Volume 1: Entering the Mortal World Chapter 23: Aristocratic Night Banquet

  Back at our residence, we immediately kept the gold coins safe and sound. The Gale Mercenaries were all on high alert, guarding against any thieves with ill intentions who might come to steal or cause trouble. I believed that if anyone dared to come, they would be chopped into minced meat without a second word.

  I, Celine, Lievman and his wife Freya gathered together to discuss future plans. This time's profit was really too great, we even left a magic leopard to prepare for bringing it to the capital of Wighton, Arunisi, to present to the king. It is said that King Kent VII of Wighton is also an extraordinary hunting enthusiast, if luck is good, we may even get a noble title.

  I'm not particularly interested in nobles, but Liefman is infatuated with them, it's really hard to understand his obstinacy. For the sake of his ideals, we didn't sell that rare and beautiful demon leopard we caught, which was worth more than a saber-toothed beast. I've been very kind to him, it's compensation for secretly having an affair with his wife.

  After more and more times of secretly indulging in pleasure, Fure now has a deep-seated fear of my lust. Every time we are alone together, she wraps herself around me like a water snake, and the frenzy of our lovemaking is simply unbelievable - it's hard to imagine that this elegant and refined woman would straddle a man and wildly twist her body. I believe that now if I had any ill intentions towards Rifman, she would unhesitatingly do anything for me. Once a woman's emotions go astray, they can be ruthlessly cruel to the men from their past - Kol is just one example of someone who suffered such misfortune and ended up becoming a fugitive mercenary. However, I still feel grateful towards this fat man who made a fortune with me, so I'll just exert myself a bit more on his wife's body, rather than letting him become a fugitive mercenary.

  Drinking hot tea in the room, chatting softly, enjoying the quiet afternoon, and still playing with shiny coins in hand. What could be more delightful than this? Unfortunately, this peaceful afternoon rest was ruined by a voice, a servant knocked on the door: "Gentlemen, there is an envoy of Duke William who wants to visit Mr. Lievman."

  "What does the Duke of Wilhelm want? What brings his envoy to us?" Liveman and I exchanged a look, as if we had never had any dealings with this super noble before.

  The incoming messenger was a rather old-fashioned butler-like man, dressed in a fitting black suit, and his demeanor showed that he had received good aristocratic education. As soon as he entered the room, he made an elegant gentleman's bow and respectfully said: "You must be Lord Lievman and friends of Mr. Lievman."

  "Yes... yes, I don't know what Your Excellency wants to find... find us for?" Liefman was just a commoner after all, and dealing with nobles made him somewhat flustered.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, a banquet will be held tonight at the residence of Duke William. The duke is delighted that you have brought him such great surprise and would like to ask about your adventures, so he hopes to meet each of you, therefore, we cordially invite you to attend tonight's banquet."

  Is that an invitation to a noble banquet? I have no interest in such gatherings and was about to make excuses, but Lievman, who was standing beside me, became unusually enthusiastic as soon as he heard the news, exclaiming: "We are truly grateful for Duke Wilhelm's warm invitation. We will definitely arrive on time tonight. Please convey my sincere respects to Duke Wilhelm."

  After sending away the messenger, Lievman immediately took action. He called in several of Tatiana's largest dress shops' seamstresses to select the most suitable fabrics for us right away, and then gathered a few makeup artists to give us the finest touches. Originally, I was very impatient with people messing around my face and hair, but those makeup artists were all beautiful women, and I couldn't even get a word out.

  It wasn't until they finally finished their tedious work that I could breathe a sigh of relief, but then I was subjected to several hands pinching and poking at my face, and my body being measured with calipers - not exactly the most comfortable experience. But Serina showed great poise, not displaying even a hint of impatience, probably because she had gone through similar ordeals during her time in Mosan.

  I stood up, swung my arms and felt that this suit was also very fitting. The workmanship between the cuts was extremely meticulous, and the elasticity of the suit was also very good, completely able to withstand the pulling force of big movements. In Xilina's and Freya's eyes, there seemed to be something different from before, making me wonder if there was a problem with my current image.

  "Sir, come here and take a look at whether you are satisfied with our craftsmanship." A makeup artist said in front of a large mirror.

  I walked in front of the mirror and couldn't believe that the person inside was actually me. My originally casual black long hair is now cut smooth and neat, combed back neatly, losing its former wildness, but gaining a bit of elegance. My cheeks with a hint of stubble were shaved clean, and after applying some foundation, I looked like a refined gentleman, especially with the well-tailored luxurious black outfit on me. Anyone who saw me would think I was an elegant nobleman. Who knew I'd turn out to be this way? Indeed, clothes make the man!

  Xī lín nà and Fú ruì's attire also dazzled me, they now looked like two noblewomen wearing gemstone-encrusted dresses, the low-cut neckline revealing a dazzling expanse of snowy white skin that was an irresistible temptation to men, combined with their peerlessly beautiful faces, I believed they would absolutely be the most captivating ladies at the dinner party.

  Levman's attire also gave me a brand new feeling, his originally stout body was covered by the clothes on him, the just-right folds and the magnificent golden stripes made his body seem much slimmer, people's gaze at his body would be dispersed and not notice his figure. Levman was apparently very satisfied with those tailors' craftsmanship, his smiling face full of joy, he even generously gave them some extra pay, which for this stingy merchant was simply unimaginable.

