...

After the servant left, Zoe looked at the door in front of her in annoyance as she let out a deep sigh.

Taking a step forward, Zoe slowly opened the door.

Immediately all voices were silenced to observe the new arrival.

Zoe watched each of the Nobles who looked at her with different gazes for a moment before bowing gracefully. "Good evening, esteemed companions in white. Zoe Flumin, Head of House Flumin reporting for the meeting."

The other Nobles rose from their chairs giving a similar greeting to Zoe as a sign of respect.

Once the greetings were over they each sat back in their seats as they resumed their conversations. Zoe looked around the room for a moment -she realized there were only four of the seven members present- before heading to her own seat which was marked with her House crest.

The room was completely white decorated with various designs on the walls that gave it an air of elegance and power. Ironically, the table in the middle was a black color with a white border, in the center of the table could be seen the symbol of the Eiger Kingdom flag, a white diamond along with four angelic wings around it, the chairs were similarly black with white decorations on the edges and the symbols of each House on them.

"Good evening Zoe, it is unusual for you to be so late for a meeting did you suffer some sort of mishap on your way here?" spoke an old but warm voice from across the table.

Zoe turned her head towards the source of the voice which came from an old man dressed in red and white clothes, you could see at a glance that age was catching up with him by the various wrinkles on his face and the gray hair invading his dark crimson hair along with his grayish beard.

The old man was none other than Hans Murem, Head of House Murem and Former Ruler of Falconett City, one of the 7 Noble members of the 'White Table' and the 'Organizer' of it.

He is known for his monopolistic company called 'Vale' which was in charge of producing and processing minerals such as Iron, Copper, Gold, etc.

He was recently replaced by his son to rule Falconett City.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, it's embarrassing to admit but the sudden meeting caught me completely off guard" Zoe replied with a smile as she dispelled her worries. "Speaking of which, do you know the reason for the urgency of this meeting?"

"No, no one has been informed about His Majesty's sudden summoning, I myself do not know the reason behind His Majesty's sudden summoning even if I am the 'Organizer' of it" Hans spoke while closing his eyes and crossing his arms in a thoughtful pose. "You were lucky that I was in the capital visiting my grandson."

"Quite lucky indeed" Zoe commented as she relaxed slightly in her seat, although it may not seem like it Hans was the one directing the mood the whole room, seeing that the old man seemed unconcerned despite His Majesty's urgency made Zoe think that it wasn't as serious as she originally thought. "I hope your grandson succeeds at the Academy."

"I have faith in the boy" Hans thanked as he widened his eyes with a faraway look and a gentle smile. "Though I worry about his temperament, he can be a bit rude to other Nobles."

Zoe hid a smile at Hans' serene attitude, he almost seemed to be more of a doting grandfather than one of the most successful Nobles in recent times.

"Hans, I didn't come here to talk about children or the Academy" Interrupted a Noble with grey hair and blue locks as he pounded the table with his fist, his green eyes which were hidden behind glasses looked at Hans with annoyance. "Unlike others I have more important things to attend to than a simple meeting between Nobles, what was Your Majesty thinking?"

This was Michael Brix, Head of House Brix. A House which was known for its Scholars and being the creator of the Magical Court. Unfortunately, in recent years they have not been able to make progress with their research, which has caused people to stop buying their products and turn to other Houses, such as Flumin.

It also doesn't help that their experimentation with Humans was "accidentally" discovered last year which caused a great stir in the Noble Community.

That almost caused House Brix to fall into disgrace overnight, but miraculously they managed to stay afloat because of the various favors the House possessed with other Noble Houses although they consequently lost much of their influence, power and respect within the Kingdom.

Zoe could only call the Nobles hypocrites, it was no secret that they all hid their darkest secrets away from the eyes of the public, herself included. She was not a pure hearted saint who had kept her House away from the dark corners of the Kingdom by any stretch of the imagination, but it was disgusting to see the Nobles condemn a House for committing the very sins that the Nobles themselves pointed out.

That said, Zoe still didn't understand why His Majesty and Hans insisted on keeping them within the White Table when the Brix have lost their arms and legs within the Kingdom making them essentially useless.

Although I suppose if His Majesty were to expel them from the White Table it would be the final nail in the Brix's coffin... would that be good or bad for me...?. Zoe thought as she looked at what used to be her very, very old rival in the Magic Market.

Unnoticed a small dark smile appeared on Zoe's face. It would be a total shame for another experiment to be discovered wouldn't it?

