Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Wrath at the Banquet
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Among them were a few who picked fights, but no one dared cause a major scene at the Mielephon family's banquet without fear of repercussions.
The biggest topic drawing everyone's attention was the auction item for this Black Friday.
"Have you heard the rumors? About that auction item."
"I have. Nobles are flooding into Mielephon territory for it. I've never seen so many from foreign lands gathering like this."
It was all because of a single item rumored to be up for auction at Black Friday.
The Twilight of the Queen.
A legendary treasure said to have vanished over 200 years ago.
Not only did it grant its owner eternal health and longevity, but it was one-of-a-kind, embedded with a gem unlike any other in the world.
The epic tale surrounding it was so compelling that an original painting of the item had once sold for 2 billion cell.
Of course, 2 billion cell was an amount the ultra-wealthy could easily afford, but for mid-tier noble houses, it was nearly their entire fortune.
Few mentioned it outright, but many nobles subtly expressed their desire to at least catch a glimpse of the item.
"The impact is bigger than I expected."
"Do you think it'll fetch its true value, in your opinion as head maid?"
"Black Friday auctions often involve massive deals, so lack of immediate funds won't keep anyone from participating."
In other words, since the news wasn't sudden, they had time to prepare their finances properly.
"Foolish as my judgment may be, the item's value is so immense that I doubt money will even be an issue."
In truth, many nobles at this banquet would attend Black Friday.
But few might actually bid on the Twilight of the Queen.
And for good reason.
This wasn't some mere trinket—it was an artifact granting eternal health and longevity.
The upper echelons who could afford it might play a game of chicken among themselves, but most would just want to see it up close.
That said, the preparation time was indeed short.
Either way, it didn't matter to me.
"Shall we head back?"
I'd shown my face just enough.
I'd sampled plenty of the banquet food and even exchanged pleasantries with the Mielephon family head, Cattsi Mielephon, for the sake of appearances. It was about time to leave.
The fact that no one had approached me directly during that time felt a bit odd, though.
Just as I rose from the table...
A snippet of conversation drifted into my ear.
"I'm telling you, just listen to me, and I'll hook you up with the lady you want."
The voice brimmed with cocky confidence.
Roughly mid-teens, by the sound of it.
Some had just come of age, others hadn't.
I had no idea if they were imperial nobles or from foreign lands.
I only tuned into their chatter by pure chance.
"So, who's the lady that's caught your eye?"
"That... lady from the Velisty Barony..."
"Ah, her. Don't worry. I'll set up an opportunity for you. You can't go through life without holding a girl's hand."
"As expected of you, senior."
It was the kind of boastful talk you'd expect from hot-blooded young lads full of bravado.
Yeah, at that age, taking interest in the opposite sex was nothing new.
Still, calling him "senior" suggested they were noble heirs attending the academy.
Melissa had been an academy student before our parents passed.
Come to think of it, the brooches on their chests bore the same crest as the Imperial Academy Melissa attended.
Alumni of Melissa's school?
They looked about her age, and objectively speaking, they had handsome features—the type that could make plenty of girls swoon.
Even a cool-headed evaluation would say most women would find them appealing.
I was about to brush it off and move on when...
"Well, I didn't win them all over. There was one girl I tried with and failed."
Oh?
My interest piqued, and I found myself listening intently.
Of course, Misha the head maid showed a flicker of displeasure at the boys' talk, but she was far too professional to let it show.
"Young Master, shall we go?"
"Yes, let's."
Curiosity had indeed stirred. The academy Melissa attended.
I'd never gone myself, so I rarely heard stories about it.
"No way—a lady who rejected you, senior? Who was it?"
"Tch, yeah. One from a noble house in the Bata Kingdom."
Bata Kingdom? Our kingdom?
I was passing by them when...
"Isn't Bata some tiny little kingdom?"
"Where's Bata?"
"You idiot. It's that backwater speck clinging to one side of the Empire. You don't even know that?"
"Hey, not everyone knows everything."
"Wait. A lady from Bata Kingdom... No way, senior. Was that rumor true? About Melissa Cascadia from the student council..."
I froze in my tracks.
"Young Master?"
Misha's voice calling me sounded muffled, like I was underwater.
[Warning, Warning.]
They clearly had no idea Melissa was now the family head—a count.
The blond boy looked like a promising noble from some kingdom at first glance.
