Chapter 22

The boy who greeted Selly was named Cobin.

He was the second son of the Baraton Family.

“Get lost, Cobin. Don’t talk to me.”

Selly spat out coldly, clearly showing her disgust for Cobin.

In fact, most of the nobles attending the banquet felt the same way.

Everyone disliked Cobin.

Because of his usual behavior.

Cobin had played many mischievous pranks at banquets.

Tripping passing maids, asking lower noble daughters to dance only to embarrass them with ridiculous moves, and other such vile acts that made onlookers frown.

Cobin was an outcast among the nobles, but he was still invited to banquets because of his family.

The Baraton Family, to which Cobin belonged, owned the gold mines, making them the wealthiest family in the Empire.

Just as the Kastark Family was known as the ruler of the north, the Baraton Family was known as the ruler of the west.

Being the second son of such an influential family, no matter how senseless Cobin’s actions were, people had no choice but to let it slide.

“Haha, Selly, don’t be so cold. Are you still mad about that incident?”

Cobin laughed, baring his teeth. His smile looked very sly and despicable.

“It was just a joke, okay?”

“Shut up.”

Unlike the smirking Cobin, Selly was seething inside.

A few months ago, Cobin had spread an absurd rumor at a banquet in the Imperial Capital.

That Selly had proposed to Cobin.

And that Cobin had accepted, promising to marry her in the future.

It was absurd to Selly.

She had no interest in romance to begin with, and the idea of proposing to someone as sly and vile as Cobin was unthinkable.

Later, Cobin admitted it was a joke, but it still left a bad taste in Selly’s mouth.

“Well, being my wife wouldn’t be so bad. You could live a life of luxury, buried in gold. How about it? Since we’re already here, why don’t we make it official…”

“Not interested. Don’t talk to me. If you say one more word, I’ll slap you.”

“Haha. Still so bold. That’s why I like you. The women of the Matiel Family are all…”

“Let’s go, Ariel.”

Selly ignored Cobin and walked with Ariel toward the food.

Dealing with Cobin was a waste of time.

“Whoa, an elf! Is she your slave, Selly? She’s quite pretty!”

This time, Cobin spoke to Ariel.

“Hello, elf. I’m Cobin of the Baraton Family. Even an elf must know about the Baraton Family, right? If you impress me now…”

“Ariel, ignore him. He’s not worth your time.”

“Okay.”

Ariel had no interest in Cobin to begin with.

Her attention was solely on the food laid out at the banquet.

What Ariel wanted to eat was a tall cake dripping with chocolate.

“Ariel! Look over there!”

Selly also pointed at the chocolate cake.

“Let’s take that down first!”

“Okay.”

The two walked excitedly toward the chocolate cake.

*

“…How insolent.”

Cobin frowned as he watched Selly and Ariel approach the chocolate cake.

He understood Selly’s insolence toward him. The Matiel Family was not to be trifled with.

But being ignored by an elf he had just met today was unpleasant.

In the west, elves were nothing more than slaves.

No matter how rare they were, their status was inherently low.

In Cobin’s eyes, they were no different from maids.

Cobin gestured to a passing maid and received a cup of milk.

‘I’ll teach that elf the dignity of a noble.’

He then approached Ariel with the milk in hand.

Cobin’s plan was this:

Pretend to bump into her and spill the milk on her face.

It was a tactic Cobin often used.

Ariel was carrying a plate with the chocolate cake, following Selly to the table.

“Oops~!”

Cobin put force into his shoulder and bumped into Ariel.

Or rather, tried to bump into her.

But there was nothing to bump into.

Ariel had been right in front of him, but the moment their shoulders were about to collide, she vanished without a trace.

“!”

Cobin lost his balance and stumbled, eventually falling in a ridiculous manner, spilling milk all over himself.

“Pfft!”

Selly’s laughter rang out.

“Cobin, shouldn’t you relearn how to walk before talking about engagements?”

At Selly’s words, laughter erupted from all around. Everyone was mocking Cobin.

Given Cobin’s usual behavior, people found it quite satisfying.

Grinding his teeth, Cobin got up.

A maid approached and handed him a handkerchief, which he snatched and used to wipe the milk off his face, glaring at Ariel.

Ariel was already sitting at the table, munching on the chocolate cake.

‘…What just happened?’

Cobin couldn’t understand.

