In a Civilized Manner

Edris was escorted onto the carriage belonging to the Orteon household.

During the ride, Edris and Celio sat on opposite sides, the former taking a nap while the other stared out the window.

"Master, they're all following us." Half his head poked outside, Celio glanced toward the carriages trailing behind them.

"It's all preplanned," Edris said, still attempting at his shut eye. "No matter which carriage I took, it'll lead to the same destination."

"Why are they so keen on meeting you? Why can't they wait after you recover completely?"

Edris had recovered a long time ago, but instead of telling him that, he only chuckled under his breath.

"Maybe they want their futures told."

He slowly opened his eyes. "Celio."

"Yes?" The beast tamer titled his head.

Edris smiled. "Would you like to help me with something?"

***

THE ORTEON HOUSEHOLD. NOLMES.

Setting his teacup on the table, Vincent Riselto peered into the distance.

"It appears that he's arrived."

"I shall go greet him." Dominic Orteon, stroking his thick beard, rose from his seat.

"Your Grace, I'll come with you," Vincent Riselto offered, to which the man responded with a nod.

At the entrance, a few hundred meters away from the Orteons' glass conservatory, two figures stepped out of the carriage. As he approached the gates, Vincent Riselto could better scrutinise their long-await guests.

Dark hair, pearly grey eyes, slim figure—the prophet looked to be a young man in his twenties.

Beside him was a golden-haired boy who looked to be even younger, perhaps just reaching adulthood. A whole head taller than the prophet, the younger boy glimpsed around him with curious eyes.

They're the famed prophet and attributed beast tamer? The ones valued by the Crown Prince?

To Vincent Riselto, the two looked no different from novices who just stepped into upper society.

"Sir Edris and young Celio, welcome!' Duke Dominic waved enthusiastically at their arrival.

"Uncle Dominic!" The beast tamer, Celio, waved in response.

"We meet again, Your Grace." Edris greeted the duke with a gentle smile. "Too bad we're not here today for Celio's social bonding."

His words caused the golden-haired boy to jolt on the spot, and Duke Orteon let out a hearty laugh.

"Not at all. It's already a great honour that the famous prophet can visit the Orteon household. I'm sure you are very busy." He gestured to Vincent Riselto beside him. "This is the Marquis of Riselto, Lord Vincent. I'm sure you've heard of the city of Riselto, just east of the capital."

"Nice to meet you, Lord Vincent." Edris bowed slightly, and Vincent Riselto quickly returned the gesture.

After the introductions, Duke Orteon led them past the main hall and into the garden's tea house.

Sitting around a table full of afternoon gourmets were four other nobles. They stood up promptly at the sight of the awaited guests.

"Prophet Edris! I heard you were gravely injured at the banquet. Are you feeling better?" The youngest nobleman of the group was the first to speak.

"Much better. Thank you for worrying," Edris replied with a smile.

"This is Earl Haphen." Dominic Orteon said, then proceeded to introduce the other three nobles. "And they are Duke and Duchess of Belton, and this is Viscount Eathe."

Aside from the Duke and Duchess of Belton, the three other nobles had been present at the banquet. But unlike Duke Orteon, none of them had paid any attention to the nameless foreigner back then.

Now, each of them acted more enthusiastically than the other as they competed to pull Edris, the "prophet" who had saved the King and Queen of Zacriya, to their side.

Vincent Riselto silently observed the dark-haired man, who reacted to the nobles' compliments with amicable smiles. After a few rounds of pleasantries, he concluded that convincing Edris was going to be an easy target.

Although rumours painted him as a talented individual and a messenger blessed by the divine, Edris appeared to him as no different than a young man inexperienced in social situations.

Just look at the way he handled the conversations—careful, redundant, lacking. From one glance, it's easy for Vincent Riselto to recognise the prophet's short insight toward the true influences of the kingdom.

Vincent Riselto, as a marquis in charge of the kingdom's west coast, saw himself as levelled in competence as Dominic Orteon.

He was in control of an important area of the kingdom, a region prone to outside forces in the scenario of kingdom conflicts, yet simply because of his status as a marquis, the Duke of Orteon held authority over the entire northeastern territory, allowing him to overrule Vincent's control if necessary.

However, there was now an opportunity.

He smiled at the dark-haired man who was reaching for a strawberry tart.

Prophets were known for their ability to predict the future, and there happened to be one sitting right before him. If he could distance the royal family and Edris and have the latter join his side…

"Prophet Edris," he commenced. "I heard you were friendly with the second prince?"

