Chapter 76: The Second Prince
Roderic returned to the main hall in an excellent mood.
Having stuffed the envelope inside his jacket, his smile only grew larger.
Between improving relations with Marquis Valemont and confirming that Maximilian had received the information about the Ironharts, the gathering had already proved well worth attending.
’Maybe coming here wasn’t such a horrible idea after all,’ he thought.
His eyes wandered across the hall before eventually landing on the tables filled with food.
Roderic rapidly rubbed his hands together, grinning widely.
’Finally,’ he thought. ’There’s no one to stop me now.’
He immediately made his way over.
After being denied food for nearly an hour, he wasted no time filling a plate with whatever looked interesting.
There were several dishes he had never seen before, including some strange blue fruit covered in sugar that immediately caught his attention.
Roderic flicked one into the air, catching it with his mouth.
His eyes lit up instantly.
’Holy shit.’
It tasted like an incredibly sweet mixture of both a strawberry and a blueberry.
He immediately grabbed several more, stashing them on his plate.
For the next several minutes, Roderic completely forgot about nobles, politics and everything else that made his life unnecessarily complicated.
He simply ate good food and drank luxurious wine.
By the time his plate was nearly empty, Roderic’s mood had reached levels it hadn’t seen in weeks.
Roderic leaned against one of the tables, casually taking another sip of wine.
’Now this is more like it,’ he thought. ’It’s a shame I can’t get drunk though.’
If he had been able to, Roderic felt like he could power through another few hours of pointless talk.
That made his thoughts stall for a moment.
’System? Can you temporarily turn off the poison resistance?’
For several seconds, there was no response.
Then a small but familiar blue screen appeared before his eyes.
[The trait can be suppressed temporarily.]
Roderic’s eyes lit up instantly.
’Well then, what the hell are you waiting for?’
[Trait will temporarily be suppressed.]
A wide grin spread across Roderic’s face as he raised his nearly empty glass of wine.
A nearby servant immediately walked over, filling it up completely.
But as she was about to walk away again, Roderic stopped her.
’’You might as well leave that here,’’ he said. ’’It’ll be empty soon regardless.’’
The servant’s expression shifted slightly.
But there was nothing she could do but listen.
Just like that, Roderic started drinking, wholeheartedly enjoying that which he’d been unable to afford back on Earth.
Several glasses later, he could feel a pleasant warmth spreading through his body.
’’Oh, this was a fantastic idea,’’ he muttered with a smile.
He wasn’t completely drunk. But it was just enough to make everything a little more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, Roderic wasn’t allowed to remain happy for long.
Bang!
The enormous doors at the entrance swung open.
’’His Royal Highness, the Second Prince, has arrived!’’
Roderic’s expression fell right away.
Gasps of surprise and shock began ringing out all around him.
Roderic’s gaze flickered towards the entrance like everyone else.
There, two figures slowly stepped into the hall.
The Second Prince walked at the front, dressed in an elegant black and gold outfit that perfectly matched his tall, athletic figure.
Golden hair had been neatly combed back from his overly handsome face, while a calm smile sat on his face.
But the woman beside him drew just as much, if not more, attention.
Catherina wore a beautiful crimson dress decorated with small golden patterns, tightly wrapped around her slender figure before flowing loosely toward the floor.
Her long silver hair fell smoothly down her back, while her sapphire eyes stood out immensely.
Together, the two looked like they had walked straight out of a fairytale.
Just then, Catherina’s eyes swept across the hall.
They landed directly on Roderic only a moment later.
Catherina’s expression changed slightly as she recognized him, clearly not expecting what she saw.
Roderic, meanwhile, simply stared back at her.
’Oh,’ he thought. ’I’m going to need so much more wine for this.’
He quickly turned around and grabbed the bottle of wine.
Without another thought, he tilted his head and emptied the entire thing.
’’Ah,’’ he let out, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. ’’Much better.’’
Behind him, the entire hall seemed to come alive.
Dozens of young nobles rushed to the entrance, each eager to greet the Second Prince and Catherina.
Roderic had absolutely no intention of joining them.
’Let the ass-kissers have their fun,’ he thought, picking up another fruit.
Unfortunately, ignoring them wasn’t going to be quite so easy.
’’Your Highness!’’
’’Lady Ironhart!’’
Greetings continued ringing out as the pair slowly made their way further into the hall.
Roderic remained near the table, happily chewing on his fruit.
That was until the conversations around him suddenly fell silent.
Dozens of gazes began burning into him simultaneously.
Roderic glanced up, his expression souring right away.
’Oh, fuck off.’
The Second Prince and Catherina were walking straight towards him.
He briefly considered turning around to get away from the nonsense that was about to happen.
But Roderic knew it wouldn’t help him in the slightest.
’It’d just make me pathetic,’ he thought. ’In fact, there’s only one thing that’ll help me here.’
He flicked his fingers, calling over another servant.
Without another thought, he poured himself another glass of wine.
’All right,’ he thought. ’Let’s get this shit over with.’
As they drew closer, Roderic finally got a proper look at Catherina’s expression.
Her eyes repeatedly moved across his body.
There was unmistakable surprise hidden beneath her otherwise composed face.
Roderic could hardly blame her.
The last time Catherina had seen him, he had still been a skinny, talentless noble whom she’d publicly discarded.
But now, after everything he’d gone through?
His physique had completely changed, now lean and muscular from months of fighting with his life on the line.
Roderic couldn’t help but smile upon seeing her face.
’How’s that for a surprise, you bitch?’ he thought, slightly drunk. ’This is only the start of everything. Just wait until I take over the fucking world!’
His smile grew into a wide grin.
’Alas, if you haven’t been hanged before then.’