Chapter 210 Public Apology
"Is that so…"
Jack looked back to the princes, who were no longer feeling so confident. "Since you"ve troubled not only the members of my party but my wives as well, normally, I wouldn"t think too hard about sparing you, but I"ll be nice today. Begone!"
Prince Tyrel growled, "You… That woman is betrothed to me, so I won"t be leaving without her!"
"And what relations.h.i.+p do you have with her? I don"t see why you would want to become an enemy of both Maltor and Fulken?" added the Fulken prince.
"And you want to be enemies with me?" Jack smiled coldly, not hiding his malicious intent.
The guards all frowned, unhappy with the princes" behavior. Clearly, they were in the wrong and the entire crowd could understand that. And now that it involved the rising hero and his wives, this was beyond what it ever should have been.
"I"m going to give you till the count of five to be out of my sight," stated Jack in a crystal-clear tone. "If I can still see you by then, I"ll take it that you want to fight. One…"
"Your highness, please, reconsider," a guard whispered to the Fulken prince.
"Nonsense! He wouldn"t dare to be that stupid!" laughed the prince.
The Maltor prince also chuckled. "I"m curious, just how b.a.l.l.sy is this guy I"ve hear so much about. If he"s not too strong, then maybe I will take his wife. That way, I won"t have to share."
"Your highness!"
Infuriated, Jack yelled, "Five!" He then vanished without a trace like before.
"See, he just ran away-- AAAAAHHH!!"
The Maltor suddenly cried in pain, grabbing at his wrist to feel for the hand that was no longer there.
On the ground laid the prince"s hand, pouring blood onto the ground.
"Sorry, it seems that I skipped a few numbers. I got a little riled up and got ahead of myself. Here, let"s restart the count. One…"
Jack, who had reappeared behind the Maltor prince, was now casually walking back to the center of the circle, unfazed by the stares of the guards or the crowd.
"Two…"
Both Prince Tyrel and the Fulken prince were wearing ugly faces. This was beyond anything they expected.
"Aaahhh… You… You dared do this to me!" shouted the Maltor prince. "Guards kill him!"
"But sir--"
"I said kill him!"
"That won"t be necessary."
All eyes went back to Argyle. Thanks to Jack"s shocking antics, they had forgotten all about the unfathomable man who had arrived with Jack.
"So, you talked lightly about my daughter and are now threatening my son-in-law… If I didn"t know any better, I would guess that Fulken, Maltor, and Zuran don"t want to partic.i.p.ate in this year"s annual auction."
All guards froze on the spot, completely reevaluating their impressions of Argyle.
Prince Tyrel also froze, not daring to move after he realized who Argyle was. He also cursed his terrible luck.
The Fulken prince wasn"t frozen in fear, but he lost all intention to continue his antics.
Still in the heat of the moment after losing his hand, the Maltor Prince wasn"t so easily calmed. "What!? That"s ridiculous! We, the Maltor Kingdom, are one of the three strongest kingdoms! You can"t just kick us out, especially after what that despicable man has done."
"Your highness--"
"It"s too late!" The Maltor prince retrieved a dazzling red sword and charge toward Jack at full speed.
Staring coldly at the charging prince, Jack scoffed and shook his head. He didn"t even bother reacting.
"I, Argyle Wittam, hereby declare that the Maltor Empire has violated the International Polt Treaty and shall not be allowed entry in this year"s annual auction!"
As Argyle"s voice filled not only the marketplace but the entire central portion of Federal City, the Maltor prince finally stopped. Only now did he realize what he had done.
"What is the meaning of this!"
Another shout was heard in the distance, responding to Argyle"s shout.
The crowd was speechless, unsure of what was about to take place due to the prince"s rash actions. But at the same time, they understood his anger after they saw Jack cut his hand off without any hesitation.
Soon, the crowd opened up again, letting a few select men enter the circle. Each of the men was dressed n.o.bly, showing off their pinnacle social status.
The one with the ugliest face stared at Argyle. "Explain yourself, Argyle!"
"Why don"t we let your son, the crown prince, explain things?"
