I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 277 [8K2] Undercurrents Approach the Banquet, the Chaotic Princess Arrives
After delivering his speech, William did not linger in the banquet hall. After exchanging brief pleasantries with the nobles and verbally praising the meritorious officials who had participated in the banquet, His Majesty the Emperor left the Meissouil Estate by car amidst the awe-inspiring gazes of the crowd.

However, shortly after William left, most of the nobles above the rank of earl and high-ranking officials of the empire, for reasons unknown, gradually withdrew from the banquet, leaving only a small number of nobles with deep roots and key officials of the empire.

As William and the high-ranking officials left, the originally solemn banquet gradually became lively.

Many of the reformist nobles took the initiative to step forward and talk to the war heroes present.

John, who had made the most outstanding contribution in this battle, was naturally surrounded by a group of noble ladies. His constant fake smiles made his cheekbones start to ache.

However, compared to John, Serbia, as the new queen leading the Red Dragon Sea Dragon Clan and personally appointed as the new Legion General by His Majesty William, is a different story.

She was also surrounded by young male noblemen, both reformers and conservatives, and her popularity far exceeded that of John himself.

Almost half of the young men were vying to display their elegant aristocratic manners in front of the new female general, hoping to win her favor.

Unfortunately, this happened in front of Her Highness the Red Dragon Queen, who was already in a particularly bad mood and was now surrounded by a group of women, her black aura almost materializing.

These young talents of the empire, who were trying to show their charm, were all met with death stares, merciless ridicule and insults.

Even when a young, overconfident conservative nobleman tried to force Serbia to dance with him.

The enraged Serbian immediately broke the opponent's arm and threw him dozens of meters away amidst his screams, also knocking down Lieutenant Colonel Miles, who was hiding in a corner watching the show.

This violent incident successfully drew shock from the entire audience and prompted inquiries from the security detail.

Fortunately, there were reformist nobles who testified on his behalf that it was the other side that attempted to attack first.

Furthermore, Serbia was a newly appointed Imperial General with real power, while the nobleman whose arm was broken was merely the illegitimate son of a count and had no real authority.

After a brief inquiry, the guards, on the grounds of harassment, escorted the count's illegitimate son, who had a broken arm and a bloody head, away.

After this little incident, they realized how violent and ruthless the Red Dragon General was.

The group of imperial heroes also abandoned their thoughts of going forward to their deaths, and instead focused their attention on the dark-skinned 'beauty' Carrie, who was always veiled but had an exceptionally hot figure.

They tried to settle for second best by showcasing their own charm in order to gain the favor of this newly appointed lieutenant general, whose potential and power were in no way inferior to their predecessors.

Of course, it goes without saying that you probably already know.

In front of Carrie, who was once an unparalleled warrior who could single-handedly chase and kill five strongmen of the same level.

These imperial heroes who tried to display their masculine charm in front of her made her turn green with disgust, as if she had swallowed flies, and she wished she could kick them all out of the banquet.

These conversations were destined to have no other possibility.

However, to John's surprise, despite Leia's looks, temperament, and even family background being no less than the other two, not a single man approached her to start a conversation.

Even Martha, the horse-faced girl who was promoted to lieutenant colonel due to her outstanding combat record, had several men trying to talk to her at this moment.

Meanwhile, the former company commander was staring intently at the male nobles who had come to talk.

To be precise, it was the obviously expensive accessories these people wore.

He constantly lured these unsuspecting nobles, who thought they had won the admiration of a beauty, in his words, trying to get them to voluntarily give him their valuables. He was completely obsessed with money.

Even Major Wendy, who was the captain of John's squad, had several noblewomen around her trying to start conversations with her.

However, upon seeing Major Wendy devouring a whole pig leg, her mouth greasy with oil, and even presumptuously mistaking a nobleman who had come to try and get closer to her for a waiter, asking if he had come for an extra meal...

These embarrassed young nobles then awkwardly took their leave one by one.

Therefore, Leia, who was not approached by any men, but occasionally a few noble girls who seemed to know her would take the initiative to talk to her, naturally seemed very strange to John.

Fortunately, John used his social skills to tell a joke that incorporated elements from his past life, successfully making a marquis's daughter laugh and cover her mouth.

He successfully extracted the information he wanted from the cheerful marquis's daughter:

The reason why no men tried to talk to Leia was actually related to the Binot family, known as the 'Spear of the Empire'.

Although the Binot family currently owns many properties and actual fiefdoms, the truth about the family lineage being mysteriously wiped out overnight remains unknown.

