Chapter 125

 

***

 

A few days later.

“Why on earth, why do I have to.”

Ronny leaned against the wall with a thoroughly displeased face.

Before him, young men and women danced merrily, surrounded by delicious food.

But he was not enjoying himself in the slightest.

It wasn’t that he hated such parties. On the contrary, he rather enjoyed these occasions.

After all, receiving adoring looks from people was quite enjoyable.

However, today, he detested these gatherings to the point of nausea. And for good reason.

“Why do I have to come to a party with you!”

Ronny shouted at Isaiah, who had kindly brought him a drink.

The people nearby momentarily turned their attention to them.

Unaware of the attention, Isaiah cheerfully replied, offering a cold lemon drink.

“Well, because the young master insisted on going to the party with me…”

At that astonishing reply, Ronny was shocked, quickly covering Isaiah’s mouth with his hands.

“Are, are you crazy?! What if someone hears and misunderstands!”

Ronny briefly scanned the surroundings.

Noticing several ladies looking over with great interest, he smiled as kindly as possible.

As if to say, ‘Nothing to see here.’

Soon after, the ladies’ attention shifted away.

However, they began to fervently whisper among themselves, hidden behind their fans.

“Phew, finally, their attention is elsewhere.”

Ronny sighed in relief, withdrawing his hands.

“…I think you’ve drawn more attention, actually.”

Isaiah muttered, but Ronny paid him no heed.

“Anyway, be careful not to say anything that might lead to misunderstandings, Isaiah Mullern.”

“But the young master held onto me, insisting that we go to the party together.”

“Do you think I said that because I wanted to?!”

After finishing the drink Isaiah had brought him, Ronny handed the empty glass to a passing servant.

“Make it the same. It’s burning up, so make it very cool,” he instructed.

“Ah, really.”

 

Ronny didn’t want to spend his precious time with someone like Isaiah.

It was just that Isaiah kept wanting to come with Melody, so Ronny had no choice but to come in her place.

“Mel would have liked the party. There’s a lot of food here.”

“That’s a joke. She wouldn’t genuinely be happy unless it’s a big piece of meat. Besides.”

Ronny, with his arms crossed, glared fiercely at Isaiah.

“Do you have to drag a tired kid here right after her exams?”

Yes, that was precisely it.

The reason Ronny stopped Isaiah when he was about to ask Melody to be his partner.

…What else could it be?

“Well, that’s true but.”

Isaiah looked a bit sullen, then asked,

“So, you’re saying you’re dissatisfied with going out with me?”

“Actually, a little, yes.”

“What?!”

As the two stared down each other as if about to fight,

A kind couple passed by them.

“I heard the archivist recruitment exam was tough this year. Are you sure it’s okay to attend a party?”

The woman asked with concern, and the man nodded.

“No problem. That sort of thing.”

“That sort of thing? That’s a rare exam that’s held very infrequently.”

“Exams are nothing. It’s just a game of pretending to take a test after deciding the passers in advance.”

Hearing familiar words, Ronny and Isaiah’s gaze naturally shifted towards the man. It was a conversation they couldn’t just ignore.

“The passers were decided in advance?”

Ronny approached them and asked. The man glanced Ronny up and down before answering.

Though young, his demeanor suggested he belonged to a rather high-status family.

The man had come to the party looking for such individuals, so he smiled slyly.

There would be plenty of nobles interested in the scandals of the prestigious Baldwin ducal family and the Higgins baronetcy.

“Yes, that’s right. Such an incident couldn’t happen otherwise.”

“What incident? Was there some issue during the exam?”

The man was somewhat annoyed by the brash familiarity of the young stranger, but he calmly continued his explanation.

“People who hardly solved any problems passed the written exam, while those who answered everything correctly failed.”

“My goodness.”

The woman listening in was shocked, shaking her head.

“That’s really unfair.”

“That’s the case.”

The man lamented, clenching his fist.

“Because of that ‘predetermined passer,’ a deserving someone might have failed.”

His tone suggested that he himself was the victim.

“This can’t just be overlooked.”

Ronny worriedly stroked his chin.

It would be terribly unfair if Melody suffered because of this ‘predetermined passer.’

“That’s right. It’s only proper to raise an objection!”

“Good, I agree with that. So, who exactly is this predetermined passer? The one who passed despite writing so little.”

