NOVGO.NET Chapter 1668: Payback!
Chapter 1668: Payback!
“Do not speak to us like that.” Ricco’s expression turned grim, staring daggers at the woman who came to meddle in his affairs. “Not even Marquess Darius had ever spoken to us like that, and we won’t accept anything less than respectful.”
“And why is that?” Althea tilted her head, acting genuinely confused.
“Because we are the pe—”
“people of the holy land? You must be really proud of that to flaunt it around whenever you can.”
Hearing Althea completing his sentence, Ricco gritted his teeth.
It was the same for the others behind him—all furious at Althea’s impudent mockery.
Althea stepped forward and crossed her arms—staring up to Ricco, who was a head taller than her with unflinching eyes, “It would be another story if you actually did something to be a part of the holy land, but you don’t. Most of you don’t!”
She stared down the rest of the people behind Ricco.
Her rising voice was picking up attention, but most of them resumed what they were doing.
Realizing that it was Althea, none of them dared to say a word.
Even though the holy land is a separate territory—that was blessed and beloved by the emperor, it was still within Marquess Darius’ territory. So, in other words, Althea is the ruler who allowed the holy land to stand, one who supplied the holy land with resources.
“Most of you were eligible to live here because of your bloodline,” Althea stared Ricco again, smirking mockingly. “Don’t act like you’re high and mighty when you simply happened to be born from the right seed. Humble yourself.”
Rex, who was watching this exchange from behind, nodded his head repeatedly in acknowledgment.
He even almost choked on his saliva when he heard Althea’s last insult.
Hah… She’s a true-born noble, alright. A spoiled one. Her tongue is spicy, spitting without thought of the consequences. Look at Ricco’s face, he looked like he was something earlier—but now, he was on the brink of tears.
Ricco clenched his fists and mumbled, “The emperor will not like this.”
“His Majesty loved the land—and the Emerald Fortress; the people of this place… your ancestors have never been kind to him,” Althea spat, rebutting like it was instinct. “I’m quite confident he won’t care if I beat some of you up.”
She raised her clenched fist and coated it with life energy, strong enough to tremble the air.
“You want to g—” She froze, realizing she was losing her air of noble femininity in one outburst. With an awkward flourish, she rubbed at her face without actually touching it, puffing out a sharp breath like a boiling kettle trying to calm down. “You can’t do that. Be graceful… yes, graceful. Be like sparkling water. Flow, don’t splash…”
“A thug will always be a thug. No need to hide your brutish self, princess.” Ricco smirked.
It was an opening for him to shoot back.
“What did you say, fat, ugly, piece of scu—”
“Woahoo… What do we have here? I can smell something is roasting, but it’s not pleasant.”
Out of nowhere, Ethan slipped himself between Althea and Ricco.
Just as he was about to search for Rex again to help him brief the legion—he found this confrontation, one that was extremely eye-catching in the midst of working knights who were running back and forth to help heal the wounded.
He raised both hands and gestured for Althea to let him handle this; no need to get riled up.
“Don’t be angry, Princess. By the time you’ve seen a thousand years—you won’t want to simply waste that beautiful, flawless, and goddess-demeaning face on frowns and wrinkles, will you?” Ethan coaxed, his words dripping with honeyed praise that stroked the ego.
“Hmph!” Althea flicked her blue hair and turned away with a huff, “I suppose not.”
Seeing that she was instantly in a better mood, Ethan flipped around to face Ricco, “And you… Aren’t you supposed to be the most grand and blessed people in the whole empire? How can you not show the proper traits of the blessed one!”
“That new knight did something horrible to us. How can I stay silent?” Ricco retorted.
“Don’t be dramatic. None of you died from the ’horrible’ thing he did,” Althea chimed with a sneer.
A chime that made Ricco heave with more anger.
Ethan quickly glanced at Althea and shot her a pleading look, begging her to stop talking.
Feeling the need to intervene, Rex nudged Althea’s back with his elbow.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“What? I’m only speaking.”
“Just shut up.”
Once she could finally shut her mouth, Ethan smiled sheepishly at Ricco.
“Be the bigger person, and forgive. It’s the most noble thing that only people like you can do!”
“Err… But what he did is still unacceptable.”
“We have to aspire to be like the holy land! Even though the enemies’ blood was spilled, the land also forgave them and allowed the blood to seep and nourish the earth! How can the land be so merciful—but we, the people, cannot?”
Despite not wanting to drop this issue, Ricco glanced over his shoulder and gritted his teeth.
Under Etha’s butter words, the others were already completely coaxed.
All were mumbling that he was right, that they should aspire to become like the holy land.
Realizing that there was no chance for him to do anything, the burning emotions in them were already dismantled completely. Ricco clicked his tongue and walked away. Alongside him, the people also left, ending the confrontation once and for all.
“Phew~” Ethan wiped the sweat on his forehead and flicked it away. “That’s easier than I thought.”
“Good work, Ethan,” Rex approached and tapped him on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t have been able to get out of that had it not been for you. As you might know—complimenting someone… It’s not as easy for me as it is for you.”
“You can count on me, Sir!” Ethan saluted jokingly.
“Ekhmm…”
Just then, a pointed throat-clearing drew their attention.
Althea stood beside them, her gaze fixed—not on them both, but squarely, sharply—on Rex.
“Aren’t you forgetting me?” She asked with a raised brow as she folded her arms under her chest. “In case your mind is still malfunctioning from my knee, I came to help you first before him. Matter of fact, I’m the one who did the most.”
