Ethan watched as Albert entered the banquet hall back with a stern expression on his face heading straight toward Albaer. after having escorted Elder Aries to his chambers.
Seeing his expression, Albaer was worried whether anything undesirable had happened to the elder. If something were to happen to the Elder of the Tower when he was the White Family's guest, it would cause some fuss and probably besmirch the family's reputation.
Ethan saw Albaer make some hand gestures worriedly and Albert shaking his head casually, Albert moved closer to Albaer and it looked like there was something completely different on his mind that he wished to report, then Albert whispered something into Albaer's ear and Albaer's expression also becoming stern.
Albaer's eyes narrowed and his brows knitted, he whispered something back to Albert pensively and Albert nodded. He then bowed and left the banquet hall once again.
Soon after, the doors of the hall opened wide garnering everyone's attention as a chubby man in long golden robes entered with another man in white robes and two ironclads, dignified knights as his escorts.
A variety of emotions could be immediately seen among the many people present at the banquet hall.
Some gasped in amazement, some wore difficult expressions while others had respectable and some even had hints of reverence flashing in their eyes.
Although almost no one knew who the man was, his attire, the insignia on his robes, and on top of that the pendant that he wore and the orthodox armor that the knights who accompanied him wore gave away the identity of the man.
Ethan's gaze swept through the newcomers as he immediately recognized one is the men—High Priest Gerhart.
Gerhart was walking behind the middle-aged chubby man respectfully bowing slightly. He wore a dutiful expression on his face undermining himself in such a way that made one think that he was nothing but a loyal servant.
As if sensing his gaze, Gerhart turned his head and looked at Ethan. He smiled amiably in acknowledgment for a moment and then went back to his usual countenance, faithfully following the middle-aged man.
Seeing his suppressed and completely different behavior from last time, it was quite evident to Ethan that the chubby man was Gerhart's superior.
Ethan knew just the basic of the church's hierarchy but it seemed that they took positions and class very seriously.
'Gerhart is a high priest… seeing that the fatty is quite unbridled and haughty in his behavior, he must be ranked superior.' Ethan analyzed silently.
At this moment, he noticed the fatty's gaze subtly going over everyone present in the hall. Ethan averted his gaze and saw from the corner of his eye that the fatty had flinched slightly when he saw Ethan, his eyes flashed with a hint of unwillingness before going back to normal. After that, the fatty did not pay more attention to Ethan. His intent carried a bit of suppression.
'Not to recruit me huh,' Ethan thought inwardly as he concluded after reading fatty's body language.
This was well within his expectation as he knew that the task of recruiting him would not be taken lightly by the church. And thus it would be assigned to a high-ranking individual.
"Then this only leaves…" Ethan muttered under his breath subconsciously blurting his trail of thoughts.
And sure enough, Ethan saw the fatty's gaze halt momentarily, his eyes narrowing and an ambitious glint flashing by as his eyes fell on Anicia.
Ethan sighed vexingly as he moved closer to Albaer where he guessed the conversation would take place. Since the matter concerned his fiancé, Ethan intended to step up if needed.
Yunugiv narrowed his eyes as he saw the people from the church arrived. He didn't know if they had come for his daughter or not but he would not back down.
The fatty walked up to Albaer to the stage ignoring everyone else present. The guests found another topic for gossiping by the arrival of the guests from the church.
Many shrewd fellows immediately connected the dots remembering what Albaer had said about Anicia being Favored by The Light.
Count Farley was one of them. Everyone knew that the church craved for The Favored Ones' like a homeless craving for a roof above his head. He guessed that the guests from church had either come for Anicia or Ethan.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ He was not the only one to realize this. And so everyone keenly began to observe the situation closely in suspense. Everyone wanted to know what stance would the White Family take.
"Welcome to the banquet, what might be the reason for your esteemed self to grace us with your presence?" Albaer asked amicably. His tone was calm devoid of any enmity.
