Although he always wanted to keep a distance from nobles, Angelina wouldn't let him do as he wished.
She held her lover's elbow and the two looked like a pair of dancing butterflies as they weaved through the crowd.
"Hello, Jayla, this is Locke."
"Millie, where's your boyfriend? Why didn't you bring him?"
"Bott, this is my fiancé. Haven't you always wanted to meet him?"
.....
Most of the people Angelina brought Locke to meet were her classmates, and most of them were women.
This group of future casters was still a group of beginner-rank Lehrlings. Other than Joaquin, who had the strength of a low-rank Lehrling, the rest were not worth mentioning in Locke's eyes.
Although this group of people was not strong, Locke knew that Angelina valued their potential and the families behind them more. Angelina, who was born in the royal family, was better at networking than Locke, even though she was only sixteen years old.
The gathering in the garden wasn't just a bunch of people chatting together. Joaquin, the host, found an entire orchestra. Most of the people here were nobles and dancing was their specialty. They just happened to have some desserts and fruits, so they needed some exercise.
"Beautiful lady, may I have a dance with you?" An elegant man walked up to Locke and Angelina and extended his right hand.
Beside the long tables, many nobles had already invited their partners to dance on the open-air dance floor.
The orchestra was pretty good. Even Locke, who had never listened to music before, felt a sense of lightness when he heard it.
But before he could savor the music, someone came to him. Their target was Angelina, who was in his arms.
Faced with this situation, Angelina was the first to react. "I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well today."
Angelina knew that Locke didn't know how to dance, so how could she leave him alone on such an occasion? As a princess, the only person she'd danced with was her brother. Even when princes from other kingdoms invited her to dance with them, she didn't turn them down.
Angelina didn't even know the name of this good-looking Aomarian noble.
This seemed to be the first time the man had been rejected by someone. His expression immediately became a little awkward, and he stood there not knowing what to do.
Joaquin, who had been paying attention to them, immediately rushed over. "Terry, come, I'll dance with you!" She extended her left hand and placed it on Terry's palm.
This noble man named Terry was the collateral descendant of a marquis in Princeton. Although he wasn't highly regarded by the main family, he was still a noble, and Joaquin couldn't let him embarrass himself at her party.
The man quickly adjusted himself. He snorted at Angelina and cursed. He then pulled his hand away from Joaquin's waist. Joaquin frowned slightly and moved away. She then held onto the man's arm and stepped onto the dance floor.
Locke didn't say anything. He looked at the young man named Tris coldly and memorized his appearance.
He had never been angry with Angelina for so long, but today, someone actually threw a tantrum at her in front of him and even insulted her.
Although Locke didn't want to cause trouble, he wasn't one to be afraid of trouble if someone threatened his family.
The dance ended quickly. Joaquin tolerated the young man's offensive actions and politely separated from him the moment the song ended. She was so fast that the man couldn't react in time.
Tris had long noticed that there were only two beautiful women in this party. One was Joaquin, and the other was Angelina. Joaquin was willing to dance with him and tacitly approved of his actions. He thought that she was easy to get along with, but it turned out that it was all just a facade.
It didn't matter whether he managed to get a date with Angelina or not. Tris's target was Joaquin from the start.
His uncle was a marquis, but his father wasn't, and he wasn't either. Tris wasn't the only child in his family. His lecherous father had given him more than a dozen younger siblings. If he wanted to stand out among his siblings, he urgently needed to find a fiancée that matched his family background and solidify his position.
Joaquin was his primary target. Otherwise, a playboy like him would rarely attend a party hosted by a girl.
The children of nobles could be messed with, but it would be difficult to separate from them. How could it compare to getting involved with the daughter of an ordinary commoner?
In order to inherit his father's title and even get the help of his uncle, who was a marquis, Tris had already decided to be a good man for the time being after he got his hands on Joaquin.
Yes, it was only for the time being. Tris wouldn't give up the whole forest for a tree.
However, it seemed a little difficult.
Although Joaquin had always been hot and passionate, there had never been any scandals about her. Tris felt that he had to be serious. He had seen countless women, so how could he not be able to handle a mere woman?
