EWH Chapter 169

“…It stings.”

Nathan smiled awkwardly, his eyebrows drooping in discomfort as he pretended to wet his lips with a champagne glass.

The persistent stares that had followed him since his entrance made his skin prickle. Though he kept his eyes lowered, feigning ignorance of those gazes, it was honestly torture. He wanted nothing more than to frantically rub at his skin. The way their eyes brazenly traced him from head to toe, examining him like merchandise…

Nathan swallowed an emerging sigh along with his champagne. Interest-laden gazes assessed him as if appraising goods, making his throat inexplicably dry. As a result, he found himself moistening his mouth with alcohol he didn’t particularly enjoy.

“Try not to mind it too much.”

When Nathan muttered as if struggling, Melchiel patted his back and spoke.

“They’re just humans who love to gossip, speaking without thought. The more carelessly they speak, the less worthy they are of your concern.”

“…Easy for you to say.”

Indeed, the words came easily. But he wasn’t someone with enough fortitude to ignore others’ eyes like Melchiel. Melchiel was expecting too much from someone who was already overly conscious of others’ opinions.

‘Relax your shoulders, but keep your back straight, not hunched. Try to hold your chin high with dignity.’

Nathan straightened his body, pulling back shoulders that threatened to curl inward as he recalled Melchiel’s pre-entrance instructions.

‘And try not to smile too much. Keep your expression neutral. You’re better off maintaining an indifferent face. When you smile, it’s a bit…’

‘Ah… do I look foolish when I smile?’

‘…’

Though Melchiel had seemed slightly taken aback by that question, following his advice certainly kept people from approaching too easily. Though perhaps it was also because Melchiel stood right beside him…

“That must be the rumored disciple.”

From a distance, their friendly interaction appeared rather endearing, like a close master and apprentice relationship. In contrast to the other Academy representatives who kept their distance, the man with his dull red hair tied high was engaging in quite casual conversation with Melchiel.

“…He’s more striking than expected?”

The sight of the two tall men standing straight with cool expressions in one corner of the banquet hall was quite impressive. While Melchiel needed no introduction, the red-haired man beside him was also notably tall, naturally drawing attention. It almost created an illusion that their corner was more brightly lit than others.

“My, just look at how their outfits match!”

“Did Melchiel always wear glasses…?”

Additionally, Melchiel was wearing glasses he didn’t usually don. After their attention was momentarily caught by this detail, people belatedly noticed that even their clothing was coordinated with similar designs. While their outer robes were light-colored, the formal wear beneath was predominantly dark, briefly reminiscent of mourning attire – though not quite to that extent. Their neat, understated appearance drew more attention precisely because it wasn’t overly elaborate.

The sight of Melchiel occasionally patting the man’s shoulder as he spoke was utterly unfamiliar. Even the champagne glass in the man’s hand had been given to him by Melchiel himself. Those who were familiar with Melchiel’s usual reputation or had known him previously couldn’t help but exchange wide-eyed looks of amazement at this unexpected behavior.

In any case, this made approaching them even more difficult. While everyone waited for someone to break the ice so they could join in, they merely watched each other hesitantly, unable to make a move. That’s when it happened.

“Oh my, look over there.”

“It’s ‘that’ Imperial Princess.”

“…That one’s an elf! Goodness, their ears really are pointed.”

Two people who had been drawing just as much attention in the banquet hall approached the red-haired man standing beside Melchiel. They quickly fell into animated conversation, their voices carrying faintly even from a distance.

“Hey, your outfit looks fantastic!”

Ramiya spoke with a casual demeanor, flashing a bright smile. Beside him, Ali circled around Nathan, agreeing enthusiastically. Nathan responded with a slight smile.

“Where have you two been?”

He was referring to their separate arrival moments ago. Though he could guess who they’d gone to see, Nathan couldn’t help glancing at the doorway as he asked. Ali pressed close to Nathan and whispered something. It was just something like “Azar’s coming soon!”

