Gillen cleared his throat with a couple of coughs and then neatly summarized.
"How about we tell the truth, but fra it as our pheromone battle was evenly matched, and the clash between the alpha pheromones caused the situation to escalate?"
"..."
"If you just explain it that way, I promise. I will never appear before you again."
Yuan had always believed that Gillen liked him, and for that reason, he was angry at him. It was because he thought he was a man who did not know his place.
But now Gillen was promising with his own mouth that if he just explained this well, he would completely disappear from Yuan’s sight. This was a deal where Yuan had nothing to lose.
He thought it over and then nodded his head.
"I understand. Let us do that. Set a date, and call the reporters."
"Good. Let us do that."
Out of habit, Gillen extended his hand for a handshake. It was because of the custom of always shaking hands when a deal was concluded between nobles. However, Yuan sighed as if he were disgusted. It was a look as if he had seen through Gillen’s attempt to hold his hand one last ti out of lingering attachnt.
’That annoying bastard...’
Gillen thought so and forced a smile, lowering his awkward hand. In any case, the two alphas had reached an amicable agreent.
Press Conference
The press conference was held in the drawing room of the Blake family. Since an old and prestigious family like the Blake family regularly hosted salons for political and cultural gatherings, it was a place optimized for receiving a large number of guests.
The people who beca reporters were usually nobles from humble families or commoners. They were guided to the drawing room through the vast gardens of the Blake family and past the majestic and artistic halls and corridors. Servants dressed in uniforms of better quality fabric than the reporters’ own clothes attended to them with impeccable manners.
From the very beginning, the reporters could not help but be seated, either overwheld by or feeling favorable towards the Blake family’s capital and grace. It was a matter of course, as everyone was served with high-quality refreshnts with great care and was treated like a distinguished guest. Under the command of the competent and experienced butler, Brian, the reporters were slowly being dosticated and were savoring a feeling of self-importance.
At that mont, Gillen was in the dressing room, checking his appearance for the last ti. Today, he was wearing a dark blue coat tailored to fit his sturdy physique perfectly, and pants of the sa color, with a black cloak with gold clasps that had been bestowed upon him by the emperor. It was an attire that was not flashy but emphasized dignity and status.
The head chamberlain and head lady-in-waiting, who were helping Gillen with his attire at his side, exclaid in admiration.
"You look truly wonderful today, Your Excellency the Duke."
"Indeed. All the reporters will surely be captivated by Your Excellency’s magnificent presence."
At their complints, Gillen burst into a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! Navard, shouldn’t we give these friends a small gift? They’re praising too much."
At that, both the head chamberlain and the head lady-in-waiting cried out as if they were being wronged. They insisted that it was not flattery but their sincere feelings. Navard, standing behind Gillen, chuckled.
"I will give a separate gold coin to the servants who helped with Your Excellency’s preparations today. And I agree as well. You look wonderful today, Your Excellency. Now you just need to finish the announcent safely."
"Yes, yes. Has the ten-cent bastard not arrived yet?"
Gillen asked, adjusting the clasp on his cloak more neatly for the last ti and looking back.
"For now, only the carriages with the reporters are arriving—"
"Am I by any chance the ten-cent bastard?"
Before Navard could even finish his sentence, a dazzling figure of light appeared in the middle of the dressing room. Gillen and Navard froze simultaneously.
"I thought there was no need to go through the trouble of arriving in a carriage with all the formalities anymore. I ca by teleportation. But what is a ten-cent bastard? It seems to be referring to ."
A silver-haired handso man in a pure white suit and a thin cloak embroidered with silver thread said, sweeping his hair back. It was a completely opposite appearance to Gillen, who was neatly dressed in dark-colored clothes with gold clasps. Yuan was literally shining today.
’If we take a picture, that bastard will be the only one sparkling, damn it.’
Gillen, who had looked like the most handso man in the world just a mont ago, lost his light as soon as Yuan appeared.
"Ohh..."
For example, the head lady-in-waiting, who had been praising Gillen all along, let out an involuntary exclamation that ca from the bottom of her stomach, and,
"Cough, cough cough!"
The head chamberlain, who had held his breath in surprise at Yuan’s appearance, even choked.
Even Navard, who disliked Yuan, frowned slightly, so he must have been feeling the sa as the others.
"...Marquis Hampton, greetings. It is a sha that our Blake family’s servants are waiting eagerly for you at the main gate to escort you."
Navard, belatedly coming to his senses, bowed and spoke with a pointed remark.
