To be honest, Duanmu Huai hadn't expected that coming to a banquet out of boredom would actually let him witness such a good show.
The reason he agreed to accompany Anne to this banquet was mainly because the Guardian Civilization was still in the middle of rebuilding, and for the moment Duanmu Huai had nothing important to do. So when Anne told him they had been invited to a noble banquet, Duanmu Huai agreed.
After all, this was the first time he had attended a noble banquet in real life, and he wanted to experience the atmosphere.
But what he hadn't expected… was that he would actually get to see such a spectacle!
A breakoff scene—he had thought this sort of thing only existed in web novels!
Except… wasn't the reason way too stupid?!
In the web novels Duanmu Huai used to read, breakoff scenes usually happened because the male lead's family had fallen into ruin, or the male lead had no talent, lost his inheritance rights, and so on. The fiancée would feel there was no benefit to marrying a useless man and break off the engagement. Then the male lead would declare something like, Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully a poor young man! … The reasoning was a little shallow, sure, but if you thought about it, it wasn't unreasonable.
After all, who wanted to marry their precious daughter to a useless bum? Unless the girl herself was considered worthless and her family wanted to throw her away, most people would rather break the engagement.
Of course, it wasn't unheard of for the man to initiate a breakup. Duanmu Huai remembered seeing short videos where the husband, cuckolded by his wife, played the incriminating footage during the wedding and then kicked the woman out.
But… seriously, this excuse was laughable!
"True love"? What kind of brain-dead idiot would even say that?!
"Lord Yard…!"
The noble young lady called Odelle was clearly shocked. She wanted to say something more, but the man waved his hand to cut her off.
"Silence, Odelle Hashar! I have judged you unfit to be my fiancée. What's more, you have committed countless wicked deeds against Angela—don't you dare deny it!!"
"Wicked deeds…?"
Odelle looked completely lost at Yard Urich's accusation, as if she had no idea what he was talking about. But Yard glared at her angrily and continued.
"You looked down on Angela because she was born a commoner, didn't you? You bullied her, stole and destroyed her belongings, and even tried to assassinate her! I already investigated this thoroughly! You were the mastermind behind all of it!"
The hall fell into an uproar at his words. Even Anne and Guleya stared wide-eyed, unsure what to say. Duanmu Huai glanced at them and asked.
"Is that true?"
"I—I never heard of anything like that happening in the academy!"
Anne shook her head desperately. No way—she was the princess of Manaria. If something like bullying or even an assassination attempt had happened at Manaria Academy, there was no way she wouldn't have heard about it!
"Miss Hannah?"
Duanmu Huai turned to Hannah, who frowned deeply.
"While you were away from the academy, Lady Odelle and Angela did have some conflicts, but at most Lady Odelle asked Angela not to get too close to her fiancé. I never heard of anything like what he's describing…"
"We are willing to testify!!"
At that moment, several young nobles stepped out from the crowd to stand by Yard's side. Anne opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"What's wrong with her?"
Seeing Anne's expression, Duanmu Huai asked Guleya, wondering if one of those boys was perhaps someone she liked.
Guleya hesitated before answering quietly.
"Those young men are all sons of high-ranking nobles within the Kingdom of Manaria… very important figures."
"I see."
Duanmu Huai finally understood Anne's reaction. Before the banquet, she had explained that the engagement between the two families was orchestrated by her father, the king, as part of a political marriage. But because it was political, it wasn't just about two families—such an engagement could affect the kingdom's power balance.
Now, seeing heirs from influential families opposing the king's approved engagement was enough to make anyone suspect internal power struggles. No wonder Anne was so stunned; who would have thought a simple betrothal banquet could turn into this?
At that moment, the noble sons lined up at Angela's side and began rebuking Odelle.
"Angela may be a commoner, and she may not fully understand noble etiquette, but your reproaches went too far, Lady Odelle!"
"She has worked hard, yet because of her status you treated her so cruelly. Such evil cannot be tolerated!"
