Abe the Wizard

Chapter 12 Welcome Dance

Servants greeted the guests invited by Sir Marshall outside the castle's main gate. These guests included local lords and nobles from the prosperous city of Harvest, which indicated that Sir Marshall had a wide circle of friends, closely tied to his family background.

The evening party took place in the castle's grand hall, illuminated by hundreds of large smokeless candles. Guests were drawn by the red wine brought from the capital city of Bagang and the fresh game hunted in the forest behind the castle, tantalizing their taste buds.

As night fell, all the guests had arrived at the hall. In this world, evening activities were scarce compared to the diverse nighttime leisure activities on Earth. The poor couldn't afford expensive oil lamps at night, so they retired early. Even the nobles had limited options for evening entertainment—while urban nobles might have a chance to attend opera performances, such shows weren't available every day.

Hosting a dance party incurred significant costs. Most nobles could only afford to hold one or two such gatherings per year, as any more would be financially burdensome.

The Bennett Knights' fief, where Abel was from, had not hosted such a gathering in his memory. Abel couldn't help but wonder how Sir Marshall managed his finances so well. Perhaps Sir Bennett should learn from Sir Marshall about financial management, Abel thought to himself.

As the guest of honor for the evening, Abel rested with Sir Marshall in the upper floor of the hall. When the butler, Lindsey, loudly announced, "May I present Sir Marshall and Master Abel," applause erupted. Sir Marshall nodded to the guests as he and Abel descended the stairs. When Sir Marshall raised his wine glass, the atmosphere of the dance reached its peak.

Tonight, aside from Sir Marshall, Abel didn't know anyone at the dance, and given his tender age of less than 13, no lady came to invite him to dance. With some leisure time on his hands, Abel looked around, occasionally exchanging greetings when someone approached him, but otherwise, he had nothing much to do.

"Fortunate black-haired lad."

"Yeah, indeed a fortunate fellow."

"Why didn't I have such luck?"

"With your looks, I'd rather they picked me."

In a corner of the dance, a few young people chatted together, oblivious to Abel's approach. When they noticed him, there was a moment of awkwardness. Then a young man in a white suit stepped forward, offering an apologetic nod to Abel and saying, "I'm sorry, we didn't notice your arrival."

"No need to apologize. I must have interrupted your conversation," replied Abel calmly, returning the courtesy.

Before coming to Harry Castle, Abel had anticipated that people might gossip about the matter. However, as a man living two lifetimes and already over 40 years old in experience, he wasn't particularly bothered by such talk unless it was malicious.

Abel's demeanor seemed to win the favor of the young men, who pulled him into discussions about various anecdotes, such as a certain knight acquiring a new lover or someone's latest hunting success.

The young man in the white suit was Isaac, the eldest son of Baron Victor from Harvest City. Just now, he had shown envy for Abel's stroke of luck in being adopted by a childless estate knight.

Baron Victor was one of the many barons in Harvest City. While these urban barons lived in prosperity, most were engaged in commercial activities to maintain their luxurious lifestyles. To sustain their noble extravagance, they needed a substantial base of wealth.

Although merchants were looked down upon by the nobility, many of them had no choice but to engage in the very business endeavors they despised, in order to earn the gold required to maintain their lifestyles. In contrast, a landholding lord, even a knight with a fief, enjoyed a higher status than those barons without land.

Without land, there would be no castle, and they could only reside in the city. No matter how large their houses were, they couldn't compare to the freedom of their own castles. Income from the fief provided continuous revenue to sustain their lives, their families, and the funds for their guards.

Abel understood Isaac's jealousy. As long as there was no malice, Abel could be understanding.

Taking a sip of wine, Abel listened to the conversation and occasionally interjected, giving the impression that he was neither too aloof nor overly enthusiastic.

At that moment, a sinister gaze swept over. Abel, a fourth-level squire, caught sight of the malice in that glance. Casually, he glanced over as well, still lightly shaking his wine glass.