Enraged by this, His Majesty William personally issued a decree forbidding any woman from approaching him without the consent of the current Earl of Binott.

If they violate the rules, their family members will be subject to searches by surveillance forces.

This ban is clearly intended to prevent the bloodline of the Binott family from falling into the hands of malicious individuals, or even the real culprits who assassinated the Binott family years ago, through so-called "chance encounters".

As is widely known, given the history of the rise of the imperial nobility, few could withstand the searches and investigations of the surveillance forces, which are said to be able to see through everything.

Therefore, even though countless young talents coveted this beautiful, wealthy woman who could reach the pinnacle of life simply by marrying her, it was still a great deal of effort.

But when they thought about the trouble that such conversations would bring to their families, these imperial talents had no choice but to abandon all such thoughts under this ban.

They even went so far as to avoid each other after meeting.

"I never expected it to be like this. It's truly astonishing."

When John learned the truth, a complex look appeared in his eyes as he looked at Leia.

And since her gaze seemed to be fixed on John the whole time, Leia noticed it immediately when John looked at her.

Although she was puzzled as to why John's gaze seemed a little strange, just like the way Head Maid Lorian often silently cast glances at her.

Leia didn't think much of it, but silently put down her glass of juice and then gestured to the other party with a tactical signal that she could provide support at any time.

He then gestured towards John with a silver knife, his expression serious.

Her gesture seemed to assure John that even if a powerful assassin were to attack, she could use the extremely fragile knife in her hand to kill the enemy on the spot and protect her superior's safety.

"..."

It's no wonder she's Anna's older sister.

This overwhelming sense of security, which can be clearly felt anytime and anywhere, is truly comforting.

John smiled as he watched Leia intently giving him tactical hand signals, then nodded slightly to her from a distance.

He wanted to respond to the other party with tactical hand signals, but he was quickly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions from the noble ladies around him.

……

It was twenty minutes later when John finally managed to escape the throng of boisterous and enthusiastic noble ladies by feigning illness and finally came to the window to breathe in the fresh, perfume-free air.

As he was racking his brains sorting through the various tokens and invitations that the noble ladies who had shown interest in him had slipped into his pockets in the chaos, he handed them over to his attendant to put in his car. He planned to have a smoke there, then call everyone back to the hotel to end this noisy dinner.

The next second, accompanied by a series of crisp footsteps, a loud voice slowly entered his ears:

"Ah! Our lion of the night, General John Maslow! Please allow an old man to express his sincerest admiration! Your command in Faoken Bay was nothing short of a reckless miracle!"

Following the sound, John saw an old man with gray hair, neatly combed, wearing a signature count's robe, and a perpetually fake smile walking towards him.

By sorting through the memories in his mind of using his magic eye to survey the seated people when he entered the banquet, he found that Old Deng's seat belonged to the conservative camp.

Combined with the other party's seemingly complimentary but actually sarcastic words.

In an instant, John knew that the old man probably had ill intentions.

Although he had anticipated this scenario even before attending the dinner.

But when it actually appeared before him, John was speechless.

This shows that William had already publicly acknowledged his merits in Faoken and personally judged his actions based on the Seven Virtues.

To nitpick over something that's already settled is just asking for trouble.
"However, I am also guilty of overestimating the intelligence of these middle-level members of the conservative party. After all, even the West family, descendants of the thirteen heroes, can produce a hothead like Lothar."

"It's quite common for a few brainless idiots to occasionally appear among a group of nobles without a long history of tradition."

John inwardly scoffed, but outwardly maintained a smile as he addressed Old Deng, who was either misled into becoming a target or simply disliked him, a commoner lieutenant general, simply because of his noble status:

"You flatter me. May I ask who you are?"

"How incredibly rude!"

Before the old man could speak, a disdainful voice rang out again from the crowd.

Then, to John's unbearable gaze, a person appeared whose face was covered with a lot of white foundation, but which could not hide their aged appearance. They wore a long crown decorated with a lot of feathers, which matched their ornate attire.

However, due to the owner's out-of-shape figure, the dress failed to accentuate her beauty at all, instead making her look exceptionally bloated, like a fat hen that could talk.

In addition, the other party always held its chin high and shook its head from time to time while walking, causing the feathers on its head to tremble. It looked exactly like a cockfighting cock entering the arena, which made John almost burst out laughing when he saw it.

