Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 126 - 47 Finger_1

(263...084...458...Group for book friends, feel free to join. P.S. Those who are passing by, please add to your collection and recommend, your support is my greatest motivation. Also, your feedback and suggestions are sincerely appreciated, thank you.)

"Mr. Faral, we are not very familiar, please call me Miss Raphael, not Catherine." Catherine said coldly, her expression stiff and serious as she confronted Nicholas, who had pursued her. "To address me as Catherine without my consent, contradicts your royal etiquette, it can be construed as... flippant." The term ’flippant’ was emphasized.

"Catherine, I..." Before Nicholas could continue, Catherine raised her hand to silence him, "I must stress once again, Mr. Falar, please address me as Miss Raphael. I suppose, given your manners, I won’t have to repeat myself a third time."

"Very well, Miss Raphael." Nicholas took a deep breath to compose himself. "Miss Raphael, after our separation at the Knight Academy, I’ve longed to see you again. I’ve waited for this opportunity, which at last arrives today."

"What brings you here, Mr. Nicholas?" Catherine asked indifferently.

"Come back to Falar," Nicholas stated directly, "As long as you’re willing to return, I guarantee that the Raphael Family’s nobility and status can be quickly restored."

"Restore nobility and status?" Catherine chuckled with a tinge of sarcasm, "How? Through marrying you, the prince?"

"This is the most reasonable and direct method." Nicholas seemed oblivious to Catherine’s sarcasm and replied earnestly, "No matter what transpired in previous generations or how you perceive me, you are after all a Faral. You should return. Moreover, you’re a knight, and you surely haven’t forgotten the loyalty inherent in a knight’s spirit. As a Faral knight, you should serve the king and the country faithfully."

"I believe you’ve misunderstood two matters, Mr. Faral. Firstly, I have no interest in restoring the family’s nobility. On the contrary, I derive more pleasure from not being noble, and hence, I will not even consider trying to bring back the past glory of my family." Catherine continued with her unchanged smile, her voice turning icier, "Secondly, as a royal member of the knight’s kingdom, you unfortunately misinterpreted the meaning of loyalty in a knight’s spirit."

Before Nicholas could respond, Catherine continued, "The honorable Lady Nellie once said that the loyalty of a knight isn’t fidelity to the monarch or the aristocracy, but to justice and faith. This represents true loyalty and embodies the true knight’s spirit. A century ago, Lady Nellie offered you the same counsel. It’s regrettable that, even after a hundred years, you still fail to grasp the true spirit of a knight. For a nation of knights, this is indeed a pity."

Over a century ago, during the several invasions of the Country of Sand by Falar, Falar had repeatedly attempted to persuade Nellie to join the army by exploiting the loyalty of the knights, but all such attempts were met with refusal from Nellie. It was only after the last unbearable instance that Nellie pronounced those words. This event was regarded by the royal family and the upper-class nobility of Falar as rebellious taboo. Yet, it was revered and passed down by professionals and many knights regarded it as a sacred decree.

"Damn loyalty, damn Sages." Nicholas mumbled to himself, unconsciously tightening his grip on his fist. Pannis quietly watched as his eyes squinted and a conspicuous sneer surfaced.

"Well, I..." Nicholas was about to say something when he glanced at Pannis, who had been standing there all along. He proposed in a tone that belied his request, "Sir, I have some matters to discuss with Miss Raphael. I’m sure you would not mind leaving us some private space?"

Pannis responded with an affable grin, "As a matter of fact, I do mind."

"Huh?" It took Nicholas a few seconds to make sense of what he had just heard. He then muttered in disbelief, "Excuse me?"

"Your Highness." Pannis removed his hat, pressed it against his chest, and bowed respectfully. Tinged with reverence, he uttered, "I said, I’m sorry, but I truly mind."

Having said that, Pannis straightened himself, put his hat back on, and continued with a warm smile, "Just like if I were to intrude into your ball and propose to your female companion in front of you, and even asked for a private space, I believe you too would mind. Yes, quite a lot."

"Very well." Nicholas nodded and stared at Pannis. The imperial bodyguard of the golden rank whispered something in his ear. After hearing it, Nicholas grunted, took a few steps towards Pannis with the bodyguard following closely.

Nicholas stood in front of Pannis, gave him an appraising look, then said in a deep voice, "High-ranking professional of silver rank, right? Quite commendable. A young and highly ranked professional has a promising future. Unfortunately, you’ve yet to learn the importance of knowing one’s place. You won’t understand how an ordinary civilian is no different from a silver-ranked professional in the eyes of someone who holds power. Perhaps, a gold-rank professional would be an exception. But a mere silver-rank professional like yourself is far from the stage where you can defy power. You know, just a slight signal from me, and I wouldn’t even have to utter a command, numerous people would line up to kill you. Therefore, I think you should reconsider carefully. I’m giving you another chance. Surely you won’t mind leaving in advance?"

