The Herb King

In the Maynard Household, Count Lucas sat inside his room with a solemn look on his face. He has heard from his subordinates that the Lassiter Household was inviting the elites of the Leone Empire to their estate. He was also waiting for their invitation, but no one came to visit them. This made him feel that something was wrong. "Why is the Lassiter Household treating us coldly? I don't think I've done anything to provoke them." He muttered in a serious tone.

He recalled his previous interactions with the Lassiter Household, but he couldn't think of anything that made the relationship between them turn sour. Suddenly, he recalled the matter that happened in the academy some time ago. "I remember that Joseph and Sir Aethelwolf had some disagreements before. Does he still harbor anger towards us because of that event?"

Thinking about this, Lucas summoned Joseph.

"Father, is there anything you want me to do?" Joseph bowed his head lightly while staring at the old man.

Looking at his son, Lucas felt a sense of disappointment. He knew that Enrique's death was somehow related to Joseph, but he let the matter go since it might attract the attention of their enemies. "You know about the banquet in the Lassiter Household, right?" The old man asked in a cold voice.

Hearing his icy tone, Joseph carefully nodded his head.

"The Lassiter Household didn't send us an invitation. Do you know why?"

"What?! They actually dare to ignore us?!" Joseph unconsciously blurted in anger.

Bang!

Lucas slammed the table, blasting it into smithereens. "You unfilial bastard! This is all your goddamn fault! If you didn't provoke Aethelwolf back then, he would have already sent us an invitation!" The old man roared angrily.

Joseph nervously took a step back when he saw how furious his father was. "F-Father, there is no need to think deeply about this. It's just a banquet hosted by a minor noble. Even if he is a Level 4 Alchemist-"

Pa!

Joseph held his face in surprise. His father actually slapped him?

"Just a banquet hosted by a minor noble? Are you really that foolish?! Don't you f*cking know that His Majesty himself visited the Lassiter Household?! All the upper echelons of the Leone Empire are now there! It would have been a great opportunity for us to strengthen our ties with those people! I'll f*cking beat you up!" Lucas roared furiously before beating up his son.

After a short while, he sat weakly on his chair. "I'm more worried about another thing. I heard of rumors that Sir Aethelwolf has become a Level 5 Esper. Now, do you understand why I'm furious?"

Joseph who was pretending to be unconscious abruptly stood up when he heard this.

"What?! No way! He's just a greenhorn! How could someone so young be a Level 5 Esper? It must be fake!" Joseph refuted with an ugly expression.

Lucas snorted when he heard this. "Investigate this matter quickly! You're not allowed to go back here if you can't bring back a piece of valuable information! F*ck off!"

"Yes, father!" Joseph hurriedly left the room.

After leaving the Maynard Household estate, Joseph applied a cold compress on his face. His father's hands were so heavy that he almost thought that he would die under his hands. "That damnable old bastard! How dare he beat me up?!" He muttered through gritted teeth.

"Stop spouting nonsense! Someone might hear you!" Dave Maynard who came with him warned in a grave tone.

Joseph crushed the ice pack in his hands. "Have you also heard about the rumors of Aethelwolf being a Level 5 Esper?" He asked in a cold voice.

Dave Maynard nodded his head solemnly. "I heard about this matter yesterday when the Lassiter Household was sending invitation letters to the elites of the Leone Empire. I thought we also received an invitation, but it seems like we didn't get one. Could it be that Sir Aethelwolf is still angry because of that matter?" He was talking about their disagreements during the enrollment period at the academy. They had a conflict with Aethelwolf back then because they didn't follow his commands.

"Father also believes that it is the reason why the Lassiter Household is giving us the cold shoulder, but I think there's something more to this." Joseph muttered with a dark look.

"What are you planning to do now?" Dave Maynard stared at his brother nervously. This guy has some crazy tendencies and he didn't know what he might do given the situation they were in.

"We'll head to the Lassiter Household. I want to see if that bastard, Aethelwolf, would not let us enter their estate!" Consumed with rage, Joseph wanted nothing more than to punch Aethelwolf in the face.

"Are you insane?! The Lassiter Household didn't send us an invitation! If we force our way inside their estate, he might even lock us up! You must think about this carefully!" Dave warned in a stern voice.

"You don't have to say anything! If you're scared, then leave now! I don't believe that they will dare to lock up the future family head of the Maynard Household!" Joseph glared at him angrily.

Hearing this, Dave shook his head and sighed. "Don't blame me later. I don't think we can still work together, Joseph. You're on your own now."

"Stop the carriage. I'm heading out." Dave told the coachman.

When the carriage stopped, Dave exited calmly as he ignored Joseph's dark look.

"Dammit! I can't believe that I trusted that coward! I'll deal with him later!"

"Let's go to the Lassiter Household's estate!" Joseph told the coachmen.

Soon, the carriage arrived at their destination and they were stopped by the guards.

"I apologize, Sir Joseph, but you can't go to the banquet hall without an invitation letter. Please don't make this difficult for us." A Level 3 guard said in a polite tone.

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows when he heard this. He stepped out of the carriage and grabbed the guard with an agitated look. "How dare a mere guard like you block me from entering?!"