Aquil Rein was a man of handsome appearance, who, even among a crowd of brightly dressed aristocratic youths, stood out at first glance and became the center of discussion among others.
At this moment, there were quite a few women surrounding him, each seemingly competing for the opportunity to talk with Aquil, casting envious and jealous glances from the men at his side.
Reigerâs arrival did not initially attract the attention of these people, but the most popular second young master of the Rein Family was the first to notice Reiger, greeting him warmly.
"My brother, itâs such a relief to see that youâre alright."
Aquil left the crowd and walked briskly towards Reiger, opening his arms as if intending to embrace him.
However, before Reiger could react to his gesture, someone else stepped forward first.
It was Ai En and Ian.
The two female knights, who had been quietly following behind Reiger, blocked Aquilâs path by standing in front of Reiger as he approached with an enthusiastic face.
"Hmm?"
Aquil stopped in his tracks, standing there perplexed.
The rest were first stunned, and then the whispers began to grow.
"Who are these two female knights?"
"They are so beautiful."
The group of noble youths first noticed Ai En and Ianâs remarkable beauty, with many of them being immediately captivated by the look of the two female knights.
Ai En and Ian, oblivious to the attention, simply stood in front of Aquil, one cold and the other vigilant.
Clearly, they had acted to protect Reiger.
As attendants, preventing suspicious strangers from approaching their master is an essential skill.
Since Yuri had entrusted Ai En and Ian to protect Reiger, they naturally acted with the diligence befitting the protector of their master.
Reiger, seeing this, spoke up.
"Itâs okay, stand down."
With his words, Ai En and Ian silently stepped back and stood behind Reiger once more, still with a vigilant look in their eyes, ready to intervene at any moment with anyone attempting to approach Reiger.
The venue, which had been quite lively, turned somewhat chilly due to the unexpected actions of Ai En and Ian.
The surrounding bodyguards were even showing signs of stepping in, especially Aquilâs, with their hands already on their sword hilts.
Fortunately, at that moment, Reiger finally spoke up, breaking the tension.
"I hope Iâm not late?"
Reiger stepped forward, addressing Aquil with a subdued tone.
"Of course not," Aquil came back to himself, giving a covert glance at Ai En and Ian, then turning his gaze back to Reiger, his warm smile returning as he said, "We are happy that you came. Itâs been a month since weâve seen you."
No sooner had Aquil finished speaking than another voice rang out.
"It looks like youâre relatively unscathed, Reiger."
The man who made this comment was somewhat dark-skinned and bulky. He did not have Aquilâs pretty features, but rather carried the sporty look of someone who might enjoy running under the sun, a very masculine type likely favored by girls who prefer strong men.
He followed closely behind Aquil, first scanning Reiger from head to toe, then breaking into a smile.
"You look better than I expected. I thought by now youâd be afraid to even leave your house."
These words, seemingly teasing but with a slightly pointed edge, prompted Reiger to turn his gaze toward the speaker.
Through the memories of his original self, Reiger quickly identified information about this man.
Sena Ram, the third son of the Viscount Larm Family, was one year older than Reiger and somehow subtly at odds with him.
The original host might not have noticed this manâs subtle hostility towards him, but Reiger could see from the otherâs insincere smile that he probably didnât harbor any good feelings for him.
Surely, this must be related to the fact that the Larm Family was a vassal to the Rein Family?
Since his family was a vassal to the Rein Family, Sena, although a member of this little group, actually looked up to Aquil a bit.
Simply put, Sena was Aquilâs follower and likely disapproved of Aquilâs consistent warm behavior towards Reiger.
The others also took this opportunity to step forward.
A total of six people came forward.
Among them, four were men, and two were women.
The four men had distinct appearances: one tall, one short, one fat, and one thinâaltogether they embodied the diverse set of characteristics, causing a nearly laughable impression when together.
Some were children of Viscounts, and others of Barons. As they approached, they immediately gathered around Sena, also displaying a subtle attitude of deference toward Aquil.
As for those two women, one was a young lady with particularly eye-catching red hair, and the other was a little girl looking around with broad curiosity. The contrast between them was striking, and Reiger couldnât help but take several glances.
