"A private inquisitor," Atheline said studying the servant.

She nodded. She seemed to have suddenly gained courage and met his gaze.

"Yes your highness, I do apologise for being presumptuous and disturbing your rest before the competition. I’m here to take the list of competitors you would be betting on."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes your highness, I am assigned to take the bets from the higher nobility. The bets are different between commoners and lower nobility since they also differ significantly in classes," the servant explained, her gaze shifting between the four of them but her main focus was clearly Atheline.

"Oh... So even the higher nobility are separated from the betting. I would have expected it to just be commoners and nobility as a whole but I guess it does make sense ."

"That is correct, your highness."

Atheline was silent for a moment as he thought about this.

"Can you expound on it, i would like to learn how it operates."

The servant swallowed but before she could answer, Simion raised his hand silencing her.

He wanted to be the one to tell him, to create a better rapport between them. He had genuinely come to like Atheline but he still had a long way to go on Atheline’s side. The man didn’t trust easily.

Aside from this, it was a well-known fact that high elves rarely gamble. A thing for the poor and uncouth, that’s what they say. So all three elves looking at him didn’t fully understand the rules of the betting.

"As she’s said earlier, there is a big difference between the higher and lower classes in terms of the coins they put down during betting, " Simion explained.

He shifted slightly in his seat, leaning back to make himself more comfortable.

"The highest amount a commoner could bid is six gold coins. That is enough to feed a family of four for a whole month. If they pass that threshold it would be catastrophic. The lower nobility, the highest amount they could bid would be six thousand gold."

All of the high elves raised their eyebrows in surprise at the enormous gap between the commoners and the nobility.

"If that is the lower nobility limit then high?" Helther asked, resonating with the other two.

"The higher rank nobility, has a larger limit. A minimum of twenty-five thousand gold coins is required if you want to bid."

"Oh...Wow."

Those were the only words that left them. The amount might not be a lot for them but it seems the kingdom was determined to milk as many coins from its visitors as possible.

’Lily wouldn’t do something pointless for nothing.’

Simion rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling.

"The rules are simple your highness. If you lose, all the money is gone, and if you win it’s doubled."

Atheline didn’t know how to even start. Was he supposed to bet on himself or would it come off as narcissistic? Should he choose from another participant but that would look like he didn’t have faith in himself since he was determined to win.

"So who would you be betting on, your highness?" Simion asked but the laughter in his tone couldn’t be hidden.

Atheline awkwardly chuckled.

"Here is a list your highness, you can pick one," the servant passed the paper to him then to the others.

"Thank you, I’ll call you in a few minutes when we’ve come to a decision."

She nodded and walked away.

.

.

. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"He sure is going to gain a lot of influence after this competition. Don’t you think so, Councillor?" The man asked and the councilor nodded, "Yes, protector."

"Your son will be joining the competition right?" The man asked.

The councilor shifted slightly. "Yes, I’ve instructed him to be a disruptor but it seems the noble elder will be taking the crown’s side. My offer for him to join us has been rejected."

The man chuckled, his eyes narrowing. His gaze shifted to Atheline and his group who were preparing for the horse race.

"You mustn’t worry too much, the horse race is nothing but a game for children, and we will wait for the hunting competition. Call your son and make sure he befriends him, I want him to be part of his party," he said, then sighed right after," It’s such a shame though."

"Why is that protector?"

"If only he wasn’t holding hands with death, he would have been a great asset to the kingdom with his talent, but we can still force connections with those blue bloods through lord Dusk’s son."

"As you said protector, it is our father’s instruction that we kill him," the council said, referring to the secret meeting that had been held inside the lower ring under the witness of Lilith’s brother’s ashes they had managed to salvage.

"I know. That is why it’s such a waste to kill him but we cannot defy our father’s orders. His words are greater than mine."

The councillor wasn’t able to respond to that; instead, he kept silent and turned to look at the competitors.

A few moments later the competition would begin.

"So who are you betting on?" The protector asked.

The councilor glanced around, reluctance on his face. He couldn’t exactly choose one since most of them were good and he couldn’t bring himself to tell the man.

"Uum.."

"You cannot decide, it’s understandable with all the competitors present being extremely good."

"I apologise, protector."

The councilor shifted his gaze slightly, finding his son who was also part of the race. His horse was two horses left of Atheline, situated in a way that he could reach him as fast as he waited.

They communicated through signals familiar only to them. The killing intent that he had been emitting was reducing in the process.

The protector watched on, also understanding the instructions.

A little further seated next to the noble elder, Zelpher noticed these bizarre interactions and the shift of the son’s eyes to Atheline.

He slightly frowned but the interaction stopped as though sensing his gaze. Their eyes met and the councilor smiled back at him.

Zelpher shook his head and turned to the race.