Galaxy's First Ruler

Jaws dropped all around, and the brief silence that ensued Aldrich's retort was choking the breath out of almost all the Dreamers.

There was a slight smirk on Trifon's face, and just a few steps ahead, Drago was letting out an exaggerated smile. But none had the time and presence of mind to catch the pair of father and son. All were looking at Aldrich as if seeing a dead man standing in front of Death itself.

When the shock retreated out of the Dreamers' minds, an uproar originated among them. Three swords materialized in the hands of Vivi, Sonja, and Enok, and they lunged at Aldrich. Even the fourth girl took a step forward slightly, but it lacked the intensity of other threes.

Aldrich, seeing the powerful bursts of Mana coming towards him, didn't move. Instead, an evil smile came upon his face which, and from the characteristics of his mask, this smile could be seen by all the Dreamers near or far.

Humph!

Thump!!!

The Viscounts were about to take a swing at Aldrich when Earl Frida harrumphed and all three of them fell face down on the ground. Not caring for their shivering arms and legs, Frida took a step towards Aldrich and looked at his white eyes.

She poked Aldrich's black mask with her long blue nails and then licked it with her cherry-red tongue.

"Hehe! Tasty… Bastard or not, a Duke's blood sure courses through your veins. Who else can have such guts to stand in front of me and utter a word of defiance? I... will forgive you this one time."

The evil smile on Aldrich's face didn't go away, even after seeing Frida winking at him at the end of the sentence. Earl Drago came running towards them now that Frida had dropped the issue of Aldrich's retort.

"For the mistake of children, the elders of a house are as much responsible as them. This is my grandson, Viscount Aldrich. He comes from a very rough background. Poor child is unaware of many things related to Nobles."

It wasn't hard to know the Rank of low-level Dreamers by higher Ranked ones. Every Dreamer's body had a set amount of Mana, also countable as MP. Higher Ranked Dreamers could sense this Mana's amount, giving them a rough estimate of a Dreamer's Rank. And Aldrich had already let Drago and Trifon know about him Ranking up. It didn't come as a surprise to them, as in their mind, Ancestor Aldrich was just regaining his lost Rank.

Earl Frida shook her head, gesturing she didn't mind Aldrich's behavior. But the three Viscounts standing up behind her weren't that quick to let go of things. As all of them followed Frida, Enok turned around and sent a disgusted look at Aldrich.

"Scum… And a Bastard… What a combination!"

If it was any other time, Earl Frida's presence would have been enough to carry on with the ceremony. But times had changed, along with Drago's Rank. Without the presence of Marquess, none dared to take a step into the Grand Hall. Even the few Counts that had stayed for the ceremony were now coming out from their respective chambers one by one.

The 3rd Quarter, ruled by the Kingdom of Swordless, was divided into 99 sectors. Each sector had many low to high numbers of solar-system clusters, overseen by their respective Earls. One of these Earls was Earl Frida. The cluster under her command was part of the 10th sector.

All Marquises were represented by the number of their sectors. And such was also the case for the Head of the Ancient House, House Star Dust.

The sky had gone completely dark, and the shine from the arched moon had whitened the red roses around the manor. The stars twinkled here and there, but a sudden starry river overtook all the brightness of the world in the next moment. All Dreamers lifted their heads and awed at the splendid display of might and status.

The starry river churned in the night sky and then, with no warning, dropped like a waterfall.

No one could hold oneself from squinting as the sparkling lights flashed in their eyes. When the blessing of sight returned to their eyes, all saw a 10-year-old boy holding the hand of a red-eyed female. The boy had a ponytail, and his eyes were like two yellow suns that seemed to sparkle in the night's background. One could see his bare chest through the loose white shirt, and the beauty of his face was like a sword cleaned just after a massacre.

This seemingly 10-year-old boy was the Head of House Star Dust, Marquess Harold Sindri. Also famously known as the 10th Sword of The Impenetrable Shield.

But again, Aldrich was staring at the Stats over the head of the smiling beauty by his side. Her eyes, which resembled a peacock, kept moving from one side to another.

Sigh!

Aldrich let out a sigh in his mind and muttered under his breath.

"Trouble is brewing behind the curtains…"

As the Marquess took a step forward, all Dreamers bowed in his direction.

"We greet Marquess Harold!"

"We…"

The sentence kept echoing in the Manor's surrounding from one side to the other, and Harold Sindri seemed to savor every flavor of this sound.

"Haha! Kid Drago, I told your father that one day you will make him proud. Another Earl to serve His Majesty, Impressive!!!"

Earl Drago and Earl Frida stepped out of the masses and greeted the Marquess. Harold gestured for the female to come forward and introduced her to the two Earls.

"May I present the star of my eyes, Viscount Amalia. It's also her first time coming out of the main-planet on official business."

The Earls didn't need to bow to this Viscount Amalia, but the status of Marquess' daughter outranked even their meager RECORD given Ranks. As Drago and Frida gave her bow, Amalia also returned the gesture politely.

But then suddenly her eyes snapped in a particular direction behind the two Earls. A white-haired masked man was standing there calmly as if nothing could affect his posture, and no Rank or Status could make him bend his spine.

This sudden movement of Amalia's head didn't go unnoticed by many. And the most outrageous at this was Enok. He ran towards Amalia, and giving a bow to Marquess, he extended his hand for her to hold on.

"My Lady, I am Viscount Enok, third grandnephew of Earl Frida from my mother's side. And that person…"

Enok pointed at Aldrich and shouted for all to hear.

"… That person is the Bastard of House Venomous Rose."