CH 29

Watch Your Mouth

[Open the door.]

As soon as the door opened, silence fell upon the noisy ballroom.

It was because of the man who just entered the ballroom.

The black-haired man stood out like the moon at night. Of course, the blonde-haired man who stood beside him was also a rarely seen beautiful person, but the black-haired man was a perfect beauty that easily surpassed  ‘rarely seen’ 

(T/N: ‘rarely seen’ – leschaux beauty)

His dark hair was shiny, and his deep-sea blue eyes combined with a faint smile, aroused the hidden emotions. His gait captivated people like the waters rising up on the sandy beach, and every hand gesture he made brought out an exclamation of subtle and delicate elegance. 

But aside from all the external beauty, it was his arrogance that made the criminals aspire to him at first sight. Most people showed only polite gratitude to someone’s elaborate gift. Nathaniel on the other hand displayed an arrogance that he would throw it out casually. Even if he was noticed, he would not make any excuses for the act. Such arrogance was the biggest reason people were attracted to him.

Such an entity walked into the center of the ballroom, and Kyrie was right there.

‘Why are you here?’

Kyrie did not think Nathaniel would come. He had left the Emperor’s conversation unanswered, and he did not even look like a man who focused on social activities in the first place.

Unlike the surprised Kyrie, Prince Eden was delighted.

“Oh! Everyone! As a host, to introduce someone like this is…”

Nathaniel was indifferent, he passed by Eden without a care in the world.

“… quite an honor…?”

Prince Eden’s body stiffened at the unexpected situation. Everyone focused their attention on the man who dared to ignore the Crown Prince’s greetings. It was so quiet that a drop of water could be heard from anywhere. Nathaniel stood in front of Kyrie.

[Kyrie.]

A deep voice that sounded exceptionally sharp yet sweet called her name.

The man, who seemed to never bow his head to anyone, slowly extended his hand. Kyrie held out her hand, as if she was in a daze, and Nathaniel naturally placed his lips against it. 

[Greetings, m’lady.]

Everyone stiffened. Nathaniel escorted Kyrie, who was equally stiff, to Prince Eden’s side.

[Prince, I hope I didn’t interrupt you, did I?]

The Crown Prince’s face was tinged with confusion.

“I-Interrupt me? No, definitely not…”

[Then, would you mind giving me an introduction?]

“Oh, no, of course I can.”

Eden spread his arms out awkwardly.

“Yes, listen up. I have some good news for the Empire, and it’s a great honor to be able to announce it on such a special occasion. The man beside me is Lord Leschaux, the Legendary Knight, Nathaniel.”

Kyrie’s eyes opened wide. She murmured.

“Legendary Knight…..?”

People began to talk excitedly among themselves. It was interesting that none of them doubted that Nathaniel was a legend.

“But, it is said that shortly after the founding of our country, the Legendary Knight fell into a deep slumber (died) because of the injuries he sustained during the final battle.”

“Mhm, mhm, why of course, the whole world already knows that.”

Prince Eden coughed in vain.

“But this is not true, he was only asleep because he had exhausted his powers. The royal family made great efforts to awaken the Legendary Knight, and we were finally able to wake him during this generation.”

Kyrie saw Gladios’s face turn pale. She smiled a little without showing. She did not make a sound, but it felt like Nathaniel glanced over at her.

“Originally I planned to introduce you at a proper place in the future but… how can I say not say it when it seems the Orwenbridge’s red suit came today for the celebration?” (T/N: red suit: star of the empire/ important person)

When Eden said this, he glanced at Nathaniel. Normally, this would’ve been the time to say something humble, such as “thank you for the introduction”.

But he was Nathaniel. 

He smiled a little and took a step forward.

[Yeah. But that step is useless.] (T/N: Referring to the words that Eden said ‘I planned to introduce you at a proper place in the future’ )

“Yes…? “

[I heard Rumors that questioned whether m’lady remained celibate or indulged in debauchary.]

Nathaniel chuckled.

He wrapped Kyrie’s waist in one hand and held her hand in the other. He looked at Kyrie as if he was looking at something lovely, and then he looked over at the crowd with cold, downcast eyes.

[I never imagined it would be so immoral for me to travel with her.]

He turned to look at Gladios and said in a voice that, despite the smile on his face, held no traces of happiness. 

[Vermont, I’ve already warned you. You will pay for not keeping your word. ]

Gladios shivered with fear. His reaction made Kyrie aware that Nathaniel was now using his intimidation solely on Gladioso Vermont. 