Just before their shoulders were about to collide, Ariel had been clearly in his sight.

But then she suddenly disappeared.

Whatever trick she used, Cobin couldn’t let it slide.

“Hey, give me that!”

Cobin snatched another cup of milk from a passing maid’s tray and stomped toward Ariel.

His plan had changed.

Cobin was determined to pour the milk over Ariel’s head.

Selly might throw a fit, but so what?

Cobin would claim that Ariel had tripped him and that this was her punishment.

He often punished maids at home in this way.

Every time, the maids would end up drenched in milk, their faces tearful, which was quite a sight.

“You insolent elf.”

Cobin spoke in a menacing tone as he reached Ariel.

“Because you tripped me, I was humiliated. So now you’ll get the same.”

Cobin raised the milk over Ariel’s head.

Even then, Ariel continued to munch on her cake, unmoving.

“Cobin, what are you trying to…”

As Selly spoke.

Thud!

A fist flew from the side, and Cobin rolled on the floor once more, drenched in milk.

“Ugh… What the!”

Cobin wiped the blood from his mouth and looked up.

This was no longer about spilling milk.

Assaulting a noble was absolutely unacceptable.

The situation had become serious.

“How dare you…!”

The person who came into Cobin’s sight was unexpected.

Kal Kastark.

The Duke of the North was looking down at Cobin with cold eyes.

*

Kal, who had been tailing Ariel all day, returned to his lodging just as the banquet was about to begin.

He had wanted to follow Ariel further, but he had to attend the banquet being held in Sierra today.

A family like the Kastarks didn’t need to attend such trivial banquets.

But Kal had been strictly instructed by his father.

He must attend any banquet he was invited to.

Training and studying were important, but to rule the north well, he needed to understand the other nobles.

At the banquet, Kal stared into space with dead fish eyes.

Banquets were always boring.

Noble daughters, dressed cutely, approached him one by one, shyly greeting him, but none of them caught Kal’s eye.

Kal’s mind was filled only with Ariel.

Then, he heard laughter.

Turning his gaze, he saw a boy with a bowl-cut and a sly expression getting up from the floor, drenched in milk.

‘Cobin Baraton…’

Kal frowned.

The Kastarks of the north and the Baratons of the west had never gotten along.

They were practically mortal enemies.

Whether it was during the barbarian invasions or the war against the demons long before that, the two families were always at each other’s throats.

Nowadays, they didn’t even interact, but whenever they crossed paths at banquets, they would scowl at each other.

Kal particularly despised Cobin, the second son of the Baraton Family.

He despised him more than the other nobles did.

Cobin was always doing something senseless, being rude to maids and lower noble children, and flaunting his family’s wealth. It was enough to make Kal nauseous.

Right now, for some reason, Cobin was being laughed at.

Probably because he had stupidly fallen and spilled milk all over himself.

‘What a pathetic guy.’

Thinking that, Kal tried to ignore Cobin.

But then…

Cobin, with milk in hand, was heading toward her.

There she was, expressionlessly munching on a chocolate cake.

“!”

Kal’s heart raced, and before he knew it, he had jumped to his feet.

“You insolent elf.”

Cobin spoke menacingly to Ariel.

“Because you tripped me, I was humiliated. So now you’ll get the same.”

Cobin raised the milk over Ariel’s head, clearly intending to pour it.

Seeing that, Kal lost his temper and lunged.

Thud!

When he came to his senses, he had already punched Cobin in the face.

“How dare you lay a hand on our young master!”

A knight rushed over from one side of the banquet hall.

Cobin’s guard knight.

“No matter how powerful the Kastark Family is, this is unacceptable!”

Cobin’s guard knight glared at Kal and drew the massive spear from his back.

Marcus the Spear.

There was probably no one in the Empire who didn’t know that name.

Marcus was a formidable warrior who wielded his massive spear as if it were part of his body, sweeping through barbarians.

With a single swing of his spear, four or five barbarian warriors would lose their heads and fall simultaneously.

During the war, Marcus was as feared by the barbarians as Shane of the north.

Thanks to his fame, Marcus became the captain of the Baraton Family’s knight order, the wealthiest family in the Empire.

“How dare you draw a weapon against the heir of the north…”

Someone spoke in a chilling voice behind Kal.

“Are you prepared to take responsibility for that action, Marcus?”

It was Shane, Kal’s guard knight.