Chapter 12: Reprimand

Chapter 12: Reprimand

While William was exchanging culinary experiences with the young girl at the evening party...

At the Kane Viscount's Mansion

Joyce, the steward, was sitting in his own bedroom by the window, resting. He lightly rocked a high-footed glass filled with dark red liquid in his hand. Even though he was dressed in pajamas, it couldn't hide his elegant demeanor.

Surely if an outsider saw this scene, they would surely mistake him for some noble gentleman.

"Knock knock~"

"Please come in," Joyce said, placing the glass of wine in front of his nose, savoring the fruity fragrance slowly evaporating from the wine.

"Apologies for disturbing you, Lord Joyce!"

It was the chief guard, Welf, who walked in and gently closed the door behind him.

"What's the matter?" Joyce didn't even glance at Welf, as if the fine wine in front of him was more worthy of his attention than Welf.

Welf immediately recognized the wine in Joyce's hand as the Wood Song wine from the Thousand Winds Hills in the southern part of the Fis Kingdom. It was highly sought after for its unique fruity aroma and delicate taste, and a single bottle could cost hundreds of gold coins.

Of course, Welf had never tasted such a luxury item himself, but he was able to identify it thanks to the highly recognizable green wine bottle on the small table next to him.

However, Welf didn't find anything inappropriate about Joyce enjoying this expensive wine. Instead, he respectfully replied, "It's about Master William."

"Oh?" Only then did Joyce turn his head to look at Welf, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"I recall that the young master was practicing weapons with you. What happened?"

"It's nothing major. The young master learns very quickly and diligently, but..."

Welf lowered his head and cautiously said, "It seems that Master William is very impatient. Although he learns quickly, he immediately switches to another weapon as soon as he becomes familiar with one. What he learns is mostly superficial, and we're all at a loss."

"And these past few days, the young master has been experimenting until late at night, and everyone is not resting well."

Welf gritted his teeth, feeling uneasy, but still expressed his thoughts.

"Can you persuade the young master, Lord Joyce? It seems pointless for a distinguished mage to learn weapon skills."

Welf, who had been accompanying William's antics for the past few days, also harbored some grievances, but most importantly, he felt that William, a mage, was wasting his time learning weapon skills!

After finishing his words, Welf kept his head down and dared not look Joyce in the eye, as if the frail steward in front of him was a ferocious beast.

After a moment of silence, as Welf became increasingly anxious and regretful for his impulsive act of "reporting"...

"Is that what you truly think?"

Joyce's calm voice softly echoed in Welf's ears.

Seeing Welf remain silent, he continued:

"It seems I've been too lenient with you all."

Hum~

Joyce gently placed the wine glass on the table. Suddenly, an extremely terrifying pressure enveloped the entire body of the chief guard.

"Ughhhhh!"

Welf instantly fell to his knees, pressing both hands firmly on the floor to support his body. The fear of death surged into his heart, and sounds of agony accompanied his constant gasps, but he dared not take a breath of air, as if his entire body would burst under this terrifying pressure in a second.

What... what's going on?

Is it just the released killing intent and aura that render me unable to move?

Am I... am I going to die here?

No, I was wrong, completely wrong. I thought that after being promoted to a golden warrior, I would gain some status in front of him. Who would have thought that I couldn't even withstand this pressure!

This is not just a high-ranking professional I speculated about. This is clearly an existence whose life has been sublimated, entering the legendary realm!

That's someone even kings would treat with respect, and the entire continent would pass down their heroic legends. Who would have thought that the frail steward in front of me is one of them?

I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!!!

Helplessness and fear of facing death crazily tugged at the warrior's nerves, overwhelming Welf's heart with endless remorse.

Just as Welf's consciousness was about to disappear...

"Remember your place."

Joyce's fingers tapped on the table one after another, but each tap felt like a heavy blow landing on Welf's heart.

"Master William's words are absolute, even if it means sending you to your death!"

Joyce ceased tapping his fingers and looked coldly at the golden warrior lying prostrate on the ground, drenched in sweat, and said indifferently:

"Otherwise, you'll know that death is the greatest relief."

Welf felt as though he was facing hell itself, with a deep sense of killing intent piercing through his skin into his organs, as if his entire body was frozen, and his blood was about to stop flowing and coalesce.

"Get lost!"

Without waiting for a response, Joyce couldn't be bothered to look at Welf again, waving his hand dismissively. With a muffled groan, Welf suddenly rose into the air and was thrown violently out of the nearby window.

The old steward, having completed all this, remained as indifferent as ever, as if the terrifying methods just now were not employed by him.

Joyce looked deeply at the dark red liquid flowing back and forth in his hand, continuing to savor the intoxicating aroma of the Wood Song wine, seemingly lost in thought.

"An arcane mage, huh? ——

Fis Street, No. 116

Unaware that his chief guard had been severely reprimanded by the steward for snitching on him, William was happily exchanging culinary experiences with the foodie girl he had met at the evening party.

It was a moment of camaraderie!

"So, there are actually many ways to make golden silk. Egg silk, potato silk, and even noodles can be used. Of course, my favorite is the one made with potato silk, which complements the smooth and tender texture of the shrimp balls perfectly!"

William spoke eloquently.

"Oh~~! It must be delicious!" The girl looked at William, who seemed to be glowing all over, with admiration, not sparing her praise.

Glancing at the Bertie's Sweet Shrimp Salad on the plate, it suddenly didn't seem so fragrant anymore!

The girl's eyes rolled around, and she reached out her delicate white hand to William, saying:

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Nichole."

William, without paying attention to the obviously disguised pseudonym, gentlemanly lifted the girl's hand with his right hand and bowed slightly to kiss it.

"I'm William Kane. Nice to meet you."

Nichole looked at William in surprise and chuckled:

"Respected Mr. William Kane, has no one told you that kissing a girl's hand is quite impolite?"

Uh, I just wanted to blend in with the local customs, didn't really notice that.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, William thought to himself, but Nichole didn't mind. Instead, she changed the subject and pointed to the figures approaching them.

"My friend is here to find me. Nice meeting you, and next time, you must treat me to the golden silk shrimp balls you mentioned!"

With that, the figure arrived in front of William and Nichole. He cast a slightly wary glance at William before turning to Nichole and saying:

"Miss Nichole, it's time to go back."

"Okay."

After bidding farewell to William with a wave, they left the party together.

"Interesting!" William watched the two figures leave, smiling meaningfully.