It was a young man—tall, handsome, with well-kept golden hair. However, his eyes were excessively narrow, giving off a somewhat sinister air.

Gently nudging Isaac, Abel whispered, "Who is that?" while discreetly casting his eyes toward the young man.

"That's him. His name is Daniel, a despicable fellow," Isaac replied, turning his head to glance at the youth before disdainfully adding, "What's the matter?"

"He's a merchant's son. His sister married Viscount Walk from Harvest City, and he has also wormed his way into the aristocratic circles. Still, he isn't satisfied with that." Isaac continued, casting a glance at Abel before saying, "He heard that Sir Marshall has no heir, so he asked his sister to help him become Sir Marshall's adopted son. His sister couldn't refuse, so she had Viscount Walk ask Sir Marshall, but Sir Marshall rejected him right away."

As Isaac talked, he seemed to relish discussing Daniel's rejection. "This matter has spread among the nobility. Do you know what everyone says?" he asked Abel, his interest piqued.

Seeing Abel's composed expression, Isaac continued, "Everyone says that Daniel lacks self-awareness. Not to mention, even if Sir Marshall agreed, his family wouldn't approve."

As Isaac gossiped, Abel understood the reason for Daniel's animosity toward him.

Unable to bear the trivial conversation, which was little more than sensational news and idle gossip, Abel took the opportunity to bid the group farewell and headed toward the restroom.

Daniel noticed Abel heading for the restroom and stood up, following him there.

Abel didn't actually enter the restroom; instead, he stood near the window, letting the cool breeze soothe his slightly flushed face. The effects of the wine he drank with his young body of just 12 years were evident, and the cold breeze brought some relief.

Placing his wine glass on the windowsill, Abel reminded himself that his body was still too young, and he shouldn't be drinking. He knew these principles from his time as a fitness coach, but the atmosphere of the dance momentarily made him forget his age. After reflecting on his actions, he decided not to drink again until he came of age.

Leaving a party as the host for an extended period was considered extremely rude. Turning back, just as Abel was about to return to the hall, a figure collided with him. Almost instantly, Abel's body reacted, exuding the strong aura of a fourth-level squire. The person who had collided with him, upon impact, was repelled by his body's reactive force and flew about three meters in the air before sliding another two meters upon landing, lying motionless on the ground.

Someone had witnessed the scene, and only then did they realize something was amiss. People had begun approaching to investigate.

"It's Daniel," a knight said, turning the fallen person over and making a discovery.

"Oh my, dear Daniel, what happened to you?" A young woman in a voluminous noble dress hurried over, crying out on seeing Daniel on the ground.

Sir Marshall, as the host, arrived at the scene and, upon seeing the situation, asked Abel, "Abel, what happened here?"

"I don't know. He rushed at me, and then he went flying," Abel opened his hands, offering an innocent explanation.

Observing Daniel lying on the ground, Sir Marshall didn't need much thought to understand what had occurred. Abel had only just arrived today and hardly knew anyone, and as the host, he wouldn't randomly attack a guest.

Sir Marshall remembered Daniel, as he had rejected the young man's impertinent request. After that incident, he had been mocked by his friends, but due to Viscount Walk's connections, Sir Marshall hadn't pursued the matter.

Now, Daniel had attacked the heir of the castle during Sir Marshall's dance, which constituted an exceptional act. As the heir to the castle, Abel now had a true noble status, and assaulting a noble in this world was a serious offense, especially in another person's castle. This behavior was tantamount to seeking death.

Ignoring the weeping woman, Sir Marshall turned to Viscount Walk in the crowd and said in a grave tone, "Are you here today with Daniel to provoke the Harry family? Or are you prepared to engage in an honorable duel to preserve our respective reputations?"

Viscount Walk's face turned sour as he glanced at Daniel lying on the ground. In truth, if he had known Daniel was so audacious, he wouldn't have dared to bring him here. It was Daniel who had insisted on coming to see what kind of person had become Sir Marshall's heir.