BXBX NOVEL Chapter 540
“Ohh. Looks like Viscount Aceon Ponalis and the troublemaker Vincent Lionheart are here as well.” Lucas said as if he had just noticed them right now.
Aceon stood up and respectfully bowed. “I am honored to be in your presence, Duke Lucas Hawkins. My daughter is also pleased to be in the presence of the Duke.”
Tiffi crossed her arms and frowned. “No, father. Mother Karta told me not to greet Duke Lucas Hawkins if he looks at me instead of father first.”
Aceon took out a clean second handkerchief and wiped his forehead. His daughter was about to kill him from anxiety because these weren’t words someone should say to a Duke, even if they were friendly.
“You hurt my feelings, haha.” Joked Lucas.
Vincent stood up next. He approached the Duke, and the closer he got, the more of an old man the humorist Duke appeared to be.
Lucas wore armor more luxurious than what royal soldiers wear. It was polished and looked elegant, yet it made the wearer look intimidatingly strong.
With one look, a person would know Lucas is in command. Instead of a cape, Lucas wore a cloak. It gave him the impression of visiting the Mirrored Mansion in secret.
.....
Lucas was bald with the rest of his hair cleanly shaved. His white brows and long beard, accompanied by a face wrinkled from age, made Lucas appear to be over eighty years old. Yet the way Lucas acts as if he is blessed with the vitality of a young man makes him look like a healthy fifty-year-old man or younger.
Apart from Lucas, the butlers announced two more women. However, both still didn’t make an appearance yet. They were most likely soldiers working under him.
Vincent extended his hand for a handshake. “Wanted to meet Duke Biro Hawkins’s father.” He said without showing any signs of nervousness or intimidation.
“So you are the Vincent now named Vincent Lionheart my good old friend Feng Mengli requested to take care of. Additionally, the same man makes my son interested in his unimaginable growth without awakening upgrade the current class once.”
Lucas shook Vincent’s hand with a smile and continued, “Meeting you in person has made me realize how special you are. My eyes aren’t for show, and Feng Mengli would never take an interest in someone ordinary as well.”
“Can I...”
“I can vaguely see what makes you tick, Vincent Lionheart. You are a man who values loyalty and a man that will choose to help those he knows before others. You are trying to grow strong, yet you are afraid of something. That is why you already have an escape plan with the cabin made by the Sunrise family and the incredible building storing storage ability.” Lucas interrupted.
Vincent was flustered, Kazumi’s mind paused for a moment, and Ester, Lupa, Iris, Lilith, Sakura, and Plow became shocked. At the same time, Bobstrider, Tiffi, and Aceon couldn’t understand what Lucas was trying to mean.
“You, Vincent Lionheart, are not afraid of making more than eight noble families hate you to the point of trying to take your life. Instead, you are afraid of something else. I bet you are afraid of yourself from what I gathered about your sometimes spontaneous fit of uncontrollable anger.” Lucas winked at Vincent. “And maybe another hidden secret worse than killing a noble and marrying his wife.”
The dining hall became silent after Lucas stopped talking. All the attention in the dining hall was on Vincent and Lucas.
“So the rumors among the counsel were true!?” Asked Bobstrider, breaking the silence.
“Yes.”
*Clap, clap* Bobstrider clapped. “Ha ha. I am glad the son of that horrible family didn’t have an easy death. Not after the despicable things I heard about him after his death.”
“Now I know why the death was judged to be an overdose.” Bobstrider looked at Lucas with a symmetrical smirk. “The only Divine Paladin in Lusterfall had Vincent’s back from the moment he entered the city a couple of months ago.”
“You are giving me too much credit, Bob. ” Lucas patted Vincent’s shoulder and continued, “I never expected Vincent to marry the daughter of the Lionheart family.”
“Not only did he save the Lionhearts from the clutches of the Blackheart family that manipulated the information to never make the truth come to light, but we were able to shut down many orphanages and reopen them with a new youth management team created personally by the king.”
Bobstrider looked at Vincent as if he wanted to thank him. Yet he felt words weren’t enough to express his real emotions.
When Tiffi was sick because of her sigil mage class becoming uncontrollable, Karta had a way to take her mind off the current desperate situation.
Without Aceon ever knowing, Karta had secretly fed Tiffi potions to restore mana and provide a good sleep. She would do this almost every day while remembering the smiles of the children to stop herself from crying.
