Chapter 360: A Match Made In Heaven [Part 2]
Surrounded by the applause of nearly everyone in the Grand Hall, Alex escorted Vaan towards the table where Charles, Nessia, and Renard were seated.
"Bravo!" Chuck happily went to his roommate and flashed a cheeky smile. "The two of you stole the show. A match made in heaven! Alex, you look dashing in that suit. However, you are still a level below my handsomeness."
Alex’s eye twitched, but Chuck continued, "Still, I’m very happy that you listened to my advice to dress up. As for you, Vaan, you look very lovely! I almost fell in love with yo—awwww!"
Mary pinched Chuck before the bastard could even finish what he was going to say.
Standing beside the handmaiden, Princess Xenia was smiling sweetly as she thought of a hundred ways to beat the crap out of her so-called fiance.
(A/N: I’ll still refer to Vaan as she during the party to avoid confusion).
While Nessia chatted with Vaan and praised her dress, Alex glanced at the fairies and gave them a thumbs-up for doing a marvelous job in supporting them.
The fairies returned his gesture before flying away to the dessert table in order to enjoy the party.
"Alex, you keep on surprising me," Prince Garen said with a smile. "I’m very tempted to invite you to Solara Academy so you can spice up my school life. Of course, I want Vaan to come along too."
"I’m sorry, but I’m happy here in Frieden Academy," Alex replied.
"What a shame," Prince Garen said, sighing. "How about you, Vaan? Are you interested in becoming my fiance?"
"I’m sorry, Your Highness," Vaan answered. "My place is to be by Alex’s side."
"Alex, swap places with me," Prince Garen ordered.
"I’ll pass, Your Highness." Alex smirked. "Vaan might be too feisty for you to handle."
"I like feisty ladies."
"Hahaha! Then you’re in for a royal surprise!"
Victor was paying close attention to the conversation. Thanks to his exceptional hearing, he caught everything that Alex, Prince Garen, and Vaan were saying.
’T-That’s Vaan?!’ Victor looked at the angelic beauty in disbelief because he didn’t recognize her right away.
However, his surprise didn’t last long before a thought crossed his mind.
Knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to corner the last member of the Damne Family, Victor decided to approach their table with a smile.
"That was an amazing dance, Vaan," Victor said in a gentlemanly tone. "It has been a few years since we last met. Seeing you now makes me regret the opportunity I missed to form a deeper bond with you."
He made sure to subtly but noticeably stress the words "deeper bond" so Vaan would know exactly what incident he was referring to.
"I’m sorry, but who are you again?" Vaan asked, smiling so sweetly she could rot anyone’s teeth.
"Oh dear, how could you possibly forget someone like me?" Victor grinned like Vaan was cracking an inside joke. "It is me, Victor Montclair, your fiance."
"Fiance?" Prince Garen arched an eyebrow. "Is he really your fiance, Vaan?"
"Of course not, Your Highness," Vaan answered. "He’s just a toad that is hoping to eat a swan."
The smile on Victor’s face stiffened when Vaan referred to him as a toad.
The ladies who heard her words giggled and whispered at each other while giving Victor mocking glances.
Feeling humiliated, Victor took a step forward in order to grab Vaan’s hand.
However, Alex casually swatted his hand away, making the arrogant noble frown.
"Hey, do you know who I am?" Victor demanded.
"Yes," Alex replied. "A toad who has no manners."
"You!" Victor glared at the young man he’d never heard of or seen before. "State your name!"
"Why should I?" Alex retorted. "If you don’t know who I am, it means that you’re a nobody. Everyone here knows who I am, and yet you don’t? Just what kind of rock have you been living under?"
Dim Dim jumped on Alex’s right shoe and started climbing up until it reached his shoulder.
The little bun harrumphed cutely, looked squarely at Victor, and spat, "Peasant!"
Chuck burst out laughing and took his place beside Alex. "Oi, Victor, why don’t you scram? This is not a place where you can do whatever you like. You have no power here."
"And a bastard of a Ducal Family thinks he can talk on equal terms with me?" Victor sneered. "Do not forget that I’m the heir of the Montclair Viscounty."
"You’re only heir in name," Chuck pointed out. "Have you forgotten something rather important? You still need the King’s approval before you can inherit your family’s domain. Isn’t that right, my love?"
Chuck shamelessly took Princess Xenia’s hand and patted it.
The princess’s lips twitched because this was one of the troublemaker’s specialties.
What was that specialty?
Why, it’s none other than hiding behind his fiance’s title so that he could get away with almost anything!
However, Victor had been acting very shamelessly since his arrival.
Even if Princess Xenia did not know exactly what had transpired between Victor and Vaan, she could tell that the Montclair heir’s intentions were anything but innocent.
How dare this slimy creature target a member of her club!
Xenia promptly wrapped her free arm around Chuck’s waist, rested her head against his shoulder, and smiled languidly.
"I have heard," the princess began breathily as she eyed the arrogant scoundrel before them through downcast lashes, "that the Montclair Family has not been blessed with a good heir."
"Those are just not rumors, honey," Chuck said. "Where there’s smoke, there’s fire."
"You are right," Princess Xenia murmured. "We’re lucky to have the Montclair heir with us today, and look at how he... exposes those rumors with his conduct."
Chuck smirked. "Sometimes gossip is completely different from reality. I am sure the Montclair Family has many jealous enemies lusting after its title and domain."
For a split second, Princess Xenia’s golden eyes flashed with emotion. "Yes, I should let father know just how baseless these rumors are."
Victor might be able to look down on Chuck, but he could never look down on a Princess of Avalon.
As such, he decided to tone down his words a bit. Angering the royalty of his kingdom was not in the best of his interest.
"Your Highness, I apologize for taking Chuck’s banter too seriously." Victor bowed respectfully. "I merely want to get reacquainted with Vaan, whom I haven’t seen for a very long time."
Before Princess Xenia could respond, Prince Garen moved to stand between Victor and Vaan. "You should leave," he said, looking coldly at the toad who had been getting on his nerves.
Victor found himself at the center of attention.
Everyone at this table was regarding him with contempt, disdain, or outright hostility, and this was drawing the curiosity of others in the grand hall. He’d be lying if he claimed he was not at all intimidated.
However, since he knew of Vaan’s secret, he held his ground.
"Vaan, jokes should have limits. We might have been engaged secretly, but that doesn’t mean our engagement is any less real," Victor said with a confident smile plastered on his face. "Surely you cannot bear to have your fiance misunderstood by everyone, right?"