Chapter 26: Unwelcome Guests

Chapter 26: Unwelcome Guests

She knew just from a single look that the lesson she had taught him last 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 the last one. Older cousins or whatever I just wish they wouldn't get in my way."

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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 platform 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 to come, could walk right in and watch.

Who would dare do something they shouldn't when faced with the combined 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 welcome here, Blaise. 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 old lady nodded. "Open to regular public, yes, but not gangsters."

Blaise burst into loud laughter, causing the dissatisfied guests who had to wait for the barred gate to open to glare 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 family compensate me for the losses due to your baseless accusations?"

But elder Floris remained unmoved.

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 out later. 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 been completely cleared out for her to relax 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 to comfort 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 mother come 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 have come were already waiting there, because she didn't notice anyone else on the way.

Just as she was feeling relaxed, however, thunderous claps 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?"