“The lord of the house has reviewed your unusual request. The fact that it didn’t come from your father, the head of Eirenios Household, raises some thoughts. However, considering your good friendship with my granddaughter and her expressed interests, we are here to discuss further.” The one who spoke these cryptic words was none other than the old man, Jan De Ressa. His expression was serious, his gaze sharp as he addressed Vierenna directly.

‘So they are under the impression that it was Vierenna’s request? Perhaps it was?’

Deon watched silently from the side, gathering as much information as he could.

“I understand the nature of my request, and please, do not regard it as disrespectful, as that would be far from the truth. To be transparent, neither my brother nor I have a good relationship with our father at the moment. Hence, I didn’t feel the need to involve him. If his intervention is necessary, I will have no choice but to summon him, though he isn’t currently present at the manor. If you have any concerns, I would like to hear them first, so we can proceed in a way that suits all parties.” Vierenna rested her hands on the table, her gaze unwavering as she looked directly into the old man's eyes.

He, in turn, regarded her with a contemplative expression. “I appreciate your honesty. Although it does raise some concerns, honesty is a good trait…”

The old man leaned back, glancing at his family members seated beside him before returning his attention to Vierenna. “Indeed, we do have some concerns. The first of which, since you have chosen honesty, is whether your strained relationship with your father might result in repercussions for my granddaughter's safety if she truly intends to follow the path of the knight, as it was once known.”

“You can rest assured that any concerns regarding my father's interference are unfounded. Besides, Accia is, first and foremost, my friend. You have my word that she will not suffer from anything beyond what she faces in pursuing the path of the knight,” Vierenna responded confidently, her tone unwavering, showing no hint of nervousness.

“That doesn’t say much, but I’ll take your word; it holds some value,” the old man replied.

He picked up his teacup, taking an unusually long sip. The room fell silent as everyone waited for him to speak again.

“Our other concerns, and forgive me for saying this, involve the reputation of young master Deon. You, Vierenna, are the wiser one here,” he added.

Despite mentioning Deon, the old man didn’t look at him, as though he were unimportant.

Vierenna frowned, particularly when she noticed Deon’s curious gaze on her.

Pretending not to notice, she returned her attention to the old man. Her tone, while respectful, carried a hint of sharpness and warning. “Those rumors have no basis in truth—just words piling upon words.”

“Yes, I can believe you. But the words originated from your house. Regardless of their validity, I must consider my granddaughter’s reputation.” The old man’s face remained impassive as he spoke.

Vierenna’s frown deepened, but before she could say anything, Jan addressed Deon directly, breaking his silence for the first time. “What does young master Deon think? Do this old man’s concerns seem logical to you?”

Deon remained silent, his eyes fixed on the old man. He could feel Vierenna’s gaze on him, but she didn’t seem inclined to intervene. In fact, it felt like she wanted to hear his thoughts too. But truthfully, Deon didn’t know what he was supposed to say. He didn’t even understand why his reputation was so tarnished or how bad it truly was; he simply didn’t care enough to begin with. However, he knew one thing—his bad reputation had a lot to do with Viktoria De Avila, his supposed mother. And Vierenna always did her best to keep him in the dark about it.

Deon understood that her actions were meant to protect him, and he couldn’t bring himself to confront her. He wanted her to tell him herself. Forcing the issue and extracting the truth by force would only backfire. There were too many things Deon didn’t know, things he should have known.

He thought and thought about what he should say, but nothing logical came to mind.

‘It doesn’t have to be logical!’

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Deon settled on that. Under the expectant gazes of everyone, he finally spoke, his tone dramatic. “I was taught for most of my life that lying is the absence of truth. And that is a truth in itself, though it’s not a complete truth. In recent days, I’ve come to realize that the truth, logical to everyone, isn’t necessarily the truth that suits everyone.”

He bowed his head slightly, a sorrowful expression washing over his face for all to see. “And so, I could tell you what I believe to be true, and you might believe me... but I won’t.”

He raised his head again, meeting the old man’s gaze, who now looked at him in confusion. Deon didn’t blame him; he himself was confused by his own words. “It’s a matter of good perspective—if I’m not mistaken. One truth is clear to everyone: your concerns about your granddaughter’s reputation. I won’t deny that.”

