Chapter: 209
Duke Partlan was not pleased with Benedict’s presence, which was brimming with vigor.
How could he be happy when he had dragged his daughter into a predicament in front of someone who loved her more than himself?
“Then go ahead, make your excuses.”
Excuses? Even though I’m the Duke of the Partlan family, his words are too harsh.
That’s what Duke Partlan thought, but he didn’t voice it out. The person in front of him wasn’t someone to be suppressed with power.
Even if it was possible to suppress him by power, the Duke would have just mumbled to himself internally.
“Just know this: it wasn’t my intention for things to escalate to this level.”
“You mean calling that Taboll guy here?”
“She is the benefactor who saved our daughter’s life twice. Do I appear to be so shameless as to throw her into the abyss?”
Since the time Lucy Allen saved Joy’s life during the academy entrance exam, Duke Partlan had held Lucy in very high regard.
While his tone was harsh, his actions didn’t fall short of being called virtuous.
In the Soul Academy, she had talent worthy of being the winner among the renowned.
Above all, she was someone his daughter admired.
“Then why would you plan such a thing?”
“Joy has taken quite a liking to your daughter.”
If it were just building a friendship, he wouldn’t have minded. Lucy was not someone you could lose out being friendly with.
However, it had gone overboard. Joy regarded Lucy Allen, the daughter of a count, as a benefactor or a lifelong friend.
If any harm were to come to Lucy, she would abandon her duties as a noble and help her.
“Having received grace, how could I ask her to back off? That’s something one cannot command nor impose.”
That’s why Duke Partlan intended to create a crisis during this party and evaluate Lucy by watching how she dealt with it.
But.
“Way more unexpected events happened.”
The sudden appearance of the First Prince, who hardly ever showed up in the capital.
The tension between Lucy and the First Prince.
At a festival that unexpectedly turned into a duel between the two, Lucy winning against the First Prince.
Because of that, the hostility from others towards Lucy intensified.
Up until that point, it had been manageable. A level of deviation he could control.
Amid various variables, Duke Partlan succeeded in constructing the stage.
Since it was obvious that Joy would intervene in a crisis, he would subtly bind her with magic.
He’d ask both the First and Third Princes not to intervene.
Benedict would bind it himself.
All to create a stage where Lucy Allen would resolve the crisis alone.
“Do you understand? My initial plan was to present merely a suitable crisis.”
Back in the days when Benedict was on the frontlines, Taboll harbored deep inferiority and hostility towards him for losing in every match they had.
The only comfort he took was thinking his son was better than Benedict’s daughter.
Naturally, Taboll was not pleased with the growing reputation of Lucy recently.
So Duke Partlan anticipated that if they met, Taboll would try to belittle her in any way and he intended to see how Lucy would handle it.
He wanted to confirm how the child who only knew how to bring others down had grown.
His expectations were correct, but the results were incorrect.
The hostility Taboll held towards the Allen family exceeded his imagination.
“How could I expect that a guy who served as the head of the kingdom’s knights and is familiar with politics would do something so insane?!”
It was undoubtedly the most certain way to lower Lucy’s reputation by hindering the Prime Minister.
However, it couldn’t be regarded as a good plan.
It meant criticizing Duke Partlan’s decisions.
It was provoking the Allen family.
And it meant reopening the wounds of the First Prince, who had been defeated by Lucy Allen.
Since he was out of his mind, he had no choice but to choose it, but Taboll was indeed out of his mind.
“That was the turning point. After that, all sorts of variables I hadn’t thought of started popping up.”
The Saintess’ intervention. The movements of the First Prince. Joy breaking the Duke’s magic. When he gained his senses, the stage had already slipped from the Duke’s grasp.
“Fortunately, I can say that we achieved the primary goal.”
The light that Lucy Allen, a divine being, possessed was real.
Amid the numerous criticisms directed at her, she stood firm with confidence.
Even when a massive crisis loomed, she smiled as if it made things more enjoyable.
Overwhelming talent proven through the testimonies of many, including the Third Prince.
“What stood out most was the last exchange between the mercenary captain and Lady Allen.”
It was a discussion that Lucy had started to prove her knowledge of countless dungeons.
Even though Duke Partlan held considerable knowledge of dungeons as the leader of the Duke family, none of the dungeons mentioned in that discussion were familiar to him.
Some of the names were ones he hadn’t even heard of.
Yet, Lucy knew all those dungeons.
Not only did she know them, but she had memorized the structure of all those dungeons, the monsters appearing in them, existing traps, and even the strategies to conquer them!
Those were details that even the mercenary captain, who stood on the frontline of dungeon exploration, had to wrack his brain to barely recall!
