Seated at the head of the table, Shane remained perfectly composed in the face of such a hostile accusation.
Beside him, Lord Orden's expression turned icy cold.
"Guards, escort this gentleman who is disturbing the order of the banquet out."
The mont his words fell, the two guards standing watch at the banquet hall entrance stepped inside.
Seeing this, the man in the top hat burst into laughter. "Feeling guilty, are you? Even if you kick out, what is fake can never beco real."
Shane raised a hand and stopped Orden.
In truth, they had already anticipated sothing like this.
Besides, when it ca to public opinion, the most frightening thing was "silent acceptance." Just as the man in the top hat had said, throwing him out was not the best way to handle this.
It would only allow distrust to take root in everyone's hearts.
People had mouths for a reason. When it was ti to strike back, one had to do it without rcy, preferably hard enough to make the rumor explode on the spot.
"What evidence do you have for what you just said?"
The man sneered.
"What evidence would I need? Everyone in the Northern Lands knows this."
"In other words, you have no evidence."
As he spoke, Shane stood up, picked up the ruby necklace around his neck, and said in a deeply puzzled tone, "You have no evidence, yet you're standing here spouting nonsense."
"You!"
The man in the top hat choked, his emotions flaring.
But soon, he softened his tone again. "Trying to twist words and confuse everyone, are you? Do you think the lords present here will believe you, or believe ?"
Sure enough, his words imdiately stirred whispers among many of the surrounding guests. Hesitation and unease appeared on quite a few faces.
The man in the top hat looked at the reactions around him, and a smug expression spread across his face.
Just then, a soldier suddenly ran into the banquet hall.
"Report."
The soldier dropped to one knee and presented a letter to Orden. At the sa ti, his clear, forceful voice echoed throughout the hall.
"My lord, we have received an urgent official letter from Graf Granat Domain."
Hearing the soldier's report, Orden looked toward Shane, his gaze asking for instructions.
Shane shook his head lightly.
Clearly, this sudden developnt had been outside both of their expectations.
Shane lowered his head and glanced at the ruby necklace around his neck, feeling sowhat uncertain. He had not inford the other party in advance about "borrowing Count Granat's na."
But presumably, the other side had already learned of it through civilian rumors half a month ago.
If they were angry...
At that mont, everyone in the hall had their eyes fixed on the official letter.
"What do we do..."
Fern's gaze also turned anxious.
Sein began to feel a little uneasy as well. "What's your relationship with that count like?"
Stark thought for a mont. "Pretty decent... They wouldn't go so far as to expose us, right?"
Sein frowned. "Hard to say. In the Northern Lands, impersonating nobility is a very serious cri..."
As he spoke, Sein habitually picked up the wineglass in front of him, as if intending to take a sip to calm himself.
Only for Fern to press it down at once.
Sein imdiately ca back to his senses, took a few deep breaths, and silently pushed the wineglass a little farther away.
Below the main seat, the man in the top hat let out a sneer. "Count Granat has always been known for his iron hand. Any force that dares impersonate him would face severe punishnt."
"My lord, you would do best to make this official letter public before everyone, to show that we of Vorig have nothing to do with such frauds. Otherwise, if that iron-fisted count learns that we actually held a banquet for people like this, Vorig may never have allies again."
The man's sharp, thin voice spread throughout the hall.
Not a single noble present dared to refute him.
Because the truth was exactly that. The current Vorig could not afford to offend any faction. The city had already suffered heavy losses. What it needed were allies, not enemies.
Orden slowly descended from the main seat and ca before the soldier, reaching out to take the letter.
His cold, solemn gaze swept around the room before finally settling deeply on the man in the top hat's face.
Then, he unfolded the letter.
There was only one line written in large characters on it—
[We have heard that Mr. Shane has traveled to your domain, arriving just as the Demon King's army laid siege, leaving the city in a difficult situation. We feel deeply concerned and have prepared a batch of supplies, which should arrive in about a month.]
As the lord's low voice sounded, that line spread to every corner of the hall.
For a mont, the entire hall beca so silent one could hear a pin drop.
The previously smug man in the top hat seed as if soone had seized him by the throat, instantly turning him mute.
Imdiately afterward, whispers rose once more throughout the hall. Only this ti, the worry and unease on everyone's faces had vanished, replaced by wild joy.
"It really is Count Granat!"
"Vorig will receive supply support!"
"Wonderful! With this, we can hold out until our forces recover!"
This heartening news brought smiles to every face.
The way everyone looked at Shane instantly filled with respect.
At the sa ti, their gazes toward the man in the top hat began to turn hostile. The two soldiers closest to him, in particular, had already prepared themselves to arrest him at any mont.
Orden handed the letter to Shane.
"Guards, seize this man who attempted to stir up conflict between Vorig and Granat."
At the lord's command, the soldiers rushed forward almost eagerly.
The man in the top hat was instantly pinned to the ground.
During the struggle, the enormous hat on his head rolled off.
Shane glanced over.
There were no demon horns on his head.
He felt a little disappointed. Just now, he had even suspected that this troublemaker who had jumped out to cause trouble might be a demon spy.
It seed he had been overthinking it.
He was probably just so troubleso thorn who was unconvinced by him.
Following the lord's instructions, the soldiers dragged the man away and threw him into prison to await judgnt.
The atmosphere in the hall gradually relaxed again.
Frieren took the official letter. Aside from that line written in large characters, there were also a few small lines at the signature area, written by the countess to Shane:
[Are you in good health?]
[Have you made any new friends along the way?]
[Has your journey been enjoyable?]
[If you don't have enough travel expenses, rember to send a letter back...]
Those few simple, almost holy lines carried a mother's deep love and concern for her son.
Shane could imagine the scene: after the count finished writing the official letter, the countess stubbornly insisting on leaving a ssage on it.
He could not help but smile.
"Will you write back?" Frieren asked.
Shane nodded. "Of course."
Amid the lodious music, the ball continued.
After that, no one questioned Shane's identity again, and no demon spy jumped out to assassinate anyone or cause trouble. Everything went very smoothly.
During this ti, several beautiful noblewon ca to invite Shane to dance. Their gazes lingered tenderly, their eyes full of affection as they looked at him.
Shane politely refused them all.
"Sorry, I already have a dance partner. I can't leave her here alone."
The noblewon walked away sadly.
Frieren ate her dessert while comnting, "You just don't know how to dance, do you..."
Shane raised an eyebrow.
"Whether I can dance or not, would you like to know!?"
As he spoke, he reached out his hand to Frieren.
The hand Frieren was holding her fork with paused.
She looked at the dessert in front of her, then at Shane's smiling face. After hesitating for a mont, she gently set down her fork.
Just then, a commotion broke out in the venue.
Soone had fainted.
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