Chapter 161

“It’s all the same, don’t worry.

Whether it be Prince Joshua or Princess Veronica, they are both children of His Majesty the King and naturally can represent His Majesty and the Royal Family. Today, whichever of the two is present honors us, the Lane Family.

Hehe, speaking of which, the last time I saw Prince Joshua, he was just seven or eight years old. In the blink of an eye, he’s already representing the King at our Lane family’s ennoblement ceremony. Time flies so fast!”

“Hmph! How could I possibly be like her? You old coot!” The Freckled Prince, with irregular patches of freckles on his cheekbones that made it look like dirt on his face, narrowed his eyes as if wanting to say more but was sharply elbowed in the ribs.

“Your Highness!”

Hearing the etiquette teacher’s slightly angry whisper and noticing the alarmed expression of the lady beside him, the freckled youth couldn’t help but grit his teeth and swallowed back the rebuke that had risen to his lips. With obvious impatience, he urged: “Then let’s get this over with! When will your new Duke arrive? Please have him hurry up; don’t waste our time!”

“Coming soon! The Duke will be here any moment!”

Seeing that they’d managed to pacify the arrogant and irritable young prince, the two elders of the Lane family sighed in relief. They then stood up and guided the guests back to their original positions, smiling broadly while chatting amiably with the freckled youth, restoring the previously tense atmosphere in the hall to harmony… until a commotion of neighing horses reached them from outside the estate.

“The Duke! You’re finally here… um?”

Upon finally catching sight of someone, the two eager Lane elders rushed forward to complete the remaining formalities.

However, when they approached, they realized the Duke looked completely different from before. Not only had his makeup been wiped off, but his fine accessories were removed, his specially tailored suit exchanged for another, and there was even a large stain on his front!

Damn! Dressed like a refugee, how can we start the ceremony? Is this how old York handled things? Listening to the murmurs among the guests inside the hall and feeling the piercing gazes behind them, the two Lane elders felt dizzy.

“Duke! What happened to you? Your makeup? Your clothes? Where’s Old York?”

Looking at the mess on Leon’s chest, the head of the Lane family couldn’t help but ask angrily, “What is this? What about your makeup? Your clothes? And where is Old York?”

“Uh…”

Seeing the despair in the faces of these two old men, Leon, who had almost dismissed his elderly butler moments ago, suddenly felt guilty and awkwardly explained:

“The old butler… he suddenly had a heart attack. It took me great effort to save him. He’s lying down in the carriage now. This dirty spot on my chest is where he vomited during his fit…”

Ah, this… he was fine just now, and now coincidentally has a heart attack? After hearing Leon’s explanation, the two Lane elders glanced at each other and saw deep helplessness in each other’s eyes.

“Don’t panic! There’s still a way!”

As the voices in the hall grew louder, the elder of the Lane clan took a deep breath and ordered the flustered head of household:

“You calm the guests down first. I’ll take the Duke to redo his makeup and change clothes, then come back out. That way, it might not be impossible…”

“No need for all that trouble. I just want to say a few words.”

Though tempted to add “either… or…”, considering the age of these two old men, Leon resisted the urge to keep creating sentences and instead pulled away the hand of the Lane head of household, striding towards the hall.

“Duke? Wait!”

“Wait! What are you doing?”

Of course, I’m going to do what I want and quickly get rid of this unlucky Duke title! Ignoring the hurried pursuit of the two Lane elders, Leon pushed through the crowd of guests, stepped onto the main platform of the ceremony, and addressed the crowd below:

“I came here to announce something. If you insist on making me this Duke, then I intend to use the entire Lane family as…”

“Scoundrel!”

A familiar voice of reprimand interrupted Leon. A certain well-known pauper baron emerged from the crowd, pointing toward the irritated freckled youth sitting in the front row, maliciously provoking: “How dare you be late for the ennoblement ceremony, wasting so much time of these two esteemed guests without even apologizing?”

You’re… oh, you’re the little pauper.

Recognizing the speaker by the emblem on his chest, Leon didn’t bother to respond but followed his gesture to glance at the male and female guests in the front row.

The woman dressed in a plain long dress on the left appeared to be the Prime Minister’s wife, whose photograph he had seen in the newspaper with the Prime Minister. She seemed to be in a good mood and even nodded in greeting when she noticed him looking.

