Chapter 178
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One exquisite carriage after another entered the Yard town's main street and passed by each household in the town as they went towards Ryan Castle. The residents of the town were astonished. Since the Ryan family had moved here and became their lords, they had never seen so many nobles come to visit the Ryan household.
All of the carriages stopped in front of the Ryan Castle.
The butler of the Old Fulin personally stood in the doorway to greet all the guests.
Dudian had come early in the afternoon to discuss issues with the old patriarch. At the moment, both of them were standing by a window on the second floor of the castle. They were looking at the carriages that passed by the main road of the castle. Each of the carriages had the respective family's banner, or flag stuck on them. The old patriarch Fulin was introducing them one by one to Dudian so he would be aware of their background, origin, and status.
"Almost everyone has come. As the hosts of the party, we can't be too rude. Let's go." Old Fulin said to Dudian.
Dudian nodded slightly in approval.
Both of them went together down the stairs into the hall. Originally there were four oil lamps, lighting the hall, but at the moment there was more than a dozen. Dudian saw the nobles dressed in exquisite suits accompanied by their wives or children. They were eating snacks, drinking wine and chatting.
The people stopped talking as they saw Old Fulin and Dudian walk down the stairs. Apparently, their eyes were focused on them.
"Old Fulin, you look so outstanding." A middle-aged noble standing close to stairs complimented old patriarch.
Dudian looked at a middle-aged noble. He had earlier told by the Old Fulin that the middle-aged man belonged to a small noble family from the adjacent town. It was also a noble family, which was on a decline. However, Daniken family's difference from Ryan family was that since their establishment they were a small family who struggled to survive.
The old Patriarch smiled: "Do you like the wine?"
"I would have visited you frequently, if I knew you had such a good quality wine." The middle-aged man laughed.
The old patriarch replied: "You are welcome at any time."
The aristocrats began to surround old patriarch to greet him. There were total of eight families represented in the party. However, none of the patriarchs were present instead the oldest children of the respective families were sent over to congratulate Old Fulin.
"The old proverb which says 'a thin tiger is stronger than a wolf' is true." A graceful lady said with a smile: "I assume Ryan family wants to make a big move as you have founded a consortium."
The others smiled as they looked at old patriarch to see how he would reply to her words.
Old Fulin gently smiled: "The aim is to make a lot of money since we have created a consortium. Wouldn't any of you agree?"
"Oh?" The middle-aged aristocrat from Daniken family spoke in an interesting tone.: "Do you have enough resources?"
Old Fulin replied: "We could talk about stuff like this later on. The night just began. I have specially invited the group from the St. Peter Institute of Music to play for us. So please, enjoy the music for now."
They didn't press for an answer as they saw the Old Patriarch sway from the topic. All of them came to the corner where the music group was seated.
"Who is this?" Another obese middle-aged noble asked, as he was puzzled because Dudian looked almost inseparable from old Fulin.
"He is our consortium's hunter, Mr. Dean." Old patriarch replied.
"Hunter?" The nobles who were close to the old patriarch subconsciously swayed a bit to make the distance. Soon they realized that it was rude of them, so they recovered their original positions. The obese middle-aged man continued with a smile: "You are fast to win over a hunter as you have just founded a consortium. The old patriarch is ferocious, ah!"
Dudian noted the fear in depths of nobles eyes even though they looked calm. He knew from Old Fulin that the hunters were favorite existences for nobles. But likewise, they were frightened. They loved hunters because they could accumulate wealth for them. Their fear and hate were rooted, as there have been some hunters who have lost control because of rage and have killed the nobles on the spot.
Although the hunters were executed by the magistrate but death of a hunter wouldn't revive an aristocrat. So most of the nobles tried to stay away from hunters. Most of the time they would use envelopes to notify the hunters by the help of messengers. Occasionally, when there is a need to talk to a hunter's face to face, secretly knights will be arranged for security purposes.
In the eyes of most of the nobility, the hunters had a similar look to a human, but they were monsters inside.
Their smiles stiffened, as they knew the identity of Dudian.
Dudian felt a little familiar as he saw their smiles. He remembers the party held by the Mellon Consortium all those years ago. He had seen Glenn and the other senior hunter in that party. Moreover, he had observed that aristocracy took the initiative to greet them in 'friendly' manner. He was too young and inexperienced back then, so he hadn't noticed vague fear mixed with the smiles. He clearly felt this now.
"The concert is beginning." Old Fulin smiled.
Dudian looked at the old patriarch's wrinkled face. He began to look up to stage to enjoy the concert quietly.
Old patriarch made a signal for the 20-member music group to begin the concert. Slowly the music began to float within the hall echoing around. The children of Old Fulin and other families were indulged in music as they listened to it.
The hall's door creaked open by sudden push. A group of people entered the hall. One of the males sneered.: "Old Fulin, you are quite impatient! How can you begin the banquet as not everyone has come yet?"
The smooth music that was floating around halted with a screech.
The peaceful atmosphere in the hall turned cold on a whim.
Everyone looked back at the group. Their faces slightly change. The obese middle-aged noble whispered in panic.: "The Mel and Milan family. Why are they here?"
Dudian also recognized the slim and elegant girl who was leading the group. She was wearing an exquisite cloth, which distinguished her from the other females. A step back from her a youth wearing a gorgeous armor was standing by. His posture was straight. A proud and imposing aura was radiating off him.
There were about six knights and two attendants behind them.
Other nobles who noticed the family insignia on knights turn ugly. They didn't need to see the family emblems. The female and male youth leading them was enough to recognize their origins.