107 — 11 (8)

Once the round of formal greetings with the miscellaneous nobles ended, a few fresh-faced young women approached and greeted Louis. While Louis was having a brief conversation with them, there were three women—no, three groups—staring fixedly at him, as if trying to bore holes through him.

Noblewomen were haughty by default. And with age being what it was, they were effectively the highest purebloods short of royalty. Not only did they have powerful houses behind them, they were so beautiful that there were whole swarms of men who had fallen for them at first sight and sickened with lovesickness. It was only natural that they stood at the center of the women’s circles.

The women stationed around them were chattering away, avoiding direct mention as if to keep it discreet, but in truth their hearts had already been stolen by Louis. By this point, even women who had not felt drawn to Louis at first were being carried along by the giddy atmosphere and found their hearts leaning his way—so within this hall, there was not a single woman who did not find Louis attractive.

Linsia, Orlanne, and Mary watched one another with sparks nearly flying from their eyes, yet none of them moved rashly. Their pride was simply too high. They had never once, in their lives, been the first to ask for a dance or to strike up a conversation. They thought that was only natural—and they had never failed, either.

A strange competitive fire was inevitable. In fact, all three knew each other by face. Just as young noblemen gathered every few years in communal lodgings for military purposes, noblewomen regularly came to the royal palace in childhood to learn each other’s faces.

‘That Linsia… look at her pretending to be demure.’

‘Mary, you penniless thing—he’s far too much man for you.’

‘Should I go first?’

Unlike the other two, who were trading barbs in their heads, the one truly considering being the first to act was Linsia. Maybe no woman here could resist falling for Louis, but Linsia had fallen for him. She simply could not move because she had an image she had built up over the years.

Unfortunately, while they waited desperately for Louis to speak to them, Louis was absorbed in something else entirely—whether he should choose the king, or choose the houses that had approached him so far.

‘Before long, the Prince-King will summon me for a private audience. But I doubt how much he can really offer me.’

The greatest value the Prince-King could give Louis was marrying one of his children to him. If that happened, Louis would be connected by blood to the royal line, and Louis’s child would at least secure a minimum claim of blood that could become king of Eron. Of course, blood would be shed. But even so, it was a road far too long. And Louis possessed a tremendous tool that others could not see. Not merely Eron—he could build a colossal empire that would leave its mark on human history, no, something beyond even that.

As he thought, a woman with red hair in a red dress rose and began walking toward him. Louis did not look at her, but he could tell she was coming from the surrounding reactions.

“Linsia is moving.”

“Where is she going?”

“Duke Louis.”

“That high-nosed ‘Red Jewel of Beiherobo,’ haha. This is entertaining to watch.”

Women watching also narrowed their eyes like hatchets. Orlanne of House Orsini and Mary of House Kaban—Linsia’s rivals—looked strained, as if thinking, So she’s really going to cut in first, and glaring as though to call her shameless.

Louis looked at Linsia of House Batenberg as she approached. Red hair, red dress, and a blue gemstone necklace that contrasted sharply. Her bodice was cinched so tightly that her pale skin stood out with sensual emphasis. While Louis gave a brief whistle in his mind, nobles near him flinched and began slipping aside. Her intent was obvious. A few from the count houses welcomed Linsia, and she gave a short nod, then spoke through a man she seemed to know.

“Could you introduce me to Duke Louis of House Pontina?”

“Of course, Lady Linsia.”

As a middle-aged count smiled and made the introduction, Louis stared straight at Linsia. She met his eyes as well, seemingly not displeased. Once things reached that point, Orlanne stood up as if she refused to lose, and soon Mary rose too.

Whistles sounded from all directions. These three women from proud houses—women who had rejected every man who had courted them until now—were going to Louis themselves. The party’s atmosphere was lively, and there were plenty of noblemen conversing in secret among themselves, yet even they faced a scene that demanded attention.

“I am Linsia of House Batenberg.”

Louis naturally kissed her hand briefly. It was courtesy any noble, regardless of status, would show a young and beautiful lady. Countless women watched with parted lips, and because Linsia was the first to receive Louis’s courtesy, her pride rose high—she had no regret for acting. Just then, Orlanne—who had been closing in quickly—appeared out of nowhere, lifting her dress and bowing to Louis.

“I am Orlanne of House Orsini.”

For a moment it felt bothersome, but Orlanne was a charming woman as well—blonde, with a somewhat shy impression. Pretty. Louis murmured it faintly. And he could not ignore the next woman either: Mary Kaban, the granddaughter of Sword Master Kaban Ferdinand. Because of Ferdinand’s presence, Louis already knew of Mary.

Though she arrived last, the presence she brought with her was enough to shove even Linsia aside.

“Grandfather. Could you introduce me to Duke Louis?”

