Chapter 15: Even a great man falls in pursuit of love
Those few minutes had to be among the most grueling moments Ronan had ever experienced.
His entire worldview had been refreshed.
Never in his life had he seen a man become more and more excited after being repeatedly rejected.
Ronan’s mind ran wild.
To him, this wasn’t normal at all.
Soon, the food was served, and Ronan was faced with yet another obstacle.
How was he supposed to eat?
He was a Ghoul.
If he became hungry, the only thing he could stomach was flesh.
Fortunately, Ghouls could go an entire month without eating, and as a Transcendent Realm being, Ronan could last even longer.
So he didn’t need to eat.
And even if he wanted to pretend, he would have to remove his cloak and veil.
Doing that would expose his identity.
But Ronan had a terrifying hunch...
Even if he did remove them...
Bama would probably become even more excited.
The sweet aroma of the dishes filled the air as all the onlookers gulped unconsciously.
Each meal on the table was worth over a thousand taels—an amount many of them wouldn’t earn even after five months of hard work.
Yet the Duke’s son once again refreshed their understanding of nobility by ordering more than a dozen such dishes without hesitation.
But even then...
The crowd was shocked once more.
The Crimson-Eyed Maiden didn’t even spare the food a single glance.
In fact, she almost seemed disgusted by it.
Everyone couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
Could it be...
That food of this quality was ordinary to her?
Reaching that conclusion, they didn’t think she was arrogant.
Instead, they respected her even more.
For a heavenly maiden like this, perhaps these expensive dishes were no different from dog food in her noble household.
If the crowd thought that, then Bama’s imagination went even further.
He felt she was disappointed in him.
Especially with how she avoided even looking at the food.
Of course.
She must come from a noble family equal to, or even greater than, his own.
The delicacies he considered luxurious were probably just common meals to her.
Yet instead of treating her to something worthy of her status...
He had served her commoner’s food.
How disgraceful.
Bama felt deeply ashamed.
But he refused to be discouraged.
If she wouldn’t even touch the food...
Then why should he, the Duke’s son, eat it?
"Take it all away," Bama ordered softly.
The crowd couldn’t help but sigh.
By now, they had already accepted that none of them stood a chance with the mysterious maiden.
Only the Duke’s son did.
Yet he had made such a terrible mistake.
Judging by her disappointed expression, they felt he had ruined all the progress he had made.
The bartender quickly rushed over and began clearing away the dishes.
He couldn’t help but look at the Duke’s son with pity.
Even he had secretly hoped the young master would succeed in winning the maiden’s heart.
But after watching everything unfold...
It seemed even he had failed.
Meanwhile...
The person at the center of it all desperately wanted to choke someone.
Why...
Why was everyone looking at him with sympathetic eyes?
No, forget that.
You’re the Duke’s son!
Where’s your pride?
Where’s your arrogance?
You ordered your finest dishes...
I didn’t even touch them.
Shouldn’t you be furious?
Throw me out!
Tell everyone to ban me from ever entering this inn again!
Ronan was beginning to understand why the Abyssal creatures had managed to push humanity this far.
It seemed humanity’s average IQ wasn’t particularly high.
What a pity.
But don’t worry.
For the sake of the beautiful goddesses he would conquer in the future...
Once he became strong enough...
He would at least protect humanity.
"Maiden... I..."
Bama looked at Ronan apologetically, trying to explain himself.
That was the final straw.
Ronan had had enough.
With everything he had done, any sane person should have either given up or thrown him out by now.
But no.
This man had completely overturned Ronan’s understanding of common sense.
Ronan was under immense pressure.
For the past several minutes, he had been struggling to avoid speaking, terrified of dying for the third time, desperately searching for a way to survive.
Meanwhile...
This Duke’s son...
"Ahhh..."
Ronan slowly rose from his seat, his fists clenched tightly.
No.
He couldn’t take this anymore.
He would rather spend the rest of his life being hunted by human experts than remain here for another second.
However...
The people inside the inn misunderstood everything yet again.
Just as they had guessed...
The Duke’s son had made a fatal mistake and destroyed the good impression he had been building with the Crimson-Eyed Maiden.
They watched silently as Ronan turned around and walked out of the inn.
The entire hall fell deathly quiet.
Everyone’s hearts seemed to freeze as they looked at the young man still sitting at the table, his head lowered.
Alas...
Even the strongest of men could become helpless in the face of love.
Meanwhile, the instant Ronan stepped out of the inn...
He ran.
He didn’t care about anything anymore.
Whatever happened next...
He had to get as far away from that inn as possible before he suffered a complete mental breakdown.
*****
Inside the inn, Bama suddenly lifted his head.
No.
He couldn’t give up like this.
There was still a chance.
Besides, this was the first woman who had ever made him feel this way.
If he lost her...
He would regret it for the rest of his life.
"Wow... I knew it! He really is the Duke’s son!"
"His determination isn’t something ordinary men could ever possess!"
The crowd cheered as they watched the Duke’s son rush after the mysterious maiden.
---
Outside, Ronan finally breathed a sigh of relief after putting some distance between himself and the inn.
But just then...
He suddenly sensed the aura of a Two-Star Transcendent approaching.
Looking toward the street, he saw a man leap over the crowd, his eyes scanning the surroundings before finally locking onto Ronan.
The moment their gazes met, goosebumps covered Ronan’s entire body.
"Shit... have I been discovered?"
Without a second thought, Ronan exploded forward with all his strength.
Crack!
The ground beneath his feet shattered as his figure disappeared into the distance like a blur.
"Maiden... wait!"
Bama shouted.
But it was already too late.
His heart sank as he stared at the empty street.
Did...
Did I make another mistake?
Should I not have chased after her?
Was I being too forward?
No.
Maybe she simply wanted him to improve himself.
After all, he had made such a terrible mistake back at the inn.
Thinking of this, Bama nodded firmly to himself.
"That must be it."
A smile spread across his face as he continued staring at the empty street, trying to engrave the maiden’s final image into his memory.
"Young Master."
Just then, an aged voice interrupted his thoughts.
An elderly man appeared beside him, his aura surging like a mighty river.
He was Selak, the bodyguard assigned to Bama from birth.
For years, he had been responsible for protecting the Duke’s only son.
Earlier, he had been occupied guarding the human portal, ensuring that no Abyssal creatures slipped through.
Besides, this city was under human control.
He hadn’t been worried about Bama’s safety.
However, just moments ago, he had sensed the aura of a foreign Transcendent Five-Star expert near the Young Master’s location.
Without hesitation, he had rushed over.
"I’m fine, Selak," Bama replied absentmindedly, his eyes still filled with longing.
"But, Young Master... should I chase after—"
Selak was cut off by Bama’s stern glare.
"Don’t you dare."
Bama’s expression became unusually serious.
"Do you want her to become even more disappointed in me?"
Hearing those words, Selak wondered if his old age had finally caught up to him.
Had...
Had his ears stopped working properly?
They were far from their own kingdom.
Although the people of this city wouldn’t dare harm the Duke’s son, that mysterious aura belonged to a foreign Transcendent Five-Star expert.
By all logic, they should investigate.
Yet...
The Young Master was forbidding him from chasing the stranger.
And more importantly...
Who exactly was this "her" the Young Master mentioned?