Alexander was still puzzled as to why the princess of a foreign kingdom would be so cold. He wondered if she did not understand the meaning of the title 【Brave One】, though anyone capable of attending this banquet in the Sanctuary district should have been well aware of it.
Just as he was deep in thought, Faust's sharp shout cut through the air.
"You shameless wretch!"
Alexander turned to see the prince of Qingxi approaching with a look of fury, positioning himself firmly between the princess and the candidate.
The man’s reddish-brown eyes lowered as he said coldly:
"Are you not aware that they are my fiancées?"
"You are..."
Alexander truly did not recognize who Faust was. It was only after others caught up and whispered a few words in his ear that the situation was explained to him.
The bronze-skinned youth nodded and said:
"My apologies. I truly did not know they were already taken..."
Faust spoke with a tone of anger:
"My companions are not to be touched by anyone. Your lewd and shameless behavior just now has infuriated me to no end."
This statement left Alexander completely bewildered.
Wait, all I did was walk over and introduce myself. I didn't do anything rude at all. How could that be considered lewd or shameless?
If this were years ago, he might have been intimidated by Faust, but he had been moving in the circles of the occult noble for several years now. He was absolutely certain that no such social rule existed!
In fact, one could even say that asking someone for a dance, even if they were someone else's fiancée, was perfectly acceptable.
Everyone lived in a civilized age. While polygamy was a common phenomenon, the status of men and women was considered equal, and normal social interactions would not be criticized in such a manner.
Even Selena and Viviana exchanged glances, finding Faust's reaction to be highly excessive. Although the prince was usually known for being quite possessive, he had never been so extreme as to forbid others from even looking at them.
Faust’s lovers were leaders or monarchs in their own right; how could they possibly be expected to remain sequestered away from the world?
Based on their understanding of Faust, they assumed the prince had likely come up with some new, eccentric game.
Alexander suppressed his anger and said:
"Prince Faust, I merely felt a sense of admiration upon seeing such beautiful princesses. Everyone appreciates beauty; why must you be so harsh with me?"
"That is quite enough."
It was never difficult for Faust to find a pretext for trouble. The prince lifted his chin slightly and declared:
"Selena and Viviana are my women. Since they are my beloved, their beauty is for me alone to admire, their voices for me alone to hear, and all their attention and interactions belong solely to me. You tried to touch my fiancées and my childhood friend while I was away. For that alone, you are lower than a beast!"
Upon hearing this, Alexander felt an immediate sense of revulsion toward Faust and retorted angrily:
"You! Prince Faust, what do you take women for? Are they your medals, your trophies?! If what others told me is correct, you are merely a co-ruler monarch; your status is no different from that of your fiancées!"
This Brave One candidate, who came from humble beginnings, clearly possessed a high moral standard. He was so stunned by Faust’s shameless, playboy charade that he laughed in disbelief. He looked past the Qingxi prince at the two maidens behind him, hoping to see at least a hint of dissatisfaction on their faces.
Faust’s high-emotional-intelligence evaluation of this was: he is well-suited to be a 【grail knight】.
However, the witches were not offended by Faust’s words. On the contrary, having their beloved assert his ownership so boldly felt like a sweet confession to them; they could not help but be overjoyed.
Selena downed her wine glass in one gulp, a flush of crimson rising to her fair cheeks.
"Clap, clap, clap—"
Viviana, meanwhile, pressed her lips together tightly and began to applaud. Even though her beautiful face remained calm, one could sense her delight.
They were hopeless romantics.
"Creak—"
Originally, he hadn't cared much, but seeing the two maidens remain indifferent, Alexander felt a sudden rush of heat to his head. He said in a deep voice:
"Prince Faust, with an attitude like yours, you are simply not worthy of such excellent companions!"
Faust immediately took the words out of context:
"Are you saying that you intend to steal my fiancées?"
Alexander was taken aback: "I didn't say that..."
"Then let us duel."
Faust removed his glove and tossed it at the Brave One candidate, saying coolly:
"You not only wish to lay hands on my fiancées, but you also attempt to seize them by force. Since that is the case, I must respond."
"Let us duel. I shall defend the honor of my beloved with my life!"
Enough! You have been slandering me the entire time! You never stop!
Alexander was truly laughing in rage. How could such a person exist? He was rewriting history right to his face!
And he didn't even care who was watching!
He picked up the glove: "Fine. In that case, I accept this duel."
"If I win, I will not demand any unreasonable terms, but you must apologize to your fiancées! A person like you is not worthy of possessing such treasures!"
Faust laughed: "Heh, I will not set any stakes for victory, because these are things I should be defending regardless."
"It better be that way."
Alexander turned and walked toward the outer courtyard of the estate, where there was enough space to serve as an arena.
Seeing the two "Brave One candidates" at each other's throats, clearly destined for a duel, the crowd immediately dispersed, whispering and gossiping among themselves.
Overall, however, it was a welcome spectacle.
How exciting! Being able to see a battle between two powerhouses would be worth the price of admission even if... cough, cough, well, death is best avoided, but it was worth watching nonetheless.
【You really pulled off that scam, didn't you?】
Mephistopheles mocked in the prince's mind:
【Is it really that forced? It's a bit deliberate.】
Faust: "Just tell me if it works. As long as he took the bait, that's all that matters."
According to the ongoing script of the 【witches' feast】, this Brave One had walked right into the line of fire. Although the prince had originally intended to pick a random passerby to use as an example, the Brave One would do just fine.
Faust had deliberately guided the narrative, shaping Alexander into the image of a "homewrecker" and placing a debuff on him that was considered ultimate in this fairy-tale world.
Because in the story of the 【witches' feast】, "pure love" was the foundational backdrop. Anyone who dared to disrupt the colors of pure love was an unforgivable villain.
Unless you were a princess from another kingdom testing the feelings between the witch and the prince, there was very little room for maneuver.
As for a man? What kind of thing is that! Does he even have the right to point fingers at the heroine?
There's a homewrecker!
The pure love war-god, the wheel of destiny, has applied for battle; all homewreckers must be ruthlessly elbowed away.
The homewrecker must die!
The truth did not matter; the narrative could be guided. Once he occupied that character role, he would inevitably have to pay the price for being the villain in the 【witches' feast】.
Faust was curious to see how much of the gap between himself and the fate-star of a Brave One could be filled by the power of destiny.
【Faust, you are still too dependent on the interference of the wheel of destiny.】
"I prefer to call this guiding the trend and following the flow."
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