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“Miles, your family holds a banquet this grand and does not invite me?”
The white-haired middle-aged man spread his arms the moment he saw Miles and walked toward him with a booming laugh.
“Hall, I do not remember our relationship being that close.”
Miles did not play along.
The instant he saw the man, his expression went cold.
“I certainly do not remember inviting you.”
“Ha!
Listen to you.”
Hall Lancelot did not so much as blink at Miles’s coldness.
He kept walking forward with theatrical warmth, clearly confident that Miles would not break with him in the middle of the banquet.
“Our families are old friends.
Your boy is practically my nephew.
How could I miss his engagement banquet?”
‘That old bastard has no shame.’
‘Old friends?
Generations of enemies would be closer.’
Miles and Aurelian arrived at the same silent verdict almost at the same time.
“Ha, yes, of course.
My mistake.
I must have forgotten to send your invitation.”
As Hall reached him, Miles abruptly laughed and pulled him into a brief embrace.
Aurelian and Mr.
Delacour had to fight not to react.
Fleur stood beside them, utterly baffled.
At eleven, she could not understand how Miles had gone from looking ready to draw blood to smiling like a genial host within seconds.
“Come, let me introduce him.
This is my son, Joyce Lancelot.
He is the same age as your Aurelian, eight this year.
I brought him along tonight so he could see a little more of the world.
You do not mind, do you, Miles?”
After greeting Mr.
Delacour, Aurelian, and Fleur, Hall drew the arrogant little boy behind him to the front.
“Not at all.
Not at all.
I have heard young Joyce Lancelot’s name for some time.
Such talent is almost unheard of.”
Miles smiled broadly at Joyce and praised him without pause.
“If only he had inherited more of Evelyn’s looks, he would be perfect.
After all, in appearance, your wife is the true beauty in your family.”
Miles ended with a faintly regretful sigh.
Evelyn Lancelot was Hall’s wife and Joyce’s mother.
“You…”
Anger flashed in Joyce’s eyes.
Miles had all but said outright that he was ugly.
Before the boy could erupt, however, Hall pressed a hand down on his shoulder.
“Hardly, hardly.
My son still falls far short of Aurelian.”
Hall smiled as if he had not heard Miles’s final barb and began praising Aurelian in return.
“After all, not everyone can form a contract with a phoenix.
Then again, Aurelian’s accidental magic has not appeared yet, has it?”
In the wizarding world, a child who reached eleven without any accidental magic was often suspected of being a Squib.
In a pure-blood family, that possibility was treated as a humiliation.
The earlier a child’s accidental magic appeared, the more talented the child was believed to be.
That was why Miles had called Joyce Lancelot’s talent nearly unparalleled.
As House Pendragon’s ancestral enemy, Hall Lancelot naturally knew that Aurelian had not yet shown accidental magic.
He used it as his counterattack.
“Uncle Hall, House Lancelot’s intelligence network really is impressive.”
Aurelian saw Miles about to lose his temper and quickly held him back.
“Likewise.
House Pendragon’s is no worse.”
A flicker of regret crossed Hall’s eyes when he saw Aurelian restrain Miles.
When he looked at the boy again, his gaze became more serious.
“There are still many guests to greet.
Forgive us for stepping away.
Uncle Hall, please enjoy the banquet at your leisure.”
Aurelian did not want to waste more time in a meaningless exchange with Hall.
He drew Miles away.
Mr.
Delacour apologized politely to Hall Lancelot, then followed with Fleur.
“Joyce, do not underestimate Aurelian Pendragon.”
Hall watched Aurelian’s departing back with a grave expression.
“For a child, his thoughts run deep.
He may be harder to deal with than Miles.
Are you confident about what we came here to do tonight?”
“Father, no matter how deep his thoughts run, if he cannot use magic, then he is not my opponent.”
“Let us hope so.”
Hall watched Aurelian a moment longer, then took Joyce to meet the other pure-blood families at the banquet.
…
“What the hell was that?
Showing up uninvited was bad enough, but he dared imply my son is a Squib?”
Once Aurelian drew Miles into a quieter corner, Miles spat the words through gritted teeth.
“Father, your image.”
Aurelian reminded him helplessly.
Fortunately, no one had passed close enough to see it except him, Fleur, and Mr.
Delacour.
“Also, you implied Joyce Lancelot was ugly first.”
“He is ugly to me.
Look at him, strutting around with his nose in the air.”
Miles paused at Aurelian’s reminder, then forced out his defense.
Aurelian glanced instinctively toward the distant Lancelot father and son, then rubbed his forehead.
In truth, Joyce was not ugly.
On the contrary, he was rather handsome.
It was only the arrogance and overly delicate manner clinging to him that made it difficult to like him.
“Please forgive my father’s temper, Mr.
Delacour.”
Seeing Miles still seething, Aurelian gave Fleur and Mr.
Delacour an apologetic smile.
Miles’s behavior did not exactly fit the dignity expected of the head of House Pendragon.
“There is nothing to forgive.
I understand.”
Mr.
Delacour smiled to show that he did.
House Pendragon and House Lancelot had fought for so many years, and Lord Lancelot had chosen this exact moment to appear.
Miles’s anger was only natural.
After witnessing Aurelian’s composure, Mr.
Delacour found himself more and more satisfied with him.
If he could have had Aurelian and Fleur married on the spot, he almost would have.
A little while later, Miles’s temper finally settled.
He thought for a moment, then turned to Catherine, who had been following Aurelian and Fleur silently.
“Catherine, go tell Elaine what happened.
That old bastard Hall did not come tonight with good intentions.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.