Chapter 281: Source Of All Evil [1]

In the banquet hall, now thick with a carefully cultivated atmosphere,

the elegant harmony of a violin and piano drifted through the air.

The melody was refined, restrained—music meant not for everyone, but for the empire’s most influential high nobles.

And yet, here I was.

“Look over there. Isn’t that the servant from earlier?”

“I heard he’s from a mere baron’s family. How shameless—doesn’t he know his place?”

Their voices were low, but not low enough.

They weren’t trying to hide their disdain. They wanted it heard.

After all, someone like me wasn’t meant to stand beneath chandeliers of crystal and gold.

It was forbidden—for a servant.

“Servant. Come here.”

The command was curt, heavy with authority.

Had he noticed the glances gathering around me?

I turned to see a soldier approaching, clad head to toe in armor that gleamed like polished sunlight.

’That color…’

Gold.

’He’s not ordinary military. A royal guard.’

Before I could respond, his large, gauntleted hand reached for my arm.

Then—

A sky-blue dress stepped between us.

The movement was neither hurried nor aggressive, yet it cut the space with unmistakable presence.

“Lady Frost?”

The guard halted instantly.

Amelia Frost stood there, her pale hair cascading neatly over her shoulders, her posture elegant and unyielding. She didn’t raise her voice, but she didn’t need to.

“Guard,” she said calmly, “this person has promised a future with me.”

A ripple passed through the nearby nobles.

Promises.

Future.

Each word landed like a stone dropped into still water.

“Isn’t he qualified,” Amelia continued evenly, “to enjoy the banquet by my side?”

The guard tilted his helmeted head slightly, as if weighing invisible scales.

I could almost hear the calculation.

On one side—

A nameless servant from a baron’s family, out of place among silk and jewels.

On the other—

The Frost family’s reputation, influence, and unspoken authority.

Expelling me would satisfy the watching nobles.

But offending Amelia Frost would invite consequences far heavier than a few disapproving stares.

The pause felt longer than it was.

“…I understand,” the guard finally said, stepping back and lowering his hand.

“Please enjoy the banquet.”

With that, he turned and left without another word.

The whispers shifted immediately.

“So the rumors were true…”

“To stake her family’s name for him…”

“Who exactly is that man?”

I exhaled quietly, only then realizing how tense my body had been.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, turning to Amelia.

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. Her posture remained impeccable, chin lifted as always, but there was the faintest hint of amusement tugging at the corner of her lips.

Without her stepping in when she did, the guards would have dragged me out without ceremony.

I had meant my gratitude sincerely.

Amelia, however, responded with a flat, almost sulky look.

“…You’re thanking me because you didn’t want the situation to escalate,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

She stopped walking.

Then she turned fully toward me, her gaze sharp enough to peel layers off a person.

“Be honest,” she said. “You were planning to harm that guard, weren’t you?”

Sharp as ever.

For a moment, I didn’t answer.

My original plan had been simple: allow myself to be taken away quietly, out of sight of the nobles—and once we were alone, casually provoke the man into a duel.

’Honestly, I was curious,’ I admitted to myself.

Curious about the current standard of the royal guards.

If I nudged him just enough, he’d strike first. After that, I’d make sure he regretted it—five times over.

And afterward?

He wouldn’t dare speak of it.

No royal guard would proudly announce he’d been beaten senseless by a mere servant.

“…You really hit the nail on the head,” Amelia said when I still hadn’t replied. “And now you’re suddenly at a loss for words?”

I sighed lightly.

“…You misunderstand,” I said. “I wasn’t planning to harm him.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Then what exactly were you planning to do?”

“That depends,” I replied evenly. “How badly he wanted to make an enemy.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“And how exactly do you see yourself?” she asked. “Some harmless attendant?”

“Hmph.” She scoffed. “From where I’m standing, you’re closer to a demon who kidnaps nobles from an earl’s family and extorts them for ransom.”

I nearly laughed.

“That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“Is it?” she shot back. “You disappear nobles, provoke powerful figures, and walk away without consequences. Tell me—how is that not suspicious?”

I tilted my head.

“I prefer the term ’misunderstood.’”

She stared at me for a long moment, then clicked her tongue.

“You’re impossible.”

We resumed walking.

After a few steps, she spoke again, her voice lower this time.

“You realize,” she said, “that if you had laid a hand on that guard, Lady Alice wouldn’t have protected you.”

“I know.”

“And that I wouldn’t have been able to intervene either.”

“I know that too.”

She stopped once more and looked at me, clearly frustrated now.

“Then why?” she demanded. “Why take such unnecessary risks?”

I met her gaze calmly.

“Because,” I said, “people like him only understand one language. And sometimes, letting them speak first tells you everything you need to know.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

“…You’re reckless.”

“Calculated,” I corrected.

She exhaled slowly, rubbing her temple.

“One day,” she said, “that confidence of yours is going to put you in a position I can’t get you out of.”

I smiled faintly.

“When that happens,” I replied, “I’ll make sure it’s worth the trouble.”

She shot me a sideways glare.

“You really are a problem.”

“Yet,” I said lightly, “you still stepped in.”

She looked away.

“…Don’t misunderstand,” she muttered. “I was preserving order. That’s all.”

“Of course,” I said.

We walked on in silence for a while.

The music swelled gently, the violin leading while the piano followed—perfectly synchronized, perfectly distant. Laughter bloomed here and there among the nobles, light and polished, never quite reaching the eyes.

I could feel it again.

The stares.

They no longer carried simple contempt.

Now there was curiosity mixed in—dangerous curiosity.

A servant tolerated was forgettable.

A servant protected by Amelia Frost was not.

“…You’ve made yourself conspicuous,” Amelia said at last, her voice low enough that only I could hear.

“I didn’t intend to,” I replied. “I was content being thrown out.”

“That,” she said flatly, “is precisely the problem.”

She slowed her pace, stopping near one of the tall windows overlooking the illuminated gardens. Moonlight spilled through the glass, casting pale reflections across the marble floor.

“Do you have any idea what people are thinking right now?” she asked.

“That I’m shameless?”

“That you’re dangerous,” she corrected. “And worse—unpredictable.”

I glanced toward a nearby cluster of nobles. A few averted their eyes too quickly. Others didn’t bother hiding their interest.

“So,” I said, “business as usual.”

Amelia let out a quiet scoff.

“You’re enjoying this.”

“Not enjoying,” I said. “Observing.”

She turned to face me again.

“Then observe this,” she said. “You are standing in a place where words carry weight, and rumors carry blades. One careless step, and even I won’t be able to shield you.”

“I don’t plan to stay long,” I said. “Once the banquet reaches and when Lady Alice is done with her business here. I’ll get away from here.”

Amelia paused at Alice name and looked around at the banquet hall as if she was searching for someone.

She didn’t argue with me after that.

Of course, for her Alice matters more.

“Ah…There she’s is!”

…And it’s seems that she’s had found her.

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