He was referring to Dolan Zacriya, the kingdom's current Crown Prince.

"Lord Vincent." The ginger-haired man, Duke of Belton, crossed his arms. "His Highness is the Crown Prince now. You're not doing this on purpose, are you?"

"Ah, my apologies." Vincent Riselto brushed him off with half-hearted shrug. "But Your Grace, the Crown Prince must be moved to tears to witness such loyal subjects. Don't you think?"

"Now, now." Before the two could start squabbling, Duke Orteon let out a hearty laugh as he turned to Edris. "Sir Edris, or do you prefer to be addressed as Prophet Edris?"

"Just Edris is fine," the dark-haired man replied.

"Then Edris, I heard you plan to stay in Nolmes for a while. Is this true?"

"I am still deciding, Your Grace." Edris smiled. "After all, I'm merely a traveller."

"No need to be humble, young man." Vincent Riselto laughed. "No mere traveller can get acquainted with the royal family in such a short amount of time. You're quite something."

"You're flattering me, Your Lordship."

"Marquis Riselto doesn't sound very friendly." Beside him, Celio whispered at a volume only Edris could hear. "I've heard of him from my father back in the Adalan Kingdom. While Uncle Dominic manages the northeastern territories, he controls the eastern borders around there.

"I don't think he supports the royal family, though. So I'm not sure why he would openly be rude to His Highness knowing that you're friends with him."

"Friends?" Edris's brows furrowed but decided not to pursue the topic further. He turned towards Vincent Riselto. "Lord Riselto, it appears you're discontent with my relationship with His Highness?"

"Hm, 'discontent' is not the right word. Perhaps concerned would be better fitting." Vincent Riselto tapped his chin lightly. The fact that Edris didn't react negatively to his statements about Dolan Zacriya was a favourable sign. "I simply think the royal family should not be so easily tempted to please foreigners.

"However, after meeting you in person, I can truly see your competence as a young man blessed by the divine. Pardon me for what I'm about to say, but I believe it will be a waste of your talents to meddle further with the royal family's affairs."

"Lord Riselto!" The young-looking Earl Haphen glanced at the marquis anxiously.

Seeing that the dark-haired man once again bore no reactions, Vincent cleared his throat confidently and continued. "Earl Haphen, why are you acting like this when it's the truth? We all know the presumptious rumours that circulated His Highness prior to his becoming of the Crown Prince. Will we really allow him to be the heir to the throne?"

"However, there have not been any apparent issues since his uptaking, am I wrong?" Duchess Belton took a sip of her tea as she exchanged glances with Duke Belton, who shared similar reactions.

"No apparent issues only imply that he's hiding them well. Look at all the trades we're having with the Adalan Kingdom! Why should we share our resources as a mana-flourishing region and voluntarily give up our advantage to other kingdoms?"

"But aren’t you're also gaining resources in return?" Edris asked curiously.

"Young Edris, you are still too naive." Vincent shook his head. "Although it is considered a trade, it's far from an equivalent exchange. The Adalan Kingdom specialises in weaponry and military crafts, what use are those in a time of peace? If this keeps up, we're bound to experience a loss!"

"Peace is not ever-lasting. We must be prepared for anything." Duke Belton huffed. Unlike the marquis, he supported the kingdom's weaponry trades with the Adalan Kingdom.

As the leader of the southwest Belton territory, he knew that if there ever came a war, this area would be the first to fall under attack due to its exposure to the ocean.

"When was the last time we engaged in war? A two centuries ago? Maybe three?" To the left of the table, the brown-haired Viscount Eathe casually commented. "Of course, war is possible, but how likely?"

"Exactly!" Vincent Riselto exclaimed as he spun toward Edris. "Take this as my advice to a foreigner, but you'll be better off becoming acquainted with anyone that's not the royal family. Especially when they're sitting on an unstable throne."

His words implied not only the diminishing authority of the Zacriyas, but also the existence of families who shared similar levels of discontent toward the kingdom's current state of affairs.

"Vincent, that is enough." Dominic Orteon touched his bearded chin with a sigh.

Despite the marquis's daring words, ones surely considered an offence towards the royal family, the other nobles remained quiet as stillness bestowed upon the space.

Taking a glance around him, Celio frowned unnoticeably at what he was hearing. To him, Marquis Riselto was just here to complain behind the royal family's back while deliberately sabatoging the relationship between his Master and the Crown Prince.

