Chapter 299

Chapter 299

As the days went by, Lorant was fully immersed in his anticipation of the Winter Festival. It was then that Diana, the Cardinal of the Church, made a rare appearance at the Pet Shop.

This Cardinal was usually busy with affairs, and even Lancelot, her own son, wouldn’t casually disturb her without good reason.

Lorant had only seen her on certain important occasions.

Even after becoming Doris’s teacher, this hadn’t changed. The cardinal truly had a lot on her plate.

Who would have thought that she would come to the Pet Shop in person?

When Lorant pushed open the door to the reception room, he saw Diana, Ruth, Martha, and Doris all seated on the couches.

However, it seemed that none of them looked too happy, and Doris, in particular, had her head lowered, her fingers nervously twisting the lace on her skirt, looking very uneasy.

“Good afternoon, everyone. What’s going on? Why does everyone look so serious?” Lorant took off his thick cloak and handed it to Anne, who was following him, then greeted them as he walked in.

“Lorant!” Ruth gestured for him to sit down. “Come here, there’s something we need to discuss about Doris.”

She carefully chose her words, but Lorant still looked confused as he sat down. He turned to the uneasy Doris and said with a smile, “What’s wrong, Doris? Did you get into some kind of trouble? Don’t worry, tell me boldly. Silem is still alive and well, after all. Rest assured, I’ve already weathered quite a few shocks.”

His joke didn’t help Doris relax. Instead, she looked as if she was prepared to face some great peril.

Just as Doris bit her lip and was about to speak, Diana beside her sighed and interrupted, “Let me explain, young Lorant. This is what happened.”

…

Lorant blinked and summarized, “So, the Duke of Steel Mountain's third son has been chasing Doris since the ball? Has it gotten that bad?”

He suddenly found the world a bit surreal. To Lorant, Doris was still just a kid, but she was already dealing with these kinds of problems.

Diana sighed and shook her head. “Not only that, some time ago, he’s been trying to send various gifts to the church. Back then, we didn’t think much of it. After all, nobles have the right to pursue love.”

“But yesterday, this Lord Richard, the viscount, came with great fanfare to the church entrance, saying he wanted to invite Doris to a private dinner at his manor…”

Lorant understood what Diana meant without her needing to say more.

Noble private dinners were different from public banquets. Originally, a private dinner simply referred to a more intimate gathering with fewer people. However, due to the misconduct of many with loose morals, the term ‘private dinner’ had taken on a different connotation.

These days, when people heard 'private dinner,' they often thought of something less than respectable.

Lorant raised an eyebrow. “How does the Duke of Steel Mountain's third son, who’s useless and ignored by his family, have the nerve to do something like this?”

He understood why Diana had come to him.

If it were just normal courting, Diana wouldn’t have made such a fuss.

After all, even though Lorant still thought of his sister as very young, the fact remained that a twelve or thirteen-year-old noble girl should indeed begin considering marriage.

So, it was completely normal—even encouraged—for Doris to have one or two suitors in the eyes of others.

It was people like Lorant and Silem, who were completely uninterested in such matters at this age, who were the odd ones.

But this Viscount Richard had clearly crossed the line.

Inviting an unmarried girl to a private dinner was seen as disrespectful unless they were already engaged.

And even if they were betrothed, a clear-headed person wouldn’t dream of doing something like that.

No matter how outrageous the noble lords get at their private gatherings, even the most demure and well-behaved young ladies might have their secret sides in certain private parties. But the unspoken rule is that these things should never be brought out into the open.

Especially not in such a high-profile manner that alerts the entire city.

The actions of this person were completely tarnishing Doris's reputation.

Even if Doris rejected Richard’s advances, her reputation would be tarnished in the eyes of some old-fashioned noble families, and this might cause many obstacles when she chose her husband in the future.

Lorant didn’t care one bit about things like reputation. In his eyes, his sister was the best.

He was very confident about this. Lorant’s sister, even if she were a rebellious and unlikable girl, would still be the object of everyone’s pursuit.

