unexpected decision

"It's not the end of the world, you know"

Arthur stated as he watched the man sitting across him on the carriage exude the Aura of a man that had given up on life, his head was hung low, his shoulders slumped and he sat with his legs open, just by his sitting position one could tell that Brain was not happy.

"It is for me"

He answered, his voice completely void of any confidence that he had hours ago. Arthur could not help being reminded of his life back on earth, depression was a bitch and unfortunately for Brain Arthur was no therapist or a motivational speaker.

"The world is bigger than you know, there's always someone better"

He said trying to at least make the man feel less depressed, although he felt unqualified to do so as in this case, he was that someone better.

"Are you trying to encourage me?"

"Is it working?"

"no"

"what I'm getting at Brain is that just because there's always someone better doesn't mean a loss should discourage you, it must feel like you wasted your time but trust me you didn't you just need to train more and you too can be that someone better"

Arthur said he did not actually believe that his words will do much for Brain, especially coming from him, a person who has no right to talk about hard work.

"Anyway we're here, from today onwards you'll be working for me, think of it as a fresh start, train more then challenge me again some time later"

Arthur said as much as he tapped Brain in the shoulder signalling him that it was time to get off the carriage.

Exiting the Carriage he was greeted by the sight of Renner, Lakyus and Edstrom who wore a maid outfit. Renner smiled at him and caused him to smile too, he took notice of Slight change in Lakyus's facial expression before she put on a neutral smile, deciding to ignore it he spoke.

"I'm back and I've brought the man who nearly bested Gazeff, Brain Unglaus"

Arthur stepped aside and let the Two see the man, who did nothing to make himself look a bit presentable, he merely stepped off the carriage and greeted Renner in the most monotone voice before stepping to Arthur side, his behaviour caused the two women to be puzzled.

"Why is he depressed??"

Lakyus asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

"he's fine, he just needs to sleep for a bit"

He lied, he felt that it would not be good for Brain's self image if he told them he's depressed because he lost a duel.

Acknowledging Arthur's lie the four then walked towards the castle as Renner began to inform Arthur of what happened while he was out. Brain and Edstrom walking behind them.

as they walked Lakyus stopped and spoke.

"Apologies princess Renner and Arthur, I had a quest with my team today so I'll be leaving"

"Oh. I suppose there isn't anything to discuss so it's fine, see tomorrow then?"

"It actually might be a few days before we return from the quest, I Apologies for that"

"I suppose I got used to seeing you often, alright, see you later then"

Renner bid farewell and Lakyus turned around and left, however both Arthur and Renner could not help but feel that something was wrong although Renner had a clue to what it might be and she could decide whether that was a good thing or not.

While this was happening, within the throne room, a few nobles were gathered, including all the members of the royal family excluding Renner,under normal circumstances, the should be no Royal family member that is excludes from such meetings however the king has to make an exception, Besides that the meeting wasn't actually an official meeting and only the relevant and important nobles were present.

"This isn't an official meeting, however we must discuss the news we received yesterday, I'm sure you all have heard them by now"

The king addressed and received nods from all the people In the room, Renner wasted no time In divulging the news of Arthur capturing members of six arms, not only that but she also alluded to the idea of Arthur having killed at least one six arms member and the two others ran.

"What is our next move, your highness? Arthur has proven to be an incredibly Valuable asset, first the undead situation in E-Rantel, then he defeated the giant basilisk and now this. This is the first time In history we've managed to deal such a blow to eight fingers"

Marquis Raevan stated his original goal in backing One of the Princes was because He wished to assume the title of Duke, which would put him in a straight line to the throne; that was still the goal however now there's a possibility that he may have backed the wrong horse and Renner might take the throne, if Arthur continues to achieve more under her then becoming queen is practically guaranteed.

it's worth noting that there's no rule or law that state no woman can rule the kingdom it's just that, a prince is favoured more than a princess and the throne always goes to the first born son provided there's no competition even if there is the odds are in favour of the first born however there's nothing saying a princess can't sit on The throne it's just that traditionally it's been a prince that does so and It's hard to break tradition.

