Chapter 402 - Earl St. Claire, You May Now Proceed

'So he was Marquess Jorbin's son.' Howard thought as he went back to where his father was.

After he had rescued the little boy from the bullies who were ganging up on him, they did not have to look for that boy's father for too long.

A man with soft green hair and caramel eyes came rushing towards them when he caught sight of the two walking towards the center of the Hall.

By the looks of it, Howard could make out that the man was worried about his son whose disappearance he had noticed a while ago.

The two then left Howard in the same place and strode away in a hurry.

Shaking his head at their lack of manners of not even greeting each other, he went back to where his father was.

When he had just reached his position, the Royal Steward announced the name of the last Marquess family to come forward for an audience with the King.

This was when he saw the same father-son pair stepping towards the Throne which implied that they were the last Marquess and his heir.

'If I remember correctly, that is Marquess Luca Jorbin so that must be his only son, Lyon Jorbin.' Howard surmised as he had read up about all the families in their Kingdom.

This information made him comprehend why those boys had dared to bully a Marquess's only son even when they were of a lower status.

'Looks like they did not know who he was.' He shook his head at the foolish boys who were picking fights without analyzing who their opponent was.

Since the Jorbins rarely visited the Capital city, there were not many from the younger generations who knew about this family.

However, now, they should have grasped the identity of this person and the heir he had brought along.

Howard then turned his eyes in the direction of the four boys who were now staring at the father and son standing before the King with their eyes widened and their faces pale.

'Now you realize who you bullied?' He sneered and looked away.

Based on how people of the lower status revered and served those on higher ground, he inferred that these boys were now regretting picking on a Marquess' son.

Not only was Lyon Jorbin the heir of a Marquess, but he was also the son of the man who was a part of the King's Council of Ministers.

The reason why they had called him a 'foreigner' was his unique facial features like his slanted eyes and his rounded nose which made Lyon look cuter than the other boys his age.

These features were passed onto him by his mother who was a foreigner his father had married after meeting her in one of his exploration missions assigned to him by the King.

Marquess Jorbin was in charge of maintaining friendly political relationships with the other neighboring Kingdoms and this was also one of the reasons why he and his son were rarely seen in the Capital.

They were always sent on missions handed to them by the King which resulted in not many knowing about their status in the nobility.

Howard was not too affected by this revelation as he had done that good deed of saving the young boy due to his conscience.

Therefore, he shrugged this matter off and waited for the next family to be called for an audience by the King.

"Earl St. Claire, you may proceed now." The Royal Steward invited them as soon as Marquess Jorbin was done speaking to their King.

Rutherford nodded at the Steward before turning his gaze to his son, questioning him whether he was ready to face the King, a moment that they had been preparing for all week long.

Howard's eyes shone with equal amounts of nervousness and excitement which made the man chuckle as he patted his shoulder.

"I know that you will do great." The father reassured him and gestured for him to follow.

'I cannot let my family down!' He was determined to make a good impression on the King as this would be considered as their first meeting.

Howard regained his confidence as the two began moving forward.

Two men with similar eye and hair color were seen walking towards the Throne where the King of the land was seated.

Howard and Rutherford bowed before the King the moment they reached the elevated platform on which the Throne was placed.

"Rise." An authoritative and smooth voice was heard, ordering them to stand upright once again.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Their voices echoed in unison when their eyes met the King's sparkling blue orbs.

King Ophire nodded in acceptance of their greetings then went straight to business.

Just like the other Fief Lords, Rutherford was asked similar questions about the populace of his fief along with their standard of living.

Some questions were answered by the father while the others he delegated to his son who did a stellar job of informing the King about the condition of their fief.

King Ophire did not keep them for long and sent them away once he had a basic understanding of how they managed the land they had been bestowed.

The Earl and his son bowed once again before heading back to their earlier position but Rutherford knew that they were far from done.

'We received a summon for a parlez too…' The Earl recalled the golden letter that had arrived at their Mansion inviting them to have a private meeting with the King.

Therefore, they had to wait until the King decided to summon them when he wished to continue their conversation.

Howard, who had no clue about this matter, was too busy eating his fill as the weight of meeting the King and performing well had finally been lifted off his shoulders.

Rutherford did not reveal this news to him and let him be for the time being.

While the rest of the nobles were meeting the King one after the other, the ones who were done were either eating or impatient to witness the next part of the banquet.

Marquess Samed rejoined them and with him came Topher who chose to eat with Howard rather than speaking to the boys who were trying to brown-nose him.

In this hall, among all the noble boys present, Topher Tanner, the son of Duke Tanner held the highest position so it was natural that the others were trying to get on his good books.

However, rather than having to deal with fake pleasantries, he chose to spend time with his uncle and junior from the Royal Academy.

From the Throne, King Ophire was watching how this son of the Duke was more interested in speaking to the Earl's son than building relationships with the other more influential boys.

Along with him, there was someone else who was also looking in the same direction.

Lyon Jorbin, the boy whom Howard had saved earlier was staring at him with sparkling eyes as though he was gazing at an idol whom he worshipped.

While he was gazing with starry eyes, another person's eyes darkened at seeing this pleasant scene.

'Why couldn't I have a son!?' Duke Maldock Brodie gritted his teeth while thinking of the daughter that his wife had bore for him instead of a son who could take over the title from him.

Various people had various thoughts in their minds as the first part and the purpose of this banquet came to a peaceful end.

Once the King met with every Fief Lord who had appeared here, the next part of the banquet was the one which most loved to witness.

"You may now come bearing your presents for His Majesty, King Ophire." The Royal Steward announced and was met with a huge round of applause.

When the Noblemen entered with their sons', the introduction of their heir was completed.

Their audience with the King marked the conclusion of their duty here as the Fief Lord.

Right now, this was the moment where everyone could display their love and admiration for their King and bring out gifts as a token of their appreciation and respect for him.

This was when the nobles could finally prove that they were better than the rest depending on what present they could acquire for their King.

Many had arrogance overflowing from their straight backs and their raised chins, indicating that they would certainly impress the King with what they had planned for him.