Kendrick changed the subject after coming to his senses.

“I heard you had a pretty tough time recently. Are you feeling okay?”

“No, I was mentally devastated. I plan to sue the person behind this as soon as I find him,” Arendt responded without changing his expression.

Kendrick nodded.

“I’m glad you seem okay, but be careful. I don’t know who’s behind this, but humans are quite persistent. If they find out that you are safe, they’ll try to get revenge on you.”

“Especially for you, Sir Arendt, since you often gain grudges. It’s not uncommon for dirty nobles to hire assassins, so you’d better be careful.”

“Well, I don’t think two people would be stupid enough to send assassins to someone who protects His Majesty the Emperor. Still, you need to be careful walking alone at night.”

When Diana spoke up, Duke Lancelot burst into laughter.

Arendt looked at them with unkind eyes.

“Hey, how could I be happy? I’m just worried about you as an elder.”

The Duke burst into laughter and tapped Arendt on the shoulder. Arendt made a glum expression but did not shake his hand away.

It seemed that this was not the first time that Marquis Grieg had sent an assassin to someone he did not like. Perhaps that was why these three people seemed quite amused by the fact that the Marquis had gotten into trouble for giving in to his bad habits.

“More than that… today’s main character is a little late.”

Diana tilted her head.

“If you’re talking about the main character, then do you mean His Highness the Crown Prince? I heard he’s a little late because of something else.”

“No, not His Highness… ah.”

Arendt, who was looking toward the entrance, let out a short exclamation.

As they say, even a tiger comes when called, and he saw Neumann Den East leading his attendants into the banquet hall.

Only then did Duke Lancelot understand Arendt’s words and nodded.

“That guy is also the center of attention these days. He is definitely the main character of today’s banquet. I heard he promised to make his first deal with the Imperial Knights. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

Duke Lancelot smiled strangely as Kendrick nodded.

It was known to the public that that was the way that Store Manager Neumann expressed his gratitude to the Imperial Knights who had guarded the East Safe. However, the three people present knew that this was the result of a deal between Arendt and the store manager.

Whatever the process, Arendt was not wrong when he called him the protagonist.

As soon as Manager Neumann appeared, the nobles who had been chatting here and there began to pay attention to him.

“Hey, aren’t you Manager Neumann? It’s been a while.”

“I was waiting for you to come anyway.”

“I am very happy to see you. Thankfully, His Highness the Crown Prince himself sent me an invitation.”

The store manager also answered each question with his signature friendly smile.

Diana, who had been staring at him blankly, opened her mouth.

“His expression is good. Is it because the outline of his long-awaited project is starting to take shape?”

“I’m sure the East Merchant Governor will be a bit upset. I heard they don’t seem too happy about his independence.”

Kendrick answered.

In fact, it wasn’t strange. Up until recently, it was the East Merchant that had led and grown the business, and Neumann had been a great supporter of them.

No one expected that this person would suddenly declare his independence.

They heard that he had been planning to become independent for quite some time, but had not been able to put it into action due to unresolved issues with business partners and investments.

Kendrick turned his eyes to look at Arendt.

‘This guy was the one who pointed that out and suggested a deal.’

At the time, he just skimmed over it, but thinking back, it was really an amazing thing.

When store manager Neumann saw Arendt, he smiled happily and strode through the crowd toward him.

“Lord Arendt, it is a pleasure to meet you here again.”

“We just met a little while ago. I think you have more to talk about with other people.”

Arendt nodded and greeted him. Then, Manager Neumann smiled brightly.

“But there is no guest more honored than Lord Arendt, and do you really think I came here just to see Lord Arendt? There are people here whom I should greet first.”

“Ah…”

A simultaneous gasp came from Duke Lancelot, Kendrick, and Diana.

Arendt, who saw that, stepped aside slightly. As if he had been waiting for that, Manager Neumann took a step back and bowed his head politely toward them.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness, Lord Kendrick, and Lord Diana. How have you all been?”

“Nothing much happened to me; I don’t have time to be bored these days.”

Duke Lancelot burst into laughter. It was not a formal greeting, but the witty appearance of Store Manager Neumann lightened the mood.

Diana also smiled and asked, “Is there any problem with the security?”

“No, don’t worry. Sometimes thieves would try to sneak in without knowing their place, but recently, there have been no such attempts. This is all thanks to the grace of the captains, His Majesty the Emperor, and the god Luce.”

They seemed quite comfortable chatting with Arendt between them. Perhaps thinking this was an opportunity, the other nobles who had been watching them also began to approach them one by one.

