The Utterly Useless
Adrian shook his head quietly. He stood by the window, looking up at the commotion not far away and at the girl in a plain white dress, who was about fourteen or fifteen years old. His eyes were deep and held a somewhat inscrutable expression.
"Steward Lynn, don't you think that Alice resembles her mother?"
At Adrian's words, a look of surprise flashed across the face of the old steward Lynn. He glanced in the direction of the window, but after just two looks, he withdrew his gaze.
Lynn replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, she bears a resemblance of about six or seven points. However, in terms of talent and aptitude, Alice is nowhere near as good as Alicia."
"Back in those days, Alicia was an extremely talented alchemist and had excellent strength. Yet, she chose to marry that mediocre and incompetent Alva Erik. It's truly a pity." Lynn said, his tone filled with a sense of lament.
Adrian composed his expression slightly. Alicia was so remarkable, yet she had overlooked him and chosen a good-for-nothing like Erik. This had always bothered him.
Adrian said, "Let's return to the palace. Now that the Alva Family has caused such a stir, if I were to appear rashly, it would surely disrupt the balance among them, and it would be difficult to quell the hidden undercurrents of their thoughts."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lynn bowed his head in response.
"Oh, and in half a month, the Empress Dowager will hold a Flower Banquet. Prepare an invitation for Alice." Adrian turned around and instructed Lynn.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In front of the gate of the Alva Family Mansion.
A dozen or so powerhouses above the level of Grand Mages were fiercely competing for the mysterious spiritual object in the wooden box. Perhaps because their strengths were relatively close, after such a long battle, there was still no clear winner.
Alice was getting a bit tired of watching. She ordered her maid Rose to bring out two comfortable chairs and some spiritual fruits from the mansion. Rose was efficient and didn't ask unnecessary questions. Soon, the guards carried out the chairs.
"Grandfather, please sit." Alice first helped the bewildered old Duke Alva to sit down.
"Alice, this... Isn't this a bit too bold?" The Duke Alva looked hesitant, thinking whether it was too ostentatious.
Seeming to sense the Duke Alva's concerns, a smile appeared on Alice's exquisitely beautiful face. She said, "What's wrong with sitting in front of our own home?"
The Duke Alva thought for a moment and said, "Indeed."
After the Duke Alva came to his senses, he and Alice started enjoying the food and the spectacle, as relaxed as if they were watching a wonderful opera.
The common people around, seeing this scene of the grandfather and granddaughter, had a momentary distortion of their expressions. Their feelings were as complex as if they had eaten something unpleasant. They wanted to shout and ask the two:
Aren't you two being too arrogant? This is a dozen or so renowned Grand Mage level powerhouses of the Augustan Empire! Do you think they are here to perform for you?
Not only did the onlookers have such feelings, but the people of the Alva Family were also on tenterhooks, fearing that those powerhouses would get angry and join forces to attack the Alva Family later.
Oh, my god. Why is the old duke allowing the young lady to act so recklessly?
After about two hours, Alice and the Duke Alva stood up simultaneously. Alice asked the guards to take the chairs, spiritual fruits, and spiritual tea back into the mansion.
The guards of the Alva Family felt as if they had been pardoned. They quickly picked up the things and rushed inside. During this time, their nervous and uneasy feelings eased a little.
The onlookers: "..."
How could the grandfather and granddaughter bear to give up their comfortable seats?
The onlookers' legs were a bit numb and sore from standing, especially their necks, which were extremely stiff because they had been looking up at the fight for over two hours.
At this time, the grandfather and granddaughter stood properly and watched. There was not a single flaw to be found.
About a quarter of an hour later, the spiritual object was finally won by the deacon elder of the Spiritual Heaven Auction House by a narrow margin. Because of the powerful background and origin of the Spiritual Heaven Auction House, the other powerhouses didn't dare to have any covetous thoughts.
The other powerhouses, finding it uninteresting, didn't stay any longer and left to treat their wounds.
In front of the gate of the Alva Family Mansion, only the deacon elder of the Spiritual Heaven Auction House and Willie Aike remained. Looking at them, Aike seemed more wretched. He had multiple cuts on his body, and half of his face was bruised and swollen, looking rather comical.
The deacon elder nodded slightly to the Duke Alva and Alice, then put the wooden box back into his storage ring and left.
Willie Aike gave Alice a cold and fierce look, then walked away.
Alice didn't miss the hidden killing intent in his eyes. She curled her lips into a smile and said, "Lord Aike, I advise you not to walk normally. Otherwise, misfortune might befall you."
"Nonsense!" Aike turned around and glared at Alice, scoffing and scolding.
Alice shrugged indifferently, sighed with a look of pity, and said, "If you don't believe it, so be it."
Aike didn't want to be rough with a junior in front of everyone. He gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger. Then he curled his lips into a cold smile.
Soon, there would be no Alva Family in the Augustan Empire!
Aike left with the members of the Willie Family. But after taking two steps, suddenly an unknown object precisely hit the top of his head. Then, one after another, similar objects hit other parts of his body.
The members of the Willie Family retreated a few steps.
The onlookers were even more horrified as they watched Aike's situation. Then they looked up and saw a flock of birds flying overhead.
The head of the Willie Family was covered in bird droppings!
Many people were shocked and covered their mouths. They couldn't help but laugh as they watched.
"Pfftahaha..."
"Pfft, oh my god."
"How could there be such an unlucky person? Hahaha..."
Everyone burst out laughing. Some even had to hold their bellies to try to stop laughing.
Aike's face was as dark as a storm cloud. He was almost completely covered in stinking bird droppings. He roared, "Laugh again, and don't blame me for being unkind to you!"
His roar was like a thunderclap, instantly silencing everyone.
Just when everyone thought this matter was over for the time being —
"Pfftahaha..."
Who was so bold as to laugh?
Everyone immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw the extremely beautiful girl in a white dress laughing heartily, while the old man with a white beard patted her back affectionately.
Aike's face darkened even more. Remembering what Alice had said earlier, he frowned.
Aike said angrily, "You useless thing, was it you who did this?"
At Aike's words, the Duke Alva's deep eyes flashed with anger as he looked at Aike.
Aike was startled by his gaze and forced himself to resist the urge to retreat.
In terms of strength, he was no match for the Duke Alva.
Alice laughed and asked in return, "You said I'm useless. If it was me who did it, wouldn't you, the head of the Willie Family, be even more useless than useless?"
Aike's face stiffened.
Finally, she added, "If you dare to admit it, and you are more useless than me, I can also admit that the bird droppings on you were caused by me."
The Duke Alva said in a deep voice, "Aike, don't be ungrateful. What are you shouting about in front of my Alva Family Mansion? If I beat you into a sorry state, you'll be the laughingstock of the entire Augustan Empire tomorrow!"
Aike was so angry at the arrogant words of the grandfather and granddaughter that he could hardly breathe.
"Let's go!" Aike gritted his teeth.
Everyone immediately made way for him.
"Everyone, I advise you to stay as far away from Lord Aike as possible. If you accidentally get stained by that stench, it'll be hard to get rid of for a long time." Alice said cheerfully.