Chapter 128: Trap Card Invoked (1)
I was not particularly interested. I had a plan to put into action, and making my debut into the social world wasn’t part of it. However, it would be quite beneficial.
Just do what you have to do.’
Being a new figure always earned attention, especially one known as the lover of the Mercenary Queen, and the hot topic of this meeting. Simply put, this gave me an advantageous position.
With that simple announcement, all eyes had gone to me.
There wasn’t such a daring person who would go so far as to mess with me, someone who was currently being protected by Victor Hart.
I could see a luxurious interior as the door opened for us. Tables were arranged on one side, with uniform-clad servants walking around carrying trays filled with light desserts or wine. Asians with dark hair talking over in one corner stood out.
Of course, the most eye-catching among them were the imperial ladies with colorful hair.
Just by looking at the clothes, I could tell the fabric was luxurious, and the accessories they were wearing were difficult to measure in terms of value.
‘Imperial nobility:
Those wearing the clothes of the priests of the Holy Empire were also noticeable. Perhaps they belonged to the Pope’s side. What was confusing about them were the clothes and ornaments they wore, all looking highly expensive.
It seemed that their religion did not have integrity included in their motto.
Before I could take another step, I saw Cha Hee-ra reaching out to me, an expression of guilt on her face.
“Hold it, honey.”
Even in the Holy Empire, it was common for men to escort women, yet Cha Hee-ra took my hand and started to lead me in a provoking manner.
Although my arm hurt from the magic flowing to me, I kept my mouth shut tight and moved on.
‘It fucking hurts. Fuck…
The Mercenary Queen’s gaze showed that she didn’t care about what people thought of us as we walked. I didn’t know how this would look to the people, a man being escorted by a strong woman, but…
‘It works.
This was helpful for my image.
“She is…”
“The rumor that the Mercenary Queen fell in love is true. Is this her first time?”
“He looks a little different from what I thought. I thought he would look a bit rougher…”
“It looks like he is a capable alchemist. He must be the academic type.”
“It’s a face that I can’t think of hurting anyone. And he’s cute…”
“Ah, I felt it too. Doesn’t it make you want to protect him?”
“Right. It makes you think exactly that.”
“The Mercenary Queen’s taste is great. At first glance, he looks ordinary, but you can see some peculiar aura around him…”
“Yes. Yes, I felt that too.”
The women talking to each other had their mouths covered with the fans they held, but I could still hear everything.
‘What are those ladies talking about?’
I wasn’t sure, exactly, but it felt like I had become a hit with the noble ladies.
Of course, this meant that the other men were looking at me in disgust. It hurt my pride slightly, but it wasn’t too bad being known as the idiot following the Mercenary Queen.
Anyway, my true prowess would be known someday. For now, it would be best to appear as the victim.
‘That kind of guy?’
‘Ha, it must be a joke.’
‘A murderer, you’ve to be kidding?
‘There must be something in there.’
To instill this kind of perception was the first step. I didn’t know if Cha Hee-ra intended for this to happen, but thanks to her bold actions, it was working so
far.
Even though we had been here for some time, eyes were still on us. I could see some people coming over with the intention to talk
I knew whoever you talked to first was a very important procedure. It would be good if we could talk to someone powerful.
Once I settled in the right place, I could see Jung Hayan biting her lips tightly.
“Our little Hayan looks quite miserable.”
“You can enter together tomorrow.”
“Ah… Yes.”
“I like being fair.”
Even in the midst of this, I felt grateful for Cha Hee-ra’s consideration for Jung Hayan.
“It feels like all the main characters are gathered here.”
“It’s been a long time, Duchess Catherine.”
“It’s been a while, Victor Hart-nim. How is the Mercenary Queen?”
“I’m fine.”
‘Huh, not bad.
The one who had spoken to us was a woman with indigo hair. With just one look, one could tell that she held a very high position.
‘Duchess Catherine.’
This was a woman who was said to be the center of the social church. Despite her position as the Duchess, I knew that she had made many connections because of her unique sociability.
She held a lot of influence even in the Holy Empire. That was because she went on the front line for her old husband, who was currently lying in bed.
In other words, it meant that she was someone who was optimized for working on sociability.
“Is this the protagonist of the buzzing rumors?”
“Hello, I’m Lee Kiyoung.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Catherine. You look a little different from what I imagined.”
“What do you mean…?”
“I imagined someone a little scarier. I didn’t know you’d be handsomely tall like this.”
“Thank you. Duchess Catherine is very beautiful, just as I heard.”
“Oh. You’ve heard of me?”
“Yes, of course. I always hear a lot of stories about you from Hee-ra.”
Smooth talk was my forte. As expected, I could see her smiling in response.
“If the Mercenary Queen doesn’t mind, is it okay if I borrow your boyfriend for a while?”
“Of course, Duchess. I was worried that you would be bored of us, but I feel relieved.”
“Thank you.”
There was frustration on Jung Hayan’s face, but I had gotten Cha Heera’s okay sign. She had something else to do as well.
Perhaps we would talk about the current atmosphere of Lindel with the Black Swan’s master.
Jung Hayan would also have to show her face to the court wizards, so it was natural that I had to deal with her too.
