Chapter 239 - 247. Marriage Talks
"I won’t accept this!!" Max shouted, slamming the table hard enough to rattle the cutlery. His eyes blazed with frustration. "Mom!! Tell her! Tell Valerie I love her!! Tell her I want her!!"
The King exhaled long and slow, rubbing her temples as if she’d heard this tantrum a hundred times before. Her son was hopelessly spoiled, a boy who’d never once been denied anything in his life—and now that he was being denied this, he was unraveling.
Hands folded elegantly beneath her chin, the Queen turned her gaze to Valerie with composed grace, her voice deceptively calm. "Forgive my son’s outburst, dear. But I must ask—this man you claim to love... what rank is he? You do understand it’s forbidden for a woman of your caliber to consort with someone of inferior rank, don’t you?"
Valerie flinched. The question hit harder than expected. She was a born prodigy—an A-rank despite never training for combat. But in all her time with Asher, she’d never once thought to ask his rank. Never questioned his background. She’d simply fallen—heart first.
"I... he’s..." she stammered, fumbling for words.
That was when Asher finally stood. He gave a dramatic sigh, loud enough to draw every gaze in the room. "Well," he said, placing a hand over his heart with mock elegance, "I guess it’s about time I speak, seeing as everyone’s been acting like I wasn’t even here."
He straightened his posture, his tone turning firm and proud. "My name is Asher Reynolds. I hail from the Kingdom of Eldoria. A student of the Grand Magic Academy—and this year’s winner of the first-year tournament." He paused, letting the words settle like dust after a storm. "Though that’s hardly a flex. What is, however, is that I’m arguably the strongest student in the entire academy..."
He met the room’s skeptical gazes one by one.
"...and maybe," he added with a smirk, "the strongest in the kingdom."
A stunned silence followed. Then murmurs. Some snorted. A few nobles outright laughed.
"The strongest? In the whole kingdom?" Max barked a laugh. "What a damn joke!"