  As night began to fall, we arrived at the Duke of Wilhelm's villa outside the fortress of Natis in a horse-drawn carriage. I had originally planned to go there for a big meal and taste the delicious dinner of the nobles. Fortunately, Lievman, who was well-versed in the ways of the nobility, stopped me from making such an embarrassing mistake. It turned out that in the language of the nobility, banquets and dinner parties were two different concepts. A dinner party was literally a gathering around a large table to eat together, while a banquet was a gathering of nobles to chat and drink wine together. Although food was provided, no one would indulge in excessive eating and drinking at a banquet, as that would be considered uncivilized behavior. After hearing this, I lost all interest in attending the noble banquet.

  As the lord of a county, Duke William's villa can be said to be extremely luxurious. Not to mention the lawn garden around it, just this five-story magnificent building in front of us occupies nearly two acres of land. From the outside, the large and small windows of this house are hung with exquisite patterned curtains, which look especially rich and luxurious under the reflection of indoor lights.

  Under the guidance of the butler, we entered the grand mansion's gate and found ourselves in a spacious hall with a carpet embroidered with beautiful stripes. Candles and lanterns hung everywhere inside, making it exceptionally bright, especially the crystal chandelier above our heads, composed of countless small lamps, which opened my eyes as a forest dweller who had never seen anything like it before. On the walls hung many paintings framed in gold, depicting landscapes from their style, I wonder if they were the old duke's favorite natural scenery paintings.

  Inside this room, everywhere were nobles who came to the gathering. Every gentleman was dressed in formal attire, and every noblewoman was as gorgeously dressed as Serena and others. Their elegant demeanor and refined speech when talking showed their difference from ordinary commoners. I couldn't help but think of that short-lived Peter Baron, whose words and deeds were just like those of a scolding woman, without any elegance at all.

  Under the leadership of the messenger who came to visit us today, we walked towards the inner hall next to the main hall. The nobles we passed by couldn't help but look at us with surprised eyes. Those who were familiar with the situation could see that we were not nobles from our gait, while some young nobles' eyes had already fixed on tonight's exceptionally beautiful Serena and Freya, and the flames in their eyes seemed to be about to erupt.

  As I walked further into the inner chamber, my sensitive nature discovered that the nobles' demeanor became increasingly solemn and dignified, clearly distinguishing themselves from those outside who belonged to a different class.

  "Knock knock." The messenger knocked on the door of a room, and a stern voice sounded: "Come in!" It was none other than the voice of Duke William that I had heard before.

  The door was pushed open, and the scene inside the room appeared before us. Several men in elegant attire were sitting on exquisite sofas, sipping tea and chatting, among them was Duke William. What surprised me, however, was that Naples Duke, who had been showing signs of resentment towards Duke William these past few days, was also present.

  The messenger whispered something in the ear of Duke William, and then he stood up to greet us: "Ah, so you are Mr. Lievman who has brought us endless surprises these days, welcome, welcome."

  William's words attracted the attention of several others, especially the Duke of Naples, after all, those monsters were bought from us.

  Receiving the welcome of this Grand Duke, second only to the King in the Kingdom of Weiton, Liveman's mouth kept trembling and he couldn't say a decent word for a long time before finally blurting out: "To...to receive your invitation, I, a commoner, truly feel deeply honored."

  "Haha, actually, the main reason I invited you all tonight is this Duke of Naples," said Duke William with a smile. "When I saw you and your friends, I knew why you were able to return safely from the Labyrinth Forest where no one has ever come out alive before. Welcome, night creature friend from the Labyrinth Forest."

  "Please address me as Vittel, Your Grace." I replied calmly.

  "Haha, I've actually been able to see a real Nightwalker appear before my eyes. You could say my luck isn't bad." Duke William smiled as he spoke, his smile seeming to always be on his face, giving off a rather gentle impression.

  "Mr. Lefman, Mr. Vite, and your ladies, come, let's sit down and have a chat, we're very interested in hearing about your experiences in the forest of confusion, let's drink tea and talk." Under Duke William's invitation, we also sat down.

  Today, those who sat were either dukes or earls, and they were all the highest-ranking nobles. It was astonishing that ordinary people like us could sit in the same room as them, and Lievman was so excited that he was almost at a loss for words. Fortunately, his three-inch tongue was still working, and he was able to chat with those great nobles quite harmoniously.

  The topic had gradually shifted to me. Duke William smiled at me, making me feel uneasy all over, this old man was absolutely a cunning old fox like the village chief, and it was definitely not good to talk to him.

  "Mr. Vito, you also know that my territory is close to Mosan, recently I heard a piece of news, there's a Nightwalker who did something earth-shattering in the palace of Mosan, and that person seems to be called Vito too, what a coincidence." The smile on Duke William's face has now completely upgraded to a fox's smile in my heart.

  I confided in those well-informed individuals, telling them the whole truth about the shocking coup that had taken place at the Mosan Palace. The nobles were visibly moved by the news I provided, and they wondered what impact this major political upheaval would have on the situation in Weldon and Mosan. If Mosan's situation was unstable now, it would be the best opportunity for the Kingdom of Weldon, which had been constantly at odds with Mosan for hundreds of years.

  The main characters at the banquet had fallen into contemplation, and were no longer in the mood to continue chatting. They didn't even ask about what happened in the lost forest. Seeing that there was no need to stay any longer, we bid farewell to Duke William.

  But before leaving, Duke William, in order to reward us for bringing such good news, specially agreed that his county would not collect taxes on Lievman's merchant team. This news made Lievman extremely happy, no need to pay taxes, which means he can save a large sum of money to expand the next investment, this is simply the best news for businessmen.

  Our departure left many young noble men in a state of bewilderment, their hearts having long been occupied by the stunning beauty of Serena and Freya. Upon seeing us leave, they couldn't help but ask those around them about our identities.