“You’d be surprised to hear.”

Ronny lifted his chin in anticipation.

“No matter which family they’re from, it won’t be a big deal to me.”

The man was visibly pleased with the confident response.

He hadn’t expected to meet a young lord who could offer immediate support.

“That despicable person is.”

The man paused his story to look around cautiously.

At this, not only Ronny but Isaiah, who had approached unnoticed, swallowed hard, listening intently.

“The ugly girl from the Higgins family.”

The man watched Ronny and Isaiah’s expressions, hoping for a shared outrage.

However, there was no such reaction from them, just surprised looks exchanged.

Perhaps, the man thought, they were unaware of the Higgins family.

After all, being under the shadow of the ducal family, it was possible for these young lords.

“The Higgins are a family that leeches off the Baldwin ducal family.”

He continued a bit excitedly, somewhat aggressively.

“So, what I mean is, it’s clear that the Duke of Baldwin has bribed the examiners with his dirty tricks. His Majesty the Emperor must be informed of this!”

He exclaimed passionately, then looked for their reaction again. Still, there was no response.

Perhaps they were shocked because the discussion involved a more significant family than expected.

Then,

A servant approached with a tray and offered a drink.

“Here is the drink you ordered, Young Master Baldwin.”

In an instant, the man quickly reassessed Ronny’s features.

“Gasp.”

Why hadn’t he realized it before?

He had seen those temperamental eyes before, resembling the portraits of the successive dukes, right in front of him…!

Ronny took the drink from the servant, drank it coolly on the spot, and set it down with gusto.

Then, he turned to look at the man. There was no intention to threaten, but his naturally fierce demeanor made him appear extremely angry.

“No, Your Highness. That’s not what I meant.”

The man began to explain in a half-sobbing voice.

By now, the woman who had been with him had stealthily turned and left the scene.

Soon, two gloves were thrown at the man’s face with enough force to hurt.

“Ugh.”

He hurriedly grabbed the gloves, fearing a terrifying hell awaited him for speaking such words in front of a duke’s son.

But why?

The one caught by the scruff by Young Master Baldwin wasn’t him but a knight young man who had thrown the gloves together.

“Why are you throwing the gloves!”

“Defending the honor of the ducal family is a knight’s duty!”

“That’s ridiculous, you’re just mad about what was said about Melody!”

“What’s wrong with that!”

“She’s my Higgins, and looking after Higgins’ honor is a Baldwin privilege. Outsiders, back off!”

“Protecting Mel is my job! It has always been!”

The man alternated his gaze between the two, who were gripping each other by the scruff, and then sneakily began to back away.

He thought, since they were so tensely opposed, if he disappeared quietly, he might not get caught.

At that moment, Ronny and Isaiah simultaneously grabbed his scruff with their other hand, still glaring at each other.

“Gah!”

Suddenly pulled by them, the man’s legs dangled in the air.

Their fight showed no signs of ending.

“It’s an order, Sir Mullern. Let go of this guy! I’ll handle him.”

“Let go, Your Highness! Isn’t it the noble’s duty to command a trustworthy knight to protect the family’s honor?”

In the midst of this, the man’s suffering continued.

“Ugh, can someone… anyone…”

“Just quickly beat someone up and let go of my scruff, please?” the man begged in a dying voice.

“Do you think I’d entrust Melody’s honor to just anyone?!”

“Do you think I’d entrust Mel’s honor to just anyone?!”

Ronny and Isaiah briefly turned their heads to snap at him and then resumed glaring at each other as if ready to kill.

Every time the man struggled in discomfort, the grip on his scruff tightened even more.

It felt as though he might genuinely suffocate to death.

“Then, just… ugh, both of you… together… me…”

At his request for them to hit him together, the war between the two men paused momentarily.

Thankfully. Would they now let go of his scruff?

A fleeting hope emerged in the man’s mind, but it was in vain.

“Beating him together sounds good, but I’m hitting first.”

“How important is the first punch, and you’re leaving that to Your Lordship?”

They began to argue over another topic.

By this point, the man harbored a hope that someone, anyone, would come and mediate the situation.

However, for some reason, the gazes from the ladies towards them were nothing but warm and pleased.

‘Why… Why…?!’

He let his body go limp, not having the strength to struggle anymore, and closed his eyes.

It felt like he might actually die.