The doors opened up into a large dinning hall, it wasn't as big as the ballroom at Baron Estebon's manor, but could still hold well over a hundred people. Several long tables were set up for people to eat, but almost everyone was standing, floating here and there socializing. Maids were weaving in between the nobles, bringing appetizers and drinks to whomever wanted them. Once the crowd heard Exivier's voice, they quieted down, there was now just silence in the room.
Lord Lear walked into the room, his back as straight as an arrow, with Marcus in tow. As soon as everyone could see Marcus he could hear some gasps along with some hushed conversations. Marcus didn't take offence to any of that, he knew that he was an oddity due to his size. Lord Lear didn't say a word, but it only took him directing his icy stare at the crowd to cause them to silence once more.
It was Lord Lear standing tall at the head of the room, with Marcus standing even taller next to him. Lady Lear was standing to her husband's right side, and their five children next to her. Sylvia was standing in the crowd, but she was at the front holding a drink in her hands. Lord Lear cleared his voice, and started to speak, his voice booming throughout the room.
"Welcome friends, tonight we gather here to honor the man that saved my wife and children. He stepped up to help when he did not have to, and for that, the Lear family is extremely grateful. To reward his meritus deeds, I have decided to bestow upon him the honorary title of knight. Along with the honorary title, I will reward him with five-hundred gold pieces. Although one could never put a price on family, I feel this amount conveys just how much I appreciate the act." Lord Lear paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.
That was no small amount of money, Marcus's house only cost one-hundred seventy-five gold coins. With that amount he could almost buy three of them. Marcus was much more excited about the money than he was about the title.
"With the honorary title of knight, you'll be granted a few privileges. These include reduced fees when entering any city within the Empire, the opportunity to purchase land in the Frontier, hire soldiers to guard said land, and the right to marry into a noble family." Lord Lear said the last part while glancing at Sylvia.
Marcus didn't react to his last statement, but he could see Sylvia blushing. He didn't know why, they weren't together. He didn't want any rumors to start spreading around, it could affect his employment, and he was sure Clair would have something to say as well. He could almost feel a headache coming on.
"Marcus, if you would kneel." Lord Lear instructed.
Marcus followed his direction, getting down on one knee. His suit was well made, stretching in all the right places, keeping it from ripping. Marcus was relieved that his pants didn't tear, that would have been unbearably embarrassing. Exivier handed Lord Lear a ceremonial sword, Marcus bowed his head as he placed the blade on one shoulder then the other. It was just like you would see in a movie.
"From this day forth, you shall have the title of honorary knight and be known as Sir Marcus." Lord Lear's voice echoed around the dinning hall.
Sylvia was the first one to start clapping, the others soon followed. She had a wide smile on her face, she looked genuinely happy for Marcus. Marcus got back on both feet, and looked over the crowd gathered. He didn't think that he would like being the center of attention, but after experiencing it he thought that he could get used to it. After a few minutes, the applause petered out. Lord Lear took this chance to finish.
"Now that the formalities are finished, feel free to drink and socialize. Dinner will be served in half an hour."
Lord Lear then excused himself, leaving the dining hall, probably to take care of some business. Marcus made his way over to Sylvia, she smiled at him and gave him a small curtsey.
"It's nice to meet you Sir Marcus." She said with enthusiasm, wrapping her arm around his.
"People are going to think that we're together." He commented.
"Oh, I'm sure they already do. We did come here together after all." She said, squeezing his arm tightly with hers.
"I don't think your father will like that too much, I could get fired." He tried explaining to her.
"You'll be fine, don't worry about it. Come on, let's meet some new people." She said, disregarding Marcus's worries, pulling him into the crowd.
Sylvia dragged him from group to group, introducing him, then herself, she seemed like a professional at socializing. Marcus was surprised to find that almost everyone that he talked to seemed to be friendly and accommodating. He didn't know the proper way to greet nobles, but they didn't seem to mind. They eventually ran into two familiar faces, Lady Misner and Lord Verdant.
