In the evening, a carriage came and stopped in front of the enormous gate; the guard at the gate then questioned the carriage coachman for a second before the carriage was finally granted entry.

The carriage then arrived at the door of the large hall. Desmond and Alice got off and headed for the door. Before they entered, their steps were stopped by two guards.

“Halt, your invitation?”

Desmond and Alice just ignored the guard. Desmond pointed at the coachman, who roughed his sleeve and took out an invitation letter.

After the guard saw the job stamp and the invited surname, the guard smiled. “Welcome to the second king’s party, please come in.”

Desmond and Alice were not offended by the guard’s words earlier. If security wasn’t that tight, who would want to enter the king’s party?

…

Arriving at the hall, Desmond and Alice were shocked by the lavishness of this party. The hall was big as a football field, and there were also many giant chandeliers. Also, the floor of this hall was made of gold, decorated with many carvings.

As they looked at the hall in awe, from afar, two women came to them. Looking at Desmond’s height and face, Clementine nodded. “* cough * Hello again, little Desmond.” 

Desmond and Alice came back to their senses when they heard someone’s voice. Desmond then saw Clementine and Diana standing in front of them. “Hello again, Mrs. Clementine and Miss Diana.”

* Hump * As usual, Diana ignored Desmond and went to Alice.

Desmond, who saw her behavior, became confused. I’ve just arrived; what’s wrong with you? he thought before finally glancing at Clementine. “It’s been three years, Mrs. Clementine.”

Clementine held her cheek and glanced at Diana. “Time flies so fast. As parents, we see our children grow up, and we feel both happy and sad because soon, we know they will leave us.”

While they were talking, the king’s voice was heard throughout the hall. “Welcome, my guests. Thank you for coming to this party.”

Desmond glanced at the source of the sound. He saw a person with a crown standing on the podium. So that’s the king. He wore fancy clothes with long brown hair and looked like a comedian to Desmond. System scan.

[Scanning the target..]

[Scan Complete!]

[

Name: Edward

Gender: Male

Age: 36 years

Race: Human

Class:1st Swordsman/3rd Wizard

Occupation: King of North Kingdom

Unique Energy: 80.00

Strength: 29.44

Agility: 20.52

Stamina: 16.00

Trait: Cautious(Rare)

]

“Hmm?” Looking at the king’s status, Desmond felt this was normal because the king must be the strongest person; otherwise, how would people obey the king’s orders? But what confused Desmond was the king’s trait. Why is the trait effect missing?

[System Conclusion: Not everyone can be scanned; some people, like the Host’s parents, let Host check them, which also applies to Weston. But if the Host insists on scanning the person, the target will feel some energy trying to enter their body]

I see… wait, so all this time, I’ve been caught scanning Weston and my parents ?!

[System Conclusion: As for being caught, yes, they give the host their status, but the target does not know their status is being leaked. They only feel strange energy entering their body. This energy is the host energy that the system borrows to scan]

Desmond remembered Weston glancing at him during the fight six years ago and now understood what that glance meant. Luckily, Weston is a good person. Next time, I’ll only use a simple scan.

Edward waited for a second before he spoke again. “I have invited all of you because I want to deepen our bond in this kingdom. Besides that, I will invite a few people to discuss the matter of selecting the next Grandmaster.

“Now, you can party freely. For those of you who first came here, that’s my wife and child.” Edward pointed to his wife and children, who were near the drinks table.

Edward’s wife was named Claire, with short yellow hair and perfect height, ideal for a woman, addressed her hands to her people. Her daughter named Elizabeth, was the same age as Desmond. She has long, flowing yellow hair, and she also waved her hand.

People began to ask who is the newcomer the king means? Since this was the king’s second party, almost everyone knew the king’s wife and children.

“Enjoy the party.” With the last word, Edward went to the back of the stage and never came back.

Clementine glanced at Desmond, who kept stared at King Edward. “It looks like the king is very busy dealing with matters regarding the selection of a new Grandmaster.”

“It must be complicated,” Desmond replied without expression, but in his mind, he was thinking about the king’s motive.

While Desmond was busy thinking about the king’s weird behavior, a fat man with spiky hair headed towards Alice and Diana from a distance. 

When Diana saw this person coming toward her, her face changed from smiling to angry.

The fat man glanced at Alice for a moment before finally speaking to Diana. “Hey, Diana, what about my proposal? Do you accept?”

“My answer is the same, Gibson,” Diana replied with a mocked tone while looking at Gibson angrily. 

Looking at Diana’s gaze, Gibson didn’t mind; instead, he smiled broadly. “I see, so, what if we just decide on the match? Isn’t that your favorite?” Then he glanced at Alice. “Is the princess here also attracted to deep relationships?”

Alice was speechless. Don’t you have any shame? Just now, you invited another girl in front of me? She answered with a smile. “No, thanks, Master Gibson.”

Gibson shook his head. “A pity.” He then glanced at Diana again. “Are you scared?”

“Of course not! I’ll accept it, let’s do it at the training hall!” It’s not the first time Diana had received a wedding invitation from Gibson. Their parents didn’t want to get involved in the children’s affairs.

Desmond, who saw Gibson’s gaze at Alice, became a little irritated. “Mrs. Clementine, do you know the young master over there?” Desmond asked this politely, but he failed to suppress his killing aura.

“That is Gibson’s son from Andre, who is a former nobleman.”

Heard the word ‘nobility,’ Desmond became interested. He had read a North Kingdom history book that all nobles were overthrown except for the Imperial Kingdom’s nobles. “Haven’t all the nobles been killed and expelled?”

Clementine replied while staring at the podium where the king was, “King Edward forgives only two noble families. King Edward has also given the freedom of their property.”

So stupid, what if this nobleman is going to overthrow him back? Desmond thought. He wanted to say that. Still, he held back, realizing Clementine’s gaze filled with sadness toward the king’s podium. “I see. Thanks for the information.” 

Desmond then took a drink from the maid, who was carrying a tray. “This is my thank you gift.” He gifted it with a smile.

“Thank you, little Desmond..” Instead of drinking it slowly, Clementine drank it at once until it was empty without pause.