Chapter 613 - He & She (II)
Chapter 613: He & She (II)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When Rhode stepped into the hall of the castle, he sensed plenty of gazes on Lize and himself from the nobles. But that lasted for only a while. The nobles continued their passionate conversations with one another. The banquet would be held on the evening of the 15th and the nobles had rushed their way back to Golden City. Of course, they were aware that the banquet wasn’t just a grand dinner. Instead, it was more like a session to share a delicious cake. The King’s Party army was mainly formed from the nobles’ private soldiers and legions. After this war, the higher-ups of the Southern Fleet and Southern Legion would be re-selected. Although the current Southern Legion Commander didn’t participate in the armed rebellion and was imprisoned by the Reformist Party for resisting, everyone knew that this was enough to get him out of his position.
However, military affairs weren’t related to the nobles. The Munn Kingdom had always treated the military and nobles as unique entities. Therefore, even though the Southern Legion had suffered huge damages, it was imaginable that the King’s Party would eventually select outstanding candidates from other legions to replenish vacant roles. Therefore, it was impossible for nobles to poke their noses into military affairs. This time, the nobles were most concerned about the remaining slices of cake left behind by the southern nobles and merchants. They had been eyeing them for a long time, but they couldn’t find excuses to have them. But now, since the other party had to bring about their own destruction, it would be rude of them to stop them. Please go ahead bravely. We won’t have any issues safekeeping the things that you left behind.
Rhode held a low feudal rank and his performance wasn’t as outstanding as Marlene’s. Apart from a few remarkable performances in the Cloud Summit Fortress battle and assisting General Garcia in defending the Southern Legion’s attack twice, he was nowhere to be seen in contributing to other areas. Not only that, but one of the battles was also commanded by Lize and he couldn’t claim credit for that. The only achievement he could present was capturing General Dade, a leading commander of the Southern Legion.
Judging from this, Rhode’s achievements were unmatchable to Marlene’s. However, the nobles had their own news channel and they knew that even though Rhode didn’t perform outstandingly well, the conflagration in the Grosso region and the collapse of the underground mine in the Fiat region were closely linked to him, which was the key to dissolving this war swiftly. The strength of the armed rebels weakened drastically after losing their source of food supplies and the Reformist Party lost their resources to forge armor and weapons after the Royal Fleet sealed off the Southern Port. During the final days of the war, many of the Southern Legion soldiers didn’t have food for days and the blades in their possessions were terribly blunt.
In such a condition, it went without saying how they performed against the perfectly well-equipped King’s Party army.
However, these rumors were only spreading among the nobles. Lydia had kept this matter a secret and not many nobles noticed it. But they knew that they shouldn’t make irresponsible remarks about such matters. Therefore, they didn’t appear exceptionally passionate or show disdain when Rhode’s group arrived. Since Lydia had appointed such an important task to Rhode, it undoubtedly meant that this mysterious and powerful young man would be a force to be reckoned with in the King’s Party.
The banquet hadn’t begun yet. The nobles were waiting and chatting in the hall. However, not many of them spoke to Rhode and he didn’t seem interested in joining their circle either. Although he was indeed a member of the nobles with a low feudal rank, he wasn’t close to any of them. He had been busy managing operations of the Land of Atonement, his Guild, and accomplishing various missions. He seemed more like a mercenary than a noble and he didn’t have time to invite nobles to his territory and build relationships.
Therefore, even though the nobles were curious to know more about this impressive young man and the forces behind his back, they couldn’t do much as they weren’t familiar with each other. Moreover, Rhode had shown that he was a tough and dangerous character in the Midsummer Festival and it would be best for them to not act recklessly before understanding his interests. If not, it would be troublesome if they messed with such a mysterious and formidable person.
It was due to this that many of the nobles carefully kept a distance away from Rhode. On the contrary, Rhode enjoyed the momentary peace that he was getting. He stood far away from the crowd and leaned on the wall at a relatively isolated corner, shutting his eyes for a rest while Lize and Anne stood beside him quietly. Corina didn’t come to Golden City to participate in the banquet. Instead, she was here to report to Lydia about her transfer matters. No matter what, as one of the important members of the Elf Dominion, it was nothing out of the ordinary to greet the ruler of the Munn Kingdom.
