LWDC Chapter 148

Chapter 148: Aristocrats and Quasi-Saints

Chapter 148: Aristocrats and Quasi-Saints

Chapter 148: Aristocrats and Quasi-Saints

A royal banquet, especially a birthday celebration, should theoretically be the liveliest occasion.

If Ning Fei were truly an ignorant commoner, visiting the royal palace for the first time, he would probably be shocked by the brightly lit, magnificent scene. But as things stood, Ning Fei only had one feeling.

–Is the royal family so poor that they can’t even afford a fresh coat of paint?

The walls and sculptures that should have been gleaming white were all dull and gray. Upon closer inspection, one could even find dried bird droppings, and the weathered, damaged parts hadn’t been repaired. Not to mention that some corners of the walls were clearly discolored, turning gray and yellow, even showing signs of erosion. If you got close enough, you could even smell a faint odor of urine.

And this was still the side of the royal palace that frequently received guests. The deeper areas, where few people went, were probably even more unsightly.

In Ning Fei’s distant memories, the royal palace wasn’t this dilapidated. Ning Fei himself couldn’t tell whether it was because thirty years had passed, and the palace had naturally become old; or whether his memories were too distant, and his past self was too naive, thus beautifying his impression of the royal palace.

However, no matter how much Ning Fei disliked it, the other guests were still happily attending the banquet. The palace entrance was bustling with carriages, and the elaborate attire of the nobles was dazzling. In comparison, Ning Fei, dressed mainly in dark purple with minimal accessories, was indeed a bit inconspicuous. Even when he entered the royal palace with Cyrus, he didn’t attract much attention.

Only the nobles who came to greet and chat with Cyrus occasionally asked, “Who is this?” And some of Cyrus’ acquaintances, having seen Cyrus and Ning Fei leave together a few days ago, immediately made suggestive, crude jokes. Ning Fei didn’t mind much, but Cyrus was the first to get anxious: “Don’t say such things to him…!”

“Sir,” Ning Fei said, supportively holding his arm, and smiling, “It’s alright.”

“But…”

“It’s fine,” Ning Fei patted him reassuringly, “It’s just a joke, don’t mind it.”

Cyrus then gradually calmed down, and his solemn expression relaxed. His noble friends thought he was just being possessive, unhappy that his lover was being offended, and teased, “You like your new lover that much, Cyrus? Bringing him to the royal banquet, and not allowing jokes, that’s really rare.”

Cyrus glanced at him, wanting to say something, but remembering Ning Fei’s instructions, he could only coldly spit out a word: “Ignorance.”

The joking noble’s face stiffened, but considering Cyrus’s status, he couldn’t openly turn hostile. He forced a smile, made an excuse, and walked away with his companions.

As soon as they left, Cyrus lowered his head and approached Ning Fei, saying, “I’m sorry, I apologize for their rudeness. I absolutely do not have such improper thoughts towards you…”

“No need to explain, I understand.” Ning Fei was too lazy to listen to his nonsense, and waved his hand, “I just need to know your loyalty, no need to proclaim it to the world.”

“But you are the true messenger of God, you should be the saint who saves all living beings!” Cyrus said dissatisfied, “Your light magic is enough to cleanse everyone present. All living beings should respect you, admire you…”

“The Duke is here.”

Ning Fei really didn’t want to listen to him “sing praises” here, he had heard enough on the short ride in the carriage to annoy Ning Fei. Just as he caught sight of Duke Bartley’s figure, Ning Fei immediately interrupted Cyrus: “Aren’t you going to greet your father?”

“I should. But I don’t want him to offend you.” Cyrus didn’t want to go, and directly complained to Ning Fei, “He, like I was in the past, has those disgusting and foolish thoughts about you, and doesn’t know repentance. He should also realize his mistake…”

“Stop reciting your (broken) scripture.” Ning Fei gave him a light push on the back, the impatient tone almost impossible to hide, “Go practice what you preach, respect your parents… Oh, he’s coming over.”

