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Luke abruptly received a message from Pilemon's envoy, delivered just ten minutes before his noble school class ended: he was to go to Ariel's mansion.
He took an early leave and hurried into a carriage.
Because the noble school, located in the Free Zone, was indeed very far from the royal palace.
He didn't even have a chance to eat dinner along the way, yet it still took him two hours to reach his destination.
But thanks to this, he had ample time to tidy his appearance and demeanor in the carriage.
His hair had to be neatly styled; ideally, he wouldn't change his hairstyle once throughout an entire novel.
His clothes had to be wrinkle-free; ideally, he'd wear the same long white hunting jacket throughout an entire novel.
His longsword couldn't be drawn casually; ideally, it would hang at his waist as a mere decoration for an entire novel.
Perfect.
At this moment, he stood at the entrance of Ariel's mansion.
"Name? Invitation?"
"Luke Notos Greyrat. I am here at the command of my father... at the command of Duke Pilemon. I do not have a formal invitation."
The guard at the gate sized up Luke, then understood and let him pass.
—This was due to the exceptionally strong genetic heritage of the Notos family. Whether it was Pilemon, Paul, or Luke, who was still a young man, they all shared similar facial features, a relatively tall stature among their peers, and very rugged features.
"Please proceed. Duke Pilemon has been at the mansion for a long time."
Luke bowed, very polite and proper.
Because Pilemon had repeatedly taught him to separate personal and public matters, Luke always referred to his father as 'Duke' in public.
"I heard on the way that Duke Pilemon has been waiting at Her Highness's mansion all afternoon. Did Her Highness Ariel have an engagement outside?"
"Her Highness returned to the mansion ten minutes ago and is currently conversing in the reception hall. This maid will lead you to the reception hall. Oh, there are also some distinguished guests in the front courtyard whom Her Highness specifically requested... um, this..."
"Understood. I won't disturb them."
"Thank you."
Luke, his hair meticulously combed back, smiled gently at the maid beside him.
The maid's face flushed slightly.
To be honest, Luke was good-looking, and even bore some resemblance to his distant brother, Paul.
In contrast, Rudy, Paul's biological son, had inherited some of Zenith's soft features, and at his current age, only bore a quarter resemblance to Paul. Among the Notos family's rugged-faced, strong-bodied philanderers, he seemed as pure as an outsider.
Luke followed the maid, walking along the white stone path in the garden towards the brightly lit mansion entrance.
His mind, however, was racing with thoughts.
His father had mentioned before wanting him to serve as Her Highness Ariel's Guardian Knight.
But it seemed that the suggestion had been politely declined at its very inception, the reason given being a fear that he would affect the Princess's reputation and the maids' sensibilities.
True. Although he had never personally interacted with Her Highness, from afar, she seemed a very serene and graceful angel. She probably worried about being disturbed by the opposite sex.
After all...
He looked at the maid in front of him. Even from behind, her excellent qualities were evident.
He still smiled very politely.
The maids of the Princess's mansion.
Unexpectedly, they completely matched the aesthetic sought by the Notos family.
Looked at this way, it might indeed be quite 'dangerous.'
However, thinking thus.
It seemed that though Princess Ariel appeared serene, she was actually someone who knew how to enjoy herself.
Perhaps once they became familiar, they would have many common topics.
Their footsteps continued.
By now, they had reached the middle of the front courtyard. A faint clamor reached them from the side.
Sounds of men and women conversing.
He instinctively looked towards the source of the sound...
First, he saw a sharp-eyed young man, half a head taller than himself, holding a girl.
Red waves surged.
Snap.
She broke free from his embrace, leaping to the ground, and looked up.
The reception hall.
"Who is the one to be entrusted with, one duel will tell."
Pilemon's firm words fell.
They left Ariel and Derrick Redbat utterly dumbfounded.
Ariel's smiling face, a moment ago, froze. A rare look of utter bewilderment appeared on her face, and she instinctively gasped, "Huh?"
Derrick Redbat, meanwhile, stared blankly at Pilemon, as if he were meeting this Duke for the first time today.
Derrick Redbat did have an interest in the Notos family, but that was entirely based on considerations of family influence.
It had absolutely nothing to do with your son!!! Get a grip!!
He was about to say something.
He saw Pilemon first exchange a glance with his personal guard, who was not close enough to his side, then looked at the exquisite grandfather clock beside the reception hall, and spoke.
