Emerald Avenue, Tula Palace.
The endless stream of carriages and various vehicles almost blocked the area completely. This situation was rare in normal times, but tonight was clearly an exception. Emperor William Berho did not often host banquets, and after the news spread, almost all the nobles in the King's Capital Troon came out in full force. Those wealthy merchants who were qualified to be invited had even eaten dinner early and arrived promptly, as they didn't want to waste time by 'eating at the banquet', which was a perfectly normal thing to do.
No one would be late for Emperor William's banquet, but how early to arrive was also an art. The first to arrive were the merchants, as on this not-so-spacious road, no noble would want to give way to them.
Nobles would arrive a bit later. They would choose a time suitable for their status to appear with their families in the Tula Palace's antechamber, conversing with others elegantly and gracefully. The later one arrived, the less likely they were to be neglected, and the reason for this was naturally self-evident…
Two minutes before the banquet began, a simple carriage slowly appeared in front of the Tula Palace. The crest on it, adorned with a cyan eagle and a crystal crown, revealed the identity of its owner. The early arrivals rose and raised their wine glasses, showing no sign of displeasure. After all, with Duke Garros's strength and status, he undoubtedly had no need to arrive too early.
The carriage stopped in front of the palace. Under countless fervent gazes, a young man and a young woman appeared simultaneously in everyone's sight. They were clearly not Duke Garros's family, as even if the Duke was precocious at his current age, he wouldn't have such a grown-up son. And the beautiful lady with a cool temperament was not the Duke's daughter that everyone was familiar with.
Soon, Duke Bart Gallos also appeared in everyone's sight. This top noble, a High-Rank Mage, smiled at everyone around him, extended a hand to Mo Tan who stood beside him, and announced loudly: "Let me introduce a new friend. This is a young man with boundless prospects. His name is Mo Tan, the sole heir of the Thorn Bird family after three hundred years. He helped Mr. Tier and me greatly in that recent tragedy. I have already bestowed upon him the title of Baron. You may call him Sin Duke. Please believe me~ this young man's future achievements will far exceed this~"
"It is an honor to have this privilege of meeting all of you." Mo Tan smiled faintly and bowed to the various figures around him, big and small: "Thanks to the Duke's kindness, in truth, Mo Tan merely wishes to atone for his ancestors' sins. Please, everyone, don't take the Duke's previous jests too seriously."
【New friend? Friend? Duke Garros's friend?】
A group of people were stunned.
【This kid says the Duke's words are a joke? How close are these two??】
Another group of people were stunned.
Some people began to reconsider how precocious the Duke truly was, while others started to ponder the hidden meaning in Duke Garros's words.
But one thing was certain!
This young Sin Duke, wearing a mask, must be befriended no matter what!
As for the Thorn Bird family, who seemed to have committed some crime a few hundred years ago, what on earth was that?
"And this is Mo Tan's female companion." Garros smiled as he raised his hand, indicating Ji Xiaodao: "The beautiful Ms. Jidao, you young Gentlemen should be a little mindful of your manners~"
The Dark Elf girl, held by Mo Tan's side, curtsied to the crowd and nodded gently.
Meanwhile, the nobles and merchants who had brought their juniors immediately glared at the young people beside them, their eyes clearly conveying: 'If you dare to have any wicked thoughts about the Duke's friend's girlfriend, I'll @#$%&* you!'
Mo Tan, holding Ji Xiaodao's hand, walked into the crowd with Duke Garros, politely and appropriately dealing with those who came forward to chat. Although it was all meaningless small talk, he still showed no sign of impatience, his demeanor being even more aristocratic than a noble's. This made the girl, who had been following him with her head down, feel extremely startled…
One must know that these noble etiquettes could not be simply mastered by referring to some countries or histories in the real world. Even the etiquettes of different nations within Innocent World were completely different, and Mo Tan at that time seemed to have only asked Garros for a short while, and then…
No, it's hard to think in this state!
The hand holding hers was barely exerting any pressure, and through the glove, she didn't feel much real sensation, but for Ji Xiaodao, who had never had intimate contact with outsiders since she was a child, this was already her limit. Let alone an opposite sex, she had barely even touched same-sex individuals other than her mother and sister, and now…
Even though it was just a game, even though all these five senses were simulated, even though the man holding her hand was 'acting', she still felt her breathing quicken, just like when Fara suddenly visited and she was pulled by Mo Tan, feeling at a loss.
"Are you alright?"
A gentle voice came from beside her. Ji Xiaodao slowly raised her head and saw Mo Tan's face, which was gentle and carried a hint of concern.
The outfit he wore for the banquet today suited him well…
Ji Xiaodao froze for a moment, then gently shook her head.
"That's good." The other party showed a relieved smile, then lowered his head slightly, and his eyes, hidden behind the half-mask, playfully blinked. A chilling coldness that could almost freeze the soul flashed across his calm and deep eyes, but his tone remained soft and intimate: "After the Emperor arrives, you should go eat something and rest for a bit~"
'Put away your disgusting ugliness and do what you should be doing now.'
That cold glance just now and this message in the message bar caused a hint of bitterness to spread in the girl's heart, but she still didn't flick her sleeves and leave, log off on the spot, or directly expose Mo Tan's plan. She just nodded under his re-softened gaze, clasped the hand that held hers without any force, and covered her mouth with a faint smile, saying: "I can rest anytime, but if I don't keep an eye on you today, what if some noble lady charms you away? What do you all think?"
Her words immediately elicited a burst of good-natured laughter, and a young man beside them shrugged at Mo Tan, saying, "I think you should listen to her, otherwise you'd be giving us single gentlemen a lot of opportunities~"
Not like myself…
Not like myself at all…
Neither this reaction, nor this action, nor these words, were like…
But the thought of just letting go never surfaced. No, perhaps it did, but she always felt that once he left her sight, she would never be able to be like this again.
