Moments earlier, the knights, who were carrying their glasses and making noisy noises, were now looking at her as if caught in surprise with their eyes wide open.
At the weight of their stares, Max sensed her self-esteem diminishing and she at once dropped her gaze to stare at the floor.
She thinks that they felt that this kind of fancy outfit did not suit her at all, just as she expected, which is why they were staring at her so intensely. As she felt curiously scrutinized by their gaze, she felt cold sweat running down her nape.
Max stopped in her movements and waited for the young boy to catch up with her. Yurixion greeted her with a wide smile before speaking.
“Oh My God! Your gown, it is really wonderful.” He complimented her and Max’s eyes lit up at his compliment.
“I-Is it re-really?”
Max looked at the boy with an insecure but hopeful expression on her face. As she stared into his eyes, Max concluded that Yurixion did not seem to be lying to her.
Yurixion nodded furiously, while his big shining eyes stared at her.
“You look just like an ancient Elf! The white dress goes really well on you. I used to be dazzled by beauty before, but today I am blind!” Yurixion told her excitedly and Max blushed at the exaggerated praise.
The boy proceeded to pour out his praises enthusiastically at her as she was about to return the compliment, that he too looked good in his clothes.
“You are Sir Calypse’s wife, the world’s number one knight. For a moment, I was mesmerised! Even the arrogant Nimfish would blush with jealousy at your loveliness.”
In a moment of joy, Max could feel her cheeks reddening all the way up to the nape of her neck. It seemed funny to her because it was not possible for the young boy to see beauty that never existed in the world. Yurixion did not stop giving her compliments as they walked towards their table.
Max immediately sat on the chair when they arrived, fighting back the desire to shut Yurixion’s mouth, but the boy was quite unabashed and continued talking.
Yurixion proceeded to offer her cheerful praises, perhaps not feeling any embarrassment at all, as he pulled out a chair directly beside her.
“It’s such a waste. If you had participated in the royal ball in this way, you would have entranced all the knights and their wives would gather angrily outside the palace!”
“T-Thank you….” replied Max shyly.
She looked down at the round plate in front of her, murmuring those words in a voice that she could hardly even drag out of her mouth. Around her, the silence of the knights made her feel so awkward and uncomfortable.
She was laughing at the boy’s exaggerations of her appearance to outsiders, but inside, her sweat poured secretly under her dress.
Yurixion began to give her some food in haste.
“My lady, I will be by your side to assist you. Do you have any favorite food? They’re all delicious, but they’re especially roasted.” Max felt relieved that the subject had become normal, sighed, and looked around the room looking for the face of her husband.
“Thank you. By the way… …where’s Sir Ca-Calypse?” Max asked.
“Sir Calypse is still in the conference room. We are still planning and are discussing the movements of the monsters with some of the knights.”
“The move-movements of m-monsters… ?” This sparked Max’s interest.
“Suddenly, the monsters from the northwest started moving south.”
At the sudden sound of a voice coming from her back, Max turned her head. Sir Nirta, who was dressed in plain clothes, met her gaze. He was standing right behind her and he looked up and down at her. Max noticed that he did so with a strange expression on his face, and he soon flopped down on a chair next to her after he had done this.
“Trolls are showing signs of moving to the Anatorium, so the leader is discussing countermeasures with the wizard. First of all, they told us to have a meal together because later it’s going to be a long discussion.” Nirta responded in a fore-bonding tone and immediately Max’s brows suddenly furrowed.
The unexpected story clouded Max’s face.
Hebaron continued his speech as Max processed the new information, while filling his glass with wine in a manner that discarded formality.
Max dropped her fork and decided to listen to his words.
“That’s why the goblins were bigger than expected. I spent a lot of time exploring the mountains in the north because it seemed like something had happened to the demons’ ecosystem.” Hebaran told the crowd and as knights started whispering at each other, gasps suddenly filled the room.
“De-demons in A-anatol? … you mean they-they’re co-coming?” Max suddenly asked.
“It would be better to say that they started moving south than that they were coming here. It’s just a guess, but according to the testimony of the monsters’ hunters who came across the mountain….”
Max gave a somber look to Nirta at that moment. He abruptly shut his mouth when Nirta saw the darkening of her face and decided to end the conversation. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and added in finality.
“I’ve said a lot of useless things. It’s nothing to worry about, ma’am. Even if the demons are coming in, Anatol is as safe as an iron can, as long as there are Knights of the Remdragon.”
Max could hardly relax even with his assurance. The horrendous images of the guards and loggers who were seriously injured in the Werewolf’s raid came to her mind. As the number of demons increases, such things will happen more often.
Max slipped a hand into the pocket of her cloak to hold on to the mana concealed in it. The resolve she had to learn magic became stronger. It would be better than nothing, if not of great help.
“Let’s focus on studying for tomorrow,” Max said firmly to herself.
Yurixion began to speak cheerfully again beside Max, as if to enliven the subdued atmosphere.
“Dear lady, don’t have such a dark face and try these delicious foods. The roast boar of the chef is really excellent. The skin is crispy and the flesh is juicy and extremely soft and moist! If you cut the meat into large pieces and dip it in a thick chamelein sauce, you’re going to be so enticed that you can’t focus on other thingsI daresay you won’t even notice if one of us drops dead at this instance!”
“Thank you… Well, it looks re-really good,” Max replied.
“Right? The nutmeg-infused dove and fried cinnamon cookies are also amazing. Try them.”
Yurixion packed her plate full of food. Max pushed the food into her mouth little by little at his suggestion. It was really as good as he said. Max forgot her worries and began to indulge in her delicious meal. Nirta, who glanced at her while drinking, filled her glass with wine.
“I am going to choke drinking all this wine on my own. Let’s have a drink together.” Nirta told her as he pushed her glass towards her which was now filled with wine.
“Thank you.”
Feeling touched by his rare act of kindness, Max gulped down the wine in one shot.