"By my reckoning, Luke should be here soon. When Your Highness returned, the guard reported that you seemed to have someone else on your ship; that must be Allen Boreas Greyrat, I presume. It's perfect, Your Highness; you can directly observe the difference between Notos and Boreas."
With that, he twisted and walked towards the door.
Derrick Redbat panicked.
"One duel will tell... This... Mr. Allen was already an Advanced Water God Style swordsman two years ago, and now he's reportedly King-level..."
Pilemon waved his hand dismissively.
"King-level, tch, child's babble, utterly nonsensical. If he's King-level, then I'm the Water God."
Derrick Redbat was stunned. He quickly turned, trying to seek help behind him.
He saw Ariel, who had gotten up at some point and was following behind them. Unlike his own bewilderment, the surprised look on her face had vanished. She was now silently smiling. Seeing Derrick Redbat turn, she even blinked at him, wearing an expression that seemed to say, 'Oh dear, Derrick Redbat, what ever shall we do?'
? Your Highness? Why are you so detached?
Their pace was swift. By now, the three had left the reception hall. Just one more turn, and they would be in the front hall, where the central courtyard would be visible.
Derrick Redbat felt like he couldn't breathe, desperately struggling to speak.
"Even... even if he's Advanced Water God Style, that's still a rank lower..."
Who knew?
"No matter!"
"Luke didn't learn Water God Style precisely because I felt Water God Style was not good at offense, not suitable for my Notos family. And my brother, who never severed ties with the family, clearly has more talent in Sword God Style. He, despite being such a good-for-nothing, could defeat a Water God Style swordsman one rank higher even in his youth."
"Clearly, Sword God Style is stronger than Water God Style."
Derrick Redbat gasped, his mouth agape. "This..."
With one turn, the three arrived in the main hall.
Pilemon pressed on relentlessly. "Moreover, from Her Highness Ariel's perspective, if we're comparing, then it's naturally a comprehensive comparison."
"Besides strength, Luke is also cultivated both internally and externally."
He glanced at Ariel, who was slightly behind him.
"Internally, he has been trained as a Guardian Knight since childhood. He is a natural knight, polite and humble, yet not overly tolerant, and confident."
Ariel's lips curved in a smile, nodding in strong agreement, but she didn't look at Pilemon.
Derrick Redbat's face twisted in a bitter expression at his words.
Pilemon nodded in satisfaction, striding forward.
"Externally, his appearance goes without saying, and his demeanor is beyond reproach. He is never arrogant in dealing with others, yet shows no hint of flattery, and handles social complexities with a certain quick wit."
Ariel nodded then shook her head. "Not 'quick' wit, nor just a touch..."
Pilemon smiled even more happily.
Derrick Redbat's face grew even more distressed.
Are you two really talking about the same person??
Creak.
In front of the three, as the maid opened the door ahead.
A somewhat noisy sound drifted into the main hall from outside the mansion's main gate.
It was very familiar. Pilemon immediately recognized it as his son. His lips curved upwards.
Perfect timing.
"Lu—"
He opened his mouth to greet his dear second son.
However, the latter syllable, 'ke,' hadn't even been uttered, but he swallowed it back down.
In just a single breath, Duke Pilemon's smug expression instantly turned as unpleasant as if he had eaten excrement.
It was genuinely unpleasant.
And Ariel and Derrick Redbat behind him watched the scene outside the door with incredibly varied expressions.
In sight: Not far away, Luke, dressed in a noble white, cinched hunting jacket, his neat brown hair combed back...
...was kneeling on one knee before a tall, imposing young man with slicked-back, somewhat 'unkempt' hair, who was covering his face with his right hand.
In ear: The wind carried a declaration of love, filled with fervent emotion...
A declaration of love.
"You are simply too captivating! That resolute expression, embodying beautiful will, those flowing locks, simply like an angel descended! No, a goddess! An angel cannot compare to a fraction of your beauty!"
Pilemon: ...
Ariel: ...
Derrick Redbat: ...
All fell silent.
However, this was an illusion created by a single perspective.
Luke wasn't kneeling before Allen. That resolute expression and flowing hair weren't describing Allen.
He was kneeling before someone else...
The next instant, a loud, impatient voice erupted by everyone's ears.
"Huh??? What are you doing??"
The owner of the voice, the red-eyed Eris, stared at the high-quality Asuran male who had popped out of nowhere. Her eyebrows were highly raised, anger at being offended by a stranger surging! She instinctively raised her hand, then suddenly looked at her brother beside her.
