Chapter 226: Making the Knights Furious

As Rion walked closer to the silver lion knights, their words reached him.

“Why did the captain come here in such a hurry?”

“Is the count in danger?”

“Are you stupid? Why would anyone try to attack the count when the captain is in the town?”

“True, who would want to make an enemy out of a superhuman?”

“Maybe it’s related to those three?” said one of the three knights who had accompanied Calvus to the mountains.

“Which three? Who are you talking about?”

“The ones young master had found at the base of the cursed mountains,” said another one of those three.

“Hmm… that can be the reason…”

“Silence,” Salis stated loudly and added, “We are here as reinforcement, not chatter.”

The knights instantly fell silent, and seeing that, Rion thought, ’He seems to command respect equal to that of a vice-captain.’

As he neared them, one of the knights pointed at him and asked, “Is that guy one of those three?”

Salis and the other three knights instantly turned towards him.

Salis furrowed his brows, walked over to Rion, and questioned, “Why are you roaming around like the manor belongs to you?”

Feeling the contempt hidden beneath his words, Rion tilted his head and mumbled, “I can’t?”

Salis’s forehead wrinkled in irritation, and he said, “Yes, you cannot. You are here as a guest, so you should rest like one.”

A frown appeared on Rion’s face. Looking around, he asked, “Are the guests not allowed to leave their rooms…?”

Hearing his question that was a rebuttal in its own right, Salis pressed his lips into a thin line and stared at Rion with a dismissive expression.

Feeling that the mood between them was getting worse, Rion scratched the back of his head and whispered, “Did I say something wrong? I didn’t mean to sound disrespectful, I just didn’t know nobles usually don’t allow their guests to leave the room… I am sorry.”

“Why are you trying to get on Sir Salis’s nerves?” Kiron, one of the knights, asked with disdain.

Rion waved his hands in defeat and mumbled, “I am not trying to get on anyone’s nerves, I just wasn’t aware that guests aren’t allowed to ask about anything.”

Hearing him, Salis’s expression darkened even further, and he took a few steps back so as not to attack the young man in fury

“Are you stupid?” Kiron spat.

A sheepish smile appeared on Rion’s face, and he mumbled, “Well, my friends usually call me stupid.”

“Of course, they do!” Kiron commented, and most of the knights burst into laughter.

Rion flexed his arms and added with a wide grin, “They also call me strong!”

Seeing him act in such a way, the knights’ laughter turned louder, and one of them imitated him.

Their laughter grew even louder, echoing throughout the garden, and Selena, who was walking towards them, frowned and mumbled, “What’s going on? Why are they laughing so loudly?”

Her steps quickened, and just as she reached the manor’s entrance, her gaze fell onto Rion.

She halted in her steps and spat with a deeply troubled expression, “What are those dimwits doing?!”

“I have to stop them,” she mumbled, raised her foot, and took a step forward, but just as she did so, Rion’s voice resounded in her head, <Don’t ruin my fun.>

’W-what?!’ Her eyes widened in utter disbelief, and she mumbled, “How…?”

<Stay out of this, and I’ll help you grow stronger,> Rion stated while continuing his act.

Just as those words reached her, she froze in her place, and her world began to spiral. “Stronger?”

<Yes, stronger. There are many things you don’t understand about the power you hold because it’s rare… and when something is precious, humans don’t spread it — they hide it.>

<They didn’t have a choice with the ether arts because to leave their mark on the world, they had to spread it to those who could use them.>

Selena thought over his words and mumbled, “Please, take care of them.”

<You are smart… until someone looks down upon you.>

His comment caused her to let out an embarrassed chuckle. Turning around, she walked back inside.

“How weak are your friends that they call a pretty boy like you strong?” Kiron asked with a wide grin, and for the first time since their chat had begun, Rion said sharply, “Must be stronger than a loud mouth like you.”

The knights instantly fell silent. Kiron’s face contorted in fury, and he muttered, “Why don’t you try me then?”

“Sure,” Rion stated flatly, and a cruel chuckle escaped Kiron.

“It’s enough,” Salis stated with a disappointed look, and Kiron’s expression turned sombre.

However, Rion wasn’t going to let him ruin his fun. “Why are you stopping him when it’s time for him to pay for his actions?”

Confusion spread across the knights, and Salis muttered, “What?”

Rion stared dead into his eyes and demanded, “Why didn’t you stop them when they were disrespecting the guests of the house?”

Salis fell silent but Rion wasn’t done yet.

He raised a finger, swept it across all of the knights, and stated, “All of you call me stupid while you laugh at the guests of your master, what kind of loyalty is that?”

A few of the knights lowered their heads while the remaining looked at him as if they couldn’t allow him to live any longer.

Salis stepped between Rion and the knights and said, “There is no need to continue this any further.”

“If it was just about me, I would have let them go…” he mumbled. Stepping forward, he placed his finger on Salis’s chest and added, “But they disrespected my friends who came here because of me, so I won’t allow you to dismiss their transgression…”

Stepping back, he raised his arms and said, “But as I am under the favour of the young master, I have two choices for them.”

He lowered his arms. “Apologies to my friends, or fight me and prove my friends wrong by defeating me.”

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