However, considering that this seemingly ordinary aristocratic conversation was actually a deliberate attempt by the conservatives to annoy me, and that they likely even had members recording it so they could use it to attack me after the banquet, I should take action against them.

John forced back his laughter, then looked at the two fools who had provoked him, feigning a blank expression:

"May I ask who you are, madam?"

"They can't even remember the name of a countess. As expected, commoners are just commoners. They simply don't know anything about etiquette!"

Seeing that John didn't even know who she was, the fat Countess immediately took out a fan and held it in front of her with a disgusted expression. However, the small fan could not completely cover her face, which was covered with layers of fat.

John almost couldn't suppress his smile at this clumsy imitation. Only after repeatedly recalling fragments of his childhood nightmare about the old corpse in the mountain village did he finally manage to stop laughing.

However, he feigned confusion and asked:

"Unknown Countess, please forgive my rudeness. After all, I went straight to the battlefield after graduation and am not very familiar with the situation back home. Therefore, please forgive me if my words or actions were inappropriate."

After briefly covering up his rude and disrespectful behavior, John changed the subject before the other party could launch another attack:

"However, I really don't understand your question just now. Although you are a countess, isn't it common sense to introduce yourself and state your identity when meeting a stranger for the first time?"

"Do you perhaps believe that your family, like the just and great His Majesty William, is an entity that everyone in the Empire must know about?"

Having said that, John ignored the other person's angry expression, instead letting out a feigned sigh of helplessness, and then said softly:

"While it's good to be confident in your family, your actions seem to me to show that you have no respect for our great Emperor. In other words, it's tantamount to disrespecting the monarch. Tsk tsk, this makes me start to doubt the loyalty of your family."

“Nonsense! Utter nonsense, John Maslow, you lowly commoner, how dare you…”

After being inexplicably accused of disloyalty, Ms. Fat Hen immediately wanted to bring up John's background in anger, but before she could continue speaking, she lost control of her emotions.

The old man, his face darkening, raised his hand to interrupt his foolish wife's absurd behavior. He glared fiercely at this idiot who was only causing him trouble, then winked at his servants to forcibly drag her away. Only then did he speak to John with a forced smile:

“I apologize, Viscount John. My wife has been having trouble sleeping lately and may be under some mental stress, which caused her to misspoke. If what just happened has caused you any trouble, I, Krantz Obito, would like to apologize to you personally.”

"Furthermore, if you are not satisfied, I can personally kneel down and apologize to you for my wife's inappropriate words and actions until you are satisfied. How about that?"

"!"

These words immediately attracted everyone's attention, and everyone's eyes instinctively turned towards this side.

Feeling the gazes around him, John subconsciously narrowed his eyes, but feigned confusion as he spoke:

“Count Obito, you flatter me. You are a noble count, how could I be qualified to ask you to apologize to me? Besides, even if you were to apologize, the person you should apologize to is His Majesty William.”

"After all, your wife's words and actions just now, in my opinion, showed that she didn't take His Majesty William seriously at all. What she said was simply like..."

At this point, John paused slightly, then put on an incredulous expression, but his dark eyes were filled with unprecedented mockery when he looked directly at the other person.

Then he uttered a sentence as cold as the depths of winter, a sentence that sent chills down everyone's spine:
"It's as if the empire doesn't belong to His Majesty William, but rather to your family, the Obito family, isn't that right?"

"Wow!"

Upon hearing this, the entire hall erupted in uproar, and everyone's eyes turned to Krantz in the center of the hall, seemingly unable to believe that this young count dared to utter such treasonous words.

Krantz, who was being watched by everyone, turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and his gaze toward John became increasingly cold and murderous.

But John showed no emotion as he watched the look of hatred that Old Deng, who was trying to disgust him, gave him, as if he wanted to kill his whole family. Instead, he sneered inwardly.

Retreat to advance?

Are they trying to use moral blackmail to make me the target of public criticism?
In my previous life, I had a full fifteen-year career in the workplace and became a top-notch employee.

The tricks you're playing, you old codger, are nothing more than things I've already done before.

You stupid pig who has never experienced workplace bullying or boss oppression, do you think you're worthy of playing tricks on me, a lieutenant general?

I think you really don't understand anything!
“Viscount John, you’re exaggerating. The Obito family’s loyalty to His Majesty William is as clear as day and they have no other thoughts. How could they possibly have such an absurd idea as you described?”

Krantz suppressed his anger and added with a forced smile:

"Moreover, as a top student from the Empire's First Military Academy, even if you are unaware of the Obito family's reputation, I think you should know the detrimental consequences of slandering a nobleman, right? Therefore, I urge you to consider this carefully."