Karta had done what she could. She even requested her teacher, the only sage in Berlucia, to learn how the last king managed to control his class. However, her magic teacher only had a small list of ingredients the late king consumed. Many couldn’t be found anymore in the last few years.
To the Milloween family, Vincent not only saved Tiffi, but he also saved Karta from the spiral of depression upon Tiffi’s final breath.
“Haha. This place has fallen into silence again.” Lucas joked. He winked at the shocked Vincent. “I feel sad that you haven’t peeked at my stats yet. Was Karta more interesting to you than me?”
“Obviously, Vincent knows how to appreciate the symmetrical beauty of my wife.” Bobstrider proudly boasted.
*Sigh* “So how about it? Do you see something interesting?” Encouraged Lucas for his status window to be seen.
[Vincent. This man is problematic. I can not read what is in his mind. He acts like a young, energetic man, yet he is probably old enough to be your great grandfather.]
Vincent nodded and decided to check Lucas’s status window. He focused his gaze. Shortly his poker face had difficulty trying to hide how intimidating the man in front of him was.
.
[Name] Lucas Hawkins
[Race] Human
[Age] 92
[Condition] Healthy
[Traits] Blood Tempered Body Stage Six, Perfect Mana Tempered Body
[Class] Divine Paladin
[Stats] Strength 395 || Agility 244 || Perception 327 || Mana 10203
.
[Class Divine Paladin]
*Wild Blow
*Strong Body +75
*Nimble Body +34
*Perceptive Body +69
*Wind Armour
*Wind Cloak
*Wind Boost
*Wind Step
*Wind Wall
*Wind Manipulation
*Minor Heal
*Medium Regen
*Medium Abnormal Cleanse
*Soul Purify
.
Vincent and Kazumi stared blankly at the status window only they could see. Lucas not only was overwhelmingly strong, but he could use some spells from the Healer, Mage, and Soulmancer categories.
Vincent froze when recalling Kevin fighting and losing against a Royal Guard from the Selos Kingdom. If Kevin’s killer were as strong as Lucas and Karta, Vincent would not have a chance to escape if such influential individuals ever hunted him.
“Hahaha.” *Smack* Lucas laughed and smacked Vincent’s back to stop him from overthinking. “With the gaze you are looking at me with, I can see your skill is far better than Darwin’s. Haha.”
Lucas casually took a seat and said, “The two of you can enter now. The scary demon girl is quite a looker. I can see she is deeply in love with our main protagonist. Haha.”
Sakura blushed when she was complimented. On the other hand, Lupa didn’t like how she was ignored.
Lupa stood up and asked, “What about me?”
“Lupa!” Exclaimed Ester.
“Hahaha. I didn’t think today was going to be a great day.” Lucas moved his hawk-like gaze onto the girls and continued.
“Wolf girl is competitive to be the top of the pack.”
“Redhead girl is being responsible like the oldest one in the family.”
“The glasses girl is looking at me as if I am both rude and not acting like a duke.”
“The cloth-covered girl looks intimidated, yet her eyes are sharp and alive.”
“Lastly, the demon girl is anxious to be in human presence, and her body makes people intimated, yet I can see from her gaze how she is kind and susceptible to other’s words.”
Vincent, Ester, Lupa, Kazumi, Iris, Lilith, and Sakura became shocked. They felt as if Lucas could read minds because not even if Lucas had details of all the Lionheart family could he be so close to the truth.
The Duke wasn’t a pervert that looked at women for lustful thoughts. Instead, without a skill assisting him, Lucas could understand a person’s character with a few glimpses. No unnecessary emotion escaped his gaze.
*Pho!* Plow walked on the table and went in front of Lucas while cutely pouting. “What about Plow?” *Pho*
Lucas gave Plow a head pat and said, “You feel threatened every day, yet you are constantly happy. I wonder if it is a rival?”
Plow gasped when Lucas was on point. She wagged her tails and slyly asked, “Very, very good man. Are cute foxes like Plow or mean wolves the best?” *Pho?*
“No fair. I am not a mean wolf. I am best girl, Lupa.” Lupa complained.
The mood in the dining hall changed thanks to the childish rivalry for attention between Lupa and Plow. The tension because of Lucas’s character reading experience started to disappear.
.....