Ajax was oddly surprised at the interaction he had with the two princesses. While he had known that the royal family had chosen to try and have a group of children around the same decade as a way to keep them connected as siblings he hadn’t known their exact birthdays. The young princess should thank his grandparents a lot more than they did him as that was the push that made him reveal his trick.
Once he finally arrived back home Ajax was treated with a number of different sigils that his family was gathered around. His father had taken the opportunity very seriously and had made a few very detailed pieces that would work as a sigil.
The first one was also one he sadly had to remove from the running simply due the fact that it focused heavily on his bees. As much as he decided to share a few of his secrets he wasn’t prepared to make that one public until his family all had a chance to try and get a trailblazing skill of their own. Not to mention that a sigil showing the bee would work much better for his sister’s company seeing as honey was going to be their exclusive commodity.
The second sigil was decorated with lots of weapons and magic. Ajax could clearly make out fire, ice and lightning alongside a hammer, shield, axe and bow. The sigil even included the pawprint of a shadow cat. This was a choice he found himself agreeing with, it did represent his versatility. The small bag of coin and anvil on either side represent as well as the presence of Fluffys paw representing the rest of his family.
The third sigil was one that was a little bittersweet to him. It showed an edited version of their old house back in the nameless village near Lessis. The fields were bigger and Fluffy could be more clearly seen in the shade of a tree, along with the smithy and all of his weapons prepared around his training spot.
Both of the sigils did a great job of representing what he wanted his house to develop into, a self-sufficient power that could stand up for itself. In the end what cinched in for him however was the more varied focus of the second sigil. The second sigil was too war-themed, and Ajax didn’t want to make it seem like he was planning to make a try for the Steelblade title. The third sigil however would actually land him outside of the sphere of influence from all three Archdukes. This neutrality was what decided it for him.
“Aren’t you going yet?” His sister, Alana and even his mother were looking at him once the decision was reached. Their days hadn’t been easy and they all knew once he was granted a title and a plot of land in the capital all hostilities would end overnight, at least for a time.
“I was thinking of going tomorrow.” Ajax said honestly, he was still slightly tired from his time in the dungeon.
“Nonsense,” Judy pushed him towards the bathroom to wash up. “We even have a proper suit all ready for you.”
Despite the suit fitting him like a glove Ajax couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable in it. It wasn’t anything to do with feel of the clothes but rather with just how attention grabbing they were. His original start as a hunter had seen him progress with stealth being a very important factor in his outfit. As such Ajax much preferred black outfits along with gray or even green patches. The golden accents on the silver clothes made him think more of knights or priests, the centers of attention and very much not his style.
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“Now you definitely look the part of a noble.” Alana said as she straightened out his collar, "though you will need to fix your expression from one of discomfort to one of joy when you go before the king.”
With that Ajax picked up the sigil and made his way towards the royal palace, he seriously hoped showing up unannounced wouldn’t be an issue even if he had been given an open invitation to come and claim his title.
Unlike the last time he was here the guards visibly straightened up once he approached them.
“What can I help you, milord.” one of them asked.
“I have an open invitation from the king.” Ajax said as he presented the parchment Evelyn had given him.
“Right this way.” the guard who read the scroll said as he led Ajax into the castle.
As they were walking towards the castle two more guards moved towards them from inside. One walked right past them after a small bow towards Ajax and moved to take the spot of the guard guiding him while the second took a look at the scrolled and dashed away in a dignified manner.
“The king will be informed of your presence momentarily, you are invited to wait for him.” Ajax figured he would now be led through to a waiting room, one much grander than he had seen back in Luna’s house but a variation nonetheless.
“Hold on a moment.” A voice came from one of the side corridors as Ajax was being led through the palace.
Ajax turned to the side to see an entire unit of people that possessed Auras he could clearly sense approach him. While he didn’t know who they were specifically he knew of them, one of the king’s squads, much like the one Evelyn led, all of them had to be in mid hundreds in terms of level and extremely dangerous. Definitely not people he should anger if he could avoid it. Official source ıs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
“Lady Quinn.” the guard guiding Ajax sprung to attention.
While Ajax was confused at this interaction since they had passed a few other people without any of them giving him more than a glancing look. His confusion also seemed to be shared by the rest of the squad beside Quinn.
“What is it, Quinn?” The leader of the squad asked.
“I thought I recognised him.” Quinn said triumphantly. “Why is he here?”
Quinn addressed the guard that was leading him despite this being considered quite rude. Something that seemed to strike an odd scene with the rest of the squad.
“Quinn, you should be more respectful, at least in the royal palace.” Her squad leader Patrick got out through gritted teeth.
“He’s here to receive a noble title.” The guard dutifully provided.
“Hmm.” She nodded with a touch of respect towards Ajax at that answer before turning back towards Patrick. “Seems like you were right after all.”
“Quinn, how many times do I have to tell you, not all of us have your point investment into the mind stat, where do we know him from?” he asked.
Ajax was also very confused about this turn of events since he definitely had no memory of meeting this Quinn, considering her level of strength he hoped his doppelganger hadn’t pissed her off.
“Five… no six years ago.” Quinn said as she rolled her eyes. “Back in that backwater when we were hunting that vampire, he’s the kid whose arm I fixed.”
The explanation did a lot to relax Ajax, now he knew why he didn’t remember her. He had been unconscious when she patched him up and she had left long before he woke up. This revelation also told him exactly which squad they were, the Eighth.
“AHHHH” a pained groan resounded through one of the open windows putting Ajax on edge once more.
“Why does Evelyn not learn she just can’t beat him.” Quinn said with a shake of the head, despite her flippant words however her expression showed concern and a little sadness.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” One of her squadmates said. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Evelyn.”
Ajax was caught off guard by the comment though he felt happy for Evelyn. Balthazar had told him how impatient she was and this proved that the two weeks they had taken off the curse research had pushed her to challenge her fellow squad commander early.
“Come on, let's go see.” The rest of the squad already moved, with their stats however even the proper dignified walk looked like a sped up tape of someone walking as they made their way towards the training field.
“Congratulations on your title kid.” Patrick said before he followed his squad. “I’m glad we got to you in time back then.”
Ajax was brought back into the present by the guard. “Right this way sir, the king will be with you shortly, sadly you aren’t allowed access in the training yard.”
The dejected tone let Ajax know that he wasn’t the only one not enthused on not being able to go see the fight.