The Book Of Flowers

Blood Pressure

-- In the meantime, Castle Rose-----

"Aahaha! Prince Verdea is very impressive"

"Thank you for the compliment, Duke Petunia. I'm flattered to hear your praise"

Hrmphs...

The atmosphere here is very stifling. Especially when I am told to sit here, with the meat served on my plate, and to be among these hypocritical nobles with Verdea

The situation couldn't be worse, right...? Seeing Rosalia alone has pissed me off, especially when I got entangled in this situation...!

"It looks like you're not comfortable with this place, Oberon?" Damien opened the topic with me

"It's not what your majesty is. One big problem for me here is that you're just serving me meat"

Although I met them many times and ate only vegetables on my plate, they were still unconscious

"I... Forgetting that you don't like meat"

"I hate meat, your majesty"

Just like I hate you all

"... What about my sister? I hope the food suits your taste?"

Oh, now he's turning towards Verdea? Very generous of your short attention it was to me

"I have to admit, beef is delicious. Although my taste still fell on the chicken meat slightly wrapped in spicy sauce"

"You're pretty weird. Usually only ordinary people like food like that, right?" A Duke commented

"Maybe... Because I do have the blood of ordinary people?"

Oh? He provoked the Duke

His words indirectly said that, 'You guys only hang out with me because of my position now. Where were you guys from the beginning?'

The atmosphere was instantly silent as a result of that sentence, inviting the unpleasant faces of the royal nobles sitting on a table with us. None of them dared to comment further on the topic

"Ah, regarding your coronation as a Count, I still feel amused because his Excellency Damien forgot that you are from the Hortensia family" A Count tried to find a topic

Damien certainly did not expect the topic to come out, until he almost spewed a drink in his mouth

"really so. Somehow he said 'May you be a good leader for your family', and the shocked face that accompanies him afterwards is also very comforting" Someone else continued, making the entire room laugh in sync

"Come on. You came today for my sister Verdea's bestowal, instead of laughing at me" Damien interjected

"I must confess that they are right, your majesty. Sentences can be dangerous if misused" I follow

Rosalia even consented, still chuckling due to the joke

"You speak as if Verdea would betray us..." Damien directed the conversation to me

"It can't be like that. Verdea was very devoted to her own surname" I replied

That's not a lie at all

"Yes, even though I don't like that fact" Frank then interjected, inviting the whole eye toward him

...

...

"Grandfather..."

"What's? You asked me to be honest, so just accept it"

Frank while grumbling again busy slicing meat on his plate without caring about the reaction of others, including the two of us

"Mr Frank has a pretty interesting sentiment" another nobleman said

"Would have... We're not there, ladies and gentlemen. I beg you" Verdea calmed the situation down before it became chaotic

"No problem. Besides, I respect him as one of the current heroes of Hortensia"

"If he had not helped him just yet, His Majesty Artorius would not have existed, and this country would not have prospered"

"But he paid me 'that way'. Very surprising..." Frank muttered, the more annoyed he looked

His expression made the nobles withdraw their conversation because they did not want to make a bad impression on Verdea

Except one guy

When I saw that arrogant smile when he drew attention by changing the position of his legs, I also understood that the noble one wanted to argue with Frank

"... Looks like the death of Miss Marianne Gold is completely unacceptable to you, mister Frank Gold?"

All eyes turned towards that person

A person who looked extremely haughty, with a mocking smile. His golden eyes with black hair like curtains on his second side made him look very tall, as he looked down at Frank

"Duke Lantana, your words are rude" Verdea responded

"But I'm right, aren't I?"

...

This guy is bad news...

Verdea and I might be in control, but Frank isn't. Not to mention, he was the target of Duke William Lantana right now

Verbal attacks from him would sound painful to Frank, especially since he was indeed known as the sharp-tongued Duke

He is not even afraid of Rosalia or Damien, and sometimes criticizes them if things go wrong

The only reason he can still live now is due to the fact that he and his family are one of, if not the greatest economic foundations of Hortensia. His loss was a disaster for this kingdom

No one would dare to stop, let alone punish him. We have to address this person in a good way for him to feel dissatisfied with the flat reaction. But if he intends to continue forward to invite a reaction...

We have no way to escape

"... You want to look for trouble or something, Duke Lantana?" Frank began to threaten with a sharp look

"Ohoho not~ Sorry if I offended, Mr. Frank. At least now I understand that Marianne Gold's death is a sensitive topic for you"

Even fools know that it's something sensitive for Frank

You even talk as if mocking a dead child, right in front of his father who would not be able to accept the reality

I don't like this guy. If there's a way, I'd love to cut his tongue

And I understand one thing. He had no intention of backing away from this argument. He really wanted to heat up the atmosphere

"Well how else? If you're not strong, don't face the fire. Unfortunately madam Marianne Gold was too long near that fire, that she had to be charred without her-"

"Close that mouth before I cut your tongue in this very place, William Lantana"

!!!

Verdea?!

Oh naw...

He had just come into the argument in a shouting manner...

...

