For the party in a week, Lyla had to help decorate the manor to be fitting for the occasion.

During this time, Kairos' team were busy with their training, along with confirming that all the Snowdrifts members had returned from the Silent Lambs Empire.

Unfortunately, the four captains, Long, John, Silvers, and Sasha, were still not found, and the group could only seek the help of the Adventurer's guild. For now, they could only nervously wait for news. It will be a wait that lasts for months before they finally heard that the captains safely return.

Meanwhile, the current focus is on the party.

With so many guests expected to roam its halls, Kairos had spent his days properly furnishing his home, and that includes filling up his secret compartment with things he deems valuable.

With those treasures that he placed as decoys, Kairos hoped to avert others from searching too carefully and find out his secret basement is full of dragonlings. In addition, from the space-time containers that once belonged to the Phantoms, Kairos took out several protection talismans and placed them around as safeguards.

There are deterrence wards used to 'suggest' those that come too close to the hidden stairs to move away. The most important attribute of this type of ward is to be undetectable, but at the same time it wasn't a powerful talisman, and any person with a strong will would not feel any effect.

Therefore, besides this, Kairos also planted illusionary wards. A weaker version of the Illusionary Barrier which Jones' Snow Stoat used.

There are also protection and assault talismans placed within the secret compartment which holds treasures.

Thanks to his many traps, even though Kairos did not see any results yet, but his preparation will indeed be proven useful in the future when many intruders sneak into his manor to find his secret. But by that time, he already added guards and barrier stratagems to his defences.

The guests started arriving by his front porch, and the people of Rutea warmheartedly offered to escort them into Kairos' ballroom. These villagers had seen the boys grow up, and when they heard that Barons, a Viscount and even an Earl has appeared in their midst, they were in a celebratory mood throughout this time.

They eagerly offered a hand, which Kairos gladly accepted, and they trained feverishly to conduct themselves with proper etiquette in front of these nobles. Lyla, singlehandedly, guided their two weeks of training till each of them are faultless in their presentations.

In the beginning, the guests were all glad to be received by these down-to-earth people, who are not only polite but also had a genuine joy behind every action and word when assisting the nobles.

Their happiness quickly to spread to the guests and made Kairos' staff far better. When compared to the stewards that the nobles usually interact with, there wasn't any flamboyance and pompousness that often would rear its ugly heads.

However, when Calculus arrived, everything changed.

He was impressed with Kairos' 'stewards' at first, just like the rest of the nobles, but he did not believe that his rival could find such attendants in short notice. And with just a few questions it is revealed that all the staff came from the nearby village.

There is nothing to worry about if it is just this. In fact, quite a few nobles had already learnt the identity behind these aides that Kairos had hired.

But, Calculus began exclaiming that having plebeians at the party are insulting to his status and the prestige of his family, "As expected, an Earl who came from a commoner's background can never act above his upbringing, no matter what station is bestowed upon him."

Next to him, standing among his followers, Cannot Hope laughed agreeably and said, "Young master Calculus, you are too kind with your words. I wouldn't use the term 'bestow upon' to describe this ... foul serf ..., the words 'wasted onto him' is far more fitting."

"Indeed, any rank is wasted for a bumpkin who smells of dirt," Calculus said, spitting out each word.

Most the other nobles turned pale from hearing these words. To insult a lord in his own home is one of the greatest offence to give.

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What responded Calculus was not the outrage he had expected, but a calm silence that seemed reproachful instead. As though he was but a child, throwing a tantrum in public, and the adults who saw merely held their tongues.

Calculus' eyes blazed with anger, and he looked around challenging the others to speak ill of him if they dared.

The Devilheart family is truly a top ranked noble house in the Empire. If they had sent any high-level executive to a noble's party, they are already showing significant favour, and the noble ought to have felt privileged.

Moreover, this evening, the one attending the ball of a minor noble is none other than the chosen heir of the Devilheart family, Calculus, himself.

Such graces from the 100-nobles are few and far between.

Yet, Kairos had not yet been grovelling at his feet in appreciation and dared to ridicule him with this 'silence'?!

Calculus had gotten used to nobles fawning over him even after a snide remark or two, and felt that Kairos ought to be doing the same right now.