They were standing next to each other chatting casually when Sylvia brought Marcus over. Lady Misner was the first to notice the pair.
"Congratulations Sir Marcus, it's wonderful to see you again, and Lady Bishore as well."
"It's nice to see you as well, Lady Misner, you to Lord Verdant" Marcus said, bowing his head slightly. This greeting seems to be getting him by, so he just stuck with it.
"Yes, greetings. It's good to see that you were made into a proper citizen. Congratulations." Lord Verdant said with an air of superiority.
Sylvia greeted everyone as well, they then started to make small talk. It was mostly Sylvia and Lady Misner talking, Marcus and Lord Verdant were only standing by, listening. This went on for several minutes, Marcus was starting to get hungry. He could see Lord Verdant glancing at the tables at well, at least they had that in common. Marcus was thinking about what might be served when he heard a voice come from behind them.
"I knew there was more between you two. To think that you would soil yourself with a commoner."
This comment stopped Sylvia's conversation in its tracks. She slowly turned around to see Riley Renar standing there in a fancy, but somehow still cheap looking suit. He was holding a wine glass in his hands, and his cheeks were a tint of red. Marcus could tell that he had already had too much to drink. He pointed at Sylvia with his free hand, wobbling slightly.
"You were always looking at him, I should have known. Does your father know? That the man he hired to protect his daughter is the one to deflower her?"
What he was accusing was terribly embarrassing, not just because of the subject, but if what he said was true it would affect her father's reputation. Now that Marcus was an honorary knight it would be acceptable, but at the time he wasn't, Marcus was just a commoner. Of course nobles had many relationships with commoners, it happened all the time, but to reveal such a relationship in public was considered taboo. Marcus could already hear people talking, remarking on what Riley had said. Sylvia looked pale, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"Sylvia, dear. Who is this…. man?" Lady Misner broke the awkward silence, looking at Riley with eyes that could kill.
Sylvia was glaring at Riley, keeping her eyes on him, she replied to Lady Misner. "He's nobody really, just an acquaintance."
"Really, nobody? I'm Riley Renar, Lord Renar's eldest son, yet you still choose this rabble over me?" Riley shouted out, slurring some of his words.
"I didn't choose anyone over you, you were never in my sights to begin with!" Sylvia shouted back, getting over her embarrassment and becoming angry.
"You're just like the rest of them, only caring about themselves. I thought you were different, but it turns out you're just a bitch!" Riley yelled, then spit on the floor.
"Alright, that's enough. It's time for you to leave." Marcus interjected, stepping out in front of the drunken Riley.
"You have no right to tell me what to do! You're just a dumb commoner that happened to get lucky. You're nothing, and will always be nothing!" Riley screamed at Marcus until he was red in the face.
Riley then took his wine glass and emptied it all over Marcus's suit. The red wine instantly stained the pink suit, ruining it. Some wine splashed up on Marcus's face, making him involuntarily flinch. Everyone witnessed what had happened, silence reigned in the room, they were all waiting to see what would happen next. Sylvia was standing behind Marcus, tears were starting to form in her eyes. This was an auspicious occasion, but had turned out to be a nightmare.
Marcus was mulling over what to do. Nothing would make him happier to kill the man standing in front of him, but not only would this cause more problems, he also just couldn't go around killing people who just pissed him off. He looked down at Riley, he had an expression on his face as if he regretted what he had just done, but stood firm since there was no going back. It had only been a few moments since Marcus was attacked with the wine, the guests and staff were all just watching, not doing anything to help. Since no help was coming, Marcus decided to act.
Marcus's right hand shot out and grabbed Riley by his neck, not squeezing hard enough to kill him, but enough to lift him up into the air. Marcus lifted him up until Riley's eyes were level with his. Riley had both of his hands on Marcus's forearm, trying to ease the pressure on his throat so he could breath. Marcus could see the terrified look in his eyes as Riley began kicking in the air.
