“By the way, did you see earlier? The young duke of Yentrice came to the party.”

“Probably because of his father. Diplomatic events are usually under the jurisdiction of the Yentrice ducal family.”

“No, it’s not just because of the delegation. I think he definitely has an intention.”

“It’s obvious. Since the lady of Yentrice will soon become a member of the imperial family, he’s trying to show his face to the nobles to broaden his base.”

Systea’s consideration was in vain. They had already decided to slander Aiden whether he was visible or not.

Now that he had become the topic of conversation, it became even more difficult for Aiden to reveal himself. He had no choice but to painfully listen to their conversation.

Unaware that the subject of their gossip was listening, the young men chatted excitedly.

“Hmph, what good is it for a family to be connected to the imperial family? The heir is in such a state.”

“Exactly. He stutters so embarrassingly that he doesn’t pursue a career and can’t even set foot in social gatherings.”

“But I heard he’s doing quite well these days thanks to the future Empress’s halo? He’s even receiving marriage proposals.”

“It won’t be from a proper family. Would you marry your precious daughter to such a stutterer? Imagine if they had a child. What if the baby cried, ‘u-uh, b-ba, baa!’ What would you do then?”

“Hey, wasn’t that crossing the line just now? Hahaha!”

The young men pretended to scold the guy but held their stomachs laughing. They took turns enjoying themselves by putting Aiden’s weakness on their tongues.

Within that was not only jealousy and contempt but also an intention to flatter the Chelbon ducal family. No, that aspect was actually significant.

The young duke of Chelbon, the center of the group, not only failed to stop them but spoke even more actively himself.

“The baby that Her Majesty the Empress will produce in the future should be healthy. Why the Yentrice ducal family of all choices…… If a foreign princess or even my cousin Annelize had been selected, there wouldn’t be such worries.”

“Anyway, coming from a good family means nothing if you’re a half-wit who can’t speak properly. Only the woman who marries him is pitiful. Unless she were deaf, perhaps.”

“Indeed…… Thinking about marrying without knowing and being tortured by that terrible speech habit for life…… tsk tsk.”

‘How could they!’

Systea, who had heard all those malicious words, was furious.

How could these so-called children of noble families utter such base words? They must have all received higher education, yet they couldn’t maintain even minimal refinement!

“Aiden, allow me. I’ll go out right now and tell them……”

Systea whispered excitedly. But Aiden grabbed her wrist and pressed it down.

Unlike her, who was burning with anger, Aiden’s face was frozen as cold as ice.

Seeing that face, Systea sensed it. That Aiden’s anger had properly ignited. Like when they met the thugs in the park. No, much more than then!

“Well, enough chatting, let’s start the duel! I’ll take the first opponent. Who wants to go first?”

Just then, a young man shouted boldly while picking up a sword.

When the young men were about to step forward one by one, Aiden parted the bushes, walked out, and said coldly:

“Me.”

* * *

“Gasp!”

“Eek?”

With Aiden’s appearance, all the young men’s gazes gathered on him. Then they all inhaled sharply with expressions of shock.

Good heavens, how is he here! Had he been listening to our conversation all along?

The young men turned their heads away, avoiding Aiden’s gaze. They looked at distant mountains or cleared their throats, trying somehow to evade responsibility.

They had only mocked him because he wasn’t present, but Aiden was not someone they could casually crush. Only the young duke of Chelbon among them could mock him as an equal.

“What brings you here……?”

When one young man asked cautiously, Aiden moved only his eyeballs to look at him. The young man who met those frozen blue eyes instinctively stepped back.

The current Aiden wore an expression they never imagined he could make, one so sharp it seemed it could cut their cheeks just by looking at it.

“I thought I might try a match too. Would you lend me a sword?”

While asking this, Aiden extended his hand. A heavy and eerie spirit emanated from his light gesture.

Overwhelmed by his aura, the young man didn’t even think of resisting and picked up one of the arranged swords to hand to Aiden.

“Thank you.”

Aiden’s lips twisted upward at the young man’s polite gesture. He moved his gaze to look at the young man who had volunteered to be the first opponent.

And he opened his mouth.

“I’ve been away from social gatherings for so long that I didn’t realize. I didn’t know I was treated as such a fool among people.”

“Ah, no, I……”

“But I have my pride, you see. I’d like to display my modest skills, what do you say? Care to try me?”

“Well……”

When the young man hesitated to respond, Aiden added cynically:

“Aren’t you curious? How skilled a stuttering half-wit might be.”

‘Stuttering half-wit……? Oh, come to think of it!’

Only then did everyone realize something strange. The Yentrice young duke, famous for stuttering whenever he opened his mouth, was speaking fluently? How is this possible?

‘Yes! It’s that anger!’

Only Systea knew how this was possible. Even Aiden himself wasn’t aware of it. His nerves were entirely focused on the group that had insulted him and his sister.

Normally, he might have endured to the end. But now that Systea’s ears had been polluted by them, he couldn’t possibly tolerate it.

“This should be interesting. I’ll gladly accept. Go ahead and start.”

Only after the young duke of Chelbon encouraged him did the young man grip his sword tightly. He looked solemn, like facing an enemy soldier on a battlefield.

A clear sneer flowed from Aiden’s lips as he faced him.

‘This bastard!’

Enraged by the dismissive smile, the young man lunged at Aiden like lightning.

‘Fine, I’ll take you on! A shut-in holding a sword won’t…… huh?’

The moment he thought that, the young man’s body was already rolling on the ground. Without even knowing how or where he was hit.

“What, what just happened?”

The other young men were equally clueless. They had only perceived the sword being swung.

Believing it was luck, they lined up one after another to rush at Aiden. But the next opponent also fell without even managing a proper defense.

The one after that was lucky enough to block but lost his sword due to the force. The fourth opponent lasted a few seconds, but literally just a few seconds.

The fifth, the sixth, no matter how persistently the challengers came, Aiden didn’t give even a hint of weakness. No one could defeat Aiden, who had the best knight in the Adrean Empire as his teacher.

“Huff, huff…… what is this……!”

The young men, their dignity crushed, were at a loss in their bewilderment. The young duke of Chelbon stepped forward only after eleven young men had fallen.

“I’ll be the next challenger.”

The young duke of Chelbon, Maxian, said while preparing his stance. Aiden glared at the opponent who had encouraged the young men to insult him.

But Maxian wasn’t intimidated. Aiden was breathless. Seeing his opponent showing signs of fatigue, he judged that he could now seize the glory of victory.

“Fine. Come.”

Aiden responded calmly, adjusting his grip on the sword. The two stared at each other for a moment, gauging each other’s skills.

The tension around them rose sharply. Just as the duel was about to begin with everyone’s attention on them—

“Please stop for a moment!”

At the unfamiliar voice, Aiden and Maxian turned their heads simultaneously toward the source. The one who stopped the match was a silver-haired young man with a handsome appearance.

He wasn’t alone. Beside him was Aristie, the future Empress, and behind them hung a string of followers—young ladies and young men.

“May I accept that challenge in his place?”

“……Who are you?”

Maxian asked with sharp eyes.

“I am the prince of the Ludrian Kingdom, ‘Icaryuel Rizenhower Glen Ludrian.'”

When Ryuel revealed his identity politely, mentioning his full name, Maxian reluctantly introduced himself as well.

“I am Maxian Cradis of the Chelbon ducal family.”

And he immediately continued:

“But I challenged the young duke of Yentrice.”

Ryuel responded instantly:

“I also asked the young duke of Yentrice. Whether to accept your challenge is up to him.”