The other nobles either gave nervous glances at each other or looked at Calculus with unreserved pity in their eyes.

They already noticed that Kairos is far too formidable for the young heir.

The peculiar thing about this incident is the lack of response from Kairos, who is today's host, and his stewards.

None of his guests knew that Kairos had already briefed his staff to be silence in the face of rudeness, for it would become the perfect response. An utter silence in the attempt of humiliation.

These villagers knew to back away instead of losing their lives when faced with men of higher stations, and what Kairos asked them was nothing too hard.

In fact, they did not actually understand Calculus' attempted rudeness. Though the other nobles deemed the young heir's insults as an outrage, the villagers did not feel that anything was out of place from what was said.

Hearing a noble say that someone of a commoner's background should not act above his station is a phrase that all peasants heard before. Though Calculus was proud of his insult, the stewards felt these words were neither hurtful nor aggravating. And they did not try to fight for the honour of their 'master'.

It was as though Calculus had hurled an insult and landed into the sea, to disappear without a wave.

And then, they heard the young heir added that Kairos is someone who smells like dirt.

For those that grew up in Rutea village, they might even consider Calculus' words a compliment.

Labouring hard under the sun, and toiling in the fields, is a remarkable job to do. In some nobles' eyes that disdains both sweating and hard work, these villagers instead look highly upon the same deeds.

Conversely, they view the gregarious young nobles that indulge in frolicking with the same kind of disdain.

The villagers, Kairos' stewards, looked at Calculus and Cannot Hope with a slightly mystified stare. They had to put in some effort keep themselves from having a puzzled expression since they believed it to be rather rude on this occasion.

As their host, Kairos put on a broad, beaming, smile and slowly walked towards Calculus across the ballroom.

All eyes turned to look at him as he confidently strode towards his classmate.

Though his gait was light and easy, the others somehow felt as though Kairos is a large predator that towered above them, stalking Calculus with his every step.

Kairos' smile is not an act of pretence. In his eyes, Calculus is merely a tinge of annoyance, and he had not planned to address directly. When the party ends, this irritant will naturally be relieved.

However, plans change, and Kairos had not enjoyed the tedious party with the nobles, so when Calculus provided the chance to hasten the day's event, he so eagerly jumped on the cue that he couldn't keep his smile hidden.

"Calculus, I'm glad to have you with us today. I had hesitated in inviting you because you happen to be quite unimportant in my eyes, and I did not like to waste my time.

However, you provided me with the entertainment of shaming yourself and proved me wrong," Kairos did not speak hostilely, but every word became a blow to Calculus.

Even if Kairos had spew insults, it would not have such effect on him. But there was an indifference on his tone, which made everyone doubtless in the seriousness behind his words.

Kairos truly did not treat Calculus with much importance.

To the young heir, it was being viewed lightly upon by someone he sees as his rival that hurt his ego the most.

The look on Calculus' face turned ghastly, as he stared speechlessly at Kairos with mouth agape. Even after a few moments, he could not register in his mind what his ears had heard.

Jumping to the occasion, Cannot Hope opened his mouth in an attempt to rebuke Kairos and please Calculus, but before he could say anything, everyone noticed that their host is searching intently in the crowd.

His eyes scanned through the people's faces until he stopped to look at a gentleman nearby.

"You are an executive from the Steel Rose family, am I, right?" Kairos addressed him.

Unlike the Devilheart house, The Steel Rose family did not bother to send a blood relative to the ball, feeling that an Earl is beneath their attention. In point of fact, even the executive that was sent here felt disgraced to be attending a ball at such a backwater village, and he had not bothered with the fiasco on display.

Though he was silently wasting his time away at a corner, Kairos found him and spoke to him directly.

Then, before everyone, the young host told him, "Bring this message back to your masters. The Astroire house declares a trade war upon the Steel Rose family, the Devilheart family and the Hope family.

The Snowdrifts' shop that the three families had sealed, I will take it back. And my employees that you have imprisoned, I shall release them," Kairos paused and looked around, taking in every noble's expressions, before continuing, "All of you are welcome to be our trade partners during this period. But, otherwise... I'd advise you from joining the three houses mentioned."

He did not state what would happen to any who decide to side with the three families, and he did not need to. All that heard him had understood his message explicitly.