Duke Pendragon

He was a man in his early twenties, wearing a greasy smile, confident eyes, and a gold-threaded insignia on one shoulder. A sword decorated with thin chains of pure gold hung on his waist.

“I am Baron Gale Lambert, knight of the Great Territory of Fiat. May I ask which family you are from?”

Gale Lambert spoke in a polite manner, but the way he carried himself was arrogant. He nodded his head lightly with one hand on his waist. It was because the Fiat family was an ancient family that had contributed to the founding of the empire, and he served under them with a fairly high status as a baron.

The group knew of the man’s high status, but they did not respond. They waited for Raven to make a move first because he was the representative of the group.

Raven looked up and down at the man named Gale Lambert. Seeing the brand-new sword, which clearly had never been used, and the man’s hands, which were as soft as a woman’s, Raven knew immediately that the man had never had any real-life experiences. He turned his head coolly while answering.

“None of your business.”

“….huh?”

Gale Lambert was waiting for an answer with a confident expression, then became shocked at the unexpected answer. His expression distorted.

“How rude! A proud noble should be respectful and respond in kind when another greets them first.”

Raven lifted his head slightly at the aggravated voice.

“How funny. Why do you care who we are? What, you want to get close to us if we are of a high status? What if we are mercenaries with common backgrounds? Or are you trying to flirt with the ladies because they look quite attractive?”

“Uh…. Hmp, ehemph!”

As Raven spoke, Gale Lambert’s expression kept changing and he let out a bizarre sound. It was a reaction that was unique to someone who had their schemes revealed.

“Y, you! How dare you! Listening to your ridiculous and nonsensical words, you must be an uneducated commoner merchant! Ts, tsk!” Gale Lambert’s face turned red in an instant, and he raised his voice.

The gazes of the second floor customers headed towards the voice. With a cold smile, Raven looked around at Leon and the two girls while shrugging.

“There will always be these sorts of people wherever you go. Leon, take care of it.”

“Yes.”

Leon stood up as if he had been waiting, then pulled out his identification token.

“Leon Johnbolt of Count Johnbolt’s family.”

“Heut?”

Gale Lambert showed a shocked expression. Although he had never heard of the family, the identification token was stamped with the official seal of the royal family. This meant the young man in front of him was someone from the imperial castle.

Leon continued, “And this honored person is…”

“We’re good.” Raven interrupted.

“Yes.”

Gale Lambert’s expression became all the more perplexed as Leon deeply lowered his head. The nobles of the imperial castle were known for their haughtiness and arrogance, so who was this person, and why was an imperial noble bowing his head so obediently?

“Hey, unless you’re going to keep standing there, why don’t you head back now?”

“Ehem!”

It was shameful, but he had no choice. Gale Lambert turned around while breathing roughly.

“They must be nobles from the imperial castle.”

“A count, are they from the royal household?”

“Maybe. I know that they have to stay their entire lives in the imperial city and have no land of their own, but they still belong to the imperial family.”

After watching the series of events unfold, the guests on the second floor began to chat amongst themselves.

“Um, Brother. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to say hello? It’s gotten a bit noisy because of us.”

Irene whispered and Raven shook his head lightly.

“It would cause a bigger commotion if we revealed our identities. I’m not purposefully hiding it, but there’s no need to take the initiative and reveal our identities.”

“Ah! I see now. After hearing your words, I see why that’s the case.”

“As expected from Your Grace!”

Irene and Lindsay clapped their hands in admiration while looking at Raven with bright eyes filled with respect. Raven smiled bitterly.

‘Ha! They don’t even know that they’re the ones responsible for this commotion.”

What would he do with the two naïve, innocent girls? Beautiful flowers always attracted bees. And sometimes, even dung flies like Gale Lambert were drawn in.

If he had introduced themselves as merchants, the man named Gale Lambert would have tried to hit on Lindsay and Irene. Raven could bet all of his wealth on it. Of course, it would not have been any different even if they introduced themselves as nobles.