“There was a moment when the mercenary captain actually asked for advice, right?”
“Yes, that did happen.”
The mercenary captain’s astonished expression, questioning how to conquer like that, was etched in the eyes of everyone present at the party.
“She proved everything she possessed amidst a crisis. Her abilities and value.”
Before, the star had hidden behind the veil of the night sky, masking its inherent light.
But it was no longer the case.
The star that unveiled itself shone brightly enough to overshadow all the other stars around it.
Many who witnessed that brilliance would want to claim that star as their own.
“Your love for your daughter has borne fruit, Benedict. Congratulations.”
“We thank you for the praise of our daughter, Duke Partlan. But that’s that, and this matter is this matter.”
“Hmm? Did I not explain my circumstances?”
“Regardless, it is true that you intentionally put my daughter in danger.”
With a smile that could stop hearts, Benedict calmed the Duke’s anger by discussing the various gifts he had prepared for Lucy.
However, the proposal to introduce Jeff was swiftly shut down.
*
Having managed to evade the speech somehow, I had initially planned to stay tucked away in a corner.
According to my original plan, I intended to quietly pass this time without being noticed by anyone.
Unfortunately, my plan was shattered from the very beginning.
Numerous people had come all the way to the corner just to show interest in me.
“I received great grace from Lord Benedict in the past. I tried to repay him in some way, but instead, I ended up just collecting various bits of information.”
The one who broke the ice was the leader of the Claw Mercenary Group.
After saying that Lord Benedict had helped during a great crisis faced by the mercenary group, he left, saying that if there was ever a need for mercenaries again, to call on him.
I don’t know what Benedict did, but it seems the grace he provided was indeed significant. Given the way the guy was trying not to raise his voice despite being called a junior.
Perhaps the fact that the leader of the Claw Mercenary Group was able to finish the conversation without any issue became the starting point.
Many others followed suit and started talking to me.
At first, it was fine. The ones showing interest in me, who might have drawn the First Prince’s ire, were either oddballs or politically indifferent.
Among them, the latter couldn’t stand the Mesugaki tone and fled, while the former would say whatever they wanted regardless of what I mumbled.
The prime example was the Apostle who serves the Goddess of Beauty and Art.
“Ooh! Lady Allen, who carries the beauty of the goddess! May I dare ask for permission to speak with you?!”
The guy who spouted this nonsense right after meeting my gaze was cut from the same cloth as the Sloppy Fox.
“Uh, could you shut up?♡ Just being in the same space is making me nauseous♡.”
“Ooh. Your voice is as beautiful as ever!”
No way. This guy was worse than the Sloppy Fox.
I was genuinely taken aback when he praised my voice despite openly being rude.
I knew he was a character who played a decent role in the game, but seeing him in real life was a whole different ball game.
At least I was relieved that this guy wasn’t aiming to get touchy-feely with me like the Sloppy Fox.
The Apostle of Beauty and Art didn’t seek any perverse actions. Instead, he simply inquired whether it would be okay to roam around praising my beauty.
Not wanting to engage in a long conversation with a deranged pervert, I casually gave permission and sent him on his way.
After that harmless crowd passed, the next to approach me was someone with political intentions.
Introducing himself as part of the Serlan Duke family, he commended my display of prowess at the festival and praised my courage even in the face of Taboll earlier. He mentioned that he’d heard I was rewriting the history of the academy, but his intention was clear.
He aimed to draw me into his faction.
This man was, unlike the first group, quite clingy.
Enduring the belittling tone of Mesugaki, he whispered sweet nothings to me.
‘Why is he going so far?!’
I couldn’t understand it. He was trying to coax me even with a face beet red from anger.
But from the perspective of the old man, it probably made perfect sense.
[Think about it, girl. Even though you proved your abilities, you’re still a burdensome presence for many. You have far too many enemies. The First Prince, the head of the kingdom's knights, and various people here with hostility towards you. Would anyone want to deal with such enemies? This kind of character falls into one of three categories: Either he thought you were worth handling or he had no choice but to face those enemies, or he was too dumb to notice them.]
The old man said to take notice of how people around were viewing this man.
Pity. Contempt. Mockery. These were akin to the feelings directed at me.
[Looking at him, it seems he belongs to the last category.]
‘What should I do?’
[Just let it in one ear and out the other. It’s all nonsense that isn’t worth considering.]
‘Is there no way to drive him away?!’
[You can just tell him to leave. There shouldn’t be any problem.]
You should have told me that beforehand! What a waste of time!
Just as I was preparing to lay down a comeback for the creepy perv showing interest in a little girl, a voice came from behind me.
“Sir Serlan, do you have business with my friend?”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.