Chapter 285 - The Taste Was Unsatisfactory?
The knock on the door came abruptly, but it saved Leon from speaking. Without using divine sense, he could already tell who was on the other side of the door. Being tailed by a group of young n.o.bles, it was hard not to notice. It could only be them.
Nelson Donahue had the same guess. He had booked a VIP lounge precisely to stop these people from disturbing his business with the elven princess. In the end, the door was still knocked by these people.
"I wonder how I should address each of you?" Nelson politely asked as he continued with the introductions. He had decided to ignore the door knock since he knew who was on the side.
"I am Princess Faelyn, the fifth and youngest princess from Elvengarde"s royal family. You can call me Faelyn."
"We are the palace maids a.s.signed by his Majesty to attend to Princess Faelyn. I am Sharleen, and this is—"
"I am s.h.i.+rley."
"It"s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, beautiful ladies."
The palace maids introduced themselves after Faelyn. Nelson followed each of them with his gaze before his gaze made their way back to Leon.
"And you are…?"
"Leon."
Leon ultimately said.
He should learn to be more forgiving and give people a chance to redeem themselves. After all, the person still intended to foot the bill despite the sky-high price of 820,000 Craws. Even Leon would find himself unwilling to fork out so much money for a meal.
The royal family had lots of funds, but it was all needed for the kingdom"s development plans.
"Leon… Leon… Leon…" Nelson repeatedly mumbled to himself as he pondered which n.o.ble or high-ranking official went by that name.
A sudden realization dawned upon him as his eyes slowly widened and looked at Leon in shock. Wasn"t that also the name of the prince?
"Y-Your Highness! Please forgive my ignorance and impudence for not recognize your Highness sooner!" Nelson said with cold sweat.
He was nervous because he knew the prince was displeased when he ignored the prince"s subtle unwelcoming message and disregarded the person earlier. It was a behavior deserving of punishment if the prince were to be offended by it.
In that regard, paying 820,000 Craws for a meal did not seem so expensive anymore. Nelson guessed that he had gotten off lightly only because he had offered to pay for the meal. Also, the prince had needed someone to attract the attention away from the prince.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The door was knocked repeatedly with increasing volume. The other side was growing impatient that no one answered the door.
Everyone furrowed their brows at the disturbance.
"Why don"t you go and send the people outside away? I don"t want to be disturbed during my meal." Leon suggested coolly.
"Will do, Your Highness!"
Nelson complied with enthusiasm. He did not mind even becoming the prince"s lackey. It could be considered an opportunity to get closer to royalty. The royal family"s power in the kingdom was too strong.
There was a time when n.o.bles still held some weight in front of royalty. But now, they can only know to flaunt their superiority by bullying commoners. They were nothing in front of the royal family.
Nelson scurried to the door, but before he could open it, it got opened from the outside. The first person to come into his view made him even more sullen.
"What is the meaning of this, Young Master Conrad? Disturbing the customers from a VIP lounge, are the rules of your Twilight Palace just for show?" Nelson said with annoyance.
Young Master Conrad was displeased by Nelson"s words for obvious reasons. He had brought the young n.o.bles over due to their pressuring, and not because of his own volition.
"The rights and privilege of the VIP lounges are set up by the Twilight Palace, and Young Master Conrad"s Montgomery family owns the Twilight Palace. So what if he breaks a few? What are you going to do about it?" A young n.o.ble chided.
"That"s right. We all know the elven princess is inside. If you know what"s good for you, then step aside. We all deserve an equal chance at befriending the princess." Another young n.o.ble added with a threatening tone.
All the young n.o.bles bundled together and tried to peek through the opened door. But with Nelson blocking the way, their view was limited.
Nevertheless, they still caught glimpses of the elven princess, and their eyes could not help but lit up. The maids were also not bad. It was worth befriending them.
The young n.o.ble"s threat did not deter Nelson. Usually, he would not dare to offend all of them, but now, the prince has his back. Of course, he would have the courage.