Pannis’ smile broadened. He gently patted Catherine’s hand, which was hooked in his arm, and softly retorted, "Your Highness, you too are a professional, you have just been promoted to the bronze rank, correct? Both as a professional and heir to the throne, you have a very promising future indeed. It’s a pity though that after just misinterpreting the essence of the knight’s spirit, you’ve now made two more mistakes."

"Firstly, this is Rhea, a Neutral Land, the City of Knowledge, not your Faral Empire Palace nor your prince’s mansion." Pannis raised his two fingers in front, keeping the index finger up after finishing his point, "Maybe in Faral City, you are accustomed to issuing orders and no one rejecting them. But unfortunately, here, your noble identity, your prince status won’t get you any special treatment. You are no different from common civilians. If you dare to order a murder here, in a few days, either Odin or Antuin would feel their demigod dignity violated and personally visit your Faral mansion. By then, even if you manage to survive, the enraged emperor will likely strip you of your status as heir, wouldn’t you agree with me?"

"Secondly, you are a prince, with a noble status, hence extreme caution is required and bodyguards are a necessity whenever you leave the house. However, you fail to understand that even if the bodyguards follow you closely at all times, even if they are upper-rank professionals, even if one of the bodyguards is of the Gold Rank, two are of the Gold Rank, and also including that Demigod over there." Pannis swung his pointed index finger in the air, indicating one of the bodyguards when mentioning Gold Rank for the first time, and another one when mentioning it for the second time, and finally a middle-aged man nearby when discussing the Demigod. Surprisingly, every time Pannis pointed at these three battle-hardened upper-rank professional bodyguards, the respective person recoiled in fear as if they were facing the most horrifying thing in the world. Pannis spoke at a reasonable pace and moved his finger leisurely, which made the three bodyguards retreat back simultaneously, leaving Pannis’s outstretched finger to freely reach the prince’s chest.

"You see, you see." Pannis continued with his radiant smile, completely disregarding the anxious demeanor of the three bodyguards who were too scared to act hastily. His finger traced small circles lightly over Nicholas’s chest, "Regardless of the number of bodyguards by your side, and irrespective of your extensive precautions, what good will it do? With just a mere flick of my finger, I can easily kill you. Of course, I am nowhere near as powerful as you. After all, you are the esteemed prince and you simply have to give a signal, whereas I need to flick my finger. However, luckily, flicking my finger isn’t much of a trouble. Isn’t that right?"

Nicholas’ eyes twitched continuously, his fists tightly clenched, yet too scared to move, staring down to find Pannis’s finger drawing circles lightly on his chest, feeling as though it was an insolent tease.

"So, therefore." Pannis’s voice was soft and gentle, "A smart person like you doesn’t require me to delve any deeper as you must have already understood what I mean, am I right?"

Nicholas gritted his teeth, beads of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. His voice filled with both anger and a hint of fear, he reluctantly nodded, "I understand."

"Smart." Pannis finally took back his finger that was resting on Nicholas’s chest, lightly patting Nicholas’s shoulder with a friendly smile. "I knew it. Such a noble person as you is undoubtedly very smart. I haven’t been wrong." freewebnoveℓ.com

Catherine blinked her eyes and also cheekily patted Nicholas’s other shoulder, "Yes, the intelligent Mr. Faral, I hope we don’t have to say goodbye."

Pannis and Catherine exchanged a smile, no longer paying attention to the still-standing Nicholas. Hand in hand, they walked off leisurely, no longer in a hurry to leave the ballroom.

Nicholas stood in a daze, his body trembling with rage. His voice seething with barely suppressed killing intent, "What the hell happened with you three?"

The bodyguards once again formed a defensive circle around Nicholas. Upon hearing his question, they all looked down in shame. The middle-aged Demigod spoke apologetically, "I apologize, Your Highness. When he pointed his finger at me, it felt as if he had launched an attack at me. I could only evade it by retreating. Instinctively, I stepped back."

"And you two?" Nicholas glared at the two Gold-ranked bodyguards, "Same situation?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The bodyguards looked at the ground, responding in subdued voices.

"Ah, great. This is your famed Silver Rank, huh?" Nicholas asked, trying to suppress his anger, "Are you sure he’s just of the Silver Rank?"

"Well..." The Demigod bodyguard pondered for quite some time but couldn’t provide an answer.

"So," Nicholas asked, "does that mean, the next time he tries to kill me, you still can’t guarantee to stop him?"

The bodyguards thought for a long time yet finally, reluctantly nodded their heads.

"I see." Nicholas sighed, "I should’ve known earlier that he isn’t an ordinary person, standing so close to that woman. Let’s go, we’ll leave for the country tomorrow."

"Your Highness, should we..." The Demigod bodyguard glanced in the direction of Pannis and Catherine, but as soon as he looked over, Pannis, as if sensing it, turned and flashed a radiant smile.

"He’s right, my position isn’t stable at the moment. If this escalates and my father gets disappointed, it would be troublesome." Nicholas shook his head, "Let’s drop this for now. Once I ascend the throne, we’ll have plenty of time to settle scores with him. Let’s go."

At Nicholas’s command, the four left the ballroom disheartened.