“N-N-Nathaniel sir … b-because I, I didn’t know you were the Legend…”

[Does that mean, if I wasn’t a legend, you wouldn’t care? You’re so despicable it’s admirable.]

“N-n-no that’s not what I meant…! I…”

[Back off.]

Nathaniel pronounced each word coldly.. Gladios’s face turned pale. He soon swung his arms and legs and hid in the crowd. Nathaniel watched and smiled coldly.

[How could the country I founded be in such a state like this? Wasn’t this country originally founded on the basis of chivalry, Crown Prince?]

Prince Eden stiffened like a frightened toad.

[When did it become part of this country’s culture to witch-hunt people over baseless rumours?]

“Oh- th-that’s what I had intended on looking into. Of course, it’s very bad behaviour, so I started some preliminary investigations…”

[Even in the ballroom?]

“Of-of course not. Haha! Legendary Knight, it’s not that much of an important matter here, right? It’s just a trivial thing women do.”

Nathaniel raised his hand. In no time, a staff appeared and quickly headed towards Prince Eden’s forehead.

It was Leschaux’s sword that prevented the collision.

Thud!

A calm shock wave settled throughout the surrounding area. It was obvious to everyone that Nathaniel had sincerely tried to kill Eden, and with how inhumanely fast the staff had rocketed towards him, it would’ve been impossible to prevent the ensuing collision without the help of Leschaux’s sword.

〔Nathaniel. He’s still the Crown Prince..〕

[You see, to me, he’s just another human being.]

〔If you truly want to impulsively kill him…〕

Leschaux’s heavy sword bounced the cane back to his waist. Then he stepped back to his original position. This was a clear indication that he wouldn’t step in unless Nathaniel tried to take Crown Prince life in front of him. 

Nathaniel let out a mocking laugh.

[As always, you’re such a good boy.]

His cold eyes turned towards Prince Eden. Eden flinched, barely suppressing a shriek, and sat up, ignoring the temptation to flee. His mouth opened and shut as if he was trying to blurt out an excuse, but Nathaniel spoke faster.

[But I’m not, so watch your mouth unless you want the entire continent to be encased in an eternal winter.]

At this moment, Eden had a momentarily anxious look on his face. Two emotions surfaced at the same time: the humiliation of being a Crown Prince and the submissiveness of being an ordinary man. (T/N: ordinary man- human being not an immortal)

But he couldn’t raise his voice.

“Well, um… I will, of course… observe if the ladies are being courteous. Of course I will.”

Rubinia Kasner stood still like a broken porcelain doll beside Eden, who was awkwardly laughing. Her gaze alternated between Nathaniel and Leschaux as if she was in a drunken daze, and when her gaze fell upon Kyrie, her eyes filled with a terrible hatred.

Kyrie had an, unfortunately, late realisation. Originally, this special occasion was meant to be a celebration for congratulating the Crown Prince and Rubunia Kasner on their engagement. Rubinia was supposed to be the center of attention. Kyrie softly tugged at Nathaniel’s sleeve.

“Um, Lord Nathaniel?”

Kyrie thought he would not respond. But surprisingly, Nathaniel changed his attitude quickly and smiled at Kyrie.

[What?]

“Aren’t you here to celebrate the engagement of the Crown Prince?”

[Of course, he was originally engaged to you.]

Nathaniel slowly looked at Rubinia Cassner. He stroked Kyrie’s hair with a strange smile.

[Humans don’t have good taste.]

The smile disappeared from Rubinia’s face. She looked so stiff that if anyone touched her it looked like she would break. Kyrie was confused because she did not know what to do. Nathaniel smiled.

[Shall we dance?]

“What? I beg your pardon?”

[The ballroom’s meant for dancing.]

Nathaniel materialized his cane out of thin air and waved it around while pulling Kyrie toward him. He snapped his fingers and the instrumentalists’ hands began to move on their own accord, playing a melody suited for a waltz. 

Some people found places in the ballroom reserved for dancing, ignoring the Crown Prince and future Crown Princess, realizing how ridiculous they looked.

[Everyone follows the actions of an individual with higher superiority.]

The waltz began, and the two began to move smoothly across the floor. The two spun around according to the movement of the waltz, and then came back together. Kyrie lowered her eyes, looked at Nathaniel, who averted his gaze.

“So, you heard everything.”

[Yes.]