"Get out of the way, Finbul. I think your behavior has troubled this young lady."
Just when Lorraine Hill was hesitating about how to refuse, a slightly taller and stronger young man came over. Looking at the military uniform and badges on his body, he seemed to be a newly promoted military noble.
"Sorry to bother you. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jihassen, a member of the Salamander Hussars." His voice seemed particularly rough and loud among the surrounding nobles.
"It's a great honor to meet Miss Lacey. The moment you entered the hall, I was conquered by your beauty. Please allow me to be your most loyal suitor." He declared directly, regardless of the past playstyle among nobles.
Thoughts of love.
This way of playing straight ball immediately calmed the melancholy noble young people just now, making them a little confused for a moment.
Hearing such a frank declaration of pursuit, Lorraine Hill was also a little inexperienced and hesitated for several seconds.
"This... it's very sudden. I don't have any thoughts about love or marriage yet."
"I understand that a being like you, like moonlight, must choose carefully. But this does not hinder my passionate love. He will wait here sincerely and patiently until the moment you lean over to look at me."
Originally, some of the flattering behaviors of the opposite sex were easily despised by others, but when he spoke out in such a righteous and upright manner, he became taller and more powerful.
"Ji Hassen, you!" Several young nobles who arrived first were a little angry when they saw this scene.
Teenagers are the ones who care about face the most, but to be robbed of their limelight in such a scene is not a slap in the face to their faces. If they don't get it back today, I'm afraid they will become a laughing stock in the aristocratic circle tomorrow.
"How could you be like this...so disrespectful of etiquette? You are putting Miss Lacey in an embarrassing situation. You are simply too rude." Their faces turned red with anger and they uttered a few awkward words of reprimand.
"Oh, I express my true feelings. What's wrong with me? I'm not forcing others, and I'm not using any tricks. What's wrong with being honest and generous? I think your pretentious style is strange. It seems that everyone has to surround me.
It's normal to look after you and take care of you. Are you babies who haven't been weaned yet?"
"Giggle~" After saying this, the laughter of many noble ladies came from the surrounding area.
This time, these young and artistic aristocrats couldn't bear it any longer. They pointed at the strong aristocratic officer and said all kinds of rebuttal and disparaging words. What about aristocratic elegance, step by step, and pure spirit?
Intertwined, etc., Jihassen is an extremely rude person and cannot understand at all, etc.
Although these words are logical, they are not very lethal. In the eyes of that Jihassen, they are no different from noisy ducks. He also shrugged as if he didn't care and didn't understand, which made the behavior of these people even more ridiculous.
stand up.
Stab——
The sound of drawing a sword suddenly sounded, and then one of them threw the wine in his hand at Jihassen. This was a way of showing a duel between nobles.
"Oh...you actually want to duel with me?" Jihassen wiped the wet drink from his body with his hand and looked towards the other side with disdain.
"Of course, I will risk my reputation to duel with you. If you lose, you have to get away from Miss Lacey." The young man who greeted Lorraine Hill and invited him to dance held a sword with both hands and faced Ji Hassen.
Make your own declaration.
"This... please calm down." Lorraine Hill just wanted to cover his forehead at this time. How come the situation became like this in just a short while. If this matter spreads to the outside world, it seems
It was as if she had provoked the duel between the two parties, how could they draw their swords so easily?
"I'm sorry for disturbing Miss Lacey, but please forgive me for going against your wishes this time, because I need to protect my qualifications to pursue you, which is also related to my dignity and honor." Ji Hassen said to Lorraine Hill upon seeing this.
He bent down to salute again, said a few words, and then turned to look at the melancholy aristocratic young men.
Seeing Jihason building up his favor and character in front of Lorraine Hill again, the lungs of the people on the other side were about to explode. How could he be so shameless? But at this moment, the beauty is in front of him, and once he loses his grace, everything will be meaningless.
They had to act quickly and prepare to use a duel to silence this arrogant guy.
"Being young is so beautiful." Earl Howard took a sip from his wine glass, shook his head slightly and sighed.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Lorraine Hill asked slightly puzzled.
"Of course not, because it is the power of a noble to challenge anyone who challenges his honor and glory." Howard explained.
"If I were ten years younger, I think I would also draw a sword for a beautiful lady like you. This is the romance of life." He expressed his admiration and love for this girl in a joking tone.
"Your Excellency, you are very complimentary." Regarding this, Lorraine Hill had no choice but to give up.
Soon, the middle of the dance floor was cleared, and the guests gathered around excitedly, looking at the two people preparing in the middle.
"I didn't expect to see such a show today. I haven't seen a duel for several months."
"Isn't it because of the blockade and purge? Hey, forget it, let's not mention these sad things."
"Who do you think will win?"
"I think it's Viscount Gerhassen. He is a military noble and currently the deputy commander of the Salamander Hussars. His strength has been tested step by step on the battlefield."
"But Finbul is not bad at all. Now he has the strength of Sequence 5. Looking at the group of companions around him who are helping him collect heirlooms, and with the blessing of a luxurious equipment, he may not lose to Jihason."
"No matter how good the equipment is, it still depends on the person using it. I still think Jihassen has a good chance of winning."
"How about we gamble on something?"
"How about three bottles of wine from Zixun Manor."
"Okay, the total price is 100 gold coins, which is not too much."
Amidst the discussion of others, the two people in the middle also finished their preparations one after another, each pulling out the sword in their hands and standing at a distance.
At first, Lorraine Hill felt a little apologetic, feeling that her behavior intentionally or unintentionally led to the duel, but after several attempts to dissuade her to no avail, she gave up this idea and focused on observing the banquet.
various opinions and ideas.
If the nobles are so addicted to pleasure and beauty, then this country is not far from decline.
Lorraine Hill extends his perception, accepts and analyzes more information, and looks for valuable parts.
"These country bumpkins are so arrogant...Humph, His Majesty is not here yet, and he is still dancing like this. I really think we can't defeat him." From a corner, subtle voices came to Lorraine Hill amid the noise.
ears.
"Before, it was to win over and resolve domestic unrest. Now that there is no second Western Expedition, I think their good days are coming to an end. Sooner or later, the four great dukes will deal with these people. Just wait."
"The glory of the empire always belongs to us, and it is our efforts from generation to generation that support this huge country. Those people just survived by luck, why should they sit on our heads..."
This small voice circulated among several luxuriously dressed nobles, and judging from the coat of arms on their collars, they all belonged to established families in the empire.
Is this the difference and opposition between the old and new nobles? Lorraine Hill lowered his head slightly, analyzed the conversations of several people in his mind, and slowly summarized their identities.
Finally, based on the noisy words among these nobles, the voices in the entire hall were slowly divided into two parties. One party belonged to the descendants of the original great nobles of the empire, and the other party were small nobles or commoners who rose to power mostly through military merit.
After the emperor's death, there was no one to reconcile and balance the two sides, and the rift began to widen and slowly emerged.