72 The Stainless Prince of the Eas (2/2)
Velvund roughly coughed and then stammered out, ”S-son, are you alright?”
”Hm? Why wouldn't I be? If anything, I should be the one asking that question. You look sort of pale. Something wrong with you, gramps?” said Reed.
He looked at Lu'um's pale face and said, ”You too, huh… What's up with you guys? Someone poison the wine, or something?” Reed chuckled and said, ”Everyone looks a bit off, now that I think about it…”
Reed patted Velvund's back and said, ”You're a bit too old to be drinking so much, gramps. Don't get carried away with the festivities, alright?”
He grabbed Lu'um and said, ”I'm going to chat with a couple of my friends in my room, gramps, so don't wait up on me. Have fun… in moderation, you hear!”
And just like that, the newly crowned prince had written himself into the annals of history over the course of a single night. The saga of the infamous Stainless Prince of the East had begun…
Violett stared at him as if she were looking at a freak from another dimension and said, ”Are you sure it's him?”
Lu'um elbowed Reed on the ribs and he obeyed. He undid his transformation and his old features slowly morphed back into shape.
”Yo.... How have you been, Violett? And judging from your looks, you must the big boy himself, eh? You know, Violett's spoke—!”
Violett quickly strangled Reed before he finish his sentence and roared, ”WHY. CAN'T. YOU. LISTEN? Do you have ANY IDEA what you done?! Why are you so...?!!”
”I…bfhery…sphorry!”
Her eyes glittered with a deadly shine until the person beside her said, ”Come now, sister, give him some slack. You yourself haven't had the best track record either, you know. Let bygones be bygones.”
Violett snorted in response and let Reed go, but not before she whispered in his ear, ”We're not through… not even close.”
Reed coughed as he massaged his neck and said, ”You're always a charmer, aren't you? I missed you too, Violett.”
The man beside Violett pulled out a handkerchief and said, ”Here you go,” and patted his back. ”Haydn Kingscrown, it's pleasure to finally meet you, Reed.”
”Same,” said Reed. ”I've always wanted to meet you — the man who survived growing up with…” Violett's eyes shone with barely constrained fury, ”such a beautiful, charming, and talented sister like Violett.”
Haydn laughed uproariously when he heard that, much to Violett's displeasure. He wiped the tears off his eyes and said, ”That's the thing — she didn't. She was so problematic as child that Father had her sent to the Evergreen Estate as punishment. Even sent the Head of the Kingsguard to nanny her because normal people couldn't handle her!”
Reed laughed too when he heard that, but then suddenly went quiet when he realized the implication.
Wait a second… I given the Evergreen Estate and was at one point, threatened to stay in there. Doesn't that mean that I'm...
He didn't find the story as amusing as he initially did and bitterly smiled instead. His eyes looked dead inside.
Lu'um gently patted his back and kept quiet. She knew that anything she'd said would like hurt his fragile ego. Some wounds could only be healed over time, and this was one of them.
”Well, you know how the saying goes — birds of a feather flock together. We expected something like this to happen sooner or later, but nothing on this level. You truly are a force to be reckoned with, Reed.”
”In the span of a week, you've gain the favor of the Silver Reaper and have become a prince in the East, home of the race that hates our kind the most. And that speech of yours tonight, Goddess help us all…” said Haydn as he shivered in genuine awe.
”If Violett is a living disaster — a living storm that causes damages wherever she goes, then you are… like a hurricane had a human child. I am truly impressed that someone with more affinity with chaos exists than my sister. Even our Father was astonished when he heard the news about you…”
Violett smiled and said, ”Now you know why I didn't want you to meet him.”
Reed nodded slowly as he restrained the urge to not do anything to Haydn, but he truly found it a difficult, herculean task.
He didn't know if he'd survive the night at this rate…