Before John, who was frowning, could speak, Krantz feigned helplessness and said:

"Besides, I was merely offering my congratulations on your victory in Faoken and genuinely admired your achievements. Why are you making things so difficult for an old man like me?"

An old man? I think you're more like an old man.

When they realize they can't take the blame anymore, they start to play the victim and use moral blackmail, right?

I've already told you this is something I've already done before, why don't you know how to learn from this?
Also, you should be glad this isn't a battlefield, otherwise your head would probably be crushed by my loyal squad leader by now.

Wendy, who had stopped eating at some point, was carrying eight knives and had secretly moved to the edge of the crowd. With a cold expression, she activated her magic eye, seemingly looking for the right angle to throw the knives, turning Old Deng, who was making things difficult for his boss, into a pincushion on the spot.

John subtly gestured for the other party to stop the attack, then looked up at the sky and sighed pitifully:
“Count Obito, why are you making things difficult for me? I only came here to attend the victory celebration banquet. I thought that for us soldiers who had gone through the trials of death and hard-fought battles and finally achieved victory, we would be greeted with praise and rewards.”

"But I never expected that your wife would address us as such lowly people. Although I know that my commoner background cannot be compared with that of nobles, and that I was once a resident of the Kingdom of Brown, I also find it quite objectionable."

"But His Majesty William's divine power, and the mercy and favor bestowed upon me by the Empire when even survival was a luxury, made me wholeheartedly accept my identity as an Imperial citizen, and I have been constantly striving for the Empire with a grateful heart."

"Even on the battlefield where death was a constant threat, I always thought that I must bring victory to the Empire no matter what. For this, I even risked my own life and took the initiative to use myself as bait many times to lure the enemy to attack me, thereby turning the tide of the battle."

"I thought that such efforts would be recognized and acknowledged by the nobles who are the backbone of the empire."

"But I never imagined that I would strive so hard for my mission, persevere in repaying His Majesty William's kindness, and fight so tirelessly for the empire."

"In the end, in the eyes of you and your wife, Count Krantz, I am still just a lowly person who is not worthy of being recognized as an imperial citizen, who is not even worthy of having a family name, and who is utterly insignificant!"

"This makes me start to question whether those actions I took to gain courage by reciting His Majesty William's name countless times in the face of death, and to win victories for the Empire in Walden and Faoken through countless bloody battles, those things that I once believed in as if they were my faith, still have any value!"

Sweating profusely, as if finally realizing he had provoked some monster, Krantz's terrified gaze was met with a chilling glint of murderous intent in John's eyes.

Before the other party could change the subject, John immediately feigned grief and indignation, looking up to the sky and roaring angrily:
“Since Count Krantz, on behalf of all the nobles, believes that I, John Maslow, am unworthy of being a member of the Empire, let alone possess this honor, then you need not say anything more, nor send your servants to drive us away. I, John Maslow, will not attend this so-called victory celebration banquet!”

Finished!

Hearing John finally throw out the blame.

In an instant, Krantz realized that he, and indeed the entire Obito family, were probably doomed.

Before he could even make amends, the meritorious officers of the 1st Battalion and the 2nd Army Corps, who had witnessed the entire 'oppression' and were already seething with anger, along with the reformists who were already furious, immediately roared in resentment:

"Lieutenant General John, absolutely not! Don't get upset over such a petty person!"

"If Lieutenant General John isn't going, then we're even less qualified to go!"

"To hell with the Obito family! Who do you think you are? My father, Marquis Heinrich, even I have to respectfully praise General John's great achievements. And you think you're worthy to point fingers at Lieutenant General John?"

"Exactly! You're just a minor earl from a remote place. Do you really think your wretched, backwater fiefdom is anything special? You even dare to insult General John, whom His Majesty William himself praised. Believe me, tomorrow I'll have my father lead his army to raze your damned territory to the ground!"

"Krantz Obito, I think you've really had enough of living! Servant, quickly bring me my sword, I'm going to kill this old beast who's wreaking havoc on the empire!"

In an instant, accompanied by John's tearful accusations, the entire banquet hall exploded as if a powder keg had been ignited.

Countless angry young noblemen, eager for reform, immediately swarmed Obito and began to beat him with fists and kicks. Even his servants and the fat hen lady could not escape his clutches.