"All in good time. We have no control over what His Majesty does or thinks, besides I would be most grateful if you would not speak of my family or any other member's family while we are at the 'Table'..." Hans replied with the same soft smile plastered on his face even while his words were not soft at all, which made Michael's tongue click. "Also, remember to level your tone, you're in His Majesty's castle it would be a shame if we had to cut out your tongue with a Spell."

Michael averted his gaze. "Whatever you say old man."

"*ahem*" Hans coughed into his fist before looking at each of the Table members closely. "I've said this before, but I really don't know the reason for this meeting, we could spend hours and hours theorizing about why but that would be a total waste of our time don't you think?"

"You have a point" Replied the last and youngest present member of the 'White Table', a handsome young man around 27 years old who was dressed in an elegant purple suit with gold decorations, his dark purple hair matching his own eyes which looked at Hans with a gaze reminiscent of a Hyena. "But I too am not thrilled with the "incredible" idea of sitting around waiting for His Majesty."

The handsome young man was none other than Denzel Viel, Head of House Viel, Leader of the Adventurers' Guild, and secretly Leader of the Mercenaries' Guild.

Unlike the other members of the 'White Table', Zoe possessed almost no information on Denzel or his House. All of her attempts to obtain information from the man ended in resounding failure on the part of her spies.

Although Denzel was a relatively new member of the 'White Table', Zoe couldn't shake the feeling of discomfort whenever they spoke to each other. In Zoe's eyes, Denzel was an unknown factor, and therefore, dangerous.

Denzel sent a smile Zoe's way that sent shivers down her spine before looking back at Hans. "Not to sound rude, but I find it disrespectful of His Majesty to keep us waiting, this doesn't seem to be as 'urgent' as the messenger made it sound."

Hans just frowned silently as he looked at Denzel disapprovingly. "Even if I wanted to I can't do anything to summon His Majesty."

Denzel only let out a sigh before turning his smile towards Zoe. "And what do you think, Zoe? Don't you think it's a bit irresponsible of His Majesty to keep his most loyal subjects waiting?"

Being drawn into the discussion suddenly Zoe just looked at him for a moment before speaking slowly. "It is irrelevant how long it takes us to wait for His Majesty, we are his subjects, friends and guardians in times of need, not being able to stand sitting for a few minutes in our chairs would brand us as impatient, and therefore unworthy of being at His Majesty's side."

Suddenly the room seemed a little different, shadows expanded from the corners, the temperature dropped a few degrees and the air itself seemed tense. "And Lord Viel."

Denzel stared into Zoe's cold eyes, as cold as snow and ice but burning hotter than a thousand suns. That look, that precious, terrifying look was piercing him as if he were mere glass.

"Call me by my name again and we'll be in serious trouble" Zoe spoke in a firm, mocking tone, her smile though soft looked like that of a witch about to cast a curse on the world itself. "I wonder what would happen if your little companies stopped receiving our Artifacts or worse, what would happen if mysteriously some people discovered some of your secrets..."

While any Noble would be frightened to discover that he is the Leader of two Guilds, to Zoe Flumin they were just little ants that can wield swords, they were nothing compared to the Magical Mastery of a Flumin, let alone compared to the Head of the House.

Denzel could almost feel as if the very representation of storms and ice was touching his shoulders, waiting patiently to devour him, slowly and painfully.

"..." Though calm and smiling on the outside, Denzel's heart was pounding feeling as if death had marked him and it was only a matter of time before he fell into its sharp claws. Even then, Denzel chuckled good-naturedly as he managed to touch a nerve in Zoe. "Fufufu! Don't get me wrong Lady Zoe, what I mean is that it would have been more practical if His Majesty had prepared everything beforehand before summoning us all fufufu!"

Both Nobles stared at each other, sizing each other up as if they were two predators in the same arena.

Hans could only shake his head as he watched the two Nobles having a couple fight. He then looked at Zoe with a strict stare. "I'll let it pass this time, but I remind you that it is forbidden to use any Spells in the Castle without authorization or emergency."

Zoe just looked at Hans with an annoyed look and reluctantly redirected her Mana to herself making the dead feeling disappear from Denzel's shoulder.

Zoe just stared at him for a moment before averting her gaze. "Hmph."

The room was now in a tense silence.

The Elder looked strictly at each member of the room, the Scholar gritted his teeth in annoyance, the Mercenary smirked and the Sorceress thought about pulling some strings behind the scenes.

As if I understand the discomfort inside the room, the door opened.

...