NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38
38
However, at that moment, Rayan caught a glimpse of the golden silhouette behind Roy.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, skin as white as snow.
At first glance unremarkable, yet like the finest doll, quietly adorable and elegantly silent on the side.
Is this the maid Roy bought before?
Lei An suddenly had an idea.
“Oh, you want to play the good child? Let’s see how long you can keep it up!”
Lei An suddenly raised his voice, looking at Alice flippantly, “Right, Roy, this is your new maid, isn’t it?”
Lei An impolitely sized up Alice, whistling, “She looks quite obedient. At such a young age, you must have spent quite some effort training her!”
As Lei An spoke, he moved to put an arm around Roy’s shoulder, but Roy swiftly dodged away.
“Raymond, you might as well speak plainly,” Roy said, staring at him with a slightly cold tone.
Raymond’s lips curled into a wicked smile, glancing at Roy and laughing exaggeratedly, “Heh, I just wanted to ask you, how exactly did you train such a little girl to be so obedient? A whip, a branding iron, starving her for days on end, or perhaps something more… thrilling?”
The surrounding crowd felt an unstoppable disdain upon hearing these words. Especially the noble daughters, fearing they’d sully their eyes, shifted their gaze away from the two scoundrels, recalling Roy’s infamous deeds.
“How can you lay hands on such a small child, disgusting.”
“Just goes to show, no matter how handsome, the inside is still ugly.”
“Alas, that poor little girl.”
The most contemptible acts are a man bullying a woman, an elder bullying a child, a noble bullying a servant, the strong bullying the weak.
In just a few sentences, Lei An had placed all four of these hats squarely on Roy’s head.
Lei An himself was shameless, and it didn’t matter to him.
His goal was to drag Roy down to his level, to remind people that Roy was just another scoundrel like him, or even more worthless!
However, before Roy could speak, the golden silhouette stepped forward, saying coldly, “Lord Raymond, please refrain from tarnishing my master’s reputation.”
“Heh, quite protective of your master, aren’t you?” Raymond narrowed his eyes, a fierce light shining through, exerting a faint pressure of a transcendent being, trying to intimidate her.
A mere maid, a little pressure should suffice.
The girl’s expressionless face suggested she might have been scared silly, right?
Then Raymond turned around, spreading his arms, surveying the crowd as if to show Alice the masses, or like an over-the-top performance, “Don’t be afraid! With so many people here, no one will hurt you. You can freely speak about Roy’s true nature, how he abused you, humiliated you, tormented you!”
Raymond thought he knew Roy’s character well.
He wanted to tear apart the facade Roy had crafted in front of the public!
But what Raymond never dreamed of, as he called out to the peak, attracting the gaze of all the nobles, servants, and maids present, was not a revelation of Roy’s misdeeds.
Instead, it was Alice’s icy rebuke.
“Lord Raymond, please stop!”
For the first time in his life, Raymond was scolded by someone other than old Raymond, leaving Lei An momentarily unable to react.
Only then did he notice, in the girl’s light blue eyes, there was no trace of fear, but rather a reflection of frost and hostility.
Alice’s gaze couldn’t harm Lei An, but it deeply wounded his pride.
He, being scolded by a mere maid?!
Lei An instinctively wanted to slap this impudent maid, but suddenly felt a sharp pain.
Roy’s gaze was direct, indifferent, yet piercingly cold, like a sword ever ready to be drawn, warning him not to act rashly.
Lei An froze on the spot.
Meanwhile, Alice continued.
The girl, accustomed to enduring adversity, discovered for the first time that there were things she could no longer tolerate.
She could endure humiliation, but she could never allow anyone to insult Roy.
Even if that person was a noble.
Alice looked straight at Lei An and said word by word, “My master has never abused, humiliated, or tortured me!”
“On the contrary.”
Alice didn’t know what Roy was like in the past, nor did she care; she only knew the current Roy, her most revered master.
The girl clutched her chest, recalling the days past, precious as gold, and spoke softly yet firmly, “The master provided me with food, shelter, and warmth I never had before. He is nothing like what you described!”
“Before meeting my master, there was not a single good thing in my life. Please do not misunderstand; being able to serve as my master’s maid is the most wonderful thing in my life!”
It was only after she finished speaking in one breath that the emotionally charged girl finally caught her breath.
Her voice had never been so high-pitched, and though not greatly fluctuating, the surging emotions had deeply touched every listener present, as if they could see the warm and cozy scene of master and servant nestled together under the afternoon sun.
Perhaps the scene described by Lei An was more in line with their previous perception of ‘the wicked young Roy,’ but compared to Alice’s heartfelt speech, it seemed pale and powerless.
“Who do you think is telling the truth?”
“It’s hard to say, given Roy’s past behavior…”
“But maybe the child of the Iron-blooded family really has turned over a new leaf?”
“Who knows if the maid didn’t just rehearse her lines in advance.”
“But if we have to say, Roy does seem more agreeable than that guy from the Raymond family, doesn’t he?”
“That’s true…”
Everything is relative.
Especially when Lei An and Roy stood face to face, the contrast was stark.
One with a twisted face, clenched teeth, and an exceedingly dark gaze.
The other, with an indifferent expression, as if he didn’t take Lei An’s accusations to heart at all.
And indeed, that was the case.
Roy’s palm rested on Alice’s head, a simple gesture that immediately calmed the blonde maid’s anger, making her obedient.
“Don’t be agitated, Mr. Raymond simply misunderstood.”
Only then did Alice come back to her senses, realizing her impoliteness, and slightly apologetically lowered her head, “I apologize, master, I lost my composure.”
“It’s alright, I don’t mind this little misunderstanding, and I trust Mr. Raymond won’t mind a slip of the tongue either,” Roy glanced at Lei An, reserved, subtle, with a smile that was not quite a smile.
To be honest, Lei An’s troublemaking was indeed a nuisance.
As a result, my own devoted little maid resolved the false charges from Leon with just a few words, sparing me the need to say anything more.
I thought I was dealing with an elite monster, but it turned out to be a mere clown.
Yet Raymond’s face had turned pitch black, and he couldn’t help but clench his fists.
Even without hearing the surrounding whispers, he could keenly feel that the gazes directed at him and Roy were now completely different!
Why?
Why should this trash be above me?!
Even though reason told him Roy was giving him a way out, he couldn’t swallow his pride.
However, just as the two were at an impasse, a cry of surprise echoed.
“The prince has arrived!”
Turning their heads, a golden-red griffin pulling a luxurious carriage stood proudly at the forefront of the convoy, as conspicuous as a blazing flame.