The door opened.

The trio, along with the red masked man entered.

“Greetings.” The young man knelt on one knee, his gaze fixed on the floor.

Adrian, Irene and Cassidy kept standing. Irene had the same face as usual while Cassidy was still not able to get over the shock she had faced.

Adrian’s eyes were fixed on the fifth person on the room.

Behind the extravagant desk and sitting on the throne like chair was a burly old man. The nerves of his arms protruded out through his bare skin. His hair was greying and the aura he gave off was menacing.

Anyone who would look into his eyes would have the urge to bow. But alas, his sovereign’s aura was ineffective on the newcomer trio.

Irene was an inborn, and a princess. Moreover, she had frozen her mind. She remained utterly nonchalant before his gaze.

Cassidy was a princess of the strongest nation in the continent. Her family members had more sovereign’s aura than the one before her.

As for Adrian, he was the Royal Advisor of Nemphis- one of the most powerful men in all of the Confederation and hands down, the most respected official in the whole organisation. His Sovereign’s aura was not a bit weaker than one of the two remaining pioneers of the Rebellion. If anything, his was even more refined. And adding his demonic aura, he could even stand tall before the Emperor, let alone the man before him.

The grey haired man raised his brows for a moment before settling them down. “I knew the ones coming would be special.” His voice was stern and authoritative. “But I never imagined that he would be able to find three such gems among the commoners.” He gestured at the sit opposite him. “Sit down.”

Irene marched forth and sat on the comfy chair. Adrian stood to her right, a couple of steps behind. Cassidy took position on her left, a step even behind Adrian.

The man’s eyes darted through the trio before landing on the ‘half-faced’ youth.

He knitted his brows. “Your face- it looks familiar.”

Adrian looked right into the deep eyes of the man. “Which side?”

The man kept staring at the youth’s face for a few more seconds before turning to Cassidy. His eyes noticed the scars that could be seen through the two holes on the mask. Finally, he fixed his sight on the leader- Irene.

“‘Lady Irene’- that’s the only intel we have about you, and the fact that you are highly capable- as witnessed by Mister Denok.” He tapped his finger on an open envelope on the desk. “No matter how much I trust Eugene, I cannot give a position as high as the one you requested to a complete outsider. After all, we are an organisation of thousands.”

“I won’t join if it’s not worthwhile.” Irene said with her ever-expressionless tone.

“But I am not saying it’s not possible. It’s just that nobody wants a complete newbie to overtake them.”

“So, I only have to do something that would be impossible for everyone else.”

“You don’t have to go that far,” he said, “but that would undoubtedly do the trick. Just don’t go overboard. We are in the midst of negotiations with the Imperial family and the nobility.”

“Negotiations?” Adrian chimed in with a snort. “Since when had the Rebellion gone so soft?”

The man frowned at the youth interruption, but when he noticed the anger hidden in the youth’s eyes and the scars that seemed to bleed open- he relaxed.

“We can never forgive them.” He sighed. “But the land belongs to all of us. I am just trying my best to make it that our children do not have to face the predicaments we had to go through.”

Adrian ‘composed’ himself. “I don’t care what you do. But there’s one family that need to pay a price.”

“As long as you have solid evidence that they have wronged you, I can take care of it.”

Adrian kept staring into the man’s eyes.

Irene broke the silence. “We’ll take our leave. We will come back when you will have no other choice but to give me the post.” She stood up and began to leave.

The man looked at the red masked youth who was still on his knee. “Show them to their room. There should not be any sort of chinks in the hospitality.”

The man bowed before standing up. He was just about to grab the door knob when he suddenly took a step back. The door opened.

A beautiful young girl, who did not look any older than eighteen stepped in. Her hair was black and her eyes were hazel. She had a brimming smile on her face as she ignored everyone and pranced to the middle aged man. “Grandpaaaa!”

The man stood up and hugged the young lady. “Tinaaa!” For the first time, a smile formed on his face.

“Who are they? The lady is so prettyyy!” Her eyes dazzled as she stared at Irene.

“They will be our new comrades, dear.”

“Ooooh!” She turned to Adrian. “Mister, does it hurt?”

“This?” Adrian pointed to the scarred half of his face. The charm in his voice hiked as he said, “It was hurting… until I saw you that is.”

The growing lady’s face was tinted red while the man glared at him.

The masked man gave her a long glance before leaving the room. The trio followed.

“Is she also a member?” Irene asked as she walked.

“Of course!” The man declared with a smug smile. “She is the heart of our organisation. She is a genius in the field of medical magic. She had treated hundreds of injured and ill individuals before without taking a single penny in return. Many youths joined the Rebellion just to be able to protect her. And even to the seniors, she is the most precious part of our group- our next leader.

“All thanks to Ervil. He sent such an angel to this world, and to us- when we needed her the most.”

Adrian’s lips curled to a smile.

“All thanks to Ervil indeed. He sent such an angel to ‘us’- when ‘we’ needed her the most.”