16. The Secret party

"I heard you like the new toy I have found you," Veronica said as she suppressed her voice.

They were sitting at the breakfast table. However, it wasn't just one table. There were many. 

The duke was sitting in an elevated position and was accepting gifts and tributes from his family members.

It was a family-only breakfast party. Veronica was the second eldest daughter of the Duke. So, they were the first few people who had given her tributes and gifts and are now waiting for other family members to finish.

Dereck was sure it wouldn't be ending anytime soon. He looked at his mother and nodded.

"I heard you even scold Anthera for her. I never thought that you had that inside you." Veronica sighed, adding, "Then again, you are his child. Don't waste too much effort on this used woman."

"She was a virgin."

"Virgin? Who knew she had put her mouth where her survival was at stake for so long?" Veronica said it with a frown.

Looking at her, Dereck couldn't help but laugh in his heart. After all, Veronica didn't know that he knew what she was doing in her courtyard yesterday. So, he chose to ignore it.

"I heard you liked the daughter of the Redscale Marquis. Isn't she older than you?"

"I said I liked her. That doesn't mean I want her as my concubine."

"You don't want her?" Veronica didn't expect it.

"I will be happy with anyone my mother chooses for me."

"Don't worry about it. I have talked to my father. He was happy that you had become a four-circled mage at such a young age. He said he would see what he could do."

"Yes, mother."

"And don't always run around women. Mingle with others, too; try to make some connection with the boys of your age, too. You will soon be joining the Royal Academy. Try to make some friends before that."

"I talked to the princess, the third princess."

Veronica looked at him as if he were joking. So, Dereck explained, "Ashley was with the princess when I was talking to her. That is when I saw her."

It was still hard for Veronica to believe. She inquired, "What are you talking about?"

Dereck chose to say, "We were talking about the elder brother," rather than go into detail.

Although Daniel was once her favorite child, she couldn't care to talk about him. So, their talk ended abruptly, along with a warning that he shouldn't be talking to others regarding his brother.

The branch families were still greeting the duke. What was most frustrating was that they couldn't even eat before the Duke started. 

Dereck looked around before swinging his finger. It happened in a blink, but he didn't dare to chew too hard, fearing others might notice that he was smuggling food into his mouth.

Luckily, no one noticed, not until his third bite.

"You shouldn't eat now." 

The words almost made him choke on food. It wasn't Veronica. The one speaking was sitting on the other side.

"Sorry?" Dereck acted as if he didn't understand what she was talking about.

"I know you are hungry. But eating before grandfather will be disrespectful towards him."

"Don't worry about them, Novela." The older woman beside her, probably her mother, snorted after taking one look at Veronica. "With a mother like her, what can you expect from him."

Veronica gave him a stern look before turning towards the other woman, "It's not like we ate before we came here, unlike certain someone."

Dereck took another look at the woman. She was Nina, Duke's fourth daughter and Veronica's younger sister, who was three years younger than her.

They were from different mothers, so there were always some sparks between them. Veronica became the principal wife of a count while deciding to become a consort to a marquis.

Although they live in the capital, they generally don't meet each other. Unlike them, Novela and Dereck were cordial with each other. 

Yet, at this moment, they couldn't even smile. They could only hold their heads low as their mothers continued to throw words at each other.

They weren't loud or using abusive language, but there was a spark flying between them. And it continued until the morning gifting session ended.

Though it was longer, the lunch session otherwise adhered to the same format. When other guests began to arrive, the congratulations and gifts began to pour in. 

The one funny part is when the third princess gives a present to the duke and Tigris unexpectedly pops the question. 

'Looks like I still have modern-day humor left in me.' Compared to the roll of laughter he was expecting, it turned into a horror show. There was dead silence for a moment before the princess broke the silence.

Luckily for everyone, the princess didn't take it to heart and played it like a joke. However, returning to her seat, she looked at him for some reason.

'There was no way she would know,' Dereck shook his head, dismissing any wild thought that had crossed his mind.