If they had introduced themselves as low-ranking nobles, the others would have been trying to show off their status and wealth, pressuring the girls to go with them to tour around the city. If they introduced themselves as high-ranking nobles, the nobles would have tried to strengthen their relationship with the group by flattering and sucking up to the group. Even more so if they revealed their true identity as the Pendragon family. It was obvious that not only Gale, but all the nobles on the second floor would rush in.

‘I’m glad we have this guy.’

Raven glanced towards Leon who was sitting in a calm, upright position. It would have been quite troublesome without Leon.

If anyone had recognized Leon’s family, they would have mocked him as coming from the jester count’s family. But Leon obeyed Raven right away and revealed his identity, even though Raven knew clearly that Leon tried to hide his family. His actions revealed to Raven that Leon was quick-witted and reliable if anything.

“Here are your orders, dear customers.”

In the meantime, the dishes and the wine came out, and the four people enjoyed dinner while chatting.

It was then.

“Whaaaa!”

A sudden burst of cheers erupted downstairs, and the entire pub became noisy in an instant.

“It’s His Grace Morgan!”

“The strongest knight of Alice is here!”

“Move! Get out of the way!”

It was a huge mess. Screams burst out from all over the place, and people climbed over each other or even on top of tables to get a better look.

‘Morgan Louvre?’

Raven’s eyes glistened coldly.

Morgan Louvre, the eldest son of Count Louvre, came up to the second floor with two other Cosmos Knights, leaving behind the people’s cheers.

“Ah! Your Grace Morgan!”

“Hello, Sir Morgan Louvre! Congratulations on today’s victory!”

Almost everyone got up from their tables to greet him.

“Thank you. I was just lucky.”

The man had long reddish-brown hair. His thin face without a beard looked rather stern, and the sharp torn eyes and the slight curls at the corners of the mouth gave him a rather frivolous look.

‘That man must be Morgan Louvre. I don’t know if I should say that I’m lucky or cursed…’

This was the first time Raven saw Morgan Louvre. But he knew about Morgan, even before he opened his eyes as Alan Pendragon. He had heard about Morgan Louvre from Argos during his time in the demonic army.

“Then please enjoy your meal. I will see you all at the banquet after the finals.”

Morgan greeted the nobles one by one and sat down at the largest table on the second floor, guided by the owner of the restaurant instead of a waiter.

“What do you have today?”

The owner replied with a rather nervous expression at the words of the territory’s heir.

“Your Grace, I recommend…”

As the owner eagerly explained, Morgan glanced through the restaurant with a relaxed expression. His gaze came to rest upon a certain table. All the other tables had stood up to greet him or meet his eyes, but there had been one table that chatted away without paying attention to his grand appearance.

“Who are the guests at the table over there?”

Morgan pointed towards Raven’s table with his chin.

“Oh, hmm. I think they are nobles that came into Edgel just today, but I’m not too sure…”

The owner bowed while letting off cold sweat. Morgan stroked his chin while keeping his gaze glued.

“I see. I’ll have the same thing as them.”

“Ah, yes. Yes sir.”

The owner bowed deeply and headed down the stairs.

“The ladies are quite decent, Sir Louvre.”

One of the Cosmos Knights that accompanied Morgan also kept his eyes glued to Raven’s table, especially on Irene and Lindsay. He spoke to Morgan in a low voice.

“Haha, Sir Nelson has a good eye for women as well.”

Morgan smiled while staring at Raven’s table with suspicious eyes.

“It looks like the slim girl with pants seems to be around fifteen or sixteen. She seems well mannered, so she must be a daughter of a fairly high-ranking noble.”

“I see, I see. Then what about the lady in the light green dress?”

“Hooh, lady? The voluptuous one isn’t a noblewoman. She’s good at imitating, but her table manners are still quite awkward. Perhaps a daughter of a well-off merchant.”

“Is that so? I’m not so sure, but it must be the case if you say so, Sir Louvre.”

“Naturally. How many ladies do you think received Sir Louvre’s love? Seeing the atmosphere, I’m afraid one of those ladies will also become a recipient by the end of today as well. Hahaha!”

As Morgan Louvre and the two Cosmos Knights made comments regarding Irene and Lindsay in subdued voices, someone approached the table carefully.

“Hello there, Lord Morgan Louvre.”

“Hmm? Ho-oh, who is this? Sir Lambert. It has been a very long time.”