Everyone around gasped in shock at what was happening, they all heard how Marcus had ripped the door off the carriage, but only thought it was an exaggeration. Now seeing how he could lift a full grown man up in the air with one arm they started to think that what they had heard was true. They watched as the man kicked his legs and took short, ragged breaths as he hung in the air.
Not saying anything, Marcus started to move towards the door. The nobles quickly made a path for him as he dangled Riley by his neck. Marcus's steps were heavy, each one he took echoed in the dining hall. He moved closer and closer to the double doors that led outside. The look in Riley's eyes turned from terrified to frantic. He didn't know what was going to happen to him once Marcus took him outside. He thought that Marcus would beat him to an inch of his life, maybe even kill him. The thought of death almost drove him mad, he started to tremble when he thought his life was on the line.
Marcus was almost to the door when he started to hear liquid spattering on the hardwood floor. An ammonia scent soon assaulted his nose, he looked down to see that a wet spot had formed on the front of Riley's pants, he had pissed himself. As the urine dribbled onto the wooden floor, making a mess, a look of disgust could be seen on Marcus's face, along with the faces of everyone present.
Marcus walked around the puddle that Riley had made, with him still held out in front of him. He stopped just before the doors, a maid was standing there slack jawed. Marcus brought her back to reality by asking her to open the doors for him. She quickly opened both doors, standing silently at the side as Marcus walked outside and down a few steps. There were a few staff members outside who were taking care of the horses that were attached to the carriages. They were all extremely curious as to why a huge man was dangling a smaller one by his neck, but decided it was better not to interfere.
Once Marcus reached the last step, he unceremoniously threw Riley out and onto the hard ground. He flew through the air flailing, he was trying to orient himself, but still landed with a thud on his hip. A stinging hot pain shot up from where he landed, Riley had never felt such a pain before. He rolled around on the ground, groaning in pain. He didn't even seem to notice the horse droppings as he did so.
Pleased with himself, Marcus turned around and went back inside, closing the doors behind him. Everyone was still watching him closely, some still shocked, some laughing about what had happened. Marcus did his best to ignore them, and made his way back to Sylvia. Sylvia hadn't followed Marcus when he took Riley away, so she didn't know what had happened.
"You didn't kill him did you?" She asked seriously.
"What? Of course not. I just threw him outside to cool down." Marcus reassured her.
"That's too bad." Sylvia said under her breath.
Marcus just shook his head, he knew that Sylvia didn't like Riley all too well, but now it seems like she hated the man. They continued to talk amongst themselves, Lady Misner adding to the conversation here and there. Soon the dining hall had returned to the previous atmosphere it had before the debacle.
"Sir Marcus, I beg your forgiveness." Lord Lear said, grabbing Marcus's attention away for what Sylvia had been saying. "My staff has just informed me of what happened. I had just invited the whole of the nobility in the city, had I known that you had a history with that man I would have never invited him."
"No, no, it's alright. I didn't really have a history with him before this, so you're not at fault."
"Either way, I apologize, to you as well Lady Bishore. His outburst will not go unpunished, you have my word." Lord Lear said with a small bow.
Seeing and hearing what Lord Lear had said, the nobles felt sorry for the man that was thrown outside. Lord Lear was at the top of the New World, he only took direction from the Emperor himself. Whatever was awaiting Riley was bound to ruin his life forever.
"I appreciate it." Marcus said, he wasn't going to try to talk Lord Lear out of punishing Riley.
"Unfortunately I cannot offer you a change of clothes, but I will reimburse you for the cost of your suit." Lord Lear added.
"There's no need, you've already been more than generous enough as it is." Marcus tried dissuading him.
"Nonsense, I insist. Now I'll leave you to continue socializing, dinner will be served shortly, I do hope you enjoy it." Lord Lear said, bidding farewell to Marcus and Sylvia.
"I do hope that Lord Lear teaches that young man to behave. As a noble, you must follow a certain decorum." Lord Verdant added from the peanut gallery.
"Indeed." Lady Misner chimed in.