"Randall, what is he talking about?" The king quickly noticed the prince"s missing hand. "Who did this?!"
"I did." Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Don"t blame me, I gave him a fair warning after he insulted my wife, claiming that he would take her from me."
"And you are?" Realizing that this was more complex than he thought, the king no longer showed any anger.
"I"m Jack, the same one from the Adventurers a.s.sociation and also Argyle"s son-in-law."
When Jack mentioned that he was with the a.s.sociation, the king remained unfazed. It was when Jack called himself Argyle"s son-in-law that he frowned and stared at his hesitating.
"I"m sorry for the trouble that my son has caused. I hope that you can forgive his behavior," stated the king emotionlessly, looking Jack in the eye.
"He brought it on himself. In my eyes, he"s paid for his comment and I"ve already given him another chance to leave. He"s the one who keeps pus.h.i.+ng me," replied Jack, glancing at the angry prince.
"Randall, apologize, immediately!" ordered the king of Maltor.
"But Father--"
"I said apologize!"
Randall groaned and quivered from his anger, but he managed to bow his head and look away from Jack. "I apologize for my rude behavior."
"Don"t apologize to me; apologize to my wives and my party members. I was only acting to protect them."
"You…" Randall mumbled under his breath before he complied. "I apologize to all of you. I was out of line."
"Good, now begone!" shouted Jack. "My wives shouldn"t have to bear seeing you."
"Randall, hurry back, now!" yelled the king.
Without a word, Randall tried to stare holes into Jack"s eyes before he followed his father"s orders.
Turning to Argyle, the king bowed his head slightly. "Argyle, I apologize on behalf of my son. He is too foolish to attack a member of your guild, especially during such a time as now. Please, I ask that we, the Maltor Kingdom, be allowed to partic.i.p.ate in this year"s annual auction."
With a nod, Argyle replied, "The entrance fee will be doubled and the crown prince will be banned from the Fat Goose Auction House, but you"ll be permitted entry."
"That you for kindness. We"ll gladly pay." Next the king turned to Jack again bowed his head slightly. "I really do hope that you harbor no ill-will toward Maltor. I know it"s not enough, but please accept this as my apology."
As the king of Maltor held out his hand, a blazing sword appeared. It was similar to the one Prince Randall had used but it was lv. 40, not lv. 30.
"Thank you, your highness. I humbly accept your apology and remember your generous gift." Jack bowed deeply and took hold of the sword.
"Good, I look forward to you and your party visiting us in Scorch City. Until then, I have important matters to take care of."
Just like that, the king of Maltor left with the other n.o.ble figures.
"Jack!"
Suddenly, Jack felt his arm being grabbed. He saw Keela in tears, smiling in between her sniffles. "Jack… Now they know…"
"Relax, they just know that you"re currently in my party and that"s it." He patted her head. "Just calm down, remember, I said you would be fine if you traveled with me."
Someone then grabbed Jack"s other hand, interlocking their fingers with his.
"Jack, thank you."
"Don"t worry about it, Daliea. You"re in my party, so how could I let someone just take you away like that?"
"Still…" Catching Jack off, Daliea leaned in close and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
Jack chuckled as a tinge of red appeared on his cheeks.
"No fair!" All of a sudden Jack"s other cheek was met with the same sign of grat.i.tude. Keela grunted, "I was going to do that too…"
Eliza looked at them, feeling a bit jealous but totally fine with the situation. How could she get mad at them if she would be doing the exact same thing?
"Let"s head back to the inn and get some lunch, okay?"
"Okay, lead the way, Jack!" shouted Keela, who refused to release Jack"s arm. She wanted to take advantage of the opportunity for as long as she could.
That was the day that Jack became regarded as a ladies man. Rumors, like always, spiraled out of control. In the public eye, Jack had gained two new ident.i.ties. Everyone would either regard him as a knight in s.h.i.+ning armor or as a womanizer who wasn"t satisfied with only one or two women.
Even though it was far from the truth, Jack"s reputation as a womanizer was sealed in stone that day.