As I extended my left arm to Duchess Catherine, I saw her face looking at it unexpectedly.
In fact, it was only to protect my right arm that Hee-ra had caught earlier, but in her eyes, it seemed that I was escorting her.
Of course, other noble ladies beside her had also begun to approach me slowly. Since I was the center of gossip, it was natural for me to receive such treatment. As I saw questioning glances on everyone’s expressions, wondered about what to start with.
Above everything else, I knew it would help not to indulge into the topic they wanted right away.
‘It is important to lay down some stable foundation for conversation, first.’
I couldn’t just talk about the incident right away.
“Oh… Then the Mercenary Queen…”
“Yes. Hee-ra and I have known each other back on Earth. From then on, she helped me a lot.”
“Ahhh. So that’s it.”
“Where did you get the sword called Juliana?”
“I got it while trying to save a party member from an attack in a dungeon. Originally, it was supposed to be owned by our guild master, Kim Hyunsung, but Juliana didn’t choose him.”
“That’s awesome. I heard what the Blue went through because of someone’s interest in the Free City. You found the treasure during the attack in the Cursed Shrine, right?”
“You seem well informed.”
“Yes. I heard that the potion you made was used to successfully reduce the curse’s effect, am I right? It was a hot topic in Lindel, as it was the first time an alchemist made something to help with an expedition.”
“Ah, I feel embarrassed.”
“Oh, so that really happened?”
“How amusing…”
It seemed like some people already know about me. Of course, this didn’t mean that they had researched about me in advance.
Surely Lee Jihye had been talking about me everywhere. I didn’t know how, but she must have instilled only the good stuff about me.
From then on, we moved to talking and establishing friendships.
“Yamato Guild’s Ito Souta from the free city of Celia is entering.”
The guy who messed with me started walking slowly from the entrance. Of course, gazes flew from all over the place.
A pretty sharp-looking face came into view. He must have been good at keeping appearances.
He did not only receive favorable glances from the Pope and his underlings, but also from the other nobles present in the party as well.
‘So he’s talented…’
There were already people coming to greet him. At first glance, it seemed like he was intent on showing it all to me - his network, his talent, and his established talent.
He moved with dignity and gave off a good impression. He didn’t seem to be someone who had committed this kind of thing.
I didn’t know when he came, but if one were to assume that he had managed the people here for a long time, their trust in him probably went beyond imagination.
His situation was different from Cha Hee-ra, who only kept close to Victor Hart.
Considering that Park Yeonjoo of the Black Swan has just become a guild master and Yuno Kasugano didn’t have that kind of personality…
‘It means he’s a popular guy.
What was unexpected was that he was fast approaching me. At this, I changed expressions at once, shifting into a slightly frightened stance.
“It’s been a long time.”
I couldn’t figure out why he was talking to me.
To simply show off? Or did he want to reconcile?
I doubted it was the latter.
“Yes… Long time no see.”
The noble ladies began to step aside, and Victor Hart began to get a little wary of him. As long as he was acting as my escort, this kind of behavior would be natural.
I could see a little bit of interest on his face.
‘Ha…’
There was amusement on his face.
‘That’s right, that’s it.’
Souta did not know much about me. He probably thought of me as an easy win.
However, the results would be different from the one he was expecting.
I was not in the courtroom but in the social hall, and Lindel was on the verge of exploding.
Even in the Holy Empire, I was in a position that was not to be messed with.
From his standpoint, I must have just seemed like an interesting toy.
“There seems to be a little misunderstanding, Lee Kiyoung.”
‘Son of a…
He wasn’t backing down at all.
On the contrary, he was definitely looking down on me, acting as if he had already won.
‘You worked hard. That’s pretty good. So what can you do now? You know you have no other option anyway. Hold my hand. That’s the best you can do.’
That was what he was trying to say. I would be lying if I said that didn’t hurt my pride.
Suddenly, a voice spoke out from behind me.
“Saying it’s a misunderstanding now? Stop with the bullsh*t.”
“Cha Hee-ra-nim, we only want to keep a good relationship with Lindel. Whatever the reason, the two groups are too heated up.”
“Are they?”
“In the Holy Empire, we do not want conflict. Whatever the case’s circumstances, I think it would be a good idea to unravel each other’s resentment. It hurts me to lose one guild member too… Isn’t it better to collaborate than to be fighting within the borders of the Holy Empire?”
In summary, he was saying that he was willing to sacrifice, to yield in the name of peace.
“You should be talking to my honey, not me, Ito Souta.”
“Yes. Of course, I’m also talking to Lee Kiyoung. I think it would be better not to cause any more problems. We sincerely apologize if our actions felt threatening.”
Only
His act of putting down his pride was indeed a spectacle. Upon the watchful eyes of everyone, I had no choice but to reach out for his outstretched hand.
As I held out my hand unwillingly, Ito Souta squeezed my hand tight, smiling.
If there was one thing he didn’t expect…
“Thank you for the rational choice… huh?”
“Ahhhhhh!”
Indeed, one of my arms had not been normal from the moment I entered this place.
I invoked the trap card, you bastard!’
“Ahhhhhhh!”