Instead, led by the Marquis's daughter, who had previously been amused by John's jokes, she was quickly found and, along with a group of extremely elegant noble ladies who knew nothing of violence, went straight to the scene and started tearing apart the respected Countess. They not only ripped off her crown to pieces, but also pulled out several clumps of her hair amidst her screams of pain.

Seeing so many noble sons fall from grace, including even the son of a duke, some conservative members who knew about the matter wanted to help the ravaged Earl of Obito.

But looking at the chaotic scene, if I went forward to help and say something nice, I'd probably be beaten up as an accomplice by these lawless second-generation rich kids.

After exchanging glances, the people in the know decided to remain on the sidelines, clearly not intending to get involved in this mess.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Ow!"

For a moment, the entire celebration banquet was filled with angry curses and the sound of fists hitting flesh. John, the instigator of it all, was being personally pulled forward by several reformist earls to appease and beg to stay, while he kept cursing the Obito family genealogy in his mind.

The thought that their hard-won general had almost alienated them because of this incident fueled the anger of the counts. They immediately resolved to inform Duke Austein of the matter after this damned banquet.

During tomorrow's court assembly, we must bring this matter up and make those conservative bastards give us an explanation!

While outwardly feigning grievance, John secretly glimpsed Count Krantz, who was being beaten to a pulp by a group of hot-blooded second-generation nobles, and was secretly overjoyed.

Just as he was smugly planning to drag things out a little longer so that the old man who dared to provoke him would be beaten to death by the crowd, and because there were too many people involved, there would be no way to verify the truth and the real culprit could not be found afterward.

Then he'll come out and pretend to be a good guy, persuading all the righteous second-generation rich kids to stop, thus minimizing his own guilt.

A messenger's voice slowly rang out from the entrance of the banquet hall:
"Princess Alafia Caster Perus has arrived!"

"!"

Upon hearing this honorific title, the second-generation scions who had been furiously beating up Old Deng were all startled. Without a second thought, they immediately straightened their clothes and quickly distanced themselves from the scene of the crime. Instead, they pretended not to have participated in the beating of Count Krantz and sat down at their respective dining tables in a refined manner.

It was as if those figures who had just roared and punched Old Deng, or even lifted a table to deliver a fatal blow with the corner of it, were all illusions.

They never left their table.

"Tap, tap!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of high heels on the stone slabs, and amidst the eager or respectful gazes of the crowd, a figure dressed in a magnificent platinum gown, with flowing golden hair of the Castor family and a face so exquisite it seemed as if sculpted by a god himself, flawless in every way, gracefully and slowly walked into the banquet hall.

Her azure eyes shone like jewels, naturally exuding a captivating gentleness and nobility.

Her skin was as white as cream, and the light shining on her almost reflected an arc of light.

She has a slender figure, but she doesn't look thin. Every inch of her figure is just right, and the dress makes her look even more charming and perfect.

With each step she took, her long, graceful legs made a sound as they touched the ground, as if they were striking not a hard stone slab, but the hearts of countless people.

The sight made countless hearts race.

"Huh? This is..."

Looking at the chaotic banquet hall, and Count Krantz lying in the center, his face bruised and swollen for some reason, even though he had used a superhuman magic, he was now bleeding profusely from his head, and his eyes were starting to glaze over.

Princess Alafia instinctively covered her mouth, her face filled with shock.

But after a blonde female guard with dead fish eyes stepped forward and whispered something to her, Princess Elafia quickly understood what had happened. She frowned slightly and then gave Krantz, who was lying on the ground looking at her with a pleading expression, a cold look in her eyes.

Then, without hesitation, she gave the order:

"Guards, drag this scoundrel who attempted to divide the empire's peace away and interrogate him thoroughly. Make sure to find out who masterminds this framing incident, and there must be no mistake!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Woo..."

Upon hearing this, Krantz's eyes widened instantly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but for some reason, he couldn't utter a single word. Then, he was struck unconscious on the back of the head by an impatient, dead-eyed female guard with an elbow strike.

"Your Highness the Queen is wise!"

Upon seeing this, everyone in the room praised the prince's fairness.

As for the rewards from everyone, Alafia simply smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, but her gaze swept around the room, and then seemed to find a certain target.

Her azure eyes suddenly lit up, and then, amidst the surprised gazes of the crowd, she strode quickly toward the person.

Then, the First Princess slowly stopped in front of him, first giving him a sweet smile, and then uttering something that surprised everyone:
"Brother John, it's been a long time!"

"!"

……

(End of this chapter)