Chapter - 26
It was not long before that it was already evening, and Leo was in his room, staring at the outfit Lady Seraphine brought for him.
It was a dark navy jacket with the borders made of golden threads, then there was a crisp white shirt with a weird puffy collar, and black trousers that were actually the right size.
But Leo was not going to that party wearing this weird dress only.
He was not going into the den of snakes without preparation. First he wore his Shadowweave tunic. Aiva had told him that he could change the shape and fitting of his Shadowweave tunic however he liked, just by thinking.
And Aiva was right. Just as he thought, the Shadowweave tunic clung to his body, and became extremely thin. Barely noticeable. Then over the tunic he wore the clothes Lady Seraphine got for him. And the puffy collar was very annoying.
Then he wore the Amulet of Keen Observations. For any other unexpected situation, he had the Iron Blade and the Twin Serpent Daggers in his inventory. Now he was somewhat confident of making out alive.
When he stepped out of his room, the two guards posted outside his door froze. For the last three days, they had been treating him like a filthy street rat, trying to make his life unbearable.
But now, they just stared at him.
The transformation was insane. The unkempt guy who wore the same set of clothes for 3 days straight was now standing in front of them, barely recognizable. He looked more noble than the nobles themselves. The only thing that still remained was that cocky grin on his face.
"Evening, boys," Leo said, fixing his cuff, "Now daddy is going out. Don't cry too hard because I am not coming back early."
And with that, Leo strolled past them, leaving the two guards gaping at each other in silence.
~~~~~~~
When he arrived at the Great Hall, Leo was impressed. It looked nothing like the gloomy audience hall from the last time he was in here. Tonight it was bright, loud, and stuffed with so many people.
Huge iron chandeliers hung from the ceiling, lit with thick candles. The light from the candles first bounced off the glass, then the polished armours, then the silverware and then the heavy jewellery of the ladies in the room. And this made the room the brightest place he has been at night.
In one of the corners, a group of musicians played a very slow and soothing music on the flutes and the violins.
But for a commoner the sight that would make him in awe, was the number of rich and noble men and women in the hall.
But who could make even the Nobles turn their heads? It was Leo.
As soon as he walked in, he caught everyone's attention. The conversations stopped between them, and they began to whisper in hushed tones, giving side glances to Leo.
"Who is the handsome man?" One of the girls asked her friend, hiding her mouth with a fan.
"I have never seen him? Maybe he is from out of town." Her friend said unsure.
"Can he be the young man who saved Lady Aliana?" Another girl spoke, "He may be a guard in the City Patrol."
"He single handedly killed half a dozen Blackfang bandits, more than a dozen Grave stalkers and then even exposed a traitor."
"He is so manly."
"I heard there were a dozen Blackfang bandits. He must be so strong."
"He doesn't look like a guard… Look at the way he walks. He looks so… so…"
"You just don't want him to be a guard. Otherwise, your father won't agree."
"Who cares? I will just have to sneak him in at midnight. Hehehehe."
And not just the young ladies, even the older noble women were eying Leo.
"That boy is trouble," One of the noble women said, "I need to have a chat with my husband."
"Mmmm… Your husband is so understanding." The other sighed, "My husband can't do it on his own, and I can't even look around."
"Darling… My chambers are always open for you," The woman leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her cheeks, "Just like we always do."
And as the whispers grew, Leo felt his Amulet of Keen Observations send information like crazy.
[Scent of Lust]
[Scent of Curiosity]
[Scent of Arousal]
The noblewomen, whether young and mature, were practically devouring him with their eyes. Their fans, and polite smiles were doing nothing to hide it.
And seeing that, the men who came to these parties to target their prey felt threatened.
The nobles, the young heirs, and every other guy with a dick glared at Leo as if he had already stolen their wives.
"He's just a commoner."
"Why are the ladies acting like he is some war hero? They were just some bandits."
"He even humiliated the City Patrol. That's unacceptable."
"What next? He will come after us, our wives?"
"We can't let him do as he pleases."
The Amulet spat out another surge of emotions
[Scent of Jealousy]
[Scent of Arrogance]
[Scent of Resentment]
"The nobles are always so adorable," Leo smirked as he continued to walk forward without stopping.
And just like that, he became the most talked about man in the building, without saying a single word.
He ignored all of them, but his Predator's Instincts were already active. He wasn't going to leave everything to chance.
But despite everything, his main target right now was the banquet table. So gliding through the sea of nobles, he moved towards the already served food.
The food he had been served in his room for three days was a massive L. It was nothing but bland and tasteless. All he ate for three days was bread, salty soup, and small, dry cuts of chicken.
So he was not going to waste this feast.
Now with a sense of purpose that the noble men mistook for social ignorance, Leo walked through a group of whispering ladies, and arrived at the food table. He could not wait for the food to be served by the servants.
He picked up a plate and instead of polite, small portions, he loaded his plate.
After his plate was full with a thick, dripping slice of roasted boar, two big leg pieces of chicken, the breast of the roasted duck, he grabbed another plate for sausages, fried fish and fried onion rings.
He then grabbed a bowl and served himself Chicken and Vegetable soup.
Now with the two plates and the bowl soup, he made his way to a table at the far end of the room. But he was still not done. As soon as he sat down, he snapped his fingers and called a servant.
"Get me some wine," Leo told the servant, "Get me a jug."
Soon everything was placed in front of him. He did not even wait for the celebrations to begin.
He grabbed the chicken leg and ripped the meat off like he hadn't eaten in a week.
Then he moved to the roasted boar, tore a huge chunk off, and shoved it into his mouth. He was going full throttle.
And to wash it all down his throat, he grabbed the wine jug and took on big gulps.
"By the Gods… Look at him. So uncouth."
"Zero manners. Absolutely zero."
"Fucking savage. I feel disgusted just by looking at him."
"What's wrong with Lord Caelum. He should have tossed him in a dungeon, not this party."
The women, on the other hand, had a completely different reaction.
One noblewoman leaned toward her friend, almost drooling, "My Lord. He has such a huge appetite."
Her friend didn't look away from Leo for a second, "Mmhmm. I am sure he eats everything with the same enthusiasm."
And just then, the musicians changed music. It became a bit louder. And someone in the crowd shouted.
"Everyone, the star of the evening is here. Put your hands together for Lady Aliana Dargan!"
And with the announcement, all the eyes turned towards the stairs, and a dramatic gasp went through the hall. At the top of the stairs, Aliana stood wearing a white and gold twinkling gown. A golden, embroidered scarf wrapped around her shoulders, giving her an elegant lady aura.
The young girl was now blooming into a lady.
Aliana started walking down the grand staircase. The whole room stared at her like she had descended from heaven.
Leo had to admit, she knew how to keep her calm in the face of such attention..
Her eyes scanned the hall, enjoying every drop of the worship, until her gaze met Leo's.
He was looking at her with his mouth moving constantly.
'Not bad. Solid 7/10 for the good princess cosplay,' Leo nodded to himself.
Meanwhile Aliana smirked, 'That's right. Keep on looking.'
But before she could keep on gloating, Leo turned back to his plate.
'But this roasted duck? A solid 10/10'
And he did not look at her again.
Slap!
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