“From her knee?” Ethan looked at Rex in confusion. “What’s she talking about?”
“Don’t ask me. We don’t talk about that.” A sigh escaped Rex’s lips as he shook his head.
Just hearing her talk already made his mind throb in dizziness.
She’s always meddling and annoying.
“Of course, like always, you want something in return, don’t you? Do I always have to pay you for things that I never asked for from you?” Rex asked, looking at her with a gaze that was close to pity. “Go on, what do you want in return? It can’t be the seed, and it can’t be hitting too.”
Hearing this, Althea recoiled as if his words were akin to a physical blow.
Then, she snapped back to herself and pointed at him angrily, fury flashing in her eyes, “I always came because of your pitiful face! If you didn’t wear a look that could make even a beggar pity you, I’d have stayed out of it! Besides, since when is trying to do good a bad thing?”
“Since you expected something in return.”
“Eughh…”
Even though she was fiery a second ago, that comeback instantly shut her up.
She can’t argue with that.
“Just say what you want, but don’t go overboard this time,” Rex stated with a meaningful tone.
Unlike earlier, he wasn’t going to be caught blindsided again.
For a fleeting moment, Althea thought before a smirk tugged her lips—one that made Rex feel uneasy.
“Don’t worry, it’s not going to be overboard at all. I only want something simple.”
“Say it.”
“I want you to say those two magical words,”
Rex’s expression immediately turned ashen when he heard this, as Althea was clearly playing around.
She was actively trying to tease him for the slaps she endured.
“No, no fucking way! I’d rather die!”
“Come on, it’s not like it would kill you by saying those words, and you can’t say this is too much.”
“Say what?”
“Hiii!”
Althea yelped, startled when she heard a whisper from behind.
She turned—and nearly jumped to find Princess Davina and April standing behind her, both wearing icy expressions and gazes sharp enough to kill. Althea hastily retreated—and cleared her throat, rolling her shoulders in a feigned calm, “It’s nothing. I was merely asking Sir Rex for payment—after lending him a hand.”
“In that case, tell me, and I’ll grant it.” Princess Davina demanded. “We hadn’t gone through the sacred rite of marriage, but he’s already a part of the Castillon. I can pay in his stead.”
“Oka—” Althea caught herself almost agreeing instantly.
Under the pressure from Princess Davina’s presence alone, she almost buckled when, in reality, she was the one holding the sword right now. Pausing a few seconds to calm her nerves, she stared at Princess Davina and smiled inwardly, ’I’ve never seen her like this before… vulnerable. Love is out of her cold hands, so that’s not it.’
’Ah…’ Althea smirked. ’Where would she place her face if her fiancé got closer to another woman?’
Realizing what was going on, Althea held her chin high.
All her confidence came surging back again as, for the first time, she had the upper hand against the so-called Graceful Starfall—the figure who was looked up to by all women in the entire empire and even beyond.
“No, I think Sir Rex can pay it himself since it’s quite simple,” Althea said and headed towards Rex.
Oblivious to the tension, Rex clicked his tongue, too absorbed in what she said to notice anything else.
Under Princess Davina’s and April’s gaze, Althea stood before Rex—and even bravely leaned forward to whisper, “Well? Are you going to say it, or not? Do you have the honor to repay the help I bothered doing, or will you slink back like a spineless man would?”
“You’re really putting me in a pickle here…” Rex answered through gritted teeth.
“Chop, chop…”
“Nothing else? You don’t want anything else?”
“No, but I’ll tell you this instead—All you need to do is whisper those to me. No need for them to hear.”
Althea turned her face to the side, pointing her index finger at her ear.
From behind, Princess Davina and April were shocked to see what she was gesturing, as from their point of view, it looked like Althea was asking him to kiss her on the cheek. Such an atrocity made both of their hearts pound inside their chests, and their blood heated up.
Ethan looked at Princess Davina and then April as he was panicking.
A woman being chased by multiple men, her had seen it before a few times in his life.
But the reverse had never happened.
Not to mention, all of them were nobles—and among them was Princess Davina.
Someone whom he couldn’t smooth like he did to Althea and Ricco earlier.
Still, he waved his hands and shook his head at them.
“No, it’s not like what you think,” He said, voiceless, but reached April and Princess Davina perfectly.
Realizing that Althea wasn’t asking that, the two calmed down a bit, but were still hostile.
However, they weren’t at the point where they were going to attack like seconds ago.
Rex leaned towards her and whispered, “Thank you.”
Almost instantly, Althea’s face brimmed with triumph and arrogance.
“Now, that wasn’t so hard, right?” She mumbled, but instead of pulling away, she tiptoed and leaned to Rex’s ear. “In case you haven’t realized what happened, I just forced you to thank the woman who almost made you a eunuch. Quite tragic… But don’t worry. With this, I can finally say we’re even.”
Upon saying that, Althea tapped his boulder chest with her petite hand two times and turned away. But suddenly, she turned to face Rex again, her face changed from smug to concerned in an instant.
“Wait, I’m not already wrinkly, am I?”
“Huh?”
“That guy brought up wrinkles, and it bothered me. I don’t have wrinkles, right?’
Althea leaned her face closer.
“Take a look closer, do I have wrinkles? Do I look old?”
“Uh… No?”
“Oh, okay, that’s a relief… Anyway, bye!”
Finally, she turned around to leave for real this time.
She smiled politely at Princess Davina and April and walked away.