Harem System In A fantasy World

Evander’s expression gradually darkened considerably from his initial stunned look. His father could only be speaking about one Elion.

"Are you certain?" he asked grimly.

Lord Kletis frowned slightly.

He would never deliver information like this without a considerable degree of certainty, but even he understood just how unbelievable the news sounded.

He nodded.

"Our informant guaranteed that it is one hundred percent accurate."

Evander’s eyes narrowed.

"One hundred percent, meaning a formal announcement has already been made?"

"Within the Vampire clan, yes. Not only that, but he claims it is only a matter of time before the Chronos Royal Family announces the union to the rest of the world. The betrothal has already been finalized. All that remains is the official royal wedding, and apparently, preparations are already underway."

Evander’s mind raced.

The implications were staggering to say the least. If Elion really had been betrothed to Celeste, then his position had changed overnight.

"Do you think..." Evander began slowly, "that they have been sheltering him this entire time?"

Kletis’ expression became grim.

"That was my first thought."

"And the tournament?"

"The same possibility applies. They may have helped him escape during the selection tournament. The chronos girl’s disappearance before such an important tournament was odd as well. It’s almost like this was premeditated."

Evander fell silent. The more he thought about it, the more pieces seemed to fall into place.

Elion’s confidence must have been because of this secretive protection from the vampires. So he must have known.

Had the Chronos Royal Family already been involved from the beginning?

But it didn’t make any logical sense for such an ancient family to bring an orphaned boy into their fold, even going as far as tying him to a figure as important as Celeste through marriage.

But if he was taking into account Elion’s talent alone, then perhaps it made a bit of sense, but that was if he was being generous.

Talent alone was not enough for a move of this scale.

And why bother negotiating a union with his family if they had something as this planned instead?

’What are we missing here?’

There was too little information for them to come to a proper conclusion.

Lord Kletis sighed heavily.

"But it is already of little consequence."

Evander looked toward him.

"What do you mean?"

"If the vampires have already agreed to welcome him despite knowing the accusations that have been thrown against him, then Dawncrest’s stance, and their apparent obsession with him, no longer matters nearly as much."

Kletis leaned back slightly.

"Simply by marrying into the Chronos Royal Family, that boy has gained an extraordinary amount of support and protection."

He paused.

"Even from our own crown. After all, not everyone can afford to offend such a powerful race of people like the dragons do, at least not without rallying up the entire kingdom."

If the union became official, anyone attempting to openly move against Elion would have to consider the consequences of opposing the entire Chronos Royal Family.

"Then..." Evander muttered, "was this already planned in advance?"

Kletis tapped his finger against the office desk.

"That’s what I want to know."

His fingers curled against the armrest.

"If this was arranged beforehand, then those damned vampires may have been playing us from the very beginning."

A bitter silence settled over the room as Kletis slowly clenched his teeth.

"This will complicate our plans."

Evander nodded.

Under normal circumstances, his father would have already been making some crude comment about how he had been cucked, especially considering that he had once been expected to become Celeste’s husband himself.

The fact that his father had not even mentioned it until now only demonstrated how seriously he regarded the situation.

Honestly, he wasn’t too bothered by this situation. He did fancy Celeste; she was a beautiful, talented young woman who was touted to one day become the leader of an entire race of people.

Any man would want her to be his woman. And he had fantasized about it for some time ever since the option was given to him, but it wasn’t enough for him to suddenly become bitter because of this outcome.

He had simply been shocked by the implications more than anything. And he was curious what the vampires saw in Elion, apart from his talent and potential, that had made them pick him over the Kletis duchal family.

But something about the entire affair bothered Evander.

"It’s odd, though."

Kletis glanced toward him.

"Why does it feel like they’re in a hurry?"

"What do you mean?"

"From what you just told me, they announced the betrothal extremely quickly, without even bothering with an initial, less formal engagement."

Evander’s brows furrowed.

"I was already suspicious that something was going on between them during their time at the academy. But at the time, it seemed more like Celeste had simply taken an interest in a talented underclassman."

He paused.

"And now this."

His expression became increasingly thoughtful.

"Something seems... off. What are the chances that they caught wind of your plans?"

Lord Kletis suddenly scoffed.

"Close to nothing. We have not given them any reason to suspect us at all. I think you’re just coping, son."

Evander’s eyebrow twitched.

Kletis shook his head with an expression of profound disappointment.

"Your woman was stolen from you, and now you’re sitting here trying to convince yourself there’s some deeper conspiracy behind it."

"Father..."

"At this point, I don’t even know if I should call you my son anymore."

Evander’s expression turned grim.

He had genuinely thought, for perhaps the first time in his life, that this insufferable old man was finally taking him seriously.

Apparently, he had been mistaken.

’I should have known better.’

"You seem rather unconcerned, though."

Evander studied his father carefully.

"What about your plans? Have they suddenly changed now that your link into Dreadmoor Hollow has been cut?"

Kletis laughed.

"What’s done is done. While you may be right that something else is at play, I have already considered that. And that is why you don’t hang all your plans on a single plan, dear son." He smiled knowingly.

Evander let out a quiet breath.

"So we have a Plan B?"

"Correct!" Kletis’ grin turned wolfish. "Actually, we have several."

Evander raised a brow.

"Several?"

"Did you really think I’d spend years preparing for something this important and then leave myself with only one route to success?"

"Considering how often you improvise, yes."

Kletis’ smile twitched.

"You wound me, son! Either way, there’s no need for your useless self to worry about this matter anymore."

Kletis waved a dismissive hand.

"You can focus entirely on your training from now on. And while you’re at it, perhaps you should actually find yourself another capable woman, seeing as you somehow managed to fumble the one I found for you. Many of your peers have already begun to marry, and you are not getting any younger; neither am I."

Evander opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, but he immediately stopped himself when he realised that he had absolutely nothing to say in his defence.

No matter how irritating his father’s words were, he couldn’t exactly argue with the fact that he had indeed fumbled Celeste.

He clicked his tongue and decided to change the subject.

"Actually, there was another reason I came here."

Kletis raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Evander straightened his back, standing proudly.

"I broke through."

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