“Duke Lancelot, it’s been a long time.”

“I hope everything has been going well for you.”

As people began to gather, Arendt grabbed Neumann by the arm and dragged him to the center of the crowd, to where he had just been standing. Then he stepped back slightly.

Naturally, the main character of the place became store manager Neumann.

“Sir, may I ask you about your new business? I’m interested in investing.”

“For now, I plan to focus on supplying food and fabric. Of course, since these are items used by the Imperial Knights, I will prepare them with the highest quality.”

Manager Neumann began to tell stories naturally. In an instant, the atmosphere around him became noisy.

Arthur, who had been watching the scene from a distance, let out a weary voice.

“…Why is he there?”

Arendt, who had been pretending to be a decoration on the walls, was soon surrounded by some of the most distinguished people in the palace.

“His Majesty has not even arrived yet, but the atmosphere is already ripe.”

“I know, right…”

Arthur nodded quietly at Richt’s quiet comment.

Arthur soon spotted Laius looking towards Arendt from a distance.

Although his expression was not much different from usual, Arthur could easily tell that Laius was feeling uneasy inside.

Arthur let out a bitter smile. For now, he had no choice but to just sit back and watch the situation unfold.

At that moment, Richt, who was watching the entrance, let out a short sigh.

“This…”

“Why are you like that? Ah…”

Soon Arthur understood why Richt had reacted that way. Margrave Grieg entered the banquet hall, leading a group of attendants.

“It’s Marquis Grieg.”

“I wonder if we can get through this quietly,” Richt muttered, with a hint of worry.

It was natural that when a new person appeared at a banquet, attention would be drawn to him. This was especially true when it was Marquis Grieg, who was one of the wealthiest and most influential figures in the palace, but none of the nobles paid any attention to him. The hall was already buzzing with talk of Manager Neumann’s new business.

The Marquis felt something strange and looked around with bewildered eyes.

“What? Why is it so loud… huh?”

He soon found a crowded place. The Marquis could easily see who were in the center of the gathering.

There was Grand Duke Lancelot, considered the most powerful man after the Crown Prince, and the first and second captains of the knight order that the emperor treasures the most. Also included were the store manager of a vault with many nobles as clients… and a silver-haired apprentice knight.

The expression that Marquis Grieg had upon discovering Arendt was terribly distorted.

Arendt also seemed to have noticed him and turned his head towards the entrance.

“That kid…”

Arthur opened his mouth as he captured the sight.

It seemed that the other nobles did not notice this situation because they were focused on Manager Neumann.

Arthur, who was watching the two blankly, muttered without realizing it.

“Surely not, on purpose…?”

It was all a coincidence that people gathered around Arendt and because of that, Marquis Grieg seemed to be ignored, but somehow, the whole situation seemed like Arendt’s plan.

‘No way… No, but…’

A subtle smile appeared on Arendt’s lips as he locked eyes with Marquis Grieg.

There, Arthur’s suspicions turned into certainty.

At that moment, the Neumann store manager was a puppet that Arendt had put in front of the people. The crowd of onlookers who had gathered like a cloud were in fact in no different position from that puppet.

Arendt had only one purpose in setting up this grand stage:

Fucking over Marquis Grieg.

A chill ran down his spine.

Arthur spoke out loud without realizing, “Shouldn’t we be telling him to stop?”

“What?”

Rider asked curiously, but the answer didn’t fall on Arthur’s ears.

Whatever it was, he felt he had to stop him. He had a strong feeling in his gut that if he didn’t, this banquet would be a mess.

But unfortunately, Arthur did not know that the playwright of this banquet was the Crown Prince and the lead actor was Arendt.

Now that the overture is over and the main character had appeared, it was time for the first act to begin in earnest.

Arendt, who had been standing slightly out of the way of the crowd, took a step forward.

At the same time, one hand shot up into the air.

“Marquis Grieg, this way. You are a little late.”

“…”

A deep silence flowed through the noisy hall, as if someone had poured ice water over it.

Arendt folded his arms and watched the situation unfold.

People’s puzzled gazes were fixed on Marquis Grieg, who had just appeared. Even the musicians seemed to have sensed the strange atmosphere, and the sound of the music paused for a second.

The bewildered Marquis was unable to react for a moment.

After a while, the musicians came to their senses and resumed playing. Almost at the same time, the Marquis also realized his mistake.

The Marquis opened his mouth to say something in response, but once again he was outmaneuvered by Arendt.

“It’s nice to meet you. I heard you were recuperating. How are you feeling?”

There was a very satisfied smile on Arendt’s lips, like that of a full cat.