Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: The Palace Interview
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Yvon arrived at the interview hall and held his breath in the unexpectedly heavy atmosphere. He didn't even have time to admire the grandeur of the opera hall he was seeing for the first time.
The soldiers stood in perfect formation, encircling the area!
"W-Was the interview always like this?"
"I-I don't kn-know."
Jane, who was tall enough to lock eyes with the soldiers multiple times, bowed her head deeply and stared fixedly at the tips of her shoes.
There was no leeway to search for Dave, who had suddenly vanished. It felt like those soldiers would thrust their spears at them if they made any wrong move.
"Where the heck did Dave go?"
Yvon scanned around for Dave, who had disappeared out of nowhere. Maybe he was still only fourteen without an ID and got held up at the entrance.
Just then, Dave popped out from behind.
"Whoa, I finally found it."
"Dave! You made it in safely."
"Yeah, sorry, guys. But earlier, I..."
Bang!
In an instant, the hall's entrance slammed shut, enveloping the interior in silence. An elderly gentleman in tails strode to the center of the stage, his footsteps echoing sharply.
His face was deeply wrinkled, but his presence was so sharp that Yvon involuntarily bowed his head.
"First, thank you all for making the effort to come this far. I am Paul, the butler of Vernus Palace."
Heads snapped up at those words.
'Palace...? Is Vernus the name of the palace?'
Yvon wondered if he'd misheard, but Jane's face beside him had stiffened just the same.
He pondered if 'palace' might mean something else, but the butler's next words made that impossible to deny.
"Pay your respects to Prince Lianus de Harpen, master of Vernus Palace."
Suddenly, all the lights in the opera hall went out, and the box seats at the front of the stage were bathed in spotlight. At the same time, the soldiers surrounding the hall smartly placed hands over their hearts in salute.
In the suffocating atmosphere, Yvon couldn't even glance at the box seats and bowed his head deeply. Soon, a youthful voice rang out from above.
"I'm delighted to meet you all like this. I hope we can forge good connections."
The somehow familiar voice made Yvon lift his head again. Seeing the chubby-cheeked, bright-eyed, adorable face that still had baby fat, he murmured without thinking.
"...Ner?"
It was a very faint mutter, but the prince in the distance seemed to hear it, pinpointing Yvon exactly amid the crowd.
His round eyes, each a different color, seemed to widen slightly. Of course, it might not be Ner. The hair color and eye color were different, after all.
Yeah, maybe it was just a similar face. The knight holding the prince looked exactly like Ner's big brother, but it was so far away it could be his imagination...
Then, Dave's dazed murmur shattered Yvon's denial.
"...He's not a child actor?"
"Do I have to stay here? It's too far away."
Lianus fidgeted in Sir Evan's arms.
"You need to be in a high place especially at times like this. You can see everything anyway."
"True, but it's so high I can only see the tops of their heads. More importantly, where's Nil?"
"He's probably hiding somewhere else, screening the candidates."
Then the butler's voice rang out, and all the magical lights went dark. A flash—and the spotlight hit him.
Lianus was so startled he instinctively wrapped his arms around Sir Evan's neck. Fortunately, everyone was bowing in salute, so no one saw his cowardly moment.
He cleared his throat and tensed his stomach to look as dignified as possible.
"I'm delighted to meet you all like this. I hope we can forge good connections."
Did that sound a bit dignified?
As he felt quietly pleased inside, a familiar name reached his ears.
"...Ner?"
"???"
Looking toward the surprised voice, he spotted Yvon. Jane and Dave were beside him.
"Sir Evan, look over there."
"...It's those kids from Sharton."
"Why are they here?"
"That sly fox must have pulled some strings."
"Uh..., um......"
He wondered how Nihil had time for that while sticking to him all day, but since it was Nihil..., Lianus quietly nodded.
He scanned for other familiar faces, but saw no more.
Soon the hall lit up again. The usually mild-mannered butler looked a bit stern today.
Without asking questions, the butler went down and examined each candidate's hands one by one, beginning the selection.
He occasionally glanced in certain directions, seemingly receiving signals from Nihil.
"You all may return now."
The hall grew chaotic at the butler's dismissal.
"Sending us back like this out of nowhere!"
"That's right! Give us a proper chance!"
"At least tell us why!"
