Chapter 26: Unwee Guests


    She knew just from a single look that the lesson she had taught himst time did not manage to curb his unreasonable hostility to herself. Instead, it looks like the boy had learned how to not make it so obvious instead.


    Evelyn didn''t have high hopes for him anyway, but it was still slightly disappointing. As far as she knew, there were only three children in her generation of the Knox family, and that was including herself.


    If Tristan''s attitude was anything to go by, she didn''t hold high hopes for the third child either.


    "I guess I''m lucky enough that my parents love me in this life, unlike thest one. Older cousins or whatever I just wish they wouldn''t get in my way."


    ----------


    Carriage after carriage seemed to rush through the ornate gates of the Knox mansion, and Elder Floris''s eyes struggled to keep up with the influx of guests.


    Even with the money spent on the mercenaries and teams from the hunter''s guild, the people in charge of important matters needed to be those who could be trusted.


    Elder Stane was responsible for greeting important guests and leading them to the tform where Osmond Knox and the other distinguished would be seated. This left only Elder Floris, who was responsible for making sure no ''unwanted'' guests ended up ruining the ceremony.


    The biggest problem with this task was that the ceremonies of the ancient families have always been open to public since ancient times. Anyone who wanted toe, could walk right in and watch.


    Who would dare do something they shouldn''t when faced with thebined might of the ancient families? After all, the top echelons would all be there during a ceremony.


    Unfortunately, times have changed, and this is no longer true. The ancient families are no longer so formidable, but their traditions remain unchanged.


    It was at times like these that Floris wished that the patriarch would just do away with these obsolete things.


    If they just allowed the invited guests to enter and barred everyone else, there would be no need for her to stare at each and every carriage entering and exiting with half of her heart in her throat.


    "Halt! Stop that carriage!"


    One of the two hunter teams hired to protect the entry point to the Knox mansion immediately barred the gates and surrounded the carriage that the elder pointed out.


    The horses barely managed to halt before being pierced by the pikes of the hunters, and a disheveled man with washed out green hair kicked open the door with a loud bang of dissatisfaction.


    "What the hell is going on?!"


    Elder Floris''s face remained cold and unmoved when faced with his anger.


    "You''re not wee here, ise. Turn around and leave."


    There was a mocking smile on the man''s face. "Hah? I thought the ceremonies of the ancient families were always open to public?"


    The olddy nodded. "Open to regr public, yes, but not gangsters."


    ise burst into loudughter, causing the dissatisfied guests who had to wait for the barred gate to open to re at the man.


    "I''m a honest gentleman, dear elder. You know I run businesses all over Moreen city that depend on my good reputation to function. How would the Knox familypensate me for the losses due to your baseless usations?"


    But elder Floris remained unmoved.


    "Who in Moreen city does not know that the so called clubs you run are just a barely legal front for trafficking and prostitution? Like I said, if you''re not here to make trouble, then leave. And if you are here to make trouble, you better be ready for the consequences."


    Of course, since ise hade here so openly, he was already prepared.


    "It seems like the elder has grown senile with age? Shall I help correct your memory?"


    Just as he was about to wave his hand and signal the dozens of carriages filled with his men toe out, however, all his ns came to a screeching halt.


    "Is there a problem?"


    Elder Floris breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the golden haired youngdye out of the mansion. "Miss Bree."


    "I noticed that no new carriages seemed to be entering anymore. What''s going on?"


    Of course, ise wouldn''t have survived so long in Moreen city if he couldn''t tell when death was approaching, so he decisively clenched his fist to signal his men to leave, and then bowed towards Floris.


    "My apologies, but since the Knox family does not wish to wee me, I shall take my leave. It is enough for a businessman of my caliber to have suffered such besmirching of his reputation, and I do not wish to be humiliated any further."


    The hunter team gave way. They were only paid to protect the Knox mansion from threats, and there was no profit in pursuing someone who already intended to leave.


    There were a few murmurs of dissatisfaction from the other guests as they were finally allowed entry, but no one seemed too bothered. After all, everyone knew who the green haired man was.


