Chapter 77: Noble Wordplay
The two eventually stopped directly in front of him.
Roderic stared at them for a brief moment before putting down his glass.
No matter how much he hated the people standing before him, there were certain rules even he couldn’t ignore.
Especially when one of them was a fucking prince.
Roderic straightened his posture before respectfully lowering his head.
’’Greetings, Your Highness.’’
The Second Prince looked down at him.
For several seconds, he didn’t say a word.
Roderic’s eyes narrowed slightly, already feeling his annoyance spike.
Even without looking up, he could practically feel the disgust coming from the man.
’’So you’re... Roderic Whitemane?’’ the Second Prince finally said.
There wasn’t even an attempt to hide the disdain in his voice.
’’I am, Your Highness,’’ Roderic replied.
’’Raise your head.’’
Roderic did as instructed.
The moment he looked up, his suspicions were confirmed.
The friendly smile the Second Prince had shown everyone else had long disappeared.
His golden eyes slowly moved across Roderic, almost like he was looking at a piece of gum under his shoe.
Catherina wasn’t much better.
Whatever surprise she’d shown upon seeing his new appearance seemed to have only fueled her disgust and anger more.
Roderic returned a wide smile.
’There it is,’ he thought. ’That’s the expression I’m all too familiar with.’
He’d been engaged to the snake for a pretty long time.
Each time they’d met, that was the exact expression she’d shown him.
Just then, the Second Prince opened his mouth.
’’Catherina has told me quite a lot about you,’’ he said.
’I’m sure she fucking has.’
Roderic kept those words safely inside his mind while maintaining his smile.
’’I hope Lady Ironhart hasn’t wasted too much of Your Highness’s time speaking about me.’’
Catherina’s eyes immediately narrowed.
The Second Prince merely stared at him.
’’Hardly,’’ he replied. ’’There isn’t much worth mentioning after all.’’
Several nobles standing nearby couldn’t help but take a step back.
Whispers immediately began sounding throughout the entire hall.
Roderic could hear many chuckles and pointed stares directed at him.
’Ah,’ he thought. ’So that’s how we’re doing this.’
He reached for his wine but stopped himself halfway.
As tempting as getting even more drunk sounded, there was still a royal prince standing in front of him.
’’Your Highness is completely right,’’ he eventually replied. ’’I’ll work hard to be a better subject to the Kingdom of Valdoria.’’
Silence fell between them.
The Second Prince seemed almost disappointed by the lack of response.
But Catherina was far from done with Roderic.
She stepped forward, hiding her smile behind a luxurious fan.
’’I must admit, Roderic, I’m surprised,’’ she started. ’’You certainly don’t look like the pathetic man everyone remembers.’’
Roderic’s smile nearly twitched.
’Of course,’ he thought. ’You have to get your word in too, huh.’
’’A lot can change in three months, Lady Ironhart,’’ he replied calmly.
She looked him over once more before her eyes narrowed into entertained slits.
’’Apparently,’’ she replied loudly. ’’But just putting on some muscle hardly changes what someone is underneath.’’
A few quiet chuckles rang out throughout the hall.
Seeing that she held everyone’s attention, Catherina’s voice only grew louder.
’’Even one’s reputation can’t easily be changed by spreading some very convenient rumors.’’
Roderic slowly turned his gaze toward the nobles laughing around them.
His smile remained firmly in place.
’Convenient rumors, huh?’ he thought. ’We’ll just have to see about that.’
Though she was clearly telling everyone his achievements were faked, Roderic had no intention of correcting them.
’My reputation only needs to be good for our own citizens at the moment. The rest will fix itself automatically after the war.’
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing either.
The more people underestimated him, the easier it would be to conquer them eventually.
With that in mind, Roderic glanced back at Catherina.
’’You’re right, Lady Ironhart,’’ he said calmly. ’’People really shouldn’t believe everything they hear.’’
Catherina’s smile widened behind her fan.
’’I’m glad you understand.’’
’’Of course.’’ Roderic nodded. ’’I learned that lesson shortly after our engagement started.’’
The smile behind her fan froze instantly.
Roderic could practically see the realization appear in her eyes.
But the Second Prince didn’t seem to have caught on, merely looking between them with disinterest.
’’At least you’ve learned something from the experience,’’ he stated.
Catherina’s eyes went wide, instantly locking onto the Second Prince.
But Roderic was already ahead of her.
’’Quite a lot, Your Highness,’’ he replied.
After saying that, he instantly glanced at Catherina, barely catching her frustrated face.
’Oho, that was a good one,’ he thought, grinning for a split second. ’The wine definitely deserves some credit for that.’
The Second Prince stared at him for another moment before turning away.
’’Come, Catherina. We’ve wasted enough time here,’’ he said sternly. ’’We still have an announcement to make.’’
Catherina bowed slightly. ’’Of course, Your Highness.’’
She gave Roderic one last cold look before following after him.
Roderic watched them disappear into the crowd.
Only then did his forced smile finally vanish.
’Fucking hell.’
His hand immediately reached for the bottle of wine.
As Roderic started drinking, his gaze swept across the hall.
Many people were still looking at him, whispering quietly while trying to keep their distance.
Even nobles who’d previously spoken with him quickly looked away when their eyes met.
’As expected,’ he thought. ’Most want nothing to do with us anymore.’
No one wished to put themselves on the bad side of a prince after all.
At least, not publicly.
Only a few people were exceptions to that though.
Vincent Valemont raised his glass from the opposite side of the room, seemingly entertained by the situation.
’At least I got some results,’ Roderic thought, raising his glass.
Minutes ticked by quietly.
Before long, the Second Prince and Catherina made their way onto the raised platform.
The conversations in the hall instantly died down.
’’Before tonight continues, I have an important announcement to make,’’ the Second Prince began.
He held out his hand.
Catherina smiled before placing hers into it.
’’As of today, Lady Catherina Ironhart and I are officially engaged.’’
The hall immediately erupted into applause.
Roderic clapped along enthusiastically.
He even needed to hold himself back from cheering too loudly.
’Take her and all of her problems,’ he thought happily. ’You two will make a wonderful couple!’
More importantly, the engagement had happened exactly as the Archive predicted.
That only made him happier.
After several moments, the Second Prince raised his hand again.
’’To make tonight somewhat more entertaining,’’ he started. ’’We’ll be opening a sparring ring.’’
Several servants immediately began clearing a large space in the center of the hall.
Excited whispers began to spread amongst the nobles simultaneously.
’’Anyone may challenge another guest,’’ the Second Prince continued calmly. ’’Naturally, challenges can be refused.’’