The commotion at the banquet came to an end.
But it did not end there.
The king had already given the order, requiring everyone present at the time not to reveal anything about this matter.
As for the broken engagement incident at the banquet, the official story announced was that the duke's eldest son had lost his senses, cheated, and refused to repent. Angela was painted as one of those green tea bitches who would stop at nothing to climb up the social ladder (which was more or less true, to be honest). Of course, the public statement was that both of them were imprisoned.
Yes, the duke's eldest son was indeed imprisoned. If he hadn't been his own son, the duke would have cut off that idiot's head right then and there. It was said that afterward this fool still refused to change his ways, insisting that he and Angela were truly in love, and even saying that although Angela was a succubus, everything she had done could be forgiven… honestly, if it had been Duanmu Huai, he would've chopped that fool down on the spot.
Keeping him around was nothing but trouble.
Not only that, but after this, the question of how to deal with demons was also put on the agenda.
Why hadn't Angela been discovered before? The reason was that she had infiltrated the Magic Academy, and in a place where magic power swelled everywhere, faint demonic energy could easily be concealed. Even if someone noticed something felt a little off, they would only assume it was the aura leaking from the library's magic books, not that it came from a demon.
But now this problem had to be resolved. As for how… His Majesty the King seemed intent on contacting the Holy City before making a decision.
Of course, political matters were something Duanmu Huai never bothered with. He only took charge of hunting down xenomorphs, heretics, and demons.
So soon, he made his own decision.
That was to travel to the western lands the succubus had mentioned, to investigate and figure out exactly what had happened there.
As for whether Fafnir had really been resurrected, Duanmu Huai wasn't worried about that. With Fafnir's power, if it truly had come back to life, it would have already stormed over here with overwhelming force. There was no need to use such roundabout methods to weaken its opponents' strength. Besides, according to the records from the Magic Academy, Angela had only enrolled this year as a freshman. Even if her plan went smoothly, it would take at least two or three years before she could bring Manaria to the point she described.
So Duanmu Huai was certain that even if Fafnir had resurrected, it was only in a superficial state. It had no real ability to take on the Kingdom of Manaria yet. Otherwise, it wouldn't need to resort to such tricks to sap Manaria's national strength in advance.
Therefore, Duanmu Huai planned to head west to see what was going on there.
And traveling with him were still Olgis, Anne, Guleya, and Lorena—and also Sahariel.
Yes, this angel too wanted to accompany them. Clearly, as an angel, she could not simply stand by while demons ran rampant across the earth.
But from Duanmu Huai's point of view…
"At last, this world is growing…"
Indeed, though this was a troublesome matter for the Kingdom of Manaria, to Duanmu Huai it was proof that this world fragment was evolving.
According to the game's setting, when a world fragment broke free from the cycle and began to grow, it would act like a magnet, pulling other fragments toward itself. Just as after Duanmu Huai resolved the demon summoning incident in the Holy City, Heaven and the angels appeared. Now Manaria was undergoing the same thing. Since Manaria, Regnis, and the Holy City had already been merged together by Duanmu Huai, their "magnetism" was increasing, naturally attracting other fragments to converge here as well.
In game terms, it was like releasing a DLC, expanding new events and new maps.
Repeating this process again and again, a fragment could eventually grow into a planet, and continuing further, into a star system, even a universe…
This mode was especially popular among certain lone wolf players who preferred single-player games. In truth, many people in online worlds were unwilling to interact much with strangers. Not to mention that the more players there were, the worse the overall quality became, and random parties were often filled with arguments and insults. Some players hated group dungeons for this very reason, preferring instead to immerse themselves in world fragments, completing solo quests.
Duanmu Huai remembered that in the game, the strongest player's fragment had grown to the size of about one-fifth of the Milky Way. That player almost never showed up in any public gathering place for players. He could be considered the ultimate example of a socially anxious gamer…
"Never thought such a thing would actually happen."
Back at her residence, Anne came storming in to complain to Duanmu Huai, her voice full of anger and frustration.
"Those idiots! How could they do something so outrageous, it's unacceptable!"
"By the way, what's going to happen to that Miss Odelle?"