However, Ethan could sense the contempt deep in his father's heart as Albaer looked at the chubby body of the middle-aged man.
"Duke White, this is Bishop Reyes of the First Order. On this auspicious occasion, how could we, The Church, be missing? Gerhart spoke in a slightly sharp tone subtly hinting at his displeasure on not being invited.
"The Reverend Bishop has naturally come to congratulate Young Master Ethan's safe Awakening on behalf of the church!" He proceeded to say.
Bishop Reyes nodded proudly as he gestured to Gerhart to not speak any further. Gerhart bowed slightly and stepped back.
"So it's Bishop Reyes, I have long heard of your esteemed name. I was not aware of your arrival and thusly forgot to send a formal invitation. But now that you have graced us with your presence… Please do not hold back on the festivities."
Albaer said with the same calm, friendly tone but snickered inwardly. His respectful, friendly words had an underlined meaning that the nobles most skilled in the Art of Wit understood well. Albaer was in truth taunting the bishop by inviting himself to the banquet.
Many guests jumped back in surprise as they heard the name 'Reyes'.
Bishop Reyes was quite a character. He was best known for serving 'Justice' on 'God's Behalf' and quite frankly his ways of 'Serving Justice' were very notorious.
Many small-time merchants present shuddered at the name as one specific tale popped into their minds which was rather famous.
This was when Bishop Reyes's figure wasn't quite as round, he was newly assigned as bishop in the church of Southern Lands.
Southern Lands of the Atrana Kingdom was a place where the influence of the church was comparatively greater and the balance of power was tilted towards the church as no one cared to resist its influence in a firm sense.
In such a place, Bishop Reyes had a lot of power.
The particular story took place when the bishop was young and filled with youthful vitality. He would often 'request' and 'urge' merchants going through the City of Ruxsall to donate to the Church for God's Blessings.
When one brave merchant who was newly settled in the city refused to donate money to the church, Bishop Reyes charged him as a heretic after 'finding' adequate 'proof' against him.
The poor man was flogged to death and his wife and children were forced to serve the Church as servants. From that day forward, no one dared to refuse the bishop.
With the Local Lords in cohorts with the church, being devoted supporters of the church themselves, justice was nonexistent.
It was understandable why Albaer looked down on a man like Reyes. He was very unbridled in his conduct and often used the name and influence of the church as well as the emotions and faith of people to do whatever he wanted.
Every nation or organization prospering for years without challenges is bound to suffer from internal rot and unbridled, arrogant scum. And Bishop Reyes was one of such bad apples.
Bishop Reyes was a scum but not a fool. Although he knew that Albaer was taunting him and looked down on him, he knew that the Duke was far more powerful than him. Even though he was a Bishop of the Church, there was simply no comparison.
He was used to being looked down upon by the traditional nobles and so he did not flare up in anger. Instead, he was very well-mannered in front of the Duke.
It wasn't long when he received a report stating that a Favored and an Early Awakened both had appeared in one place.
Although The Favored was the daughter of a Count, he thought that it wouldn't be hard to recruit the girl if he persisted long enough. If that didn't work, he could always use other means.
But then he received another report which made his brows knit tightly. The situation had become complex as Duke White had been suddenly involved.
That's why he had traveled such a long distance to Adenberd. He knew that recruiting Ethan was completely out of his hands and it would be better to leave it to the higher-ups. But Anicia was just the daughter of a Count. Bishop Reyes thought that he at least needed to try and recruit her.
This was the whole reason for his arrival and so he did not mind Albaer's scornful, sarcastic behavior towards him.
Ethan was silently observing Bishop Reyes as Albaer and he made some small talk. The topic of Anicia was quite difficult to touch upon all of a sudden and so Bishop Reyes was beating around the bush.
Ethan thought that the man was quite prudent and mindful. At this moment, Bishop Reyes turned his head and their gaze finally met.
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