Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 626: A Stain On My Lord’s Reputation

If only Sir Kraven had known what Alex was capable of, he might have clenched his fist and forced himself to greet Chuck respectfully and treat him as one of the Duke’s sons.

But everyone knew that the young man’s mother, Dorothy, was a mere mistress of their Lord.

Yet despite the legal wife’s opposition, Duke Marius had still given Chuck the surname, No Rizz.

However, while the Duke recognized the young man as his son, the rest of his household thought otherwise.

”You bastard!” Sir Kraven shouted. ”Stop this nonsense!”

The Knight Captain unsheathed his sword, intending to silence Alex once and for all.

Princess Xenia’s guards immediately blocked his path.

”Stand down, Sir Kraven,” Sir Alphonse ordered. ”You are in the presence of Her Highness, and you dare to brandish your weapon?! Sheathe it at once, unless you’re intent on getting charged with treason!”

Sir Kraven’s face turned pale, and he immediately dropped his weapon to the ground. Due to his anger, he had completely forgotten the princess’s presence. He hurriedly knelt and apologized to her.

”I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Sir Kraven said, trembling. ”Please forgive me.”

But before Princess Xenia could even reply, Alex interjected.

”Don’t forgive him so easily, Your Highness. He treated your fiance like a joke, which meant he also considered you a joke. Shouldn’t he be apologizing to Chuck first? Unless...” Alex’s eyes narrowed like he had stumbled upon a conspiracy. ”Unless he is utterly unrepentant and takes you for a fool! Look at the rest of the Ember Knights standing over there! They don’t seem the least bit concerned!”

The corner of Princess Xenia’s lips twitched. Alex was still using the megaphone to broadcast his every word.

To make matters worse, Dim Dim also took out its megaphone and joined in the commotion.

”Dim Dim!” Dim Dim announced to everyone that it thought Alex was right!

The other Ember Knights looked visibly shaken and hurriedly knelt in front of Chuck and apologized to him.

They also promised to not disrespect him again in the future.

Chuck felt uneasy after seeing the arrogant knights, who usually mocked him behind his back, kneel and beg for forgiveness.

He was long used to being treated like trash within the Duke’s estate. His stepsiblings and his stepmother had always given him the cold shoulder.

In fact, they were even the ones fanning the flames so everyone in the Dukedom would regard Chuck as the black sheep of their family.

Renard watched this scene with amusement. He had gotten a little close to the troublemaker, so seeing him disrespected so openly also didn’t sit well with him.

However, he wasn’t nearly as brazen and shameless as Alex. Still, he admired Alex for kicking up a fuss right after their arrival.

”Please forgive me, My Lord,” Sir Kraven said through gritted teeth as he knelt in front of Chuck. ”I will make sure this incident doesn’t happen again.”

”It better not happen again,” Alex scoffed. ”You’re lucky Her Highness is a very merciful person!”

”Dim Dim!”

Sir Kraven was cursing the young man who was literally hiding behind the princess.

Alex even gave him the middle finger while the little white bun was making faces at him.

This was the worst humiliation he had suffered since joining the knight order. He wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and hide in it till everyone had forgotten about him!

While this was happening, a man wearing a suit ran toward them after dismounting his horse.

He was none other than Niles, the Head Butler of the No Rizz Family. He was here to clean up this mess on his master’s orders.

”Welcome, Your Highness.” Niles bowed respectfully. ”Please forgive us for the inadequate welcome. I will make sure this will never happen again.

”Also, welcome home, Young Master,” Niles said. ”I am glad to see you are well.”

”Thank you, Niles,” Chuck replied.

Niles was one of the handful of people in the Duke’s residence who never looked down on him. He also didn’t join the others in making Chuck’s life miserable and had even helped him get out of tricky situations.

Since Niles held a high position in the family, even members of the Duke’s family didn’t dare to antagonize him.

His position was rock solid, and no one could order him to do anything except the Duke himself.

”As for your, Sir Kraven, the Duke orders you to go to the disciplinary hall to help you remember the family laws,” Niles said politely. And yet, his words were enough to make the Knight Captain shudder. ”The rest of you lot should also go. Accompany your captain and learn once more what it takes to serve our Lord.”

The Ember Knights looked visibly pale after the Butler gave their Lord’s order. Their master rarely got angry. But when he did, no one would want to be around him for an entire day.

Sir Kraven thanked Niles for passing their Lord’s orders and immediately left for the disciplinary hall. The other knights scrambled after him, which made Alex scoff.

”Young man, I appreciate you standing up for the Young Master.” Niles bowed respectfully. ”But surely, there must have been some other way to handle the situation? The method you chose was... too high-handed to say the least.

”By now, I’m afraid the entire city is gossiping about the Ember Knights, which will become a stain on my Lord’s reputation.”

”I think this is for the best,” Alex replied without showing a hint of remorse. ”The easiest way to get these rumors to fizzle away is for the knights to behave properly from now on.”

”Honored guest, you should really choose your words wisely,” Nile said calmly. ”My Lord may be able to turn a blind eye to this presumptuousness because he is a man of virtue. But if you do this to other nobles, I’m afraid you will be sent to jail for disrespect.”

”Why would I be sent to jail for disrespecting nobles when I’m a prince?” Alex blinked.

”””You’re a Prince?!”””

Princess Xenia, Mary, Chuck, and Niles asked at the same time.

”Ooops!” Alex playfully covered his lips. ”Can you forget what I said? It’s supposed to be a secret.”

”Dim Dim~” The little bun cutely winked at everyone and covered its own lips with its little stubby hand.

Lex only smiled helplessly from the background, shaking his head at the young man’s antics.

Niles then coughed lightly before apologizing to Alex. He really didn’t know if the young man was lying or not. Even if it was just a slight chance, he couldn’t possibly disrespect a prince of another kingdom.

”Should I call you His Highness while you are staying here in our domain?” Niles asked politely.

”No, just call me Alex,” Alex replied. ”I look forward to my stay here in the Duchy of Emberholt. I heard that this is a great place from Chuck. I have veeeeeeeeeeery high expectations!”

”... I see.” Niles bowed his head respectfully. ”Everyone. Please follow me. We have already prepared your temporary quarters.”

Niles took the lead and escorted their special guests to the carriages waiting for them.

He had rushed over on one of the Duke’s fastest stallions, but now that the trouble had passed, he could bring everyone to the castle at a more comfortable pace. Still, he didn’t take his own sweet time, knowing that Lady Dorothy was waiting for her son.