Galaxy's First Ruler

"… Yes."

Aldrich paused but admitted positively to Amalia's question.

Aldrich knew Dreamer would come looking for House Venomous Rose soon. Many had seen Trifon in Death Separation, and even if there wasn't a leak from his side, there was one more House involved in this. A House, whose Viscounts didn't leave out of his Dungeon.

It was the House Firebird.

And the issue was, they had hired just too many Dreamers. It was no wonder to Aldrich, someone must have seen or mentioned Darkling or the Darkness Seeking Compass among them. And after not getting their Viscounts and compass back, maybe House Firebird itself had released this news to the public.

Trifon and Drago didn't know the full extent of Aldrich's reasoning behind claiming Trifon's bastard. But one of the reasons was to give a false impression to people, who thought themselves above others in cunning, that he had come from Death Separation.

It didn't matter to him what Amalia would have asked. Aldrich had already thought to go along and give answers that pleased this woman. As soon as he gave a yes, a satisfying smile came upon her face. It was as if there were doubts in Amalia's heart that finally she finally got to confirm.

Amalia approached Aldrich like a snake slithering towards its prey and looked into his eyes.

"Say… Have you ever heard of Darklings?"

'I knew it.'

Sigh!

Aldrich thought to himself, and let out a sigh.

The only issue was that Aldrich didn't think a Dreamer of her rank would come here seeking him directly. He briefly sent his gaze to the top of her head and saw the secret hidden there which only he could see in the Galaxy.

[…

Record of Maya

Status: Happy, Aroused

…

Rank: Marquess

…

…]

There was no mention of Seal anywhere on her Record. At a glance, Aldrich could tell this was a true Marchioness in her full majestic authority. No matter what means Aldrich had, what mastery of Law he had, if she wished, Aldrich would undeniably die.

'Huh! No wonder both Marquess are being fooled by her. And that poor Marquess Harold. Tch!'

Aldrich scoffed in his mind as he saw Amalia's actual level and her arsenal of Skills. Not letting his present thoughts affect his appearance, Aldrich also stared back and replied.

"Yes, who hasn't? They are creatures of pure Darkness taking form in reality. In this entire Galaxy, only Darklings are beings who can provide an unlimited amount of Darkness attributed Mana to a Dreamer."

Amalia's eyes lit up as Aldrich kept speaking about them. She nodded at the end of his sentence and added.

"You are right. But that's not their limit. Few know the true extent of what a Darkling is capable of. This is also related to the reason for them to go extinct in the last Galactic War."

Aldrich narrowed his eyes at this out-pour of information. He knew that before the last Galactic War, these Darklings could be found in the possession of the Kingdom of Life-Authority to a great extent. But he didn't exactly know the reason for their extinction.

Aldrich feigned ignorance and shook his head.

"My lady, I am not sure where this is leading."

"Hehe!.." Amalia giggled and abruptly changed the topic as she continued, "Viscount Aldrich, do you know the full extent of your House's background? Do you know it was once a mighty House with a Duke as its Head? Do you know why it fell from that mighty status to… this?"

At the end of her questioning tone, Amalia pointed to the Manor in the distance. But Aldrich knew she was gesturing at the entire planet. And though the planet was unimaginably big, in front of the status of a Duke, its size and majesty were not even worth looking at.

"I only know what I was told by my father, Miss Amalia…"

Aldrich casually and helplessly replied to all questions in one line. He was about to say more, but Amalia suddenly smiled and cut him off.

"Don't you want to reclaim this lost status, Viscount Aldrich Goranov?"

"Of course! I want…"

But Amalia again cut Aldrich off and called out.

"WE can help you with that. WE can help you clear roadblocks that seem unpassable to even Earl Drago, your grandfather. WE can help you get rid of this bastard's status once and for all. And WE can make you much more than a wielder of Ancient Relic."

As she kept speaking, Amalia's red eyes elongated, and became slits like that of a snake. Her usage of 'WE' wasn't a simple capitalization of letters. Aldrich sensed a deep mastery of Law suffused in it. This 'WE' was the language of Laws. But somehow it didn't make Aldrich bleed or wreathe in pain. It didn't make his Black Veil involuntarily try to come out.

The only thing it did was to make him trust and follow Amalia with all his heart, all his mind, and all his thoughts.

All the Darkness within Aldrich riled up in defiance. The three leaves of the Dark Sapling fluttered, and the Pillar of Footprints behind him gave out a secret golden glow through the eyes of the Bull.

'No wonder even Marquess Harold thinks she is her daughter. Sigh!'

Aldrich thought to himself, but outwardly he presented a captivated face. His pupils dilated and the emotions of pride and ego came to his face as he lifted his chin and looked at the stars.

Aldrich snapped his head in Amalia's direction and asked absentmindedly.

"Who's 'WE'?"

Amalia gently smiled and approached Aldrich. Standing on her toes, she reached up to his lips. A scent of jasmine overtook Aldrich's senses even when he was surrounded by roses. Her breath was warm and wet. But the most dangerous was the black mist that came out of her mouth and entered Aldrich.

And as Aldrich's body stiffened, Amalia's thin lips pressed on Aldrich's mouth.

This simple touch was enough to suck out the soul of any being under the Rank of Duke. Amalia parted from Aldrich and with a sultry and proud voice finally answered.

"WE are the Hallowed Phantoms."