Duke Lantana tilted her head slightly, as if beginning to be wary of Verdea's presence. His smile disappeared, as if he was staring just to look for a weak spot on Verdea's neck

"Looks like the little prince wants to argue..." Duke Lantana said later

...

...

I held Verdea's shoulder, to make sure she calmed down first. His head had to be cold to fight a person like this

Verdea who looked at me with a worried expression slowly sighed, before returning to focus on the opponent's argument

"Listen to me rancid-ass bastard!"

Oh my God, the mouth of this boy...

"- You reproached my mother not once, but many times in front of everyone who could bear witness here!"

...

...

...

Ck. I was too slow to think about it, as Verdea had already noticed it from the beginning

"... Why did you say begi-"

"First, Duke Lantana..." Verdea cut the man off before he could say anything more. "My mother was my father's legal wife, even though she was only a concubine. It would be nice in my ears if you called him 'Hortensia' instead of 'Gold', as a courtesy"

Verdea tilted her head to challenge the person, before continuing with the sentence, "Can you engrave that sentence on your head?"

The atmosphere became silent, filled only by the image of people who were half gaping after hearing Verdea's sentence

Duke Lantana was also among those people, but silently looked at Verdea, not the slightest bit disturbed. The impression was precisely, he looked like he was surprised mixed with a sense of amazement

Then slowly, inexplicably a smile formed on his face

"It seems that I underestimated your shrewdness, prince of Verdea" he said

"I'm flattered. But save your praise for someone who can easily forgive

Because I made sure of you, Duke. Today I will never forget it at all. I'm not the kind or submissive person my face depicts..." Verdea replied

I realized that Duke Lantana seemed to flinch a little, until his smile and gaze then dropped down

"Hmphs. I apparently fished the wrong lion..."

He stood up, and was seen starting to call his servant to come closer

It didn't take long for all of us to realize where he wanted to go. Directly to the exit, intending to return to his area

"Would you like to go home now, Duke?" Rosalia asked him

"so. I don't want to spoil this banquet any further than what I've done"

He immediately put on the high hat that his servant gave him, then began to move on without further ado and simply left the sentence, "May flowers always bloom with you, prince of Verdea", without turning a single look at us

...

Unlike what I thought, that guy left very quickly...

The words that came out of Verdea's mouth could really make everyone submit, even for those who had no bond like myself to her

"You really know how to beat people in word games..." I said to him

"Well... Looks like it's indeed hereditary..." Damien muttered, half laughing

"Can we please stop this section on Miss Marianne? Even I'm getting sick of listening to you guys" Rosalia retorted, giving Damien a quick goosebump and silence

Rosalia turned to Verdea with a smile

"And it's best that my sister Verdea, you should pay attention to your grandfather's circumstances as well"

Rosalia's words surprised us, so we turned to Frank who looked pale despite trying to keep eating quietly

"Grandfather..."

"Not my grandson. Don't let my situation... Ruin your day..."

"But your face is very pale. You must have been in the wind sitting"

Frank fell silent, not daring to argue over things that were no longer necessary

It made Verdea worried, but her attention turned back to Rosalia, who was now seen walking towards the three of us sitting on the table

Veskal and Luna were intending to advance, but I immediately threw out a small gust of mana to keep them quiet on the spot

"... High blood pressure" Rosalia said

"What?"

"Mr Frank is having high blood pressure right now, my brother. We'd better deal with this by taking him to the nearest room and calling a medical expert"

He takes Frank's hand to confirm the truth of it, then puts it back down after it's done. Frank on the other hand, looks riled up Rosalia just touched him

"... Alright. That means I have to stay away for a while"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Why do you have to go in person? You have 3 servants right now, so at least tell one to leave"

All the nobles were seen protesting and making the atmosphere become violent

Damien raised his hand to make the room quiet again, before giving Verdea a chance to continue what he wanted to do

"I hope Mr. Frank will recover quickly without anything worse happening to him" Damien said, fully understanding the situation

"And I'll go with Verdea" Rosalia continued

The atmosphere was almost back noisy, but this time I calmed it down by looking at them one by one

"You only know how to run your mouth, even if there are obviously members of the prince's family who are sick right now"

"But he is the star of the show today! And Miss Rosalia is the one who gave us the honor of coming here!" Someone called for

"Then what do you think of this king of yours??!" I shouted louder, making all those people tremble

Hid. I just defended Damien hah...?

Although I have to admit that he is indeed incompetent, at least the respect must be there because he still has the highest title without making a fatal mistake

And I think that the higher-ups are annoying for respecting me too much. Apparently this kind of thing actually feels worse, but it does not happen to me personally

Forgetit. At least they were silent without protest again this time

"Verdea, let me pick up Frank. You can all follow from behind" I said to my friends before turning to Rosalia. "And you must explain something" I said to him

Rosalia smiled a little, before walking ahead of us even though she was only at the exit

I put Frank on my back because he was getting so limp that Verdea looked even more worried. Together with Veskal and Luna, we immediately went and walked ahead to the nearest room