Chapter 014: All Worthless

The two arrived at the entrance of the palace. Though the guards knew Du Fan must be some noble young master, their duties prevented them from neglecting their post, so they made a gesture.
Old Mark stepped forward, pulled out a gold-embossed invitation from his sleeve, and held it up in front of the guards. The soldiers immediately recognized it as an invitation to tonight’s royal banquet. They bowed quickly and stepped aside.
Du Fan nodded at them with a smile before waving his hand and entering with Old Mark.
Although it wasn’t Du Fan’s first time in the palace, he wasn’t very familiar with it. He felt a bit lost upon entering, while Old Mark seemed extremely familiar with the place. He stepped forward a few times, guiding Du Fan through the palace’s complex corridors and gardens, until they finally reached the entrance of a small courtyard.
Though called a courtyard, it was actually more like a small castle compared to the palace. Flower beds surrounded the castle, filled with colorful flowers everywhere. On the paths among the flowers, several scantily dressed maids stood with slightly bent backs.
A hint of confusion flashed in Du Fan’s eyes. Instead of rushing inside, he slowed down and said in a low voice, “Grandpa Mark, if I remember correctly, you still haven’t told me anything about today’s royal banquet, have you?”
Old Mark nodded slightly. “Yes, Third Young Master. Today’s royal banquet is slightly different from previous ones. Although princes and princesses have held similar banquets before, none have been as grand as this one. After all, this private banquet is officially hosted by His Majesty the Emperor.”
“His Majesty the Emperor?” Du Fan nodded. “So, it’s also the Emperor’s decision to distribute the Milak potion?”
“I’m afraid so…” Old Mark replied. “But Third Young Master, in my opinion, given our Green family’s status, it shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain the Milak potion. Yet everyone knows its value, and the major families in the capital are fully prepared. And we… not only is the Duke absent, but neither the First nor the Second Young Masters are here either… So…”

By the end, Old Mark’s voice grew dim. Though he had considerable confidence in his third young master, thinking of this opponent made him feel uneasy. After all, this competition for the medicine was not just an ordinary fight; it was likely some kind of royal code with strong political implications. At the third young master’s age, it was uncertain whether he could see through this.

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Grandpa Mark, don’t worry too much. If others are prepared, does that mean I’m not? It’s still unknown who will win. Well, we might be late—let’s go in quickly.”

Old Mark nodded and instinctively stepped back a few steps.

Du Fan shook his head slightly, smiled, and headed toward the castle’s main door. As he passed by several maids, he glanced at them and couldn’t help but curse inwardly: Damn it, why are the collars of these maid uniforms so low? Ugh, such moral decay!

With such complaints, Du Fan reached the castle’s main entrance. From there, it was clear that this so-called castle was actually just a huge banquet hall.

At first glance, the crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the hall caught the eye, while the walls were adorned with various jewels. Precious artworks and rare treasures were scattered throughout the hall.

On one side of the hall was a row of tables laden with exquisite food, while on the other side, an elegant royal orchestra played lively music.

A hundred or so young masters and ladies dressed in noble attire were chatting and laughing in the hall, with servants moving back and forth among them.

After taking a few glances, Du Fan saw no acquaintances among them. He signaled to the welcoming servant to stop calling out, then quickly joined Old Mark at a table in a corner.

Although he knew his third young master’s personality, Old Mark still whispered, “Young master, why don’t you go greet those noble young masters and ladies? After all, they will inherit their parents’ titles in the future. Those people are long-time friends of our Green family. It wouldn’t be proper not to say hello if we’re here.”

“Well… maybe not?” Du Fan smiled. “I’m just a priest with nothing to do with politics. They might not even want to greet me. Why go there and annoy people?”

Old Mark sighed, not knowing what to say for a moment. Should he simply tell his young master that the power struggles within this religion were no less fierce than those in the political world? But upon seeing Du Fan’s holy demeanor, Old Mark somehow swallowed his words again. In truth, Old Mark had no idea that Du Fan wasn’t unwilling to greet these people—he simply despised them. After all, the nobles present were just as useless as him, unable to master magic or combat energy. Though they were among the most arrogant in the capital, in reality, aside from a few who were only children, few of them had any chance to access their families’ power centers. To put it simply, they were nothing but good-for-nothing scum. After years of careful effort, Du Fan had managed to build a decent reputation among the common people. He certainly didn’t want to lose it by getting involved with these nobles. After all, his good reputation had been his greatest asset all these years. Although he couldn’t use magic or combat energy, his reputation meant that anyone who wanted to deal with him would have to think carefully. After all, attacking a holy and noble priest in white would mean the attacker itself was an heretic—a reputation not one could afford lightly. Over the years, Du Fan had come to understand the importance of a good reputation. Just thinking about how even the seemingly holy Archbishop in red would treat him politely made it clear how important his reputation was within the Holy Church. After all, every era and religious organization needs a symbol—someone like Jesus Christ, whose fame is essentially created through promotion. With Du Fan’s current reputation, it wouldn’t be long before he could become such a symbol, as long as he didn’t make any mistakes. However, just because Du Fan didn’t want to associate with those noble scum didn’t mean they didn’t want to associate with him. After all, though this place was large, hiding a person wasn’t that easy. Although Du Fan had deliberately kept a low profile when he entered, someone soon noticed him. It was a noble lady who often went to the chapel to pray; she accidentally glanced in Du Fan’s direction. Ignoring the conversation she was having with a somewhat handsome noble young man, she covered her mouth and pointed in his direction, speechless.

As she moved, the others also glanced in Du Fan’s direction, and then the hall fell silent. It should be noted that these nobles, no matter how worthless or despicable they might be, were at least followers of the God of Light. So, although Du Fan didn’t know them, they were very familiar with this renowned white-robed priest. After all, a few years ago, when they heard that the good-for-nothing from the Green family had become a charlatan, most of them had laughed their heads off. But now, with Du Fan’s status clearly established, no one dared say anything more; instead, their gazes toward him carried an extra layer of meaning. Du Fan frowned. He was used to being admired by everyone and didn’t feel anything special, but he still keenly picked up many things from this sudden silence. For example, those ladies with eager eyes openly showed their admiration for Du Fan. But after just one glance, he almost vomited—accustomed as he was to nuns’ slender figures, seeing these women cooing at him filled him with disgust. As for the other noble ladies, their gazes were more reserved, yet such shy expressions only attracted men’s attention even more. It was clear these little foxes were quite skilled at flirting. As for the noble young men’s looks, Du Fan paid them little attention. Such scum probably felt either jealousy or envy—something that could be guessed even without proof, and verifying it would only be humiliating. Anyway, faced with so many “friendly” gazes, Du Fan couldn’t pretend anymore. He stood up and said calmly, “I didn’t expect all of you to recognize me. But I’m here to attend a banquet today, so there’s no need to be too nervous around me. After all, this isn’t the cathedral in the capital, and I’m not a white-robed priest now—just an ordinary noble.” The noble young men and ladies exchanged glances, a bit confused by Du Fan’s words. But these foolish nobles liked to act smart. Aside from one or two who showed disdain, most of them seemed to understand what he meant. Du Fan sighed bitterly, about to explain that he wanted to be treated as an ordinary noble, not given special treatment. But at that moment, footsteps came from the entrance.