The new guests of the villa were the talk of the town. It wasn't just the servants discussing them; even the residents, and recently, some outsiders, had gotten wind of the situation. The marquess's reputation took a minor hit when he accepted gnolls as esteemed guests, but when confronted about it, he didn't take offense. In fact, there was a slight smile every time it was brought up.
The marquess was in such high spirits that he could even have dinner with his own wife.
The next surprise was the eldest son. Though he wasn't in as ecstatic a mood as his father, he appeared to be quite optimistic, a stark contrast to his usual restlessness. He was constantly on the move, as if time were running out.
However, it wasn't all good news. With the constant movement of the father and elder son, the other family members seemed to be left out of some plan. Since their continuous efforts to figure out what was happening were in vain, they resorted to what spoiled brats do best: taking out their frustrations on the innocent.
Days turned into weeks, and the marquess's children, who were already upset that their father, who rarely dined with them, now seemed to chat idly with a being they had never seen before. Even though he appeared to be an elf, there were clear differences that marked him as a half-breed at best.
Some of the daughters had come up with the theory that he might be a bastard, which would be even worse. In elven society, sleeping with women of another species was taboo, and having a child with them was even worse, let alone recognizing the bastard.
Although they weren't entirely sure what was happening, they feared it might affect their own reputation and quality of life within the city and elven society. Many rumors were already circulating, and their own hands were itching to take matters into their own hands.
Alex was outside, training the gnolls in the use of weapons and discussing city matters with a translator provided by the marquess. It appeared there were five major independent cities, of which Nixhaven was the smallest. This city had initially been founded through the joint efforts of inhabitants from the depths and harpies. In the beginning, small numbers of elves, mainly noble elven families who had been exiled, also made it their permanent residence. Although the marquess wasn't part of this group, he could potentially join them in the not-so-distant future. Another recent addition was a significant influx of dwarves. Since the fall of the last great dwarven empire, they had started to disperse.
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During the conversation, one of the marquess's sons had finally had enough of Alex and decided it was time to beat him up and kick him out of the villa.
"You and your dogs have caused enough harm to our family. It's time for you to get back to the ghetto where you belong, you damned half-breed," the young man shouted with apparent hatred on his face.
Of course, Alex didn't understand a word of what they were saying, but he could sense that they had just insulted him. He refrained from responding in kind and instead looked at the translator, hoping for an explanation.
The translator, on the other hand, was hesitant to translate what the young man had said. After all, he knew a lot, and he was aware that, far from any rumor being true, the young human could be a key piece for the marquess's family to return to the capital from which they had been exiled.
When he finally decided to translate, he changed some of the insults for others. After all, young Alex had become known for defending his companions' honor, so the high-ranking members of the villa took note not to say anything offensive in that regard.
"First of all, your father has no reason to recognize me. I'm not his son. And if the marquess wants me to leave, I'm eager to comply. I just need my payment to be completed," said a quite annoyed Alex, who had grown frustrated with how long things were taking, and he retired to his room.
While he had taken advantage of his free time to train his companions in the use of certain weapons, he wasn't really an expert, so there wasn't much to teach. They had been training in the use of internal energy, and with a method he had picked up from his collar, he had gradually increased the gnolls' perception, although not enough for them to start manipulating it.
During their free time, the group headed to the markets and other places to listen. Although they didn't have anything to sell yet, Alex quickly realized he needed more contacts within the city. The marquess was more than happy to buy his things for the time being, but he would only be of help once Alex had confronted the Kron and obtained more Kan dust.
Unfortunately, the task had been incredibly difficult due to the language barrier. Although some gnolls knew other languages, they weren't spoken here, and those who knew the human language were few, and since there were no humans in the city, they didn't openly speak it, which made it harder to find them.