??Chapter 118: Chapter 9: Gift
Chapter 118: Chapter 9: Gift
“Respected Princess Vero, please allow
to express the sincerest birthday wishes from the 170,000 citizens of Caucasus on your behalf. We are fortunate to witness Princess Vero age another joyful year and to behold our kingdom’s most beautiful girl’s unparalleled beauty, which is dedicated to Princess Vero. I believe that my friends and I, upon our return to Caucasus, to Hor, will have new bragging rights amongst our kin.” It had been several years since I had used such deceitful flattery on a naive girl. The absurd tis of womanizing seed to flash before my eyes. Was it absurd? Kor wasn’t sure. Perhaps that was the exuberance of youth, the only way to prove the vigor of one’s pri youth was indeed burning within.
While Kor spoke incessantly, flattering the silver-haired girl who was both shy and joyful like an elf, he followed the proper Nicosia noble etiquette by kneeling on one knee to request a kiss on the girl’s fingers. Perhaps moved by Kor’s sincerity and exquisite language, the girl, her face flushed with happiness, removed her thin gauze gloves to accept Kor’s blessing.
Seeing the blissful and joyous expression on Princess Vero’s face, Knight Sart felt full of jealousy and unease next to him. He had not expected his opponent to court the idol in his heart with such ease, even when caught off guard. He didn’t believe the other party could pull off any tricks at this mont; re eloquence couldn’t cover the true colors of these country bumpkins in such a situation.
“Ha ha, Baron Excellency, we all admire your eloquence. Princess Vero, like all of us, is looking forward to your special gift. We believe it will surely beco the most dazzling pearl at the banquet held for Princess Vero.” Struggling to contain the upsurge of killing intent in his chest, Knight Sart failed to notice the confusion and doubt on the faces of the two young knights beside him. At that mont, all he wanted was to tightly snare the other party. If the other party was unable to present a gift or brought out anything less than a rare and unique item, he would unleash the vilest and filthiest words on this man still pretending in front of him.
“Oh, thank you for the reminder, Knight Sart. I almost forgot to present a token of the 170,000 citizens of Caucasus to our Princess Vero.” Kor politely nodded in thanks to the expectant young man beside him and then calmly pulled out what he called a gift from his bosom.
A small pale blue ring, its style simple and rustic, without any patterns or decorations, yet when placed in Kor’s palm, it radiated a faint azure, as if a young sprout had suddenly grown out, silently and strikingly dazzling.
The nobles crowding around all focused their gaze on the ring in Kor’s hand. Could such a modest and unadorned ring possibly be considered a special, rare, and unique gift?
Peals of laughter from the surrounding nobles eventually erupted, along with a relentless string of mocking and sarcastic remarks in the grand hall: “Country bumpkin, is this also your gift? A ring not even worth a Gold Shield, not even in a gift box? Your baron excellency, I highly doubt how you obtained your title. Is the title of Baron in the Hor region so worthless?”
“Ha, the Wilderness is full of rude people. To deceive us Galleians with such street vendor rchandise on Princess Vero’s birthday, do you really think we Galleians can’t discern quality?”
“A bunch of swindlers, Duke, I suggest we thoroughly investigate the origins of these fellows. It’s quite possible that the con artists active in Phoenix City could be them. I’ve heard they also pose as nobles everywhere, deceiving and swindling!”
Knight Sart, his face filled with righteous indignation, boldly stepped forward and glared at Kor, “Baron Excellency, your actions are an extre disrespect towards Princess Vero and an insult to our entire Galle nobility. If you cannot provide a reasonable explanation, I will take it as a provocation against the Galle nobility, and I will formally challenge you to a duel!”
The few people behind Kor had already turned pale with shock and unease, except for Hozer, who had been closely following Kor and still maintained his composure. Daring to refuse his own cherished family heirloom and now producing such a ring, the rchant-seasoned Hozer believed this inscrutable lord must have his reasons, although Hozer couldn’t see any magical qualities in this ordinary ring made of normal jade. Still, he believed the lord had the capacity to turn the tide single-handedly.
