"..."
Shirou didn't expect Eris to say something like that, and he fell silent for a moment.
This was the first time he'd heard someone say they would protect him no matter what, and Shirou even felt a little touched.
But despite the emotion, Shirou still wouldn't forget the purpose of his trip.
So he smiled and patted Eris on the head, saying, "Then you should learn Soundless Sword first and become an advanced-level Swordsman. If you can't beat me, you're not qualified to talk about protecting me."
"Humph, I'll definitely beat you. Just you wait and see, Shirou!"
"Alright, alright. If you can even beat me, then the birthday party this afternoon should be no problem, right?"
"This..."
Eris didn't expect Shirou to be waiting for her there, and her expression became complicated.
But she'd already said those big words, so she naturally couldn't deny herself now. She gritted her teeth and said, "Of course not! It's just attending the party and dancing, I'll show you!"
"Good."
Shirou breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Eris had finally been persuaded.
He'd been thinking that if he really couldn't convince her, he was planning to make a deal and promise Eris something he could do.
He used to use this trick a lot to get Miyu to listen to him.
Now, when facing Eris, he realized that he could also treat her like his younger sister.
And it was at this moment that Shirou suddenly realized that he seemed to have unknowingly made Eris a substitute for Miyu again.
Before, in Buena Village, he had seen Sylphy as a substitute for Miyu, and now he had unknowingly made the same mistake again...
For a moment, Shirou couldn't help but feel a little complicated and distant. He realized that he had to find a way to distance himself from Eris in the future.
He had to let his thinking become independent again and not treat other people so rudely.
After all, no one wants to be someone else's replacement, and Shirou knows this better than anyone.
While Shirou was lost in thought, Eris seemed dissatisfied with his daze. She suddenly nudged him with her elbow and said loudly, "Aren't we going to the party? Why are you standing there spacing out?"
"Huh... oh."
Hearing Eris's words, Shirou nodded.
But because of the thoughts that had just flashed through his mind, he quietly put some distance between himself and Eris, which made her confused but didn't pay much attention to it.
The two of them then headed to the Boreas family's banquet hall.
...
Before attending the party, Eris needed to have the servants dress her up, so she left temporarily.
Shirou was alone at the party. Because he was so bored, he simply helped the other servants with their work, organizing the venue, seating guests, and serving food.
Most people definitely wouldn't do something so undignified, but Shirou himself liked doing chores. He didn't think of himself as a noble, so he naturally didn't care what others thought.
The Boreas family had long been used to Shirou's unique behavior, so they didn't bother to try and stop him. As for the visiting guests, most of them didn't recognize Shirou, so even if he did a lot of things that servants did, no one cared at all.
Many of the guests at the party had completely taken him for a Boreas family servant, and quite a few women were quite fond of him.
In just a few minutes, no fewer than five or six wealthy women had secretly given him the eye, and some had even reached out directly, suggesting that Shirou didn't have to work hard at all.
Shirou naturally had no interest in being taken care of by rich women.
He politely refused the women who were fond of him, trying to keep his presence as low as possible.
Unfortunately, even though Shirou was trying to keep a low profile, a certain blonde girl still spotted him right away.
"Hi, we meet again, Shirou. What a coincidence."
The moment Ariel spotted him, Shirou had already prepared to run away, but Ariel actually approached him directly.
Most of the people at the party knew the Second Princess Ariel, so they didn't expect the Second Princess to greet a servant, and they all looked confused.
Shirou himself was sweating like crazy when he saw Ariel approaching him in public.
What was this Second Princess planning to do to him?
Couldn't she leave him a way out?
"Pr... Princess, hello..."
Shirou responded with extremely stiff words.
This reaction undoubtedly displeased Ariel. The blonde girl walked straight over, pouting, and said, "Why are you suddenly being so formal? You can still call me Ariel like before, it's okay."
"No, I can't do that..."
Shirou didn't know that Ariel was the Second Princess of the Asura Kingdom before. He only thought of her as an ordinary noble girl, so he wasn't too restrained and treated her as an equal.
But now that he knew her princess status, Shirou certainly wouldn't dare to be so familiar.
According to the kingdom's laws, that might even be a crime punishable by death.
And even if it wasn't punishable by death, Shirou himself couldn't stand the effect that Ariel's overly affectionate behavior had on him. After all, no one could stand the sharp gazes of a group of nobles and wealthy merchants.
While Shirou was feeling helpless and at a loss, Ariel's two attendants also walked over from a distance.
Luke and Derrick had already introduced themselves.
They were the princess's guard knight and guard mage, respectively, and had sworn to follow Princess Ariel to the death as her absolute protectors.
Luke was also the second son of Pillemon, the current head of the Notos family, making him Shirou's cousin in a way.
Because of the fight for inheritance, Luke's attitude towards Shirou was like a thorn in his side.
And when he saw Shirou, his relative, carrying plates at the party like a servant, he frowned and said with displeasure, "Shirou Greyrat, you are a member of our Greyrat family. How can you do something so unbecoming of your status? Can you even be considered a noble like that?"
Luke's sudden outburst made everyone around look over.
Only then did everyone realize that Shirou, who looked so ordinary, was actually a noble, and even from the great Greyrat family, a descendant of the Four Great Lords.
