shook her head at her own plight, her lips curling slightly in self-directed frustration.
"So, I’ve been engaged to her stupid son for five years, five years of seeing his stupid, handsome face, five years of sleeping in the same building as him, five years of sensing his presence, five long and suffocating years," she paused, as though the weight of those years pressed down on her chest even now, then added, "there is no difference between this and being a slave to someone else," she added in finality.
Her words caused silence to reign within the control room for a few seconds, a heavy, almost tangible silence, before Anthony spoke, shattering it with a calm but probing voice, "and what of the Omni Peak Academy Vice Principal, your supposed master? She didn’t do anything about it?" he asked, genuinely curious, his gaze fixed on her as though trying to piece together every layer of the situation.
"Sigh, for the first week, I hated my Master because she didn’t attempt to save me from my situation," Tiara began to speak again, her voice softer now, tinged with something closer to guilt than anger, "but I later found out that the reason why I didn’t get news about the engagement until one month later was simply because my Master was trying to reverse it. She was negotiating with the Blood Queen to change her mind, but whatever my master offered was never enough," she sighed as she spoke, her fingers tightening slightly against the armrest, "she even fought the Blood Queen for me within that month and lost numerous times, over and over again, without ever giving up despite the obvious gap in power."
Tiara closed her eyes as she finished that last sentence, as though she wanted to hold back any tears that threatened to build up within her eyes, her expression tightening for just a brief moment before smoothing out once more.
’Although the Vice Principal is also at the Planetary level, she is no match against Elara Bloodmoon. After all, she is the Blood Queen for a reason,’ Anthony thought to himself, as he imagined himself being forcefully engaged to someone he didn’t love or even liked.
And from the sound of it, it seemed Tiara couldn’t even tolerate her soon-to-be husband’s presence, even after five whole years. After five years, one would have at least expected her to get used to the man’s presence, even if she didn’t like him, but she hadn’t, which in itself spoke volumes about just how much she despised the situation she had been forced into.
’Her backing simply isn’t enough,’ Anthony thought to himself, arriving at a conclusion that was as simple as it was harsh.
Yes, the Vice Principal was powerful, but not powerful enough. But Tiara’s backing didn’t stop there; it extended to the entire Omni Peak Academy, as the Vice Principal could just call back her alumni and have them band together, a force that, under normal circumstances, would be terrifying in its own right, all these were part of her power, all these were things that should have mattered.
But it was still not enough. After all, one was an Academy; the other was a literal Domain. One didn’t need more than a single brain cell to know who wins if both sides wage war against each other, the disparity between the two sides was simply too great to ignore or bridge through sheer will alone.
Bryan, on the side, kind of felt pity for Tiara; he would never compare his earlier shackle to what bound Tiara at the moment, as the difference between the two situations was like night and day. He possessed freedom to a huge degree; Tiara didn’t.
Although he could hardly leave his Dragon Domain without being found out, Bryan knew he could always use some powerful artifact to sneak into another Domain if he ever wanted to explore in his free time, a luxury Tiara simply did not have.
"It seems your master did her very best," Anthony stated with a sigh, his tone carrying a quiet acknowledgment of the effort that had been made, even if it had ultimately failed.
"She did. Fighting the Blood Queen for me would never be easy for her," Tiara stated with a sigh.
"Is she injured? Although I know Vampires possess a ridiculous recovery rate, at the Planetary level, even with her ridiculous innate healing ability, an injury can last more than five years, or even a century," Anthony asked, his curiosity not entirely detached from concern.
"She is fine, at least that’s what she told me," Tiara replied without missing a beat, though whether that reassurance was entirely truthful or not remained uncertain.
Anthony nodded his head without another word, his thoughts distant, his mind clearly processing more than what he allowed to show on the surface.
Bryan wanted to tell Tiara about how Anthony had helped him with his own situation; with that information, it would be left to her to beg Anthony to help her as well, a possibility that lingered at the edge of his mind. But he was torn, should he tell her or not? What if he was crossing another line? What if this was not his place to interfere? After a moment of thought, he simply shook his head with a sigh, choosing silence over potential overreach.
If Anthony wanted to help, he would help; it was probably best if he stayed out of it. Although he could go back and ask his father for help, Bryan wasn’t stupid; he knew his father wouldn’t help without gaining something in return. After all, why should he risk his relationship with the Blood Queen for nothing?
Besides, for the Blood Queen to break the engagement, she had to gain something of value, something that could outweigh what she currently stood to gain. And what could possibly top the value of a bloodline born to a grandchild of hers, born from two individuals holding Royal-grade Vampire Bloodlines, a lineage that could potentially strengthen her domain even further?