It wasn't righteous at all.

Despite his discontent, Celio kept quiet as he observed the dark-haired man sitting beside him. Not too fast, not too slow, Edris finished his strawberry tart and turned to Vincent Riselto.

"Then, in your opinion, Lord Riselto, how should the kingdom's leader behave?"

"Prophet Edris!" Duke Belton's eyes widened.

Vincent Riselto was known to be opinionated, but he didn't expect the young prophet to also move along with his comments, especially when they involved disrespect towards the royal family.

"I knew we were on the same page." Vincent Riselto huffed in satisfaction. "Naturally, the focus should be on our own kingdom and strengthening our existing forces rather than sucking up to others.

"I see, I see." Despite the tension from everyone present, Edris maintained a laidback smile as he asked another question. "Is that why you stored your finances in the Wendimore Kingdom?"

At his words, the room was once again thrown into silence.

This time, however, the silence didn't last. Duke Orteon and Earl Haphen, who had been reserved during most of this conversation, immediately shot up from the table.

"Lord Vincent? What does he mean by that?" The latter stared at him in disbelief.

Normally, he would not take seriously the words of a foreigner, let alone one who was nameless in the upper-society until only recently.

However, the young man wasn't just any foreigner.

He was a prophet, a messenger of the divine!

"Hah! You're against cross-kingdom trades, but you're okay with depositing your own goods to maximize profit?" Duke Belton sunk back in his chair with a dry laugh. "Who would have guessed, marquis. Who would have guessed."

"Nonsense!" Vincent Riselto immediately refuted their comments, but everyone knew that the words of a prophet were far from nonsense.

With shaking hands, he glared at the dark-haired man, who was reaching for another strawberry tart.

Edris, sensing his hostility, retracted his hand and sighed. "Am I mistaken?"

"Of course you are! I would never trust another kingdom with my money."

"So you didn't hide your money there?"

"No! I did not!"

"Then what did you store?"

"In-"

The room fell silent once more as Vincent Riselto choked back his words halfway down his throat.

With that, he basically admitted to keeping his valuables in another kingdom to avoid income taxes.

— …His intelligence is unfitting for a marquis.

Contrary to his calm expression, Edris almost laughed out loud at Ace's internal statement, which seemed to be getting sharper by the day.

"Vincent…" Duke Orteon inhaled, not knowing what to say,

"You, you… How could you!" Earl Haphen stared at the marquis in disbelief.

Although he was ranked lower than Vincent Riselto in terms of the peerage, he thought they were on friendly terms as the marquis had promised him benefits for the Haphen family if he were to take his side.

He would have never imagined that behind his back, the man was storing up his assets in another kingdom!

At the sight, Celio suppressed his shock as he snuck a glance at the dark-haired man. With just a few words, Edris managed to stir chaos amongst the nobles, guiding them towards self-destruction.

Celio subconsciously swallowed as a single thought emerged from his mind:

As expected, the person I chose to follow is truly amazing.

Unaware of the boy's inner thoughts, Edris quietly munched on his second tart as he observed the nobles fight amongst themselves.

The moment he entered the tea house, he had asked Ace about the information of each person present, and thanks to his previous travels, Edris had found the marquis's name to be somewhat familiar.

As expected, he ascertained his speculations after matching his past knowledge with the information gathered by Ace.

While the nobles argued with each other, Edris noticed that Viscount Eathe was quietly observing them from his seat.

If he remembered correctly, this brown-haired noble was the only one who didn't directly involve himself in the situation, other than his question towards the marquis about war.

To Edris, however, the viscount's involvement didn't make a difference, as his first step was already complete.

Edris had two goals upon coming here:

The first was the mess with the nobles.

The second was to leave ensuring they'll never mess with him.

Edris considered himself a petty person. While his cottage-seeing schedule was interrupted by their gathering, he wasn't going to waste his afternoon participating in the political mind games of nobles.

That being said, might as well make the meeting worthwhile.

Face flushed with embarrassment, Vincent Riselto stepped back as his eyes fixed on the dark-haired man across the table. At the sight of that annoyingly peaceful smile on Edris's face, he couldn't help but question how someone like him could be the prophet.

"He must be lying!" Vincent Riselto pointed his finger, rage flaring up his nostrils. "What evil deeds are you planning?"

Immediate regret followed his actions as Vincent Riselto met his eyes.

For the first time since their encounter, the young man's calm look was replaced by a frigid, foreign smile.