"If you were not friends with my sister… then you two would have been dead by now"

"Ack. Now my fork is dirty, why did you even involve me", Viel groaned, "I'm not supposed to get involve with you people"

Everyone was stupefied still. None of them saw what happened, but the next thing they saw was that the beard of the long-bearded Elder was cut, the magnificent gloss was no more as most of it were scattered on the ground.

All they saw was Mr. Voice waving his hand, and now the long-bearded Elder has a trim. Was it some form of spell? They all thought. A hair styling spell?

The Elders from the New Golden Pavilion were no different, perhaps one might say their shock reached all the way back to their old realm.

They felt not a graze, nor even a wind. But for Cao Man's beard to be cut in half, they finally understood what Xing Cai was telling the Matriarch back when they were in the old world.

At first, they were laughing at her. Being the youngest Elder, they thought she was eager to please the Matriarch with a new found protege. But if her stories were true, then how much stronger has he gotten now?

A year ago, their former sect master, Li Xue, suddenly returned to them, excited and bearing good news.

A news of Elder Xing Cai's sworn brother being in this realm. A news for a way back to their own realm. The Elders were excited at first, but then their excitement became dejection.

But why would they want to go back? In this world, they have power. Returning to the old world means returning back to the old Golden Pavilion, to a dead Golden Pavilion. So, gathering the agreements of all the Elders, they decided to hide this information from the Matriarch. If the Matriarch ever comes to know, she would surely want to return.

As for the former sect master Li Xue's fate? Only the top Elders knew.

The Elders were quite curious about Viel, but they could not really make a move 'les they be noticed by their Matriarch. But now, they needed to have the city of Burgerstatter under their clutch, which just so happens to be the city where Viel resides.

They were not supposed to make contact, but the two could not contain their curiosity. Viel was like a bubble that urges one to pop it. There were just too many mysteries surrounding him.

The only one that had a different expression from the rest of the people was Emi. She already knew how strong Viel is, but that is not what she had a complicated expression for. Emi knew of Viel's true identity- he was from another world.

If Viel was acquainted with the New Golden Pavilion even before she and Viel met, that would mean that the New Golden Pavilion was also from Viel's world.

After what seemed like an eternity, the tall Elder, Bu Fang, finally broke the silence with a sigh.

"If our junior wants us to leave, then we shall leave", Bu Fang said as he raised both his hands loosely.

But instead of the guards loosening their grip on their weapons, it only got tighter. These two men caused trouble and hurt their master, they will be damned if they let the two go without a fight.

Although they were also hesitant, these two were clearly stronger than them, their only chance of winning was if the Gold Rank adventurer, Mr. Voice, helps them. But seeing as he was acquainted with the Elders, there was a low chance of that, he did not even help when lady Emilia was fighting.

The guards started to sweat, then should they just let them go like that?

"Let them leave!"

It was then that they heard a desperate groan.

"Karl!"

Emi rushed quickly towards Karl, who was struggling to get up.

"Let them go", he spoke again, this time calmly, "We had enough festivities for today"

Hearing their Lord's words, the guards started to open the circle they made, clearing a path for the two elders. The tip of their sharp weapons still pointing at the two elders as they did so.

The guards watched as the tall Elder dragged their other companion, Handsome Face, from the table. They slowly made their way through the opening that the guards made.

"W-wait for me!", Hans, who was still groveling on the floor crawled his way outside the circle.

"Not Lord Hans!", Karl ordered his guards, "He remains here!"

"What!?", Hans could not help but gulp as he saw the guards pointing their weapons at him. "S-seniors!?"

Hans pleaded towards the two elders. But the two did not even flinch as they continued to walk towards the exit, dragging only Hans with them.

Did… they really just leave him behind!? Hans' breath started to become erratic. No matter how many excuses he makes, there were almost a dozen guests here. A dozen people to testify to the King that he worked with the New Golden Pavilion to recruit another noble.

The new Golden Pavilion was leaving him for dead.

The two Elders were almost at the exit. But before they could leave, someone called them.

"Wait!", Viel shouted.

The two Elders looked at him with complicated expressions on their faces, it seems that they really will not be able to leave without fighting. So be it, then. They thought. But Viel's next words showed them how wrong they were with their assumptions.

"Pay for everything you destroyed here", Viel calmly said, "And also for the injuries of Lord Karl and my friend"

"You!", hearing this, Elder Bu Fang dropped Handsome Face in frustration, turning back towards the center of the ball.

"Stop…", Cao Man whispered, "We got what we came here for, we don't want any more trouble"

Elder Bu Fang could not help but click his tongue. He then reached for his pockets, dropping a bag, presumably of coins, to the floor.

The two turned back to leave once again, but once again, Viel called them.

"Open the bag", he said, "How can we be sure if it's coins and not candy"

Elder Bu Fang's mind felt like it was going to explode, who in their right mind would carry a bag of candies with them!?

Full of hesitation, Bu Fang's vexed hands opened the bag he dropped on the ground. And there it was, a mixture of silver and gold.

With a satisfied expression, Viel waved his hand repeatedly, as if saying they should hurry and leave.

"Yo-"

"Please, ladies and gents", before Bu Fang can open his mouth again, Cao Man interrupted him, "You may continue your party, and thank you for the trim"

Cao Man bowed as he dragged both Handsome Face and the tall Elder out of the ball.

All the people watched as the agitators abruptly disappeared, some of the guards followed them, making sure they really did leave the estate.

With the people from the New Golden Pavilion gone, the guests could finally breathe. They expected trouble when the New Golden Pavilion arrived at the party, but to this extent? The rumors were true, they truly did not fear anyone.

They just made peace with the elves, and now they have to deal with another enemy? Troublesome, truly troublesome.

"Karl, are you alright now?"

"I am fine"

Emi could finally check on Karl's status. It would seem that aside from a minor concussion, there wasn't anything serious. That was good, really good.

"Where is our baby?", Karl asked.

"He is safe with Antoinette, you have nothing to worry about", Emi smiled as she gently wiped the blood from Karl's face.

Karl sighed as soon as he heard this. He then placed his attention towards Viel.

"Maybe it is time you tell us about your world"

Like Emi, Karl knew of Viel's true identity as he was there when it was revealed by the Earth Goddess.

The other people listening in were confused, what world? The guests could not help but slowly walk near towards Lord Karl so they could hear all the juicy details. But sadly for them, Karl noticed them approaching.

"Everyone, thank you for coming to my birthday. I apologize for the… theatrics", Lord Karl bowed, "Please, I will make it up to you on my next party"

Karl then signaled the guards to fully open the door so that the guests would leave. Emi's friends also bid their farewell, as they felt that the conversation was private.

It took a few minutes before the guests fully dispersed, some of them saying that they will come back tomorrow to check on Karl.

And so, after thanking them all. Only Viel, Emi, and Karl were left in the ball.

They could finally discuss about the New Golden Pavilion, and how Viel was connected to them. They all sat around a table, with Karl still trying to catch his breath from everything that has happened.

"Viel… are you-"

But before their conversation could even start, a maid barged inside the room.

Her clothes tinted red, her hands dripping with blood.

"T-the other maids!", she screamed, her voice cracking,

"The other maids took the young master!"

"!!!"