Imperial nobility? His attire suggested at least count-rank or higher.
Many imperial counts held more prestige than marquis or dukes from minor kingdoms.
"Yeah. I thought a girl from some podunk kingdom would be easy, but nope. That bitch. A high noble like me shows interest, and she plays hard to get. Thinks she's hot shit just 'cause she's decent with a sword."
What?
"Haha. She's on leave now, right?"
"Whatever. She can't take leave forever. She'll be back soon. You guys know this? Girls like that, all high and mighty? They get weak at night. Just wait. When she returns, I'll pin her down and make sure she knows who's on top."
Ah, Melissa and even Family Head Cattsi told me to avoid drawing aggro if possible, but this... this I couldn't ignore.
[Warning. Warning. Mental state highly unstable. Calm advised.]
'Librarian.'
[Acknowledged.]
'Shut up.'
BOOM!!!
The Librarian's warnings cluttered my vision, trying to obstruct it.
They were probably meant to hinder me from the start.
But would I, who tore apart a nine-headed hydra even after losing my sight, be stopped by mere text?
As I passed the boy, I spun around in an instant, seizing his throat. Before he could utter a word, I slammed him down, forcing him to his knees.
BOOM!!!
At the same time, countless black cracks spiderwebbed outward from where his knees hit the floor.
The force was immense, yet it didn't shatter his body outright.
The power I'd infused flowed through him into the ground, pulverizing it.
Of course, that wasn't the end.
I yanked him up by the throat, then hurled him face-first into the cracked floor.
"Gahk?! Ack?!"
The massive impact left his body limp, drained of strength.
It all happened in a blink—his entourage stared at me in stunned silence.
Naturally, the tremendous crash drew every noble in the banquet hall's gaze.
Men, women, young and old—all eyes on me. It was the kind of situation that might fluster anyone.
I pressed my foot firmly on his chest, which had taken such a blow he couldn't even stand, and unleashed a pulse of aura. Another massive crack split the floor.
"Keurk?!"
This time, the impact surged through him as raw pain, wracking his entire body.
Yet he desperately tried to move.
Struggling to command his unresponsive limbs.
"Sometimes, the well-educated are ruder than barbarians."
My icy voice echoed faintly through the hall.
It carried the horrific killing intent I'd honed endlessly in Labyrinthos.
"They never even consider that loose lips might get an axe to the head."
Melissa was an annoying little sister.
We'd bickered constantly since the old days.
Back then, I'd even thought she deserved whatever came her way.
But even if I resented her insults, I could never stand by while others trashed her.
And now, in this state where even that annoying Melissa seemed endearing—where I thirsted for human connection itself...
No need to say more.
"Wha... what..."
His trembling eyes, fixed on me from the floor, demanded to know why.
"Leon Cascadia. Of House Cascadia."
His eyes widened at my words.
"And you're wondering why her brother would take offense to you insulting his sister—the count—right in front of him?"
Remember one thing.
I don't know who you are.
I don't care who you are.
But the moment you insulted House Cascadia—my sister—I decided not to let you walk away.
Even if you're a high noble. Even royalty.
The repeated aura-infused blows ravaged his body, twisting muscles and cracking his aura heart from overload.
Unable to endure the agony, he foamed at the mouth and passed out.
I won't kill you. That would be too merciful.
With his aura heart shattered, he'll live out his days as a cripple.
Misha the head maid stared at me in genuine shock—the first time I'd seen such an expression on her—for my sudden actions and the devastation I'd wrought.
It had been quite some time since Leon left for Mielephon territory.
In the interim, I'd received updates via magic communication orb through him.
Contact with Black Friday had gone smoothly. All the jewels Luna Basilrin handed over, including the Twilight of the Queen, were entered into the auction.
The auction was imminent, and he'd return as soon as it wrapped up.
There was also idle chatter about how Luna's beauty had drawn far more attention than expected, leading to all sorts of annoyances.
"Hmm... She's definitely changed a lot since that day."
So much had shifted in that short time.
It felt like years' worth of events crammed into mere days.
And now, this leisure suited me.
Of course, with everything that happened in the territory and the capital of Bata Kingdom, I couldn't just idle away.
As Leon mentioned, ever since driving out the socialites—no, the necromancers—from Bata Kingdom that day, we'd detected suspicious movements in the territory.