Deon expected some sort of reaction, but no one spoke. They simply stared at him in silence—even Vierenna looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

Despite his discomfort, Deon remained silent. But as time passed, the silence began to gnaw at his composure.

Just as he was on the verge of losing his calm completely, the old man finally spoke. “I see that honesty is something you and your sister share. That is a good thing—a very good thing.”

He nodded at Deon, but his expression didn’t carry a smile. “However, your words have done nothing to ease my concerns or those of anyone else here.”

Deon seized the opportunity to interrupt. “Forgive me for the interruption, but I wasn’t trying to ease anyone’s concerns. My reputation is bad, and I won’t do anything about it. Personally, I don’t care what anyone thinks of me. I am the second-born, which means my sister will inherit the role of our father’s successor. I’m fine with that and will not oppose it... I used to care about reputation, but not anymore.”

The old man didn’t seem pleased with the interruption, but he didn’t comment on it. Vierenna, however, glared at Deon angrily from the side. Or at least, her expression was angry—but inside, she felt proud. Her brother had grown so much.

‘But is he trying to ruin the agreement?’

Before she could reach any conclusions, Deon continued speaking.

“If you ask me, I believe Lady Anna-Accia’s opinion matters the most. If she wishes to proceed, she can. If not, that’s her choice. And please, don’t take my words to mean that I don’t care about your opinion as representatives of House De Ressa—I do. But—”

Vierenna kicked Deon under the table to silence him. It wasn’t that no one noticed what she had done; everyone did. But it was still infinitely better than letting him continue.

“Please excuse my brother; he tends to speak his mind without concern,” she said, trying to smooth things over.

Deon stared at her in shock, confused as to why she would stop him. All he was trying to do was help—or so he thought...

A heavy silence fell over the breakfast table despite Vierenna’s words. Both Jan and Lady Anna-Lena frowned at Deon. On the opposite side, Felice’s eyes burned with anger, though this time, he merely stared without saying a word.

Deon turned his gaze to Anna-Accia, but her face was turned downward in defeat. She looked as though she had lost all hope.

After a long silence, the old man finally spoke, as always, breaking the tension. “Since young master Deon has taken the liberty of speaking his mind, I shall do the same. I do not believe my granddaughter is suited to you as a knight. Naturally, this also means she will lose the opportunity to join Sable as she wishes. But her talent is greater than that. If Sable won’t accept her, there are plenty of opportunities, both within and beyond the empire.”

Vierenna’s expression fell, and she looked at the old man to speak, but Deon was faster.

“I understand.”

Deon knew his words had sabotaged any chance of a compromise, but he didn’t care. If speaking one’s mind was a sensitivity in this world, he would speak his mind no matter what. He wouldn’t apologize for it.

“Deon, you’re not helping!” Vierenna warned through clenched teeth.

Deon felt a twinge of guilt for the effort she had put into making this happen, and he was ruining it right before her eyes. But he couldn’t stop himself.

“I’m sorry, sister. I tried, I really did, but being looked down on before we even get to anything—this is something I won’t accept. As I said, I don’t care what others think of me, but it’s a different story when it happens in my own house.”

Vierenna frowned deeply, her eyes fixed on Deon. But they quickly softened, even turning apologetic. “You’re right. I tried to ignore it since you did the same, but I shouldn’t have.”

She turned her gaze to Accia, whose face remained lowered. “I’m sorry, Accia. I tried, but my brother is more important to me.”

Jan’s frown deepened, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Vierenna stood from her seat to address everyone. “This agreement can still proceed if my brother agrees, of course. But an apology for the disrespect he faced will be necessary to move forward. I won’t discuss the validity of the claims, as there is no need, since everyone here is wise enough to discern the truth.”

Her gray obsidian eyes burned as they locked onto Felice, who stared challengingly at Deon.

Deon, however, kept his gaze on Vierenna.

“Once again…”

Vierenna shifted her gaze to Anna-Accia.

“Accia, you are my friend—a dear friend. But please understand, there are always things more important than others.”

Anna-Accia sighed in defeat, her expression clouded with sadness.

“I understand.”

And that was the end of it. Deon wouldn’t get a knight. He thought he’d be happy about it, but he wasn’t...

His unreadable gaze lingered on Vierenna, who stood tall, looking down at everyone.

She, in turn, looked at him with a gentle smile, which only deepened the guilt weighing on Deon.

‘If only I had kept my mouth shut.’

But it was too late now.