Chapter 40 - 39: Is He Your New Toy?

Chapter 40: Chapter 39: Is He Your New Toy?

Glances darted at him from all directions—scrutinizing, disdainful, curious, and probing. Ever since inheriting the Williams surname, Lucian had long grown accustomed to this. He was used to being treated like a clown on a stage, watched by an audience eager to see what other desperate attempts he would make to revive the Williams family.

Just as Lilia had said, if he hadn’t bumped into her today and had entered the banquet hall alone after knocking out those two attendants, the Englis family servants would have undoubtedly stepped forward to politely but forcefully escort him out. They would have driven him away like a worthless stray dog.

At that thought, Lucian instinctively glanced at Lilia to gauge her reaction. The girl walked one step ahead of him, completely unfazed by the whispers, even though she was also a subject of their gossip. Lilia genuinely did not care about their chatter. To her, anything that held no practical value was entirely beneath her notice.

Without breaking her stride, Lilia approached a young girl in an elaborate evening gown. The girl looked to be around the same age as her, with slightly wavy long hair and a stunningly beautiful face. Resting on her head was a pale gold floral crown, marking her as the birthday girl. Clearly, this was the undisputed star of the banquet—Duke Englis’s youngest daughter, Elizabeth Englis.

When the banquet first began, Lilia had been introduced to her by Lady Beaumont. Lilia was already adept at winning people over, not to mention that her target this time was just a naive and innocent young girl who spent most of her time sheltered in the estate. It took Lilia less than ten minutes to become her good friend. She had learned that Elizabeth loved jewelry, pretty dresses, exquisite pastries, and thrilling, romantic tales.

"Eliza," Lilia called out the young girl’s nickname.

"Lili." The young girl looked at her in surprise, though her gaze quickly shifted to the young man trailing behind Lilia. "And this is...?"

"Let me introduce you." Lilia stepped aside, allowing Lucian and Elizabeth to face each other. "This is Elizabeth Englis, my good friend and the star of tonight’s banquet. And this is Lucian Williams, my senior at Lien Academy."

Lucian bowed slightly. "Miss Englis."

"Williams!" Compared to his refined courtesy, Elizabeth was much less capable of hiding her thoughts. "I’ve heard of that surname! Is it the..." Realizing it was impolite to gossip about someone’s family right to their face, she sheepishly covered her mouth and cast a pleading look at Lilia.

"That’s right," Lilia said with a smile. "He is the Williams who is highly renowned at Lien Academy, the one who single-handedly defeated the competitors from the other three great academies in last year’s exchange tournament."

In one brief sentence, she smoothly diffused Elizabeth’s awkwardness while simultaneously bringing Lucian’s achievements to the forefront.

"Last year’s Four Academies Exchange Tournament!" Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled. She loved legendary tales and had naturally heard of the tournament that was destined to be recorded in Lien Academy’s history. "So you’re the final victor, Lucian Williams... I’ll definitely remember that name!" Her expression was brimming with unconcealed excitement. "Could you tell me exactly what happened? Who were the competitors from the other academies? How did you defeat them? And also..."

Faced with Elizabeth’s barrage of questions, Lucian, of course, answered them all without reservation.

The atmosphere between the three of them was perfectly pleasant. Not far away, a few servants who had originally intended to step forward hesitated and remained in place. After receiving a new set of instructions, they silently retreated, clearly accepting Lucian’s presence. As for the nobles who had been whispering amongst themselves just moments prior... their behavior hinged entirely on Duke Englis’s stance. Now that the Duke had tacitly permitted Lucian to stay, they naturally had to adjust their own opinions of him accordingly.

"What are you all chatting about?" a gentle voice suddenly interjected into their group.

"Brother!" At Elizabeth’s joyful call, Lilia looked up. Her gaze swept past the tall young man who bore a resemblance to Elizabeth and landed right beside him. Caius. He had walked over with Elizabeth’s brother.

"Let me introduce you..." Elizabeth enthusiastically played the role of mediator, introducing Lilia and Lucian to the heir of Duke Englis.

The Little Duke had naturally heard of Lucian’s formidable reputation. Not only did he know about the Four Academies Exchange Tournament, but he was also intimately familiar with the duel between Lucian and Caius just last week. For a time, the Englis siblings engaged in a lively conversation with Lucian. Taking advantage of being left out, Caius excused himself. The Little Duke hurriedly apologized for neglecting him, but Caius stated that he didn’t mind. He then took Lilia by the hand and led her toward where the Beaumont couple was standing.

Caius could feel the gaze of that guy behind him—a gaze glued tightly to Lilia. It disgusted him, causing his grip on Lilia’s hand to tighten further. After a long silence, he finally couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you with him?"

"I was taking a stroll in the garden earlier and just happened to bump into him," Lilia answered casually, completely unapologetic.

"Did you find it amusing to act as a go-between for him?"

"Eliza said she was very interested in the Four Academies Exchange Tournament. I was merely following the Countess’s instructions to get along well with her."

"Then..." Caius gripped Lilia’s hand tighter. "Is he your new toy?"

This time, Lilia didn’t answer.

"Caius," she said softly. "Are you interrogating me?"

"No, I just—"

"I’ve told you before not to meddle in my affairs. Who I interact with and who I befriend has absolutely nothing to do with you."

Caius fell silent. A moment later, Lilia softened her tone, lacing it with a hint of reassurance. "You know, the only reason I’m explaining all this to you is because I like you."

"...Like?" Caius wanted to sneer but found himself unable to muster a laugh. He knew perfectly well that she was a liar who would spout any falsehood to achieve her goals. Saying something like this to him out of the blue was clearly just a ploy to placate him and prevent him from making trouble for that Williams guy in the future. Yet, even knowing all that, hearing the words "I like you" still made his breath hitch and his heart skip a beat.

"Yes," Lilia said, returning his grasp. Her movements were gentle, but her voice carried a distinct chill. "However, my affection also has its limits. If you keep doing things that displease me..."

Taking a step back, Lilia watched Caius’s back suddenly stiffen. Yet, all that surfaced in her mind was the rainy night from two weeks ago, and Victor’s bizarre disappearance. She was just about to utter the rest of her sentence when Caius abruptly spun around and pinned her against the adjacent wall.