Duke Bartley walked over, his scrutinizing gaze first sweeping over Ning Fei, before looking at his youngest son: “Why did you bring him? There are so many noble ladies, can’t you find an escort?”

Opening his mouth with such condescending remarks, this “ordinary people are not worthy of me (my family)” mentality really hadn’t changed at all.

“I just wanted to invite him, the King didn’t order that only those with noble status are allowed to attend the banquet today.” Cyrus was indeed dissatisfied with his father’s disrespect towards Ning Fei, “Those people in the church, those quasi-saints, holy disciples, don’t they also lack noble titles?”

“If you said you were deliberately doing this today, deliberately bringing a commoner lover to the Queen’s birthday banquet, just to express that you don’t take the royal family seriously, I would think more of you.” Duke Bartley said coldly, “But you’re comparing a folk doctor to the church’s quasi-saints? Cyrus, have you lost your mind?”

“Father, you know what I’m talking about.” Cyrus also spoke sarcastically, “Everyone knows what the church’s apprentices and saints are chosen for, and what they’re chosen to do. Haven’t you played with them too? Those people, on the surface, have a holy name, but in private, they’re prostitutes, playthings. Are they worth us taking them seriously, even in private?”

The father and son’s words were both wild and unpleasant, Ning Fei listened from the side without any expression.

He had been told these kinds of things to his face by nobles before, many times. Even Duke Bartley used to say these kinds of things in bed. If he cared about all that, he would have stopped living long ago.

“You’re right, the quasi-saints, saints, and even those clergy, are just prostitutes in better packaging.” The Duke’s tone was arrogant and cruel, “But your lover, in comparison, is even less of anything. I don’t care how you play around, but if you embarrass the Bartley family because of this, I will confiscate your ‘toys’. I want to see what skills he has in bed that can make you lose your mind.”

Cyrus suppressed his anger and reminded, “Father, you can’t touch him.”

“Oh, the little lion has learned to mark its territory. Alright, I can give you a little respect for now.” The Duke replied indifferently, “But don’t overdo it, my dear son, don’t repeat your uncle’s mistakes.”

Hearing Duke Bartley mention his younger brother, Ning Fei’s eyes moved slightly.

“Speaking of him—” Cyrus looked around, “He still hasn’t come today, has he?”

The Duke said coldly, “Him? Did someone send him an invitation?”

“Indeed. The royal family won’t remember him.” Cyrus replied, “I’m not so scummy as to that extent.”

The Duke didn’t want to talk about his brother anymore, and said a few casual words before finally turning to leave.

As soon as his father left, Cyrus turned his head. Ning Fei saw that he wanted to apologize again, so he “struck first,” and asked, “Your uncle is…?”

“He is my father’s younger brother, you may not have heard of him, he has left the royal capital for ten years.” Cyrus replied, “Although the Bartley family didn’t say it explicitly, he has essentially been removed from the family. Rather than saying he left the royal capital, it’s more accurate to say he was forced out.”

Ning Fei conveniently followed up: “Why?”

Cyrus hesitated for two seconds, before further explaining, “Because he… used to compete with the King for a lover, and tormented that lover to the point of being half dead. That lover couldn’t bear it anymore, and stabbed him with a knife before committing suicide. The Bartley family used all their strength to save him, but this matter was too ridiculous, so after he was saved, my father sent him to a province to recuperate.”

Ning Fei: …

Ning Fei: My second relationship is even more hopeless than the first.

But that lover’s dying stab didn’t kill him, what a pity. So, being a lover, you still need to lift weights, for both work and murder.

Ning Fei was still diverging his thoughts when Cyrus’s gaze went over his shoulder, fixed on his side behind him. Ning Fei noticed his movement, followed him to turn his head, and was immediately stunned.

Duan Yunhong… oh no, Baron Andrew had arrived.