As one mustered courage to raise his voice, the mood turned hostile. A man whipped around to the box seats.
"Your Highness! Please reconsider this injustice!"
"Uh, uh? Th-That is......"
Lianus flinched at the aggressive energy and shrank back a little.
Then,
Bang-!
Something exploded, and the air grew heavy in an instant.
"Who dares raise their voice before whom?"
A low growl like a beast's rumbled through the hall. Even the guards trembled under the pressure.
Lianus thought his knight was the coolest and most reliable as ever, clearing his throat with a satisfied hum.
"Go home. We'll compensate you generously for your travel."
Gesturing to Perry at the entrance, the hall doors opened.
The candidates looked dissatisfied, but with the soldiers glaring fiercely, they took their pouches and left without argument.
Dave muttering, 'They pay you even if you do nothing...?' nearly cracked Lianus's dignified expression, but he managed to hold it together.
"Rian."
As he watched the interview, Nihil appeared suddenly. Sir Evan's curse followed as usual. Lately, his language had gotten rougher, but it was startling enough to ignore.
And Nihil seemed to have taken a liking to teasing Sir Evan...
"Watch your language. What if the kid picks it up?"
Lianus's lips pouted this time.
"I'm not a kid."
"Right. Rian, any kids down there you don't like?"
"Hmm...? N-Not really."
"Some rub me the wrong way, so I was curious if you felt the same. Just point out anyone."
"Um......"
Lianus scanned below. He could mostly only see tops of heads. Then he pointed at a few.
"Those guys bugged me too. We can cut them."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You and I think alike."
"Hehe."
Nihil signaled the butler upon seeing Lianus's dopey grin.
In truth, 'think alike' was a lie. He'd already filtered out anyone he could.
He'd just tested Lianus's oddly sharp intuition.
"And doggy, you've got work to do."
"They pay you even if you do nothing...?"
"Dave, shh, shh!"
Yvon hurriedly shushed Dave. Seeing a familiar face seemed to ease his tension. Jane, on the other hand, was frozen like a statue.
The question-and-answer with the butler continued. Jane stammered more than usual from nerves, but the butler listened patiently without a hint of discomfort.
They only had healthy bodies to offer, so all they could say was they'd work hard, but he smiled warmly as if that sufficed.
There were odd questions too. Like whether they liked cute and lovable things. Of course they did—that's what made them feel cute and lovable—but Yvon and the boys answered yes on reflex.
When asked his impressions of the prince, he answered honestly as felt, and the butler smiled contentedly.
Just as the Q&A seemed to end, more candidates were filtered out. He couldn't tell the criteria. The butler just glanced somewhere and excluded a few.
Thinking it was over, a woman in maid attire approached from the hall entrance with paper and pens, distributing them. Reading it, it was an employment contract.
"This isn't just any contract. It's a magic contract. This one sheet is worth your annual salary."
Dave, who had been flapping the contract, held it reverently with both hands. The butler continued.
"If you're already serving another master or harbor ill intent toward His Highness, signing this will stop your heart."
The hall stirred again at the mention of a stopped heart.
"If you're afraid, leave now. It has no other functions. Also, while serving at Vernus Palace, your safety is our responsibility."
It made perfect sense. Serving royalty directly required tight security.
But hearing about a stopped heart made Yvon hesitate to sign.
'Ner... no, His Highness—I never planned anything bad, so signing should be fine. Yeah, we just came for jobs. But what's 'harm'? Does sweeping dirty warehouses count?'
As Yvon agonized inwardly, Dave confidently took the pen beside him.
"So as long as you don't mean harm, it's fine? Signing gets you hired right away?"
"Correct."
The butler smiled. Dave raised his voice, waving the contract.
"Why's everyone so scared? It's just a scare tactic to weed out bad apples. No way they'd waste an expensive magic contract on mere servants."
Dave swaggered, uncapping the fountain pen. He signed quickly and waved it.
"See! I'm perfectly fine...!"
Then the contract flashed, and mid-sentence, he clutched his chest.
"Gahk...!"
He toppled forward. The hall's air froze instantly. The guards' armor clinked in shock.
"D-Dave? D-D-Dave! Wh-Why?!"
Jane shook the fallen Dave frantically, but he lay motionless.
"Stop. Step back."