Kaban Ferdinand, who doted on his granddaughter, found Louis an unsettling man, but not one without promise—so he readily granted Mary’s request. Perhaps because it had been so long since Ferdinand attended a party, the moment people noticed him, the hall stirred. A Sword Master inevitably carried a presence that could not be hidden.

That had already been true for Louis as well. Therefore, the women speaking to Louis were no ordinary women, either. In any case, Kaban Ferdinand introduced his granddaughter to Louis. Louis received his greeting calmly. Kaban had played a little prank. Faces around them went pale; even the count recoiled with a bad expression, but Louis—receiving that pressure head-on—showed not the slightest tension.

Seeing that, Kaban smiled.

‘Indeed… I’d like to see his swordsmanship as well.’

While Louis was capturing the gaze of everyone at the party, there was, in one corner, a crowd of dozens of men who had lost all interest in the scene. They were not looking at Louis kindly. And the one at their center had reason enough for that look.

It was Aust of House Boarne. Unlike other houses, House Boarne had strong frames and was a martial house, comparable to House Pontina. Boarne Aust had come out of curiosity to see what Louis was like, but now he was filled with jealousy. Until now, he had almost always been the star of the party; it was rare for all attention to be stolen from him.

When even Kaban Ferdinand—whom he normally revered—showed Louis excessive interest, the young man’s temperament twisted. He was guzzling wine to the point that even watching him made one worry. As his drunkenness rose, Aust let out a grunt of a cough and, seeing Louis surrounded by the three beauties’ full barrage of questions, something snapped inside him.

‘A brat younger than me… acting so arrogant. So what if he received the ducal succession first? His house was crawling on the ground until now. Shouldn’t he be the one coming to greet me?’

With drink came lust. Seeing Linsia—who had always bounced him off like a wall—push out her generous chest and fawn over Louis, a vein bulged on Aust’s forehead. Of course, there was a woman beside him wagging her tail at him as well, though her eyes kept being stolen by Louis—but compared to Linsia, she lost in looks, bust, waist, her dress, and even her house. And it was only natural she also lost compared to those two women at Louis’s side—Orlanne of House Orsini and Mary of House Kaban.

“Tsk. Get lost.”

His tone was rough. The woman beside him startled, and Aust’s warriors—and the lesser houses that followed House Boarne—already sensed trouble brewing. But House Boarne was powerful enough that it could be tolerated. Even if a disturbance broke out, they had the clout to smooth it over with compensation to the Prince-King.

“I don’t like it. Pontina Louis.”

He finished his wine and flung the glass aside.

Crash! The wineglass shattered with a loud sound. And the killing intent that followed was unmistakably aimed at Louis. Boarne Aust was also a lord, with mana reserves comparable to a Sword Expert.

The lively mood of the hall chilled in an instant. All eyes locked on Aust—and among those eyes was Louis’s. It was not a favorable kind of attention, but Aust was satisfied all the same.

Louis watched Aust as he threw a tantrum out of nowhere. Boromir whispered into his ear.

“That is Boarne Aust of House Boarne.”

That alone was enough. House Boarne was a great house that held the strongest military force among the factions. It was also, in fact, a faction Louis had coveted. So much for that. Louis received the killing intent Aust was pouring at him without expression. And Louis was not the type to stay still—he was about to fully open his mana and strike back.

At that moment, Mihoff—who had been flustered while surrounded by countless women—narrowed her eyes. She extended a hand and said to the women,

“Ladies. Take your hands off.”

At the same time, brutal mana spilled out, savage enough to reveal her vicious nature. Naturally, it was to protect Louis. Louis had become an immensely important figure in her life now. Compared to Marquis Gangpireu, whom she had originally served, Louis was a lord on an entirely different level—and above all, she trusted him, knowing he repaid service without fail.

In any case, the women naturally fell back from Mihoff, and Mihoff began walking slowly toward Louis. Unlike Mihoff, Kaiser—who had been discreetly urged on, especially by counts, because of the women around him—set down the glass he was holding and also turned back toward Louis. Kaiser carried pressure as well, but the one who made people flinch most was Anok, who had been drinking outside on the terrace, grumbling that he was not used to it. He threw away that innocent expression somewhere and returned to Louis with a hardened face.

The mana pouring out from two Sword Experts made the air feel suffocating. Sword Master Kaban Ferdinand, half-smiling without quite meaning to, muttered that things were about to get interesting.

Boarne Aust, too, had not come without armed men. Since he boasted the strongest military force, the number of Sword Experts he had brought did not lose to Louis’s. The atmosphere rapidly turned savage, as if a blade fight might erupt at any moment. Yet nobles were nobles. With eyes brimming with anticipation, they watched the two sides, eager to see how the two highest-rated houses would collide.