The boyish figure on the right, with what looked like dirt on his face, must be Prince Joshua who splashed mud all over him earlier and overturned a bunch of carriages on the road. This guy seemed to be glaring at him with irritation, held back by someone beside him.

Better that he doesn’t stand up! Saves trouble!…

Unfortunately, despite Leon simply glancing briefly at the “esteemed guests” before quickly averting his gaze, intent on swiftly shedding this unfortunate dukedom,

His eyes are the windows to his soul, and these windows seem far clearer than most. Even a cursory glance was enough to transmit his inner disdain.

After exchanging a look with Leon on stage, the freckled youth was pierced by a glare filled with three parts contempt, seven parts loathing, and twelve parts of sheer disdain, igniting his pent-up anger.

Throwing off the arm restraining him, the freckled youth abruptly lifted his head, shouting furiously with a red face:

“You’re nothing but a lowly commoner who got lucky and inherited a title. How dare you look at me like that?”

“…”

Idiot?

Just one glance earned him a barrage of nonsensical curses. Leon barely had time to feel angry, only genuinely bewildered.

To tell the truth, such an explosive oddball should’ve gone extinct twenty years ago. Even writers of third-rate web dramas wouldn’t create villains like this. Yet today, he encountered one? Damn! I’ll definitely blind those despicable eyes of yours!

Witnessing Leon’s expression shift from disdain to surprise, then comprehension, and finally revealing a hint of pity akin to looking at a fool, the freckled prince suffered another blow. The flames of anger burning fiercely in his heart surged even higher.

“You lowly…”

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“Prince Joshua!”

Not just Leon, many were startled by the sudden eruption of the freckled prince. Recovering from the shock, the etiquette teacher accompanying him immediately intervened, frowning and scolding sternly: “Mind your demeanor! Don’t disgrace the Royal Family or your sister!”

“Get lost!”

Pushing aside the stunned etiquette teacher, veins bulging with rage, the freckled prince stomped his feet and shouted:

“She’s her, I’m me! Don’t drag Princess Veronica’s standards onto me! I am myself! Not her carbon copy!

And you!”

Glaring at the person on stage who clearly looked down on him, the self-esteem of the freckled prince was severely wounded as he stormed towards the main platform, cursing violently: “You pus-filled peasant! An inferior fruit grown on a crooked tree! A black-haired mongrel hiding in a doghouse!

With your status as an illegitimate duke, how dare you look down on me? Do you believe I won’t strip you of your title and drive you and your illegitimate family out of the Capital tomorrow? I…”

Swinging his arm with full force, delivering an extremely loud slap that sent the man flying sideways, Leon felt significantly better amidst the ensuing silence. Grabbing the collar of the freckled prince, he spat on his “dirty” face.

Pulling his sleeve longer, he wiped the spit vigorously, realizing it wasn’t dirt but natural freckles, regretfully withdrawing his hand. Then, under the utterly terrified gaze of the freckled prince, Leon patted his rapidly swelling left cheek.

“Can’t make me lose this title? Alright! You’d better deliver on your threat! If not, you’re my grandson!”

…

Now I understand why Old York suddenly had a heart attack…

Watching their new duke, who not only spat on the prince’s face but also threatened to become the father of the king, the head of the Lane family felt his heartbeat accelerate dramatically, rapidly approaching two hundred beats per minute.

“Clan… Clan Elder! Elder, think of something quick!”

In this situation, worse than death itself, the Lane head turned to the only hope left, expecting to hear the stabilizing “Don’t worry.” However…

“Plop!”

Before the Lane head could turn around, the oldest of the three Lane elders, the final stabilizer of the entire Lane family, collapsed onto the carpet, eyes rolling back and twitching uncontrollably, seemingly predicting the tragic future of the Lane family through his actions.

And worse yet, the new duke who dragged the Lane family into chaos actually threw the trembling freckled prince aside and directly announced to the dumbfounded guests:

“You listen carefully! If you still insist on making me this duke, then I will offer the entire Lane family as dowry and propose to Princess Veronica! At worst, I’ll walk away…”

“Agreed!”

A clear voice rang out from behind. A woman who absolutely shouldn’t be here strode into the hall, cheerfully responding amidst the tenfold confusion of the guests: “I accept your proposal! From now on, you’re my prince!”

(End of Chapter)