“Nover, how is it? I got my hair cut short for the banquet – looks pretty good, right?”

Meanwhile, Ramiya pointed to her hair ends as she spoke. Her hair, which had been nearly shoulder-length when they’d last parted at the auxiliary palace, was now clearly a short cut. Since it suited her quite well, Nathan nodded with a genuine smile.

“The shorter style actually suits you better.”

“Right?”

“Yes, yes! Like this… Raya, I’ve seen your hair when it was this long too, but this looks prettier.”

Ali gestured to indicate the length as he spoke. That’s when Ramiya stepped closer and whispered in Nathan’s ear.

“This is a secret, but Remy is quite skilled at this sort of thing. But he was so reluctant – only after I picked up scissors myself did he rush over, pale as a ghost!”

Nathan thought to himself that Remberton must have had quite a hard time as Ramiya spoke with a mischievous grin. It certainly hadn’t been this short from the beginning. Most likely, after seeing Ramiya about to cut it haphazardly, he’d had to salvage the situation, resulting in this… Remberton’s horror was understandable.

Meanwhile, those eavesdropping on their conversation whispered among themselves.

“They seem quite close.”

“How curious.”

“But Nover… where is the Barony of Nover?”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

As several expressed their doubts, a young noblewoman tentatively spoke up.

“You know… that place! Was it two years ago? The one that was devastated by demon beasts!”

“Ah! Now that you mention it, I think I saw something about that in the papers.”

“Such a backwater place. First time I’d heard the name was in the newspaper then.”

“To think the son survived alone…”

“Alone? Oh my, he has no other family?”

“From what I heard, none. No collateral branches either… Well, it’s understandable in such barren lands…”

“Even for a humble barony, their complete absence from society until now suggests the House of Nover never showed their faces in social circles.”

“I vaguely recall hearing they were a military house.”

“Being from the north, they must be. Isn’t everyone there rather barbaric? Why, even Duke Lionheart…”

“That’s not necessarily…”

“But it’s true, isn’t it? They’re the type who hole up in the mountains and shun social circles.”

While the name Nover might have been hazy in their memories, the demon beast incident from two years ago seemed to stick, and the conversation gradually shifted in that direction. Though the gazes directed at him began to change subtly, Nathan deliberately ignored them. Somehow, standing still made the whispers behind him all too clear. He lifted his glass again to wet his throat.

“Ah! Your words just reminded me of something!”

Just then, a man exclaimed in surprise. At this somewhat dramatic outburst, Nathan, still holding his nearly empty glass to his lips, found himself perking up his ears.

“I heard this from a mercenary I know… Around that time, weren’t there demon beast subjugation units actively hunting in the vicinity of the duchy? They say the forest was a bit strange then. The numbers had decreased from the previous year? Apparently, it turned out that those creatures had fled over the mountains to escape the subjugation units, and that’s what led to the incident!”

As small gasps of realization echoed around him, Nathan took another sip to wet his throat.

How strange… I’ve never heard this version before.

Despite hearing this new information for the first time, he remained remarkably calm as he processed it. This detail hadn’t appeared in any of the newspapers he’d researched. The tragedy in the Barony of Nover had been concluded as an incident of unknown cause – there had been no mention of demon beasts migrating.

“Are you saying that incident was caused by the subjugation units?”

“According to them, that’s how it happened.”

“But why wasn’t this reported in the newspapers?”

A middle-aged man tilted his head, sharing Nathan’s doubts.

“I hear it’s common knowledge among those who participated in the subjugation unit at the time.”

“Then why wasn’t such information made public?”

“Isn’t it obvious? They kept it quiet to avoid any backlash.”

“Hmm… Wait, wasn’t that under Duke Lionheart’s jurisdiction? Then does this mean the Duke knew…”

Just then, someone gripped Nathan’s arm firmly. As he lifted his downcast gaze, he found Ali looking at him with a troubled expression. Ramiya’s expression was also rather complex. Despite his smiling lips, his furrowed brow revealed that both of them had been listening to the conversation as well.