Roel realized one thing from the banquet today—the Xeclydes were not only powerful, but they had money too.
Take the wide buffet table for example. While the purpose of the food was just to stave off hunger—none of the nobles would actually feast on them—every single dish that was present here were all hard-to-come-by delicacies!
Karon Forest's Blood-eyed Spotted Birds, known for their delectable flesh, were rumored to be the sentries of the werewolves. They were known to be both rare and hard to hunt, but they were being served on a huge platter at this banquet.
The North Sea's Papershell Crab, dubbed the wonder of the sea, was an extravagant product that was little seen even amongst veteran fishermen. Its thin and crisp skin and its overflowing crab paste made diners salivate just at the sight of it.
The fruits were rare exotic products, and the wine served was fine alcohol that had been aged for over twenty years.
If the purpose of the banquet was to highlight the affluence of the royal family, they had done a darned good job of it.
Roel wasn't sure how the culinary skills of the royal chefs were like, but just the ingredients were enough to whet his appetite. As a certified foodie from Earth, these dishes held a far greater attraction to him than whatever benefits he could derive from the other nobles.
As important as socializing was, would it be able to stop the main character and his harem from killing him ten years later? If it couldn't, he might as well stuff himself with some good food so that he could die in peace.
With such thoughts in mind, Roel moved toward one of the plates and began to slice some meat to feed Alicia.
Given that there were no servants around, he would have to take care of Alicia himself. That was also the reason why Carter told him to bring Alicia with him.
However, the embarrassed Alicia ended up rejecting him.
"Lord Brother, I-I'm not hungry. I'll have some juice instead."
Alicia wanted to accept Roel's goodwill, but having Roel feed her like a servant in public could potentially damage Roel's authority, and that was not something she could accept. Rather than seeing her beloved older brother becoming the butt of others' jokes, she would rather bear with the hunger a little.
"I'll get a cup for you then."
"There's no need for that, Lord Brother. You don't have to take care of me. I'll have a chat with those girls from earlier on instead."
"Ah, alright then."
Roel thought of the female nobles who were on close terms with the Ascart House and nodded his head. This was a rare opportunity for Alicia to make some friends. They usually pretty much stuck to one another year-round anyway, so there was no need for Alicia to follow him around on this rare occasion that they were outside.
As such, Roel parted with Alicia and began embarking on his voyage of delicacies alone. Little did he know that a pair of vile eyes had already set its sight on the lonesome little girl.
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Alicia traveled through the corridor alone.
The onset of winter had caused the temperature to drop drastically. While it was still quite warm inside the banquet hall, due to huge crowds moving to and fro, it was freezing along the corridor. The music and laughter sounded hushed here. The lights along the walls were hung up high, making the corridor look a little dark.
The tearoom that had seats provided for noblewomen to gather and chat with one another was located not too far away. Traveling through the dim corridor, Alicia suddenly felt her heart thumping in unease.
She hated this place, and she hated this banquet too.
It was not because the star of this show was Nora or that she carried some prejudice toward the Xeclydes. She hated this place because it carried memories that she didn't want to recall.
She was terrorized by a group of boys right here, during the birthday banquet last year. Those children, in an attempt to please the successor of a count house, offered her up to him and pulled her over to an empty room to stab her with forks and knives. It was this incident that led to her phobia of sharp objects, rendering her unable to hold knives and forks anymore.
Her father was furious after learning of the incident, but as there were no wounds on Alicia because of her regeneration ability, and there was no other evidence to incriminate the culprits, he had no choice but to let the matter go.
Alicia didn't tell Roel and Carter about this incident, since it was already all over, and she didn't want to add to their troubles. She noticed the same boys who had terrorized her in the banquet this year too, but her identity was already no longer the same as before. She was no longer the child of a fallen baron house but the adopted daughter of the Ascart House, Alicia Ascart.
Those cowardly bullies wouldn't dare to touch her anymore as anything they did to Alicia Ascart would be viewed as an insult to the Ascart House, and in fact, those boys did quickly avert their eyes back then in the main banquet hall.
Is it finally all over?
But barely after those thoughts surfaced in Alicia's mind, two boys suddenly stepped out from a bend at the corridor. They were the children from viscount houses, Luke and Shawn.
"Stop right there! Alicia, it has been a long time since we last met."
"You are…"
The two children stared at the shocked girl as obnoxious smiles reflexively surfaced on their lips. They had bullied her from a young age, so they knew just how weak-willed she was.
Indeed, fear had already begun showing on Alicia's face.
But things wouldn't go as they planned this time.
While fear was slowly gripping Alicia's heart, a boy's silhouette surfaced within her mind. She recalled how Roel had accompanied and taken care of her the past few months, and it jolted her awake from her fear. She remembered the family name that she carried now, and she knew that she couldn't remain the weak girl she used to be.
Previously, she could blame her low position and personal weakness for succumbing to those in power, but that excuse was no longer valid. She was the one in power now! If she still allowed others to climb over her head, she had only her own cowardice to blame.
She knew that there was only one outcome if she didn't fight back, and that was the escalation of the oppression.
For some reason, Nora's silhouette also flashed before her eyes at the moment. That golden-haired girl, despite her young age, was both confident and proud, to the point that it felt divine even. Had it not been for Roel, she would probably have carried great adoration for Nora too.
But after having stood face-to-face with Nora earlier, there was only a thought in her mind right now—I don't want to lose.
She didn't want to lose to her rival. She didn't want to give her big brother away. For this, she had to change!
"Shawn and Luke, it has been a long time. Is there anything you need?"
Having reaffirmed her will, the silver-haired girl held back her fear and questioned the two boys before her imposingly, causing their smiles to freeze.
The two of them looked at one another as they suddenly seemed to have recalled Alicia's current identity. Their complexions turned awful, and even their words didn't sound as smooth as before.
"Y-you have to come with us!"
"Yes, you have to come with us!"
"I refuse. My father and my brother are waiting for me, so I have no time to accompany you."
Alicia placed great emphasis on the words 'father' and 'brother', causing Shawn and Luke's faces to further darken. They glared at Alicia angrily, but the realization of the difference in their standings made them dare not say or do anything.
"Tsk, a bunch of useless fools!"
But at this very moment, a third voice suddenly sounded from the darkness. A suave golden-haired boy stepped out from the bend of the corridor with over ten other children with him.
From the moment he appeared, Alicia's face turned pale.
The lips of the golden-haired boy curled up into a foul smile as he pointed at her and ordered.
"Hold her down!"