Before Shirou could respond to Luke, Ariel spoke up first, looking at Luke coldly and saying, "Luke, I should have told you not to bring your personal feelings into your work, right? Shirou is a blacksmith I acknowledge, someone I want to win over. Your attitude is like denying me. Are you sure you want to do that?"
"S... Sorry."
Hearing Ariel's words, Luke finally realized his mistake and quickly shrank back.
Shirou looked at Ariel with mixed emotions, not expecting her to take the initiative to defend him.
But Shirou still couldn't feel good about Ariel. In fact, the wariness in his heart for this princess reached its peak.
Just when Ariel was about to continue to approach Shirou and talk to him, or rather, harass him, the noise in the venue suddenly stopped.
A girl with fiery red hair walked over from a distance.
Dressed up by the maids, Eris now looked like a princess. Not only had her original fierce and arrogant look faded, but she also looked extraordinary.
In this kind of setting, many nobles and wealthy merchants were undoubtedly interested in Eris. They wanted to approach and socialize with her. Some even brought young or middle-aged men who seemed to have good family backgrounds to meet Eris, saying they wanted to introduce their sons to her.
This situation was undoubtedly the most unacceptable for Eris herself.
After panicking for a moment, she quickly looked around. When she saw Shirou, she immediately ran over, as if escaping.
As an intermediate-level Sword God Style practitioner, Eris could still run like the wind even in a dress. Ordinary nobles couldn't keep up with her at all. Plus, with Princess Ariel around Shirou, they didn't dare to approach and could only give up.
As Eris breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly realized that she didn't seem to be out of danger.
Because Luke, the young man who had been standing behind Princess Ariel, suddenly looked at Eris with intense passion and said loudly, "Are you Miss Eris of the Boreas family? I didn't expect you to be such a beautiful lady! You're so fascinating! That unwavering gaze filled with beautiful resolve, and that flowing hair that dances in the wind, you're simply an angel... no, a beautiful goddess descended to earth! I've fallen in love with you at first sight!"
Luke's sudden outburst took everyone by surprise.
Even Ariel and Derrick looked at Luke with surprise, seemingly not expecting him to react this way at all.
Shirou was also dumbfounded, wondering if this was just some kind of polite greeting between nobles.
But it didn't seem like that at all.
Not to mention Eris, this was the first time she had been treated so passionately by a member of the opposite sex, and her brain almost shut down on the spot.
"Oh, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Luke Notos Greyrat, the second son of Notos Greyrat, one of the Four Great Regional Lords of the Asura Kingdom. Please grant me the honor of kissing your beautiful hands."
Luke didn't notice the reactions of the people around him. His passion for Eris was clearly not fake. He even wanted to take Eris's hand directly.
And Eris's reaction to this...
Oh no, this girl is clearly about to lose it.
Shirou could tell at a glance that Eris's anger level had reached its limit.
If it weren't for Shirou's recent training, the old Eris would probably have been angry enough to send Luke flying by now.
And publicly sending the second son of the Notos family flying would probably instantly destroy Eris's and the Boreas family's reputations and become a laughingstock among the nobles.
Shirou realized that he had to stop it.
While Shirou's mind was racing, Luke had already tried to take Eris's hand.
This kind of hand-kissing was very popular among nobles. Especially with Luke's status and position, people of the opposite sex would usually be overjoyed when he took the initiative to do this.
So Luke had no idea what kind of beast he was provoking at this moment.
"Slap!"
Fortunately, before Luke could completely anger Eris and be beaten to a pulp, Shirou suddenly stepped between them.
Facing the dumbfounded Luke, Shirou said with a helpless expression, "Could you please not touch Eris?"
"What did you say? Who are you to Miss Eris?"
Luke was very dissatisfied. His dislike for Shirou had reached its peak.
Hearing Luke's words, Shirou hesitated for a long time, and finally said quietly, "I am Eris's sword instructor."
"Sword instructor?"
Luke frowned. "You're so young, why can you be Miss Eris's sword instructor? And even if you are her sword instructor, you don't have the right to interfere in my affairs with Miss Eris, right?"
"This..."
Shirou couldn't refute Luke's words.
Because that was indeed the truth.
While Shirou was speechless, Luke had completely taken Shirou as someone trying to cause trouble. He believed that Shirou was greedy for the Notos family's position and wanted to compete for the title of head of the Notos family, so he had come to make trouble for him.
So, even though Ariel had already told him clearly not to make trouble for Shirou, he couldn't control his emotions at all and said publicly, "I understand, you're definitely my enemy! Shirou Greyrat, I challenge you to a duel!"
Luke's sudden outburst shocked everyone.
"This..."
Shirou was quite hesitant at the moment, not knowing how to deal with the current situation.
Princess Ariel didn't panic at all. A knowing smile appeared on the blonde girl's face, and she even fanned the flames, saying, "I think that's a good idea. If we can see an exciting duel between swordsmen, it would add to the splendor of this party."
Ariel's political mind was undoubtedly at a very high level. With her short sentence, she had given Luke and Shirou's conflict a way out.
Their confrontation was no longer an outburst of conflict, but a way to add fun to the party.
These words were immediately supported by the nobles.
Faced with this situation, Shirou was undoubtedly very unacceptable. He didn't train in swordsmanship to show off his strength or to use his swordsmanship to bully the weak.
Even though Princess Ariel had given him a good reason to step down, Shirou didn't intend to fight and refused without hesitation, "Sorry, I will not duel with Luke."
---
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