Nelson stepped outside and closed the door, before standing in front of it defiantly to show his stance.
"What"s the meaning of this, Young Master Nelson? Are you sure you want to offend all of us?"
The young n.o.bles wrinkled their brows.
"What do you think?" Nelson smirked.
"Very good! It seems Young Master Nelson has grown brave in these past few years, huh? I wonder if Young Master Nelson can still be like this when we spread rumors to your Elder Brother"s ear that you have intentions to compete with him for heirs.h.i.+p over your father"s t.i.tle?"
Nelson"s body shook slightly, but he remained firm. It was common for the younger generation to compete when there are multiple heir candidates.
However, he had no intention to compete with his elder brother. So long as his heart was firm and his conscience was clear, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Real gold fears no fire.
"The people inside this VIP lounge want to enjoy their meals in peace. They sent me out to deliver you all a single message, p.i.s.s off!"
"Bulls.h.i.+t! The elven princess might be royalty, but this is not her elven tribe! This place is our Crawford Kingdom! The way I see it, you"re the one that wants us to p.i.s.s off! We must be disturbing your good time with the elven princess, right?" A young n.o.ble sneered.
Evidently, Nelson"s words did not make them p.i.s.s off, but they were definitely p.i.s.sed off! A few young n.o.bles crackled their knuckles while they eyed Nelson Donahue venomously.
"I think the Young Master Nelson here has grown too complacent and become blinded of his self-worth. Just because your father was also willing to pay a hefty sum pull you out military service, it does not mean you are on the same standing as us, first-borns."
"That"s right! We ought to teach this b.a.s.t.a.r.d his place!"
Despite what these young n.o.bles said, they were all the same in the eyes of the royal family. The only reason the royal family was willing to accept payments and exclude them from military service was that the royal family needed lots of funds.
Also, these good-for-nothings would not have benefited the army if they took interest and a.s.sumed high-ranking positions in the future. It would be like equipping the military with paper swords; they will doom the kingdom!
Young Master Conrad had been quietly spectating the verbal exchange between the two sides pa.s.sively, but things were about to get heated with physical violence. He had no choice but to step in and stop them.
"Exactly where are you treating this place? Do you think Montgomery family will let you all do whatever you want?! I don"t care if you fight verbally, but if you get physical and cause trouble here, I will do everything in my power to kick you all out!" Young Master Conrad said coldly.
The young n.o.bles flashed Young Master Conrad looks of disapproval, but they still nodded and backed down unwillingly. When a person gets pushed too far, things become unpredictable.
The two sides kept a respectable distance from each other with glares and continued a back-and-forth war of words.
A line of waiters carrying food trays walked pa.s.sed them with bafflement before entering the VIP lounge and placed all the dishes on the round table neatly for Leon"s group to enjoy.
The door was closed once more on their way out. Only one waiter stayed behind, ever ready to serve.
VIP lounge.
"Will that guy alright out there? Those people are still outside, and they look like they are about to beat him to death." Faelyn said with concern. She noticed the situation during the moment the door opened.
"Nah, everything is fine and under control. Let"s dig in and eat." Leon said in a carefree manner.
The VIP lounge had excellent sound insulation, but Leon could still see everything outside with his divine sense.
"Hmm, alright. If you say so." Faelyn did not dwell on the manner and took a whiff of the food"s aroma. "Smells so good~! I"m excited to see what human cuisines taste like now."
The maids looked Leon expectantly as they waited for some signal.
"You can both dig in too."
"Thank you, your Highness!"
Each dish on the table was well balanced between veggies and beast meat while it was arranged neatly and masterfully like pieces of art.
As everyone dug in, Leon also picked up a slice of beast meat with his fork and savored it before swallowing.
The male waiter was quite expectant of everyone to sing praises of the taste, but seeing a frown form on Leon"s face, the male waiter got taken aback.
"Is there something you find unsatisfactory about this dish, Esteemed Customer?"