Allen was stunned.
This Luke is truly abstract!
He recognized this Notos family brat the moment he saw him, because he did resemble Paul a bit.
And it was also within expectation that he would immediately dart forward the moment he saw Eris.
Because in every timeline, Luke always became entangled with Eris like this.
So Allen opened his mouth, about to tell this guy not to cause trouble on this important occasion today, and also to help Eris get rid of this unnecessary entanglement.
But it was their first meeting, so even stopping him required some basic etiquette. So, following common sense, he had just uttered, "You are..."
Before Allen could finish, Luke raised his hand, performed a sliding kneel!
He dropped to his knees with a thump in front of Allen.
Adopting an 'Embracing-the-Sun' posture.
"God! To think such a beautiful maiden would come to the royal capital! Simply intoxicating like an angel!"
Old, too, f*ing, loud.
One sentence fried Allen's CPU.
No, buddy, you... even if you did a sliding kneel with light, even if your awkward words were bearable.
What the hell is with that chanted tone??? Are you reciting poetry here???
Huh???
The 'poet' ignored Allen's expression of covering his face as if seeing a stray dog defecating in the street. He remained indifferent to Sylphy's look of horror at the human anomaly, and he completely disregarded Isolte's jaw-dropping, twitching expression of astonishment.
He didn't even notice his old father's disgusted expression beyond his line of sight, or Ariel's and Derrick Redbat's dismayed lips.
He only stared at Eris with burning intensity.
Kneeling very devoutly.
"My apologies! How rude of me! It seems you are perhaps not quite aware of the situation. Please allow me to introduce myself."
By now, Eris's fists were clenched.
However, Luke continued to stack 'danger' upon his own forehead.
"I, by name Luke Notos Greyrat, am the second son of the Notos family. If you don't mind, could you tell me your name? If you are unwilling to state your family name, that is fine, but at least please engrave your beautiful name into my heart; that alone will suffice to comfort me!"
As his words fell, Eris looked at Allen's expression, frowning tightly. Amidst Rudy's wildly twitching eyebrows.
She first made a faint gesture with one hand, then seemed to feel some disdain, and took a step back.
But she no longer attempted to respond to Luke's words.
Luke didn't mind in the slightest. "If you are unwilling to tell me your name, that is fine. At least grant me the honor of kissing your hands; only then..."
His words hadn't fully fallen.
Wind exploded!
What answered him was the afterimage of a high-speed whip kick! The whistling wind suddenly extinguished his fervor!
Bang!!!!
A tremendous impact resounded in the front courtyard!
Eris kicked Luke, along with the table that had been set up beside them, sending him flying smoothly, leaving an afterimage, and fiercely throwing him into the nearby pond!!
Splash!
Splash!
Luke's body, carrying the table, was kicked into the water. He even bobbed up and down, skipping twice on the surface before submerging again.
The front courtyard fell silent for a moment; everyone was stunned.
And precisely because of this, certain sounds became exceptionally clear.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Bubbles rose to the surface of the water.
Clatter, the table floated to the surface.
Hmm, no person.
It seemed that his fate was sealed.
Allen looked at the string of bubbles on the pond.
A sigh.
Allen had deliberately let Eris kick him. He couldn't stand it anymore.
However, at the moment Eris kicked him, he still provided a cushion of Flow Ougi.
It wouldn't do for someone to actually die.
Too much of a commotion would cause problems.
He might have to meet 'Dawn' a day early.
This wouldn't do.
People could die.
But absolutely not now.
"Rudy, could you help out?"
"Don't let him die."
As his words fell, Pilemon seemed to awaken from a dream. He quickly and frantically summoned guards to retrieve the 'remains.'
And Rudy, Sylphy, and Isolte also hurried over to help clean up the mess Eris had made.
It would be too funny to spend their first night in the royal capital in jail.
Allen, however, turned to look at Eris, who stood with her arms crossed, showing no sign of remorse.
Eris was also looking at him.
The two exchanged a smile.
Allen leaned in and whispered to his sister's ear.
"Feel good?"
Eris's eyes were very bright. She replied in a low voice, a hint of secret satisfaction.
"Good! I understand what Big Brother meant! Isn't that impressive?"
"Not bad. You can resist the urge to hit people now. Hitting people is fine, but it needs to be at the right time. Keep it up."
"Okay!"
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