    To most of these prestigious guests, he was just a small time thug. A parasite of the city that had grown a bit bigger recently, but nothing worth noticing. The fact that the Knox family was scared of him only made them look weaker than they thought.


    But even as ise had his carriage rush away as fast as possible, he still felt that feeling of impending doom wasn''t going away at all.


    "Don''t!"


    A few momentster, the feeling finally seemed to vanish, and the green haired man breathed a sigh of relief.


    ''Just who was that woman? Howe I didn''t know there was such a person here today?''


    Bree halted the spirit power she was gathering in her hands as she gave the elder a confused look.


    "Isn''t he a troublemaker?"


    Elder Floris sighed. How good would it be if they could just get rid of everyone with the potential to cause trouble?


    "He''s not someone I want to be here during the ceremony, but you can''t kill him. He came as a guest, and it''s already against the norm that we turned him away. If we killed him while he was leaving without making any trouble, it would just cause more problems for us in the end."


    Even though the blonde girl looked dissatisfied, she left after giving the elder an understanding nod.


    Elder Floris went back to monitoring the entering guests with a sigh.


    "I just hope that there''s no more trouble."


    ----------


    Meanwhile, Evelyn had already been led out of her room by her mother, and was now waiting in the garden outside her mansion with no one but her little fox to keep herpany.


    There were also three cloaked figures that she knew to be the elite protectors of the Knox family not far from her, but they didn''t respond to her no matter how she tried to approach them.


    She would be even more surprised if she knew that these three were the only remaining protectors of the Knox family.


    If this was a normal day, she would have tried to use her probe skill simply out of curiosity. It was not every day that these people exposed themselves so openly in front of her, after all.


    However, today she was determined to preserve her spirit power, at least until the test was over.


    After a while, she got used to ignoring their presence just as they seemed to ignore her words. It really felt like she was truly alone with her little fox.


    She hugged her fluffy little fox closer to her chest.


    "Will be you be alright alone, Ruru?"


    The fox gave her a ''yip!'', which could mean either yes or no, she honestly had no idea.


    ''Little Ruru should be over level twenty now, right? Another skill should have unlocked, but since I can''t take her with me for the test, I''ll check it outter. It''s a bit strange that even my bracelet and belt can''t be taken, but whatever.''


    The only good thing was that the garden seemed to have beenpletely cleared out for her to rx before the test, and not even that eyesore Tristan came by to bother her.


    "The less I see of him, the better. But I guess I''ll have to meet some people after the ceremony."


    The pink haired girl sighed. After four consecutive birthdays with only her parents, wasn''t today a bit too much of a step up? If she was a normal girl, she would have been quaking in her boots right now.


    "Isn''t this too much pressure for a five year old? Even I feel nervous."


    Her pink fox snuggled into her arms with a purr, and Evelyn smiled at Ruru''s efforts tofort her.


    "Don''t worry, your master isn''t so weak. You''ll see, Ruru, I''ll make you proud."


    There was a rustle of leaves not far from her, but the protectors didn''t seem to react. She turned around to see her mothere to her while wiping sweat off her forehead.


    "Let''s go, baby. Everything''s ready."


    Evelyn obediently held her mother''s hand as she was led towards the area where the ceremony was being held. It looked like all the guests who should havee were already waiting there, because she didn''t notice anyone else on the way.


    Just as she was feeling rxed, however, thunderous ps of hooves suddenly echoed in her ears as an ornate golden carriage seemed to have appeared out of nowhere behind them.


    So great was its momentum that by the time she realized, she was already being held securely in the arms of one of the cloaked figures, while the other two had barely managed to move her mother out of the way.


    The purple haired girl in the carriage made a ''tsk'' sound when the driver told her no one had been injured.


    "It would have been so funny too if the ceremony girl had been stomped by our horses while everyone waited eagerly."


    The boy sitting on her opposite side chuckled. His hair was the same shade as the girl''s, and both of them had the same pattern of white streaks on their head. Like lightning in a purple sky, this was a symbol of the real Lavinian royalty.


    The strongest power in the continent.


    "Heh, you''re too simple, sister. At least let her have some spotlight before you stomp her down, you know? Wouldn''t our trip here be pointless otherwise?"