The air on winter nights was always bleak and merciless.
But tonight, the cold was even more unrestrained.
Viktor's appearance caused quite a few people standing near the entrance to look over instinctively.
Feeling that icy gust coming straight at them, the hall, which had been somewhat noisy, suddenly became much quieter.
It was as if a chill had seeped into their bones, and the atmosphere around them gradually turned cold.
All the nobles held their wine glasses, cold sweat forming on their foreheads, not daring to move.
Cocotte sat on a cloud outside the carriage, comfortably enjoying the cold wind.
Suddenly, an even colder gust swept over her body, making her shiver.
Coming back to her senses, she looked in the direction the chill had come from.
As her gaze swept across the entrance of the banquet hall, Cocotte's eyes lit up.
Wasn't that Viktor?
The moment she saw Viktor, Cocotte lay flat on the cloud.
Then she hung half her body down from the carriage roof, upside down, and spoke through the window to Liya inside the carriage, "Liya, Liya, look over there."
Liya had been sitting in the carriage in a less than pleasant mood.
Her brows were tightly furrowed, and she was feeling somewhat restless.
After all, Viktor still hadn't arrived, and Liya had thought he had stood her up again.
But after hearing Cocotte, she became curious and looked in the direction Cocotte was pointing.
That familiar black coat immediately caught her eye.
Liya froze slightly and narrowed her eyes, taking a closer look.
'Mm, confirmed.'
'It's Viktor.'
After all, in a setting like this, only Viktor would enjoy showing up in an old-fashioned black coat.
But...
"Why didn't he come to me and just went over there by himself?"
Liya found it strange. Following Viktor's line of sight, she finally sensed something was off.
At this moment, he was standing in front of Gwen.
And in front of him, there seemed to be another person, someone who looked somewhat familiar.
Liya frowned slightly and stared for a while.
'Oh, right.'
'Isn't that the head of the Lesser family?'
"Are the people from the Lesser family acting up again?"
After all, this wasn't the first or second time the Lesser family had done something like this. Starting with Professor Devon, and then Jace.
Judging by this, did all three members of the father and sons need to provoke Viktor once before they would be satisfied?
At this moment, Cocotte's voice came from the carriage roof, relaxed and easygoing, "Viktor's here. Should we go over now?"
"Mm..."
Resting both hands on the window frame, Liya lightly brushed aside her hair and watched Viktor's direction with interest.
As she watched, she said, "No rush. Let's first see what Viktor wants to do."
Viktor wasn't the type to pick fights for no reason.
If things had reached the point where Viktor stepped in personally, then he clearly thought there was something wrong with the other party.
Meanwhile, silence filled the front of the banquet hall.
Viktor still wore that same indifferent expression, looking at Leopold without the slightest emotion.
The atmosphere was especially heavy and cold.
Under such circumstances, Leopold still wore a smile and looked Viktor over with amusement.
None of the nobles dared speak. They could only watch the confrontation between the two.
They looked at Viktor, then at Leopold.
Very few people present were unaware of the feud between the Lesser family and the Clavenna family.
And both men held prominent positions and tremendous influence.
Clearly, at this point, the most important matter at the banquet was no longer the elves.
It was figuring out how to stop these two from getting into an argument.
Because if they really started fighting, they couldn't say what would happen to Leopold.
But Viktor might blow up the entire banquet hall.
To ease the frozen atmosphere before the banquet, the nobles took the initiative and said to Leopold, "Mr. Leopold, I think you'd better undergo an inspection."
"Indeed, Mr. Leopold. After all, today's situation is special."
Today's banquet was extremely important, and the most important thing was to protect the elves appearing in the hall.
After all, the elves absolutely could not be harmed. Otherwise, they would bring down nature's wrath.
Therefore, no one was allowed to carry weapons or dangerous items that might contain magic into the banquet hall.
The other nobles understood this as well and had already cooperated with the knights and completed their inspections.
So when Gwen stepped forward to stop Leopold, no one around said anything.
After all, Gwen was not only the commander of the Imperial Knights, but also a highly respected countess.
Her status within the Empire was far from low, and very few people could reach her position.
On top of that, she had another identity.
She was Viktor's fiancee.
That relationship alone was enough to keep everyone silent.
Although today's banquet was funded by the Lesser family, rules were still rules.
At this moment, Leopold's gaze passed over Viktor again and landed on Gwen behind him.
Having recovered himself, Leopold finally noticed what was unusual about Gwen.
No wonder he had made such a disgraceful mistake earlier.