The four men and two women, along with Aquil and Sena, made up a total of eight people. These were the noble youths who had been mixing with Reiger all along.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Reigerâs eyes flickered slightly, and he seemed to be pondering something, but his face remained calm.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting," Reiger said, "I didnât expect you to arrive so early."
At these words, Aquil was the first to laugh.
"Because we all really wanted to know how you are now, brother," Aquil opened his arms, but this time he didnât hug him. Instead, he addressed Reiger, "We heard you were attacked and suffered serious injuries, and we were very worried."
"Exactly," Sena said with his usual smirking-not-smiling expression. "If we had known that your misfortune turned out to be a blessing, and not only were you all right, but you also formed a connection with the Franzel family, we wouldnât have been so concerned."
Senaâs words caused the eyes of several noble youths present to flicker subtly.
The red-haired young lady and the innocent little girl even glanced at Ai En and Ian standing behind Reiger, their thoughts unclear.
In contrast, Reiger didnât care at all about what Aquil said or about Senaâs behavior.
He just gave Aquil a meaningful look before speaking.
"This time, I indeed hit a big stroke of luck."
Having encountered Yuri, who had so kindly saved his life, Reiger certainly felt that his luck was quite good.
Of course, to those present, his words took on a different meaning.
They assumed that when Reiger said this, he was referring to his connection with the Franzel family.
To have formed a connection with the legendary talented young lady from the Franzel family would make many other noble youths die of envy if the news spread.
She was someone who had become a national treasure of the kingdom at a young age, one of only eight strategic magicians on the continent!
The young lady of similar age to Reiger, among the noble youths present, was already heading her own household as a Marquis, second only to a Duke!
Countless people, including the fathers of these noblemenâs sons, yearned to form even the slightest connection with this rumored beauty, possessing both appearance and strength, whom even the royal family needed to win over with kindness.
Indeed, they had no standing to form such a connectionâit was their fathers, the heads of the households, who were desperately trying to make those ties, and these younger generations didnât even have the right to queue up.
Yet this legendary and talented young lady had taken in Reiger.
Thinking of this, it was certain that some of the noble youths present felt deep jealousy.
Only Aquil remained as enthusiastic towards Reiger as ever.
"Anyway, Iâm glad youâre okay," Aquil patted Reigerâs shoulder and smiled, "Iâll treat you today to celebrate properly, to celebrate your smooth recovery."
"Celebrate?" Reiger paused in his speech and then said with a peculiar tone, "Where shall we celebrate?"
"Do I even need to say it?" Sena picked up on the topic, flashing a knowing smile known to all men, "Of course, weâre going to a place that will make everyone very happy."
This remark made the tall, short, fat, and thin quartet all reveal knowing smirks.
Seeing this, how could Reiger not know what these people were planning?
Even Marilyn knew that the former Reiger often went out with these people to indulge in pleasure; having the original hostâs memory, Reiger was all the more clear about what kind of people they were.
"Forget it," Reiger immediately shook his head, "If thatâs the case, then you guys go ahead without me. I wonât be joining."
"Why not?" Sena exclaimed in surprise. "Werenât you always fond of that sort of thing?"
To be honest, Reiger was rather puzzled to hear such an assessment of himself.
That was the original host, not me. Donât talk as if Iâm always out there causing trouble for honest women, okay?
"It would be better if you didnât look for me," Reiger simply stated, "I donât want to get kicked out the door."
With that, everyone understood.
"Thatâs true," Aquil said with a wry smile. "If I were you, I definitely wouldnât dare to fool around either."
"Heh," Sena said with a sour tone. "Itâs different when youâve climbed up to the big shots."
At that moment, the red-haired young lady, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.
"Itâs just that your thoughts are too dirty," the red-haired girl huffed. "And, have you forgotten that weâre also here? Do you really want to take us along to indulge in debauchery?"
The little girl who had been looking around also shot a contemptuous look toward Aquil and the others.
"Hey, hey, hey, donât take it seriously," Aquilâs wry smile deepened, and he quickly said, "How could we really go? It was just a casual joke!"
"Exactly, exactly!" Sena and the tall, short, fat, and thin group immediately nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Letâs do this instead, letâs go to the marketplace," Aquil suggested, "I heard that there have been a lot of great new arrivals recently, and itâs been a long time since Iâve been there. Letâs go have a look."
"Thatâs more like it," the red-haired girl was finally satisfied.