“Thank you for the fine wine, Prince Roy. I appreciate your kindness. If that day ever comes, I will consider it, but you must first prove whether you are worthy of Sharlo Fogmoon’s support. After all, I am now a Marquis.”
Sharlo didn’t feel the need to argue. Roy wanted to embarrass him, so he let it happen.
Sharlo did not care for such things; regardless of who questioned him, he would only let his strength speak for itself.
Sharlo handed his wine glass to a nearby waiter and even said, “Thank you.”
Such a gentlemanly attitude made it difficult for anyone to believe he was the same Marquis of Stolen Hearts who supposedly only bullied young noble ladies.
Sharlo’s response was neither humble nor arrogant, causing Roy to frown.
This move actually made Roy feel somewhat embarrassed.
After all, Sharlo was a Marquis in the truest sense, while Roy was still just a Prince who lacked even the State Overseer Power.
However, Roy had no intention of stopping there.
As a Prince, no one except his elders dared to speak to him with such disrespect.
Even for someone like Sharlo, Roy believed he would have to show some face to the Imperial Family in a public setting.
“You have a point, Marquis Sharlo. You should also stop your relentless pursuit of Miss Lilia. It is normal to be rejected, but if you continue like this, you will lose your noble poise. But it’s fine; as long as you choose me, there will be countless girls for you to pick from later. Believe me, there are many beautiful servants in the Imperial Palace. I’m sure Marquis Sharlo will like them…”
“No! Sharlo doesn’t need any of the women you’ve arranged!”
Just then, an indescribably beautiful Elf girl appeared at the entrance of the banquet.
“Prince Roy, what exactly are you saying to a Marquis of the Kalishi Empire?”
Lilia was wearing the water-blue dress Sharlo had picked for her. Her crystal-blue eyes were filled with hostility as she glared at Roy.
Roy was surprised. “Miss Lilia… why are you speaking up for him?”
As the daughter of the Duke of the North, Lilia’s status was not much lower than that of the Second Prince.
“I’m not speaking up for anyone. I simply cannot stand you spreading rumors and stirring up trouble.”
Roy’s eyelids twitched. “What do you mean, spreading rumors? Is he not that kind of person? He pursued you relentlessly and even sexually harassed—”
Lilia crossed her arms, speaking with great dissatisfaction, “I am right here! What are you talking about? Marquis Sharlo is not the kind of person you claim he is. On the contrary, he respects me very much. His pursuit of me was a normal social interaction, and he has never done anything inappropriate to me!”
Roy was rendered speechless. Since the person involved was right there, what Lilia said was obviously true.
But he didn’t understand—why was Lilia defending Sharlo? Was the intel fake? Had Sharlo actually already won Lilia over?
But would Duke Ryan really allow Sharlo to do such a thing?
Regardless, Roy had to persist; he could not afford to lose face.
“Miss Lilia, I still advise you to keep some distance from him! He is not a good person. Don’t be fooled by his appearance.”
Lilia elegantly lifted her skirt.
“Then I truly thank you for your advice, Prince Roy. So, could you please lend me this Marquis, who feels completely uncomfortable standing in front of you? Stop pestering him here!”
Roy took a deep breath in anger. Before Sharlo and Lilia arrived, he had never suffered such a setback; everyone had always been respectful toward him.
This was absolutely infuriating. Once again, he was left with a bitter feeling he could not voice because of Sharlo.
‘Why does every woman around him speak up for him?’
‘What is so good about him?’
He was handsome, but Roy was not bad either. He was strong, but there was not much of a gap between them. Why was Sharlo the one who succeeded?
Even Roy’s own sister, who shared the same Imperial blood, favored him.
He took another deep breath to forcibly suppress the anger in his heart. This was his elder brother’s territory; he could not act rashly.
“Fine, Miss Lilia. Since you wish to take up Marquis Sharlo’s time, I won’t say any more.”
Roy left the scene in a huff, desperately needing an Adviser to help him regain his dignity.
Lilia watched Roy scurry away in embarrassment and narrowed her eyes with a smile.
She now understood why Sharlo liked to show off—making others suffer a setback felt incredibly satisfying.
Sharlo stared blankly at Lilia. ‘Is she really the type of person to find joy in such things? Did I lead her astray?’
“Sharlo, you should really thank me this time. I didn’t let you lose face,” Lilia said, looking at Sharlo with expectation, waiting for his praise.
Sharlo maintained his usual distant manner, responding very politely, “Yes, thank you for resolving the situation for me, Miss Lilia.”
This left Lilia somewhat dissatisfied. After finally getting a chance to play the hero saving the day, Sharlo did not show much of a reaction.
But Lilia supposed she should get used to it. That was just how Sharlo was.
He might thank you verbally out of etiquette, but no one ever knew what he was actually thinking deep down.
“Sharlo, since I helped you out, shouldn’t you take me around the banquet? Introduce me to your friends?”
At this moment, Lilia finally acted like a proper noble lady.
“Then you’d better find someone else, Lilia. To be honest, I don’t really have any friends.”
Sharlo was not lying. Those he was close to were mostly noble ladies, and they all had some level of history with him—which was not something Sharlo wanted.
Whenever he became friends with a noble lady, the conversation would inevitably shift toward the topic of marriage.
Since Sharlo had no intention of marrying them, things always ended on a sour note.
Even if he had many friends before, to be honest, they were all just lusting after him.
As for the young male nobles, Sharlo was completely unfamiliar with them.
On one hand, he had no time for socializing, and on the other, he had no need to communicate with them at all.
“Besides, you probably already know the friends I do have.”
“Who?”
“She’s coming over now.”
Sharlo pointed toward a pink figure walking toward them.
……
The farce before the banquet had indeed been quite eye-catching. A blonde girl in a corner of the banquet hall had also witnessed the scene.
The First Prince was hosting this banquet specifically for this Saintess Highness who had come from afar.
‘Sharlo Fogmoon… you really did show up tonight…’
Vivian had come this time because she wanted to exchange a few words with this magic genius she had only met twice, to see if he was interested in joining the Aetherlan Divine Church.
The strong were always being recruited by various major powers.
She felt the inner pocket of her long dress. Inside were exactly five gold coins—the money she had prepared to pay back to Sharlo.
After all, he had treated her to roasted chicken before, even if it had only cost five copper coins.
However, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a fountain of gratitude. This was the education Vivian had received.
Her current impression of Sharlo was very good.
No matter how poor others’ attitudes were, he remained respectful and polite.
This quality was far too rare among the powerful.
It was not that Vivian had not seen geniuses before; there were many in the Holy Nation who called themselves such.
But none of them could defeat her.
It was not because they lacked strength; most of them lost because of their mindset.
They felt that because they were strong, they could look down on others.
An arrogant attitude was a very easy way to get killed on the battlefield.
Even she herself had recently… that Faithful of the Evil God had almost killed her…
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