Guleya also asked in confusion. At her question, Anne let out a troubled sigh and clutched her head.
"I don't know… but after this incident, I fear it'll be even harder for Miss Odelle to get married. Even if she isn't at fault, still…"
Anne sighed helplessly and plopped into a chair.
"Though I don't really want to say it, perhaps Miss Odelle bears some responsibility too."
"What, it takes two hands to clap?"
Duanmu Huai took a sip of tea and looked at Anne curiously, who could only shake her head helplessly.
"That's politics. How should I put it… Odelle might make a good wife, but not a good partner… In fact, even before Angela showed up at the academy, I never saw her and Yard being very close…"
That was how political marriages were.
Anne spread her hands in resignation, and Duanmu Huai understood her meaning.
Simply put, although Odelle had accepted her fate of marrying the duke's son, for her this marriage was just "work." There wasn't much personal feeling between her and Yard. According to Anne, Odelle had indeed been studying hard to play the role of the duke's future wife properly, but that was all. At least in Anne's eyes, there was no real intimacy between them.
In such circumstances, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible that Yard would be swayed by Angela's sweet words and throw himself aboard her sinking ship. After all, men were often emotional creatures. To be forced to marry someone you didn't love, and who didn't love you in return—well, not everyone would willingly go along with that.
In fact, according to what Anne later learned from the duke, Yard had his own "life plan." He believed his happiness should be in his own hands. In his view, the loveless marriages of nobles based solely on profit were outdated. So he wanted to change the system. That was why he hid things from his father and openly tore up the engagement at the banquet. In Yard's eyes, he was declaring war on the outdated customs of the old world… he even envisioned himself one day leading the commoners, overthrowing the current order, and creating a brand new world of equality and freedom for all…
Well… his dreams were certainly beautiful.
Too bad reality did not move according to his dream.
Regardless, after this incident, Odelle's marriage prospects were ruined. Even though she was innocent, this had left a stain on her reputation.
It was like being considered "cursed" in superstition. Few nobles would dare propose to her again. What's more, as the daughter of a count, Odelle would have to marry someone of similar status. Unfortunately, those of similar rank were mostly the same bunch of idiots who had publicly denounced her at the banquet.
So… this noble young lady's future looked rather bleak.
"Funny you're the one worrying about this. Bad luck for you."
Watching Anne slump over the table, Duanmu Huai shook his head helplessly. She immediately threw herself at him.
"What can I do, I'm the princess! If I don't take care of this, who will? Ugh… oh right!"
Suddenly, Anne's eyes lit up as she stared at Duanmu Huai, clearly struck by an idea. He raised an eyebrow at her gaze.
"I suggest you don't try to dump this on me."
"Eh? But wouldn't it be perfect? Sir Knight, your status is high enough. Even if you can't be her official husband, you could still take her as a concubine. I don't mind!"
"But I do!"
Duanmu Huai flicked Anne's forehead with his finger.
"When I agreed to the marriage with you two, it was because I genuinely liked you both. But sorry, I won't just get involved with some woman I don't even know. Don't treat me like a tool. Handle your own problems yourself—stop trying to drag me into cleaning up your messes."
Duanmu Huai never liked getting tangled up in women's conflicts. He hated those idiotic melodramas you saw on TV. He used to watch them with his mother; she enjoyed them, but for him they were nothing but rage-inducing. Whether the men or women, every character was an idiot, making decisions like drugged-up addicts with no sense of reason, constantly whining about love… Duanmu Huai even suspected half of all hypertensive women got that way from watching soap operas.
He never had a girlfriend. Partly because his fierce looks scared people off, and partly because of those melodramas. Just the thought of ending up in that kind of brainless, lovesick life made him completely uninterested in love or marriage.
"Uuu…"
Anne rubbed her forehead and stuck out her tongue at him, but didn't argue further.
"Your Highness."
At that moment, a maid entered, bowed respectfully, and announced:
"Count Hashar and his daughter, Miss Odelle, request an audience."
"…"
Hearing the report, Duanmu Huai and Anne looked at each other.
Speak of the devil.
(End of Chapter)