Odelle's face grew paler under the accusations. She protested weakly.
"I did teach Angela certain lessons, but I don't recall ever harming her!"
"That is your arrogance! As the daughter of a powerful count, you look down on ordinary commoners!"
Yard glared at her fiercely.
"Stop your lies! Other young ladies have already come to us in tears, saying you ordered them to bully Angela!!"
Soon, several noble girls stepped forward, crying miserably. From their testimonies, Duanmu Huai pieced the story together: Odelle, as the count's daughter, had always despised common-born Angela. She scolded her, pressured other noble girls to bully her, and tried to cut ties with her socially… Basically, she was being painted as the wicked stepsister type straight out of Cinderella.
As they spoke, the mood of the banquet shifted. Guests began to glare at Odelle with anger and contempt. She stood there frozen, not knowing what to do.
"Your Highness!!"
Suddenly, Yard lifted his head and looked at Anne. At his call, everyone turned their eyes to her.
"Please, punish this vile woman immediately!!"
"Eh? But… this…"
Anne was completely flustered. She had come only to represent the royal family and offer blessings to the newly engaged couple. Who would have thought the engagement banquet would turn into this mess? She had no idea what to do.
She wasn't good with social situations to begin with; otherwise she wouldn't only have Guleya as her single friend at the academy.
As Anne faltered, Duanmu Huai patted her head.
"Leave it to me."
"Knight, sir? You can handle it?"
Anne's eyes lit up. Duanmu Huai chuckled.
"Of course. You're my fiancée, after all. I won't just stand by while others trouble you."
"Hehehe…"
Blushing, Anne smiled shyly, lifted her skirts, and stepped back. Duanmu Huai strode forward, fixing his gaze on the crowd. The murmurs instantly died away. Everyone knew of Duanmu Huai's fame as a dragonslayer, and even if he hadn't been granted a title, as the fiancé of both Anne and Guleya, he was essentially the future king of Manaria. No one dared be disrespectful before him.
His eyes swept over them—the pale-faced Odelle, the self-righteous noble heirs, the weeping noble girls, and Angela, trembling in Yard's arms.
Then he smirked coldly.
Heh. Trying to play tricks in front of an Inquisitor? You must be tired of living.
Aloud, he said, "I've more or less understood the situation. Since you've said so much, then… show me the evidence."
"Eh?"
The crowd froze at his outstretched hand. Duanmu Huai raised a brow.
"What? Weren't you all so loud and righteous just now? Don't tell me you have no evidence and were just making things up?"
He turned to the crying noble girls. Under his gaze, they recoiled in fear.
"Let's start with you. You said Lady Odelle ordered you to bully Angela. Then produce the evidence."
"W-we…"
Their faces turned ashen.
"We have no evidence…"
"No evidence? No letters, no written notes? Then what nonsense were you spouting here?"
"N-no, it's not that we wanted to hide evidence, sir!"
One girl burst into tears, appealing to him.
"Lady Odelle implied it, so we had no choice! If we refused, we'd become her next targets!!"
"Oh, I see."
Duanmu Huai nodded.
"Then bring out a witness. If what you say is true, someone must have suffered after refusing Odelle. Where is she?"
"This…"
They fell silent again. Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes.
"So there is no such victim? Which means you were lying all along?"
"Sir, you—!"
"Am I wrong?"
Duanmu Huai shot Yard a cold glance.
"They have no evidence, no witnesses, nothing to back up their words. Isn't this slander? By this logic, I could punch you right now, then claim His Majesty the King ordered me to. Would you accept that?"
"Ugh…"
Yard's face went pale. Anne couldn't help but laugh softly.
"Sir!"
Another noble youth stepped forward.
"We vouch for it with our honor—"
"How much is your honor worth? Shut your mouth."
"You—you dare insult our families?!"
"So what?"
Duanmu Huai snorted coldly, pointing at them.