However, Yuan did not flinch.
"Oh, really? Then tell them to co back in. You can just go out and tell them."
Yuan also showed that he disliked Navard. Navard shook his head with a forced smile.
"Such a ssage can be entrusted to soone else. I am the attendant who serves His Excellency the Duke, so I will be with him from the beginning to the end of today’s press conference."
"Well, considering the Duke’s age, a young person does need to be by his side to help and support him with every little thing."
Yuan chid in with Navard’s words without a single change in expression. And the one who was hit by that attack was not Navard, but the Duke, Gillen.
"...Um, Hampton? Navard? Let’s stop talking and hurry up. Let’s get this press conference over with."
Please.
Gillen added that and barely restrained himself from clasping his hands together and begging.
He was tired of all of this now. The power struggles of vigorous but childish young n, his own position of always having to be at the center of that vortex, the war of attrition with Yuan, and the troubleso problems that arose from its aftermath. He was just sick and tired of everything.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Navard answered first, bowing his head. Then Yuan, not to be outdone, cut in.
"That is what I was hoping for. Let’s go."
Oh, I’m so tired....
Gillen forced the corners of his lips up and let out a soulless "Hahaha!" laugh.
And finally, the press conference to reveal the truth between Yuan Hampton and Gillen Blake began.
"So you two were arguing over the sponsorship amount?"
A reporter with glasses asked, raising his ink-stained hand. Gillen smiled gently.
"That is correct. This friend Hampton here said he would sponsor the highest amount ever every month, and it was such a large sum that as the foundation’s head, I had no choice but to stop him."
"May I ask how much it was?"
The reporter asked, smiling back.
"Let’s keep that a secret. In any case, just know that it was an amount that would make even , Duke Blake, fall over in surprise."
Gillen laughed it off slyly. It was because if he revealed the exact amount, there was a 100 percent chance that there would be gossip about it. It was obvious that a follow-up article like ’The competitive sponsorship culture of high-ranking nobles that induces a sense of relative deprivation’ would co out, getting fixated on sothing strange.
That was why he tried to move on like that, but....
"I said I would sponsor 120,000 gold a year. In fact, I could have done more, but I drastically reduced it for the sake of the sponsored child’s independence. Duke Blake was so worried."
Yuan dropped a huge bomb. He could hear Navard gasp, "Hup," from behind. Gillen had to clench his fists under the table to keep from covering his forehead with his hand.
Sure enough, the reporters’ gazes changed in an instant. Yuan had forcibly thrown cold water on them, who had been receiving lavish treatnt and were thoroughly intoxicated by the aristocratic atmosphere.
"Isn’t 120,000 gold an amount that could buy a small island or a kingdom? Are you saying you have enough assets to sponsor even more than that?"
"Marquis-nim, does that an you have more money than His Majesty the Emperor of the Moore Empire?"
"I know you were the next Magic Tower Master before you beca a nobleman, so how did you earn that much money?"
"By any chance, did you also buy your title with money? Please answer!"
He knew this would happen. Gillen clenched his fists tighter. His fingernails dug deep into his palm. That troublemaker bastard.... Does a thorn grow on your tongue if you go even one second without bragging?
As Gillen shot a sideways glance at Yuan, Yuan nonchalantly snapped his fingers. At that, the reporters’ mouths were simultaneously sealed shut. An artificial silence suddenly descended upon the drawing room.
"First, you there. How many dragons do I command, and how much money have I swept up while traversing ti and space? Of course I have a lot of assets. And you there? Think carefully with that pea-sized brain of yours. Isn’t it as natural as the sun rising in the day and the moon rising at night that soone like is richer than His Majesty the Emperor? You with the glasses. If I were to buy sothing with money, I would have bought this empire, not a title. The reason I did not is because it is botherso."
Yuan snapped his fingers once more. The reporters’ mouths returned to normal, but no one dared to speak rashly.
"You all really know nothing about . You have been living without even knowing what a great wizard I am, a genius who appears maybe once in a thousand years. How absurd. All of you, look at carefully. I will probably be the most precious and great being you will see until you die."
It was not just the reporters who were at a loss for words. Gillen, too, could not say anything.
’This bastard... is the real deal.’
He’s not so flimsy narcissist who just brags with words. He’s the real deal. No one can beat him.
Gillen swallowed hard. He did not know what he was thinking, or how he was going to clean up the ss afterward, but... he was truly a remarkable person.
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