The guests were much more powerful than in the morning session. Luckily, no rule says you have to wait for Duke to eat first.

The younger audience was the most energetic one. After the morning session, he was close to some older male cousins. It didn't take him much effort to do so.

After the hassle died down a little, he was pulled to the side and asked a surprised question.

"Do you have any concubines?" Despite his initial interest in the question's origin, he nodded in agreement.

"So, you are already doing it!" The cousin, who was at least 4-5 years older than him, patted his shoulder proudly. "Let's hope our children will play together soon."

Dereck was trying hard not to laugh, as those words didn't suit his face. Then again, this was a world where the luckiest person lived past fifty. Understandably, rich nobles like his grandfather are the lucky ones.

"Stop talking like your father." Another cousin stopped him before turning towards Dereck. "Meet with us at the North Gate as soon as the sun goes down."

"Not at the north gate," another one retorted. He looked around to ensure no one was around before saying, "Meet us in front of the merchant guild."

"Yeah! That way, no one would know."

"But where are we going?" Dereck could somewhat guess what they were planning but couldn't help asking.

He again checked his surroundings before whispering, "I know someone who attended the party yesterday. All you need to do is show your seal, and they will let you in and…"

Another of his cousins said excitedly, "All the noble girls will be joining the party. You don't even need to work hard to get lucky."

Dereck had no problem understanding what was happening here. He could also guess why two were in his mother's courtyard yesterday afternoon.

Still, he asked to confirm, "Didn't it happen in the afternoon yesterday?"

All of his cousins looked at him in confusion. Some were surprised, and some were amused. And the excited one patted his back, saying, "Look at our youngest. Even he knew about it."

Another one asked, "Did you join yesterday, too?"

Dereck shook his head, confessing, "I didn't know yesterday and have seen some people. But now that you are talking about it, I think that might happen yesterday."

"No, there was not much to do yesterday, so it was in the afternoon. But today was my grandfather's birthday, so it is on the night."

The excited one waved him away before wrapping his head around Dereck's neck, asking, "Come on, tell us. Whom did you see?"

There was no way he could snitch on his mother. He tried to think of excuses. Luckily, he didn't need to. 

"Don't say it." The eldest one said, "They will make you sign a contract. So no one would expose others' identities. No matter who you see there, never talk about it later. Understand?"

"But he didn't even join the party."

"That doesn't matter? What if he had seen someone from your family?"

'Not his family. It was from my own family.' Those words were kept unsaid. With the promise of meeting right on time, they separated. 

This city was the capital of Duke Hazard's dukedom, and today was his birthday. Expectedly, all the big roads were lightened up with mana stone lanterns.

Even if the sun had gone down, common people were still in a festive mood. He didn't need to wait long. Soon, the others gathered around him.

"Wear this." 

Dereck took the mask and put it on without hesitation. He didn't require an explanation. There were already people with masks on the road. Even after seeing the mask, one can understand who is noble and who is a commoner.

They were already close to the place and had reached their destination. It was one of the biggest inns in the area. Although the inn had little space around it, it was still bigger than where his father normally held the party.

Most of the people who were coming here were coming in the carriage. When five of them came walking, they were stopped at the gate.

"This is a noble-only party." As soon as he said that, the excited one flashed his seal. Although all of them are related to the Duke, only two carry the Duke's seal. 

"Sorry, my lord. This way, please." One of the waiters led them in. Inside the door were two rows of men and women waiting in perfect servant's clothes.

As soon as the waiter waved his hand, five maids came forward. Unlike them, there weren't any masks.

"My lord, please follow them. They will lead you to the venue."

As they followed, the excited one turned towards them, saying, "Brother, let's hope all of you get lucky."

"I am already liking this one." One of them was signaling to one of the maids.

"They are off-limits." The eldest one knew most about it. "They are just staff. Don't do anything unnecessary."

"What if I want to taste something different?"

Everyone understood what he meant.

"You will find them here too."

"How will I know?"

"You will know when you see them."