He came alone, seemingly without a female companion, and without Mial. However, in this kind of occasion, the people from the church always move together, that picture looks more imposing, so the candidate saint Mial certainly wouldn’t deviate from the main group either. Duan Yunhong entering the royal palace alone, on the contrary, represents that he is likely to go to Mial later.

But that’s not the point, the point is, why is Duan Yunhong also mainly wearing purple today?!

To be precise, it’s a black base with gold trim, but the decorative sashes, corsages, gems, and other accessories are all in purple tones. From a matching point of view, purple is the highlight of Duan Yunhong’s outfit.

If Ning Fei stood next to him, it would be a complete couple’s outfit.

–But wasn’t this suit given by Cyrus? Coincidence? Or…

“Why is Baron Andrew staring at you?”

The people in this world have no concept of “couple’s outfits,” let alone understanding the trick of one person’s main color being the key color of another person. Cyrus didn’t notice that Duan Yunhong’s purple and Ning Fei’s purple echoed each other, he just felt that the Baron’s eyes were malicious: “He wouldn’t want to harm you, would he?”

Ning Fei withdrew his gaze: “Who knows?”

“Didn’t he go to support that Mial? It’s so foolish, leaving the real treasure to support a fake with a rotten core. What a blind fellow…” Cyrus’s hostility towards Ning Fei’s nominal “ex” was still very obvious, “If he harasses you again, or is rude to you, please tell me, and I’ll handle it.”

Although Ning Fei didn’t like him, he hadn’t hated him to the point of wanting him dead, so he pulled him back a bit: “You’re just a believer, not a knight, no need for you to charge into battle.”

Cyrus took this as concern, turned his head and swore loyalty: “I can be a ‘knight’!”

“You can’t. Cyrus, everyone has their own responsibilities.” Ning Fei touched the ring that Cyrus had given him, and bluffed him, “When this ring returns to your hand, your responsibility is to atone and help in other ways.”

“…Okay.” Cyrus said dejectedly, “You’re too low-key. I dare say, the church is full of fakes now, you should be on the Pope’s throne…”

He was still muttering to himself, but the sudden sound of the horn suppressed his voice.

The crowd quieted down with the horn, looking toward a magnificent double door that had been closed all along. As the doors slowly opened with the music, the elaborately dressed King and Queen slowly walked out under the gaze of the crowd.

The King was still the one Ning Fei knew, but the Queen had changed. The Queen was much younger than the King, but she was also nearly forty years old, and the thick powder on her face prevented her from making too many expressions. Besides their entourage, there were also representatives sent by the church next to them. The highest level were two clergy, followed by several saint candidates and other clergy. Those from the church were all in white with gold trim, holding gentle smiles, looking indeed holy and flawless on the surface.

It’s laughable that everyone present knows what they are like in private, but their public evaluation is always very strict. Ning Fei didn’t understand at first, but later he understood. The surface holiness is to decorate the “facade” of the nobles, the royal family, and even the country, and the bottomless private life is to satisfy the desires of the nobles. For centuries, the church has become an organization parasitic on the nobles. If it wants to continue, it can only tailor and distort itself according to the nobles’ hobbies and needs.

Even who will be the next saint is a game between the nobles, and the church itself has little say.

“Baron Andrew really went to find Mial.” Cyrus kept a close eye on the movements of his “enemies”, seizing every opportunity to deduct points from Duan Yunhong in front of Ning Fei, “In recent months, Mial has become a popular candidate for the next saint. How many beds did he have to climb to get so much support? Baron Andrew must be pushing his little lover to other people’s beds as a gift, I don’t know how many people he has shared him with…”

Ning Fei watched Duan Yunhong approach Mial from afar, the two of them lowered their heads and spoke in low voices, and didn’t respond.

–Last time, he looked like he had stepped into the gates of hell with one foot, did his wish remain to stay and become a saint, rather than escape all this?