"Thank you." Seeing that Joaquin was coming over, Angelina stepped forward and hugged her. She then whispered in Joaquin's ear.
"It's okay. This is my ball. I can't let you spoil the fun," said Joaquin with a smile. She was one of the few people who knew that Angelina was a princess of Faustian.
Joaquin knew what was more important between the noble princess of a powerful kingdom and the daughter of a marquis. Moreover, she was good friends with Angelina.
As for Tris's father, although he was also a count like her father, he was just a good-for-nothing. His actual power was much lower than her father's, which was why she didn't like Tris very much.
"Hey, Locke, come and thank Joaquin too." Angelina waved at Locke, who was still standing there.
Locke stared at Tris. After dancing with Joaquin, Tris danced with another noblewoman and drank several glasses of juice during the dance.
Locke felt that it was about time. Sure enough, after Tris finished his second dance, he walked out of the garden under the guidance of the attendants. He was probably going to the toilet.
He moved out stealthily and prepared to follow behind him.
"Where are you going?" asked Angelina as she stopped him from walking out.
"Uh, I'm going to the toilet," said Locke casually.
"Can you find it? Do you want me to send an attendant to show you the way? "Joaquin had always been at odds with Locke, so her tone was provocative.
He couldn't understand why this woman always picked on him, but at least she had helped them out earlier, so he couldn't argue with her. "No need, thank you."
"Hmph!" Joaquin crossed her arms and watched Locke walk out of the garden. "Angelina, why did you fall for such a good-for-nothing man?"
The reason why she hated him was because Angelina was one of the few friends she acknowledged. Although they had only known each other for a month, Angelina was smart and cute. She knew that Angelina was a close friend that she could get to know better.
She felt that Locke was too ordinary. Not only did he look ordinary, but he was also only at the level of her guards. How could he be worthy of Angelina?
"Not at all. Locke is great." Angelina pouted. She didn't like it when her best friend talked bad about Locke.
"I couldn't tell." Joaquin crossed her arms, her breasts surging as if they were about to squeeze out of her neck.
Angelina thought about it for a while, pulled Joaquin to a corner of the ball, and began to tell her about how Locke saved her. Of course, she didn't tell her the whole story. She only briefly mentioned the month when they encountered the moonlight wolf and relied on each other in the snow cave.
Locke followed behind Tris while the two women were telling their stories.
In the bathroom, Tris had just wiped his hands with a silk handkerchief. Before he could put it down, a shadow attacked him from behind, followed by darkness in front of him.
Looking at Tris who was covered by his clothes, Locke didn't hold back and kicked him. Tris screamed under his clothes and rolled towards the wall, leaving traces of blood on the ground.
Locke's accuracy had dropped after fighting with the scorpiondrake for the past few days. If he hit him too hard, he would probably break two of Tris' ribs.
Since he hit him too hard, he would hit him more gently. He lifted Tris up and punched his abdomen several times. After two punches, Tris held his stomach and couldn't stand up.
His mouth was spitting bloody saliva, but he couldn't spit it out no matter how hard he tried. It seemed like he was interrupted.
The silencing effect of the count's mansion was pretty good. None of the attendants who passed by outside noticed Locke's violence.
Finally, Locke stopped when he beat Tris up to the point where he couldn't get up anymore.
The grey coat Angelina bought for him was already stained with blood and couldn't be used anymore. He took off the coat that was wrapped around Tris' head, revealing Tris who was unconscious and had a swollen face.
Locke knew his own strength well. Fortunately, Tris was a knight who cultivated impetus. Otherwise, an ordinary person would've been beaten to death.
Locke loosened his shoulders and prepared to leave. He didn't believe that Tris would still be able to recognize him in this situation.
However, to be on the safe side, Locke stepped on Tris' head harshly before he left and scolded, "That's what you get for stealing my woman!"
Tris' head tilted and he fainted completely.
After following Angelina and Glace for so long, Locke didn't learn much wisdom, but he did learn a lot of tricks. He was deliberately luring Tris to steal his woman. Of course, the woman he was referring to was Joaquin, who had just danced with him.