The reason was simple: she was Lorant’s sister, the daughter of the Beast Tamer Shop. No matter what, she was perfect.

But he would not allow anyone to play dirty tricks on his sister.

Especially someone like this Viscount Richard with his low-grade schemes.

Ruth and Martha were both furious, clenching their fists and pointing out how shameless this guy was.

However, they found that Lorant didn’t show any change in expression after hearing the story, as if he didn’t take the matter to heart at all.

Watching Lorant, Doris’s expression grew somber.

She was not a child anymore. Due to her status, Doris had already entered the upper echelons of the empire’s nobility and had become acquainted with a group of young ladies who were either practitioners or nobles.

Her way of thinking had started to gradually mature, so Doris clearly understood that her biggest support was her cousin.

She admired her cousin greatly, a kind of admiration that was different from Mo'er's.

Except when she was very young, due to gender differences, Doris hadn’t spent much time with Lorant.

Every time she saw Lorant take her two other brothers out, little Doris felt envious.

Though Doris loved her brother Mo'er deeply, she couldn’t help but secretly wish Lorant were her real brother.

Thanks to Lorant’s presence, from a young age, she could move more freely through the slums of Holland than other kids.

Doris knew that ninety percent of why people treated her this way was because she was Lorant’s sister.

She didn’t rebel against this fact; instead, she quite enjoyed it.

But now, Lorant’s calm demeanor left the young girl feeling somewhat disheartened.

Ruth looked at the silent Martha and Doris and couldn’t help but pat Lorant’s arm: "How can you not react at all?! What kind of kid are you?!"

Lorant, who had been leisurely just now, quickly replied, "How can you say I have no reaction, Mom?! It's just that your reactions are too intense!"

Ruth pursed her lips, thinking that her son, who had never been very perceptive in this area, still didn’t realize the serious consequences. Just as she was about to speak again, Lorant calmly said,

"Doris is my sister. When Richard pulled a stunt like this, he should’ve known he’d face my wrath." Lorant smiled faintly, "I’m not angry; I just find it a bit amusing."

"What kind of waves can a clown make?"

"Right now, many people must be watching me." Lorant wore a chilling smile, "Watching how I will deal with this brat who dared to jump out."

"Then I’ll show them. Let everyone see if the Beast Tamer Shop is an easy target to bully."

Richard Steelhill, whom Lorant called the 'kid,' was actually several years older than Lorant. He was already a 24-year-old adult.

Richard reclined comfortably in his estate in Holland, enjoying the attentive service of the alluring woman beside him.

Nibbling on the fruit the girl fed him, Richard’s thoughts drifted to the timid girl, like a little rabbit.

"Doris!" he whispered, eyes closed. "When will I finally have you?"

Hearing his words, the woman kneeling before him, allowing him to rest his head on her smooth, shapely thighs, flickered her eyes imperceptibly.

To be honest, Richard didn’t consider Doris a stunning beauty. Looking at her objectively, her plain looks and slender frame held almost no appeal for him.

The Viscount favored curvaceous, mature women, particularly those older than himself.

Thus, he wasn’t particularly interested in the girl, who was still quite plain and undeveloped.

However, this didn’t stop Richard from desperately wanting to marry Doris.

Marriage alliances were familiar territory for any noble.

Most people chose to pursue their own pleasures after marriage, and once they provided the two families with an heir, they could do as they pleased without interference.

After all, there were plenty of noble bastards out there.

Currently, under the influence of such a concept, Doris was in the top tier of the most desirable choices for those wanting to gain support through marriage.

The reason was simple: she was the younger sister of the Beast Tamer Shop’s owner.

Although not a blood-related sister, from the information circulating externally, the shop owner doted on her quite a lot.

Richard was secretly delighted when he thought about what he had done. Although his useless younger brother wasn’t good for much on a daily basis, his mind worked quite well at times like this.

Thinking about the 'pursuit plan' he learned from his half-brother when they got drunk together, Richard trembled with excitement!