Labyrinth Palace
Edrick looked up at the megastructure that was Labyrinth Palace. It was hidden amidst tall, snowy mountains, not so far from the land occupied by the Elt clan. In terms of shape, it wasn’t exactly very impressive, resembling a gigantic block of dark grey stone, but it made up for it by simply being a completely insane piece of architecture. So many things about it made no sense whatsoever, yet melded perfectly into a single, glorious creation.
The area itself was snowy despite the days of summer rolling near. The roof of the structure was covered in white, and the snowflakes gave the place a truly magical feeling to it–In case the absurd building standards did not already give off enough of this sensation… There were portions of the building extending from the side for so long that it was baffling that they hadn’t broken off from the main body already.
Certain areas were held up by either far too many pillars, too few pillars, pillars that were overly wide, or overly thin.
Somehow, Anoteros never got the feeling that something was wrong in the sense that the place was fragile. In fact, he felt like the mountains surrounding it could all collapse at the same time, and the architecture would be left standing completely unharmed.
It was a rather bizarre feeling…
The ground in front of him opened up, presenting him with a set of stairs leading down. An old man wearing dark grey robes ascended to greet the scion.
“Welcome to our humble sect, Sir Edrick Lucien Anoteros… I am an elder of Labyrinth Palace. We learned of your arrival and prepared accordingly. May I ask the exact reasons for your visit, Sir?”
The old man was polite, but it wasn’t the sort of politeness the noble desired–It wasn’t deep-rooted respect... It was more like a respectful attitude an employee would give to a superior they had just barely met and didn’t really know how to behave around, so they were as formal as possible. Just in case…
Edrick cleared his throat, placed his hands behind his back, and smiled charmingly.
“There are several reasons for my presence here, Elder. Let us walk as we speak”
They calmly began to descend the stairs, just the two of them. Anoteros had come by carriage, but had chosen to leave Xiaolie and his bestial companion behind for this little visit. They guarded the carriage in his absence. It was a way for Edrick to show that he wasn’t wary of Labyrinth Palace. A sign of trust, if you will.
It would be rather intimidating for a young scion of the great clan sponsoring them to show up with a bodyguard and three dangerous beasts…
In any case, the noble began explaining the reasons for his visit.
“First and foremost, I wish to thank you for the Lodestone and wooden cube you graciously provided to me. Both of these items have proven to be of incredible value to me, and I wanted to let you know that I was very grateful for what you did for me”
“It is only natural for a vassal sect like us to provide for you, Young Master”
“Perhaps so, but at the time, you should have still only known me as the exiled wretch, and you still offered me a lot…”
“...Also, I have been greatly curious about Labyrinth Palace and architecture cultivation in general. I can tell that it is a very interesting category of cultivation. Although niche, it is easy to imagine plenty of practical scenarios for it. I have heard about its capabilities and potential. Thus, I would like to personally invest in the sect on top of what my clan normally provides”
The elder seemed to be quite surprised, and his demeanour brightened for a moment before he regained his composure.
“Your kind words are deeply appreciated, Young Master. If you desire to invest in us, you would be the first scion to do so in many years. We would be eternally grateful no matter what you provide”
“Mmh…? Many years, you say? I take it that most don’t see the worth and utility of architecture cultivation?”
“Oh, most do see the value it could have, but they also see the sort of investment required for it. An architecture cultivator must be a competent architect… In fact, it is a prerequisite to even be granted a technique here. It takes a long time to train a new disciple, and most would like to get their own personal architect... So you can imagine that the time and money required to get one puts many off and leads them to simply forget the idea”
“They would rather simply hire the services of a disciple every once in a while than invest in a new disciple”
“I see… That does make sense. However, that sort of reasoning ignores many other applications of architecture cultivation, doesn’t it? A personal architect is one thing, but growing Labyrinth Palace would be of benefit to the whole Elt clan and even the kingdom itself, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Indeed, Young Master. However, I must guess that most prefer investments where they can get a better view of what their money is contributing to… Architecture cultivators don’t really have anything that makes them stand out, even when they are very high-level. Therefore, investing in a trainee will make it look like nothing is changing from the outside”
Anoteros nodded, looking up at the ceiling–Or rather, he tried. There was no ceiling to be seen, only a seemingly endless mass of darkness. They hadn’t descended the stairs for long, so if there were no ceiling, then Edrick should be seeing the sky right now…
Spatial distortion truly was impressive.
“To be perfectly honest, there is also another reason why I am here, Elder”
“What is it, Young Master?”
“Haoyu. She was the one sent to my residence back then, and I’ll admit that she caught my eye. Ever since then, I have been thinking about meeting her again... To be perfectly honest, I am thinking of making her my sixth wife”
“W-Wife?! Aherm, apologies for the outburst… I understand. Haoyu is a gorgeous and talented young lady, that is for certain… I was merely taken aback by the fact that you desired her as a wife! Normally, under orders of the Elt clan’s patriarch, we are supposed to refuse to allow anyone to take away disciples due to our low numbers… But that rule is about servanthood”
“If I understand correctly, you wish for Haoyu to be an official wife of yours?”
“Yes, I intend on marrying her and sleeping in the same bed as her every night... You might know a bit about how I run my residence, but just in case: I have no concept of ‘main wife’, ‘concubines’, or the likes. All of my wives share the same status within my residence. Only my first wife is an exception since she has the status of matriarch, but in practise, it doesn’t mean much at all”
“I understand… Then, there should be no issue in this case”
“...Of course, if Haoyu does not desire to become my wife, I will not hold it against her or the sect. So do not feel compelled to push her to accept against her will. I do not yearn for a wife who does not love me with all of her heart”
“You are truly an exemplary gentleman, Young Master”
“Naturally…”
The scion rubbed his chin.
‘Seems like Haoyu truly kept his identity as a Foppoof well hidden… I suppose it is easier to do here than in another sect. The people here don’t cultivate strength or their senses much at all… Besides, a Foppoof is always convincing to the majority’
The noble couldn’t wait to meet Haoyu again.