“Ladies and gentlen, please quiet down. I understand your respect for Princess Vero, but I truly cannot comprehend why my presenting such a valuable and suitable gift for a young lady has drawn such criticism! Is it that there is no one in Galle, or is this an intentional provocation? I cannot determine at this mont, and I would like to ask you all for a reasonable explanation.” With a slight wave of his hand, Kor managed to silence the buzz of the crowd, their grumbling nobles turning their gaze back to him.
Upon seeing that his daughter’s suitor could control the atmosphere—an atmosphere Sate himself could not have created—he felt a mixture of anger and urgency. This fellow was more than just a common rogue and deceitful; he wouldn’t shed a tear until he saw the coffin. To think this casually presented ring with no gift wrapping could be touted as a carefully prepared gift, Sate was eager to see how he would spin this pile of cow dung into a blossom.
“Since you have put it that way, Your Baron, please forgive us for our shortsightedness and shallow knowledge, and introduce us to this ring of yours. Tell us about its long history, its extraordinary origin, and its priceless value,” Sate said, his face turning ashen with impatience, the threat in his eyes unmistakable. If Kor did not give him a satisfactory answer, Sate might indeed challenge him to a duel and take the opportunity to slay him.
“Certainly, this is a ring, but it is by no ans an ordinary one. As a birthday gift for Princess Vero, you all must realize that I would not give sothing that only an ignorant fool would deem a trinket from a street stall. This is a magic ring, whose abilities would benefit many, but of course, Princess Vero would be the primary beneficiary. Here, I would like to see if anyone present recognizes this ring and can tell us about its glorious and legendary history?”
At this point, Kor, too, was pushed into a corner. The ring was one of the items he had acquired from the peculiar thief, and unlike the other trinkets housed in a brocaded pouch, he could feel the Wood Magic power contained within this ancient-styled ring. On his journey to Jazair, he had submitted the ring for appraisal at a top magic equipnt store in the Royal City. Unfortunately, the chief appraiser was not present that day, and the ordinary appraisers could only vaguely determine that it was an extrely precious piece of Wood Magic equipnt, greatly aiding a mage’s control of Wood Magic. However, the specifics remained unknown.
So, by saying this now, he was seeing if anyone could recognize the item. If no one could identify it, he could brazenly fabricate stories, claiming it was either a sacred object left by the Goddess of Nature or the Forest Goddess, or even add in so history he had picked up from the last emperor of the Dark Empire. That way, the ring, now boasting a glorious history and limitless value, would be freshly minted. As for the possibility of being exposed later, since he rarely visited Galle, and his reputation was already not without stains, adding the title of swindler was inconsequential. All that mattered was getting through the present situation.
All eyes once again converged on Kor’s palm, which he had yet to withdraw. A magic ring? That was certainly an item of considerable value reserved for mages, but not all magic tools and magic equipnt were worth a fortune. Although most of the nobles present were not well-versed in magic, it did not an everyone was ignorant; the object in question did not seem like sothing of imnse worth.
The verdant ring lay still in his palm, revealing nothing extraordinary to onlookers. Silence is golden when one lacks understanding, especially with items like magical tools, where surface appearances could not determine their true value. However, the two young knights standing beside Knight Sate frowned slightly. Using their sensory abilities, they could feel the magical elents floating in the ring that Kor claid to be invaluable. Indeed, it was a magic ring, but its specific effects and legendary history remained unknown to them.
Sate, however, driven to fury, was not in a state to consider so much. He too sensed the magical nature of the ring in the other’s hand, but that did not prove much. A ring with basic protective magic could be bought for three to five hundred Gold Shields in a magic tool store, far from being claid as invaluable. Moreover, for Princess Vero, such a aningless ring was nothing but a pretense of magic to deceive and skimp through. In his heart, Sate was certain that was Kor’s intention, and he could not allow this detestable man to so easily deceive everyone.
“Mr. Mundell, as a figure of authority in the Galle region’s magical community, Baron Kor has claid that this ring is invaluable and has a great legendary history. I would like you to appraise it for us, the younger generation, and also share with us the legendary tale of this precious jewel,” Sate raised his voice, resolute in seeing the matter through to the end. He could not let this cunning bumpkin play everyone for fools, which would undoubtedly be an act of desecration against Princess Vero. He was determined to uncover the sham and ensure that this group received due punishnt.
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