The rest of the Royal Gala was rather uneventful for Leo, but Luke’s experience was quite the opposite.
Among the contenders advancing to the semi-finals, Luke erged as a favorite for the nobles who were keen to mingle with him due to his enigmatic background as the chosen protege of a master knight and his esteed reputation within the Royal Knight Academy as a genius.
Various nobles continuously engaged with him throughout the Gala, bombarding him with personal inquiries and questions about his marital status, sexual preferences or whether he would consider their daughters for a politically advantageous marriage.
One particular Baron even made a rather blunt proposition saying “While my daughter may lack beauty, she isn’t very possessive either. Should you decide to marry her SkyLion, she would likely permit you to keep several concubines.
Think about it….
You can happily play around all your life and won’t have anyone to pull your ear-”
This particular proposition made Luke blush deeply as while he did not agree with the words being said, he also could not believe how shaless these nobles were beneath the facade of sophistry.
One particular interaction, however, stood out from the rest for Luke, which was his conversation with the Master Knight George.
Approaching him with a big smile on his face, the master knight seed dead set on wanting to find out exactly who Luke’s hidden master was.
“SkyLion! The student that Professor Wood won’t stop talking about…” George said, as he walked up to Luke sizing him up.
“Sir George…. What an honor it is to be in your presence-” Luke said, knowing perfectly well as to who exactly this man was.
“What a stellar performance you’ve had in the Grand Tournant so far. They say you’re yet to break sweat in a fight. I’m very impressed-” George said, as his eyes ran up and down Luke’s body.
Compared to George himself, Luke was a fair bit tiny in comparison.
The master knight was built like a tank and was easily over 7 feet, with incredibly thick muscles to cover his massive fra.
His body was so huge, that Luke was sure that ordinary swords would be unable to slice into his flesh even if he were not wearing any Armor.
“Haha, the rumors are exaggerated, all my opponents were fairly decent” Luke said, downplaying his superiority as George nodded his head in approval.
“You’re the only knight in this Grand Tournant, so naturally I support you for winning it.
However, just between you and , you must tell the na of your master!
Is it that wack job Sancho? Or Sir Philip? Who exactly is your secret backer?” George asked, as Luke felt nervous by the question.
Since the master knight token was a system given reward which did not co with any prior explanation, Luke did not know how to make his fake origin story credible, so he had no choice but to double down on his lie as he said “Actually, I don’t know the identity of my master. All I know is that he gave the entry token and asked to do my best at the institute.
While I hope to et him again soday and ask him for his identity, I’m afraid I can’t answer this question today”.
“Oh? You don’t know the identity of your master? It could be anyone then…..” George said, putting a hand to his chin as he tried to figure out who his master might be but could not co to a decisive conclusion.
“Well, whoever your master is, he certainly has a discerning eye for talent, hahahaha, while I’ve not taken an official disciple myself, if I ever co across a kid like you, I might just take one in myself” George said, as Luke only smiled amiably.
“I hope you do find a suitable candidate for your disciple. The empire needs a second master George if possible-” Luke said, as George laughed and slapped his shoulders.
Curiously, he wasn’t the only master that Luke got to interact with at the Gala, as the Wind Sword and Lady Vivienne were also more than happy to chat with him.
Through his interactions with these masters, Luke gained the opportunity to go and visit them any ti if he wanted to seek their help, which was a big gain in itself as having a master as one’s acquaintance was a big deal.
**************
( anwhile Leo )
Ever since Lin Mu experienced an outburst of emotions at the balcony, Leo constantly kept his gaze set on his virtual sister and her every action.
While he did not understand what was wrong with her, since she did not share. Leo could sense that she was undergoing a very stressful ti and hence he decided to look after her from a distance.
For the rest of the Gala dinner, she seed to be moodless and gloomy as she kept drinking glass after glass of wine, however, her excellent tabolism and alcohol tolerance made it difficult for her to beco completely intoxicated.
It seed like she was desperately trying to escape reality, however, was being forcibly dragged back down towards it, as Leo could feel her sadness and helplessness when he observed her.
Just like him, not many nobles approached her either, however, if there was one noble who kept approaching her often, it was the royal counselor, the man that the Emperor treasured the most as his most important aide.
He seed intimate with Lin Mu, however, whenever he approached her she seed to flinch and suppress her disgust as she seed to be visibly struggling to not break down, as after every interaction the two had, Leo could see Lin Mu taking deep breaths as she tried to pacify her own emotions.
‘There is definitely sothing seriously wrong here-‘ Leo thought, as he decided to follow Lin Mu after the Gala ended, as his instincts told him that his virtual NPC sister might be in big trouble.
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