Both chuunibyou and childish, clearly not this kind of person, yet still holding onto that self-righteous idea…
Ah, never mind, forget it, let it be. At least the time spent by his side isn't boring at all.
Just like that, I'll comfort myself~
…
【You have lost the talent: Enclosure. Your talent 'Solitude' has been changed to: Heartless Sin.】
As the system prompt sounded in Ji Xiaodao's ear, Mo Tan pulled her a little closer.
"Then forget it~ I don't plan on giving you to anyone else." He smiled, shrugging: "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
A moment later, the gates of the Tula Palace slowly opened. The assembled crowd, surrounding the belated Emperor, entered in an orderly fashion into the already arranged banquet hall. The flames in the hands of several court mages intertwined in the air, forming a vibrant tapestry. This banquet, currently without any official name but later known as the Shavin 【Banquet of Nation's Demise】, officially began.
Emperor William Berho was a relatively wise monarch. Unlike those corpulent, empty-headed, crooked, and late-stage chuunibyou rulers who led their nations to ruin, in the decade and more since his ascension, the Shavin Empire had developed remarkably swiftly, especially economically, even subtly showing signs of becoming the leading power in the Southwest.
He maximized Shavin's unique coastal advantages. Under his support, major merchant guilds engaged in maritime trade with a near-frenzied zeal, exchanging countless overproduced luxury goods for vast sums of gold and various rare resources from the Southwest continent. This not only greatly enriched the national treasury through taxes but also increased the empire's influence in the Southwest continent several times over compared to the past few centuries.
The reason was simple: money…
With money, one could patronize churches, making the powerful Huiye Sect their protector.
With money, one could hoard goods, indirectly beginning to control the market, and then earn even more money.
With money, one could undertake grand construction projects, build numerous academies, cultivate countless talents, and make the empire's next generation stronger.
Emperor William Berho made Shavin very rich. Whether nobles, merchants, or commoners, everyone became very wealthy, so they all loved and respected him, considering him an excellent and outstanding Emperor.
In fact, he was an excellent and outstanding Emperor.
"Don't be reserved~" The Emperor, just over forty, said cheerfully to everyone: "This is not a royal palace, everyone can relax."
Then he casually found a seat by the window and began to eat dinner…
Unlike most people, this Emperor had arrived hungry.
"It's not quite what I imagined." Ji Xiaodao turned sideways and whispered with a smile to Mo Tan, "The Emperor is quite humorous~"
Mo Tan glanced at her indifferently: "You seem to be getting a bit too into character."
There weren't many people around them, and Duke Garros had already gone to sit beside the Emperor. The other nobles and merchants were either surrounding the Emperor or gathering in small circles. They wouldn't mind a newly appointed Baron joining their circle, but they also wouldn't focus too much attention on this corner.
The friendly attitude had already been conveyed before, and many words of praise for this Sin Duke had been spoken. Not to mention whether these important figures would run out of words, even if they had more to praise, they would only do so when Garros and Mo Tan were together. A Baron was not much to these people; the previous attitude was less about showing favor to Mo Tan and more about flattering Garros.
If someone could be called 'friend' by the Duke, even if that friend was a pig, everyone would say how intelligent, how lovely, how elegant that pig was…
In short, Mo Tan and Ji Xiaodao were relatively free now. Although there were occasional people who came over to chat a few words, they wouldn't overstep their bounds too much, at most just making plans to have tea together sometime in the future.
It was largely unrealistic for someone with the status of a 'new noble' or some nepotistic connection to be praised to the skies the first time they appeared in such a high-class public setting…
The circumlocution ended, back to the main point.
"Into character?" Ji Xiaodao pursed her lips and smiled: "I'm far from you~"
Mo Tan also showed a faint smile, then looked around: "I really do miss this atmosphere…"
"Miss?" Ji Xiaodao asked, somewhat puzzled. She truly hadn't expected him to say something like that.
"Yes, I miss it very much." Mo Tan narrowed his eyes: "The first victims of Banshee City also died in a place like this. It was truly the most enchanting feast; those people sank into madness, struggled in fear, walked towards destruction with unspeakable ugliness, spread despair, and finally…"
"You gave them release?" Ji Xiaodao asked in a low voice.
Mo Tan shook his head: "No, they were buried in their own sins."
The girl gently sipped the red wine in her hand: "This is not a pleasant story."
"But it has a pleasant ending." Mo Tan smiled playfully: "If you stay by my side, you will see many more stories and endings like this in the future."
His eyes were filled with a suffocatingly calm madness, contradictory yet not at all out of place…
Ji Xiaodao turned her head away, saying nothing, and not leaving.
The girl did not feel any pleasure from the genuine smile on his face. On the contrary, being closest to him, she seemed to see how lonely the soul beside her, attempting to transform into disorder, destruction, and disaster itself, truly was.
This was the second time…
That elusive feeling still made her very uncomfortable.
If only it were just her own overthinking… she told herself in her heart…
…
At the same time, on the outskirts of King's Capital Troon, Osiris Mage Tower.
"Respected mentor…" The seemingly elderly Mage apprentice said anxiously in a low voice to the God of Law before him: "The banquet at Tula Palace should have already begun."
Fara, looking slightly tired, impatiently shook his head: "I know, the Emperor will understand me. The current priority is not to attend the banquet. I must confirm that the message has been successfully delivered to…"
He paused here, then waved to the High-Rank Mage apprentice behind him: "You go back first. I won't be too late."
However, at this moment…
A silver light suddenly flared, and a crystal radiating a colorful shimmer quietly floated before Fara, as if it had been there from the very beginning.
"Mentor! This is…"
"That's right, the reply… has arrived…"
Chapter 79: End
