Chapter 175: Montolov Party
"Here."
Cillian gave each of them a pouch containing ten gold coins as they were about to part ways and head toward their respective destinations. Anything involving Ruiners was going to be expensive, and he knew he had given them enough payment for their services.
That’s what Cillian thinks, of course.
"Should we be worried that you’re not scamming us?"
"Yeah, are you not scamming us, Cillian? After all the time we have been together?"
Vin initiated the idea while Phillip followed. They gave him scrutinizing looks, as if they were trying to force Cillian to understand what they were getting at.
’Oh, come on now.’
Cillian understood it, all right. And he was hurt by their remarks.
If he was going to scam them, at least it wouldn’t be by too much. But he was feeling generous now and had given them the exact payment that was right and just.
"Hey, we’re friends. Why are you giving me that kind of look?"
Vin let out a short cough while putting the pouch into his pockets.
"Just making sure."
’Just making sure...’
Cillian repeated the word inside his head before chuckling and tapping both of them on the back as he made his way towards the party.
"I’ll see you later at the memorial service."
Cillian then waved his hand goodbye as he continued walking forward without looking back, not realizing that Phillip and Vin were waving back at him. Then, they both made their way towards the memorial service, where people who weren’t invited from the party were supposed to go.
’It’s starting tomorrow.’
Cillian suddenly started thinking about the events tomorrow that he thought would last for several days at most if no problems arose.
Though that was something that wasn’t about to happen, as Cillian knew that no matter how perfect a plan they created, the others could easily disrupt it and make it imperfect.
He had this nagging feeling creeping upon him that he couldn’t really pinpoint what exactly.
He felt rather bothered by it.
’I think it fits the saying, anything that is wrong will be wrong? No, that’s not right. I think it goes along with that saying, but the way I put it is quite funny. Heh. Well, anyway, I’m not a philosopher myself. But I think that’s it.’
Eventually, the funny ideas going through his head immediately stopped when he reached his destination.
A tall structure still stood after the attack from the God’s Descent. Even though almost everyone was affected by the attack, the people who could defend themselves didn’t just let the Shepherds take down their homes unless they were in the area where the Hidden One was attacking, that is.
Thankfully, the Montolovs’ main residence was left untouched. Not because the Shepherds didn’t attack them. They were attacked. But because they put defensive barriers around the residence that reduced the casualties they suffered from both inside and outside.
But does that mean some other families—no, just Viola alone—didn’t put defensive barriers around their main residence, and that’s why Viola was almost wiped out, leaving only Fergus alive?
No, Montolov was just lucky.
If they had been the target of those White Shepherds in the first place, Cillian would’ve continued seeing Viola reigning supreme in this land instead of a new leading powerhouse, Montolov. Or worse, both could’ve been targeted, and the next thing Willow saw after she woke up would’ve been her family dead, which, fortunately, didn’t happen.
Cillian entered the party’s doors, and the main hall revealed itself to him.
Crystal chandeliers cast a warm golden glow across the grand hall, while enchanted lanterns floated quietly near the ceiling. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of flowers and fine food.
Nobles and guests filled the room, dressed in elegant clothes and chatting with one another. Soft music played in the background as the musicians performed, blending with the clink of glasses and gentle laughter. The atmosphere was calm and lively.
It was neat and simple.
’Not bad.’
Cillian continued walking inside, darting his eyes across the hall before settling them right in the middle, where the man of the house was surrounded by his people on both sides.
The man had short white hair and a calm expression. He looked older, but not enough to be called elderly. A silver earring hung from one ear, giving him a slightly modern look. He had a lean, well-built body and stood with good posture. His clothes were simple but neat, making him look both respectable and confident.
He was Finn Montolov.
"Hey, Cillian!"
Cillian moved his eyes to the side and saw the three nobles of this party approach him. There were no others than Kash, Ivy, and Willow.
Kash wore a formal black suit with subtle gold details, while Ivy wore an elegant dark dress with delicate embroidery, and Willow wore a graceful white gown with simple silver accents. They all dressed formally as well.
The one who called him cheerfully was Kash.
Once the three of them approached, Kash put his arm around Cillian’s shoulders before saying.
"Well dressed, eh?"
"Of course."
After removing Kash’s arm from around his neck, Cillian looked around the hall before directing his gaze towards Willow, who was looking at him silently, her eyes somewhat expectant. She was really showing herself off for him.
This made Cillian tilt his head and question.
"What?"
Willow, who found herself staring at Cillian for a bit too long, their eyes locking with each other, let out a short cough before saying.
"You look nice."
"I know."
Then, silence.
That’s it?
Shouldn’t the normal etiquette be to return the same compliment to the person who said it? In fact, it should be the man who initiates this kind of thing instead of the woman doing it.
But Cillian accepted the compliment... and only accepted it.
Well, he did look nice. There’s no denying it.
Willow had to urge herself to facepalm, but she didn’t do it. She only turned around, her face filled with traces of disappointment before leaving. Ivy followed behind her as she waved him goodbye.
"I feel like she was about to say something to me, then had a face of ’screw it,’ and left. What was it, though?"
Cillian thought out loud, hoping that Kash would answer him, until... he laughed so hard that it attracted a lot of attention from the hall.
"Hahahaha!"
The laugh slowly subsided, but the surprise didn’t leave Cillian’s face, as he had been caught off guard by it. He didn’t do everything perfectly, and now something had gone wrong with their usual introduction?
"Dude, you’re seriously... Hahh... I—I don’t know you have this kind of side of yours. Welp, not my problem. I don’t know if Melissa likes sharing but... hmm, let’s see, let’s see."
’What are you talking about?’
Cillian started to get even more confused until Kash put his arm around his shoulder again. Then, his eyes moved across the busy hall before he whispered with a smirk.
"Hey, why don’t I introduce you to my family instead?"
’A connection with another noble?’
Cillian wouldn’t reject such an offer when he already had an opportunity to meet people of a higher status. It might be useful in the future. That’s why he simply answered positively.
"Let’s go."
Soon, Kash led Cillian to where his parents were standing as he started introducing him to them.
"Mom, Dad. This is Cillian."
"Oh, you must be the kid!"
Cillian mostly listened, answering their questions every now and then. Near the end of his introduction to the Brown Family, he spotted a familiar person among the people guarding Kash’s family.
And this person looked at Cillian.
"You’re..."
"Harold."
Harold was a third-year student at the Academy, someone who had been assigned to monitor Aster. He was also part of the student council and was its former Vice President.
A talented individual. And he’s a commoner. It seemed he was hired by the Browns, or was there already some history between them? Cillian didn’t know.
Suddenly, Harold spoke.
"Right, right... Does that mean everyone’s here?"
"Everyone?"
Harold smirked, as if trying to remember something in the past.
"If you’re talking about everyone, then you should turn around and see who’s currently with Ivy Longsword."
Cillian indeed turned around once Harold told him about it, and his gaze froze when he spotted someone talking with Willow and Ivy.
Her delicate face was full of joy as her shoulder-length hair fell around her neck. What stood out the most was the velvet dress she was wearing, which made other people steal glances at her.
Then, as if noticing someone staring at her, the woman looked around before spotting Cillian, whose face began to twist.
’Shit...’
It was the previous Treasurer of the Student Council, the woman who had been with him during the weirdest times, and the one who clearly... well, almost accused him of assaulting her.
It was Caspin Lendez, another noble from the Viol territory.