Marlene’s every action attracted the nobles’ attention. Their gazes followed her and they were astonished after spotting Rhode at the corner. Then, her next action left the crowd startled.
Rhode nodded to her as a greeting. According to his understanding of her, he was confident that she would respond politely in such a formal occasion. At this moment, Lize had also returned to her senses. She saw Marlene approaching them and she revealed an awkward smile while waving her hand.
“Marlene, long time no…”
Before Lize finished her sentence, Marlene had stood before Rhode and did something unimaginable: she embraced him tightly and tiptoed to press her lips against his.
The air froze in an instant.
Lize looked at Marlene vacantly while the nobles widened their eyes unbelievably. Rhode was slightly taken aback by her actions, but he swiftly wrapped his arm around her slender waist and pulled her in.
Marlene’s aromatic fragrance assailed his nostrils and her soft tongue slithered around his. She closed her eyes and her fair cheeks were smeared with reddish pink. After a few moments, both of them separated.
“What a passionate welcome, Marlene. It seems that you’ve found yourself another man.”
Rhode looked at the beautiful face before him and said softly. Marlene winked cheekily.
“How did you know. Rhode?”
“I was the one who taught you this and you haven’t changed at all. So, I’m really confident.”
Rhode extended his finger and slid across her back in a teasing manner. Marlene tensed up immediately and he let go of his embrace.
“You’re still the same.”
Rhode pressed down the creases on his clothes and looked at the crowd behind her. Time had as though frozen. All the nobles stood blankly on the spot as though they had just witnessed a nightmare.
“It seems that you’ve had a hard time holding it in for a long time… Is this considered a punishment for me?”
Rhode swept a glance to the crowd and gazed meaningfully at a young noble walking out of the crowd and beckoning for Marlene. He looked with an ashen complexion and bloodshot, widened eyes. However, Rhode had no interest in entertaining him.
“Huhuhu, I know that you are aware, Rhode.”
Rhode shrugged. In the past, Marlene seldom appeared this cute and helpless-looking. It seemed that the ancestor’s way of saying ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ made perfect sense in this case. They used to meet each other everyday and she had always revealed her feminine side only when they were alone. It was extremely rare for her to behave this brazenly before everyone.
“Lize, long time no see.”
After a series of passionate, thrilling kisses, Marlene relaxed herself and greeted Lize with a smile. Lize nodded awkwardly in response and Marlene turned to Anne who was snoring away and let out a chuckle. She stroked Anne’s hair gently.
“Anne still loves to sleep this much. I didn’t expect to see her sleeping so soundly in Golden City…”
“Mm… Hmm…?”
Anne puckered her brows and opened her eyes in a daze. She instantly unrolled a wide smile as soon as she recognized the person before her.
“Sister Marlene! Long time no see! Anne misses you so much!”
Anne jumped to her feet and embraced Marlene tightly. Then, she let loose of her embrace after a while.
“Sister Marlene, what have you been up to? Anne feels so bored without you around. Everyone misses you a lot. When are you coming back?”
Rhode twitched his brows, but Marlene simply nodded to Anne and wrapped her arms around his.
“Rhode, my father has gone to meet the Royal Highness. The banquet is about to start, let’s go.”
“The banquet is about to start?”
Anne threw her questions to the back of her head and darted to Marlene’s side. She gazed with glinting eyes.
“Anne heard that there will be plenty of food, right?”
“Of course. There’s so much food that you can fill your whole tummy up, Anne.”
“Great!”
Anne jumped with joy.
“What are we waiting for? Leader, let’s go!”
Lize lifted her head hesitantly to gaze at Marlene. But, the latter was speaking to Anne and she didn’t notice Lize… I-I don’t intend to give up, Marlene. I will let you know the truth.
Lize approached Rhode’s left silently and wrapped her arms around his. Then, she bit her lip and looked at the man before her bravely.
“Let’s go, Mr. Rhode.”