"Look at yourselves. Clearly this wasn't improvised—you planned to cause trouble at this banquet to disgrace Lady Odelle. That's your business, not mine. But do you take the rest of us guests for fools? We came for an engagement banquet, not a circus. You schemed to trick us into watching your farce, and you expect me to respect you after this cheap act?"
"…"
The other guests' gazes changed. He was right. None of them had heard of any such matter before—they had simply come to celebrate the engagement. And now these heirs were using them as pawns?
Did they think everyone here was a monkey?
Sensing the shift in mood, Yard turned pale.
"Sir—!"
"Enough!"
Duanmu Huai cut him off with a wave.
"You want me and Anne to give you an explanation? Fine. I'll give you one…"
He strode up to Yard, yanked Angela out of his arms, and stared at her closely. She trembled, face white, looking exactly like one of those pitiful heroines from melodramas—fall in love, get pregnant, miscarry, then discover your husband cheated with your best friend, and end up divorced and thrown out.
But Duanmu Huai wasn't about to indulge her. As an Inquisitor, he had seen far too much.
He bared his teeth in a cold smile and raised his hand.
"Guards! Throw this woman into prison!"
"What?!!"
Everyone gasped. No one had expected him to order such a poor girl straight into prison!
"How could you?! Angela is the victim here!!"
Yard roared, clenching his fists. But Duanmu Huai casually backhanded him to the ground.
"All those accusations came from her mouth, didn't they? No evidence, slandering others—such a woman deserves a night in a cell to cool off. As for the rest of you…"
His cold gaze swept over the so-called witnesses.
"You're all coming with me to the palace! We'll settle this in front of the king himself!"
No one dared defy him. Everyone knew how ruthless the Dragonslayer could be, and just standing near him was terrifying. The noble youths climbed angrily into their carriages, clearly intending to complain to the king.
Of course, Duanmu Huai also ordered their parents to be summoned. If the son isn't taught, the father is at fault. Let's see them all take responsibility together!
"Is this really okay?"
Anne was happy, but still uneasy. If this matter reached the king, it wouldn't be small.
"Of course. If these bastards want to use you, they'll pay the price."
At first, Duanmu Huai had been only a bystander—it wasn't his business.
But when Yard demanded Anne herself deliver judgment, things changed.
Their wild accusations had already swayed sympathy toward Angela. If Anne refused to punish Odelle, she would be seen as cold and heartless. But if she obeyed Yard's demand… What a joke! Who was the princess here—you or her? You dare order her around?
In ancient times, your whole clan would have been executed for that!
"Hehe…"
Anne, clever as she was, understood why Duanmu Huai stood up for her. Smiling, she clung to his arm and said no more.
Hannah, however, spoke anxiously.
"But was it really necessary to send Angela to prison? I know girls can have conflicts for various reasons, but this seems too much…"
"Heh. My thoughts are the opposite."
Duanmu Huai shook his head, then turned to Olgis.
"Olgis, go to the Holy Church. Find Lorena and bring back a few strong exorcists."
"Yes, master."
Olgis nodded and left at once. The other three girls exchanged looks. Finally, Guleya asked hesitantly.
"Knight, sir… what do you mean by this?"
"I suspect that Angela is not human."
"Eh?"
The girls were shocked.
"Is that true?"
"I have a hunch, but no proof yet."
The reason was simple. At first, Angela's display above her head had shown [Angela (LV13)], perfectly normal.
But when Duanmu Huai approached her, the display suddenly flickered into a blur.
It quickly returned to normal, but it was enough to raise his suspicion. He was certain Angela's form was some kind of disguise, and the blur was caused when his Aura of Fear interfered with it. Even if resisted, his aura always caused at least one round of trembling—brief, but unavoidable.
And more importantly, although Angela faltered under his Aura of Fear, she recovered almost instantly.
That meant she had resisted it.
No human could resist his Aura of Fear.
So no matter what Angela claimed, Duanmu Huai refused to believe she was human.
He was certain—this girl's identity was deeply suspicious.
(End of this chapter)