"That is what this impromptu meeting is for Marquis to discuss our next move, it would be A loss If we let Arthur slop through our fingers, does anyone have any suggestions?"

"I have one your Majesty"

Margrave Urovana, spoke up. it was clear to everyone that Renner planned to use Arthur as way to garner favour and solidify her claim over the throne, any accomplishment done by Arthur will be attributed to her, Arthur may not be officially her knight but he's still under her as such his previous acts are taken as her accomplishments as it is assumed that he was acting under her command.

"Well then please share with us Margrave"

Everyone already had an inkling of what the Margrave had to say. It was fairly obvious that the next step to ensuring Arthur's support of the kingdom was to knight him, that is what everyone was thinking.

"why not give Arthur the title of Baron"

Raevan was the first to react as his eyes bulged to the size of saucers, he was then followed by Zanac who had a similar reaction.

"isn't that a bit too much, regardless of his accomplishments a noble title is far too much a reward"

Marquis Bulloupe stated, to everyone it seemed like a reasonable objection however Bulloupe would much rather avoid having a monster like that in the noble court, being in the same room as Arthur was something akin to a nightmare.

It seemed everyone had the same thought, as they believed that a noble title was too much, however Marquis Raeven was able to understand what Margrave Urovana was getting at.

By completely bypassing the knight status completely and making Arthur a noble they're successful be able to separate Arthur's accomplishments from Renner and thus halting her progress towards the throne, of course the two can work together however they would be separate entities working together rather than one.

A knight acts according to the orders of their lord as such anything they do they did because their lord instructed them so, if Gazeff were to slay a dragon then that would be attributed as an accomplishment of the king rather than Gazeff, Gazeff will be praised for the kill but it was the king who ordered it and this no dragon would be killed without that order.

"mhm Father, I believe Margrave Urovana is correct. Arthur is far too valuable, plus I have no doubt that Arthur will accomplish greater things in the coming war with Baharuth, so why no give him the nobles title in advance"

Zanac supported the idea, stripping Renner of the power she was confident and essentially holding back her advancement to the throne was something he wanted, Zanac already had a slew of material against Barbro that would be useful when the time comes but Renner was a sheltered princess with hardly a speck of dirt to use against.

He hadn't been worried about her since she wasn't going for the throne before but the moment she did it seemed like she'd be unstoppable but the Matter of stopping her was to simply strip her of her knight. It was almost comical how simple it was.

"indeed prince Zanac speaks the truth"

"Indeed"

"I concur"

Murmurs could be heard as the various nobles in the room seemed to agree with Zanac, Barbro to a glance at Bulloupe who shook his head, The Marquis wanted to protest but with Zanac's approval that means Marquis Raeven approves at well and he seems to be the only one against the idea so it was futile to protest any further.

"It seems we're at an agreement. Tomorrow, we'll announce this news publicly and hold a ceremony and send a servant to let Sir Arthur be informed of this. Meeting adjourned"

The king informed, this was not an official meeting however such decisions could be made if the relevant parties agree unanimously.

The meeting was over, and the nobles exited the throne room. Zanac could not help but smile as he watched everyone.

"This was quite the productive meeting. Wasn't it? Father"

"indeed, hopefully Sir Arthur accepts a noble title, and we will have powerful force permanently tied to our kingdom"

The king agreed, the king was grateful that such a boon that is Arthur had landed on his kingdom and he hoped that the kingdom would continue to prosper with the addition of Arthur to its nobles ranks. Now, the only issue that was left was convincing his daughter to marry.

.....

A/N: it seems like things won't be going as Renner wanted and she might lose the power she has.

Thoughts on the chapter? Anything out of place or anything that seemed rushed? Please comment and tell me.

Also check out "fanfic ideas by your truly" and say which idea you'd like for me to serialize.