Morgan stood up with a welcoming smile and reached out his hand towards Gale Lambert. Gale’s expression had been rather nervous as he initiated the conversation but turned bright as Morgan returned the greeting.

“It has been a long time, hasn’t it? I was afraid you wouldn’t recognize me, Sir Louvre.”

“Haha! How could I not recognize you after we studied together for two years? Come, come, join us. Ah, do you have company?”

“Oh, yes. They are nobles from Fiat. Would you mind if we joined you?”

“Of course you can join us. Tell them to come right over.”

“I will. Thank you very much, Sir Louvre.”

Lambert hurried over to his companions with a rather touched expression.

“Sir Louvre, are you actually close to that man? The Lambert family is one of the youngest forces in the great territory of Fiat.”

Morgan responded with a smirk when one of the Cosmos Knights whispered.

“I know him from the imperial castle’s academy. Why would I bother with such a no-name when I was busy making friends with high-ranking nobles?”

“Then why…”

“I’m just playing along. His father died not too long ago, so he’s become a lord.”

“Hmm, I still don’t understand. Does his territory have something special?”

“Of course. Something very special. That man has five stepsisters, ranging from ages fifteen to twenty-one. All astounding beauties.”

“Ah….”

As Morgan Louvre moistened his lips with his tongue, the Cosmos Knights finally realized why Morgan Louvre, who was quite arrogant, was acting so friendly towards a mere baron.

“Sir Louvre, these are my companions.”

“N, nice to meet you, Sir Morgan Louvre.”

“Hello, I am…”

Gale Lambert’s companions introduced themselves one by one, and Morgan greeted them with a friendly smile.

“Yes, good to meet you all. Come on everybody, have a seat.”

“Yes!”

The Fiat’s nobles were thrilled by the kind and courteous attitude that Morgan showed. It was an excellent opportunity for them to build a friendly relationship with the heir to the Great Territory of Alice, which could be considered one of the three pillars of the Aragon Empire.

While they exchanged polite greetings, the food and the alcohol were served. Gale picked up the wine glass in a prepared manner and poured it into Morgan’s glass.

“Sir Louvre, please have some. Huh? Isn’t this Mondesan wine? Ah, as expected, Sir Louvre has very good taste.”

“Hmm?”

Morgan narrowed his eyes at the fuss Gale was making. He had not expected Mondesan wine to be served when he had asked to be served the same food as the other table. He slowly turned his head.

“They ordered Mondesan wine, just like that, in a restaurant like this?”

Mondesan wine was precious. It was a high-quality drink and not usually sold in restaurants like these. The reason they carried Mondesan wine was because they had specially ordered a few bottles to prepare for nobles that arrived for the festival. Morgan became intrigued. The four young men and women sitting at the table did not dress befitting of high-ranking nobles.

“Ah, they are nobles from the imperial castle.”

Gale spoke after noticing Morgan’s interest in Raven’s table.

“The imperial castle? Hm, but why do you look like that?”

Morgan tilted his head and spoke after seeing Gale’s visibly upset expression. Unlike Morgan, who barely drank to prepare himself for the next day’s match, Gale’s face was quite red from the drinks he consumed earlier in the evening. Gale replied as if he had been waiting for Morgan to ask.

“Oh, well, it’s like this…”

Gale explained the story in an eager voice, and Morgan’s expression gradually changed as the story continued.

“…Ha! Isn’t that ridiculous? Johnbolt or whatever, even if he is a part of the imperial household, how could he be so arrogant?”

Gale’s story concluded at last, but there was a clear sneer around Morgan’s mouth.

“Sir Lambert, I think you are sorely mistaken about something.”

“Uh, what?”

“Count Johnbolt’s family? Hoo-hoo, I guess you might not know because you’ve never attended a banquet in the imperial castle.”

“Well, that’s true, but..”

“The Johnbolts are not a part of the imperial household.”

“Then…?”

Everyone piqued their ears and leaned closer. Morgan gave a full smile and moved his lips while slowly turning his head.

“The so-called 'Count of Clowns.' The Johnbolt family is a lowly family that gained their title when the previous emperor played a cruel joke.”