NOVEL NEXT Chapter 150: Snatching The Personal Guard
Upon realizing Leonard was the Crown Prince's man, Darius was struck in a predicament.
If he were to refuse and deny him now, then that would be equivalent to declaring his intention of going against the Crown Prince.
The time wasn't ripe yet!
He couldn't afford to have the Crown Prince spearhead him.
This was also why he stayed low ever since the Crown Prince had arrived at Velastra.
He didn't wish to become the Crown Prince's first target.
Wesley should have been the one to face the Crown Prince's might instead of him.
'No, I cannot offend him yet. If he informs the Crown prince about me, then the matter will be exposed.' Darius panicked internally.
"Since Mr. Vincent is that interested in my personal guard. Then so be it. Consider it a gift for my late welcoming of your presence." Darius maintained his dignity despite stepping down from the bout.
"The Marquis is actually willing to hand over his personal guard??!"
"That's a woman guard, too. One that could serve both daytime and nighttime."
"Unbelievable. Isn't this just selling a whore?"
The collective nobles were flabbergasted and dumbfounded by Darius's decision.
Not to mention them, even his own personal guard was stunned.
Their moment of disbelief and distraction caused them to plop down to the ground completely. The pressure imposed on them from Mirelle had not once lessened.
It was after the impact had been done that Mirelle promptly retracted her pressure. Truth be told, she was also astonished by the outcome and failed to notice that her pressure had nearly injured the guard severely.
Although everyone was left bewildered, they all realized a gold ranked merchant had snatched away a personal guard from a Marquis.
They had no choice but to reassess Leonard's actual identity or what kind of background he held to scare away a Marquis.
"Marquis Darius is really amazing in hospitality." Leonard praised sincerely. "Fret not, I'll gladly use your guard well. I won't let them receive any harm besides some poking."
"Haha, if there's nothing else, then I must excuse myself." While deeply infuriated inside, Darius had to keep a friendly smile on the surface. Having lost a personal guard from the start, he needed to retreat temporarily.
The balance of power had completely shifted!
'Damn it, I should have left as soon as I killed the Baron. I've trained this woman for so long and didn't even get to taste her yet.' Darius truly regretted showing up.
A trivial loss of dignity was better than losing a lot more.
At the end of the day, the commotion of the beating had reverberated through their ears, prompting them to come over here to check things out.
They thought the berserk slaves managed to break through the Fragrant Garden's defenses, but the reality was completely different.
"I will make sure to pay you a visit next time, Marquis Darius." Leonard didn't intend to stop him from leaving.
"I'll make sure to write a detailed report of the guard's daily training for you. Maybe you can have some insight into training the guards, or you can hand me some more to train by then."
"We'll see about it at that time, then." Darius clenched his fist secretly and promptly excused himself. 'Hmph, the next time, once everything is solidified, it'll be your death that I will hand over.'
With Darius leaving in a puffed-up manner, the other nobles gave their greetings to Leonard before dispersing as well.
They weren't foolish to ignore Leonard after witnessing this interaction. There was definitely more to the scene than meets the eye.
Only when the nobles all left did the other women behind him heave a sigh of relief. Their status was low, so to be faced with so many nobles caused them to panic.
Only a few remained composed and collected, especially Shirley.
She was not a bit worried for Leonard's safety ever since she learned about his real identity.
"Is there a reason why you wanted to snatch the guard?" She softly approached Leonard and asked.
"If you really need a bed warmer, I am willing to assist you." She continued, clearly mistaking Leonard for wanting some women to bed with.
Leonard remained silent. 'Even Shirley thought I wanted to bed Darius's personal guard, so my acting is on point.'
There wasn't a single moment that he wanted to snatch them over because of their gender. Even if it were a man, Leonard still would have found some other excuse to snatch them over.
After all, he had a reasonable doubt that Darius was involved with the Wrathbane Extract. This was further emphasized when he flashed his token, and the latter immediately relinquished his cherished guard without hesitation.
To be so decisive meant that Darius was planning something big—one that was still in the process.
However, there was one thing he confirmed.
Darius wasn't involved with the assassination. Otherwise, their reaction would have been inherently different.
With the Noble Faction members leaving the garden to their building, Mirelle brought the personal guard over.
She promptly removed their mask as well, showing a delicate face, which was a stark contrast to their cruelty.
Their eyes were filled with hostility, almost as if she were treating Leonard like her most hated enemy.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Leonard mused. "Your own Master personally gave you away to me to do whatever I want."
"Gave me away for you to enjoy?" The woman suddenly laughed hysterically. "It's more accurate to say that I will soon become a corpse. So do your worst."
"A corpse?" Instantly, Leonard's eyes narrowed. "No wonder you were so loyal like a puppet. You're actually poisoned and require antidotes frequently to survive."
Her pupils constricted upon hearing his swift and accurate deduction of their plight.
Nevertheless, they quickly returned to normal and even dared him.
"Go ahead, don't you want to ravage my body? Let's see if you can endure the poison in my body." She sneered and actively pushed her chest forward to entice him.