The light of justice radiating from this female knight was as dazzling as the blazing sun, making it hard to look directly at her.
'What impossible-to-ignore justice.'
'Disgusting.'
But he still suppressed the emotions in his heart and politely removed his top hat.
He bent slightly and bowed toward Gwen.
His voice was soft, but carried sincere apology, "I deeply apologize. I was rude just now."
"I am willing to cooperate with the inspection."
Upon hearing this, the other nobles all breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Mr. Leopold was easy to talk to.
They all knew about the delicate relationship between the Clavenna family and the Lesser family.
Fortunately, as a businessman, Mr. Leopold knew the bigger picture and was reasonable.
Gwen lightly waved her hand, and a group of silver-armored knights quickly surrounded him.
Each held a crystal-clear gemstone and pointed it toward Leopold.
Streams of pale light shot out from the center of the gems and illuminated his body.
The light circled around him and carefully scanned him from head to toe.
The knights stared intently at the gemstones in their hands, checking for any abnormal reactions.
Fortunately, there were no signs of metal weapons or magical items on Leopold.
The knights put away the gemstones, placed their arms against their chests, and gave Leopold a knight's salute before politely saying, "Everything is normal, sir. Please proceed freely."
They then dispersed and used the same gems to inspect the other nobles arriving.
Leopold put his hat back on and looked up at Viktor with a smile.
"So you are Mr. Viktor Clavenna."
"This is our first meeting, and I must first apologize on behalf of my two immature sons."
Then he turned to Gwen, sincere warmth in his eyes.
"You two are truly a perfect match. If the day of your wedding comes, please be sure to invite me."
After speaking, he elegantly nodded to Viktor and continued, "I have always looked forward to meeting you and clearing up the misunderstandings between us."
"But today may not be the best opportunity. There are still many guests waiting, so please excuse me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Leopold turned and walked toward the magnificent banquet hall.
The surrounding nobles also followed behind him and entered the hall.
When the other nobles passed by Viktor, their hearts couldn't help but race.
Though unwilling, they still forced smiles onto their faces and politely nodded to him.
Only after everyone had left and no one was paying attention to them anymore did Viktor turn around and look at Gwen.
But Gwen was still staring at Leopold's departing back, with no intention of looking away.
"What did you notice?"
Watching Leopold chatting with the group of nobles, Gwen slowly spoke, "This person feels very fake."
Truth and lies mixed together.
Perhaps even he himself didn't know how much of what he said was true.
Viktor also turned and looked at the retreating Leopold, saying calmly, "This is what businessmen are like."
'Silver tongues.'
'You never know which words are true.'
"So I dislike them very much."
Whenever dealing with such people, he always chose to keep his distance and give them no opportunities.
Besides, knowing that the other party might be that God of Commerce, Viktor was even less willing to walk into his trap.
However, since Gwen could tell that something was wrong with him, then Viktor's guess was likely correct.
To Viktor, the other party's identity had already become completely transparent.
By now, Leopold had disappeared from sight.
Gwen turned back and suddenly looked at Viktor.
"Viktor, I have a question too."
"What?"
Viktor looked at Gwen in confusion.
The next second, she asked something shocking.
"So when are we going to start preparing our wedding?"
"..."
Viktor froze in place and opened his mouth.
Looking at Gwen's eyes fixed directly on him, ripples rose in his heart.
At the same time, the crow on his shoulder stretched out one wing to cover its beak and let out a sharp, teasing laugh.
This was exactly why Viktor said he hated that smooth-talking God of Commerce the most.
Clearly, from the moment he first met Gwen, the other party had accurately grasped her thoughts.
And with ease, led her into the trap.
Seeing Gwen staring at him without looking away, she seemed determined not to let him leave without an answer.
Gwen's eyes remained locked on Viktor, as though she wouldn't let him go without getting one.
Just as Viktor was about to make up some excuse and somehow muddle through for the moment...
A familiar voice suddenly sounded beside them.
"Gwen, Viktor doesn't have any plans in that area right now."
"He still has many things to deal with and doesn't have the time for the moment. I think you know that too."
Hearing the familiar voice, Gwen couldn't help turning around.
She saw Liya wearing a black dress, with the black fur at the back of her neck trembling in the breeze.
She walked over gracefully, approaching Viktor step by step, then gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Mischief flashed in her eyes as she blinked at Viktor.
"I'm right, aren't I, big brother?"
That was true.
Liya was also a businesswoman.
And that was one thing Viktor couldn't bring himself to hate.