Chapter 8: Trouble Arrives First.

Shu Yue was thinking about how she should phrase her words when she met Baron Lester later. Should she be direct or more tactful? She disliked the roundabout ways nobles spoke, so she decided to be straightforward.

Get what she wanted as quickly as possible, then leave this place as soon as she could.

Other people might desperately crave this kind of luxurious life, but Shu Yue felt nothing for it.

Suddenly, her footsteps halted.

Less than a breath after she stopped, a cold glint flashed. A longsword shot straight past her front and embedded itself into the wall on the other side. If she hadn’t stopped, one more step forward and the sword would have grazed her nose. If the control had been even slightly off…

A surge of anger rose in Shu Yue’s heart as she clenched her fists tightly.

The person who had done this was now walking over with his mouth wide open, laughing loudly.

Sart laughed as he spoke,

“Sorry, sorry. My hand slipped just now and I almost didn’t catch it.”

Oh, then your hand can be chopped off.

Shu Yue turned around to look at him while also sweeping her peripheral vision over the group of young nobles who had gathered.

Their ages ranged mostly from fifteen to eighteen or nineteen. Some were arrogant-looking noble young masters, others were their young attendants. They clearly came with ill intentions.

Sart’s smile was extremely stiff, as if forced out, making it nauseating to look at.

Shu Yue’s face remained expressionless. Paired with Lia’s facial contours, she looked like a dull and wooden youth.

However, her amber eyes were bright and clear, reflecting a cold, deep chill.

Unfortunately, Sart was the type who only read faces but not eyes. Seeing no obvious anger, he instead became even more unrestrained.

Sart was tall and burly, half a head taller than Shu Yue. His build could completely block her from view. Visually, Shu Yue was clearly at a disadvantage when standing together.

Moreover, Sart had so many people behind him, while the steward beside Shu Yue had quietly taken half a step back. This made Shu Yue appear even more isolated and helpless. Any ordinary person facing such an atmosphere would have already felt uneasy and shown fear, but Shu Yue remained exceptionally calm.

Sart had walked up from the earth-and-stone training ground onto the steps and reached the corridor. He stopped beside Shu Yue and raised his hand to pat her shoulder. His large palm carried heavy force, enough to make an adult stagger.

The arrogant youth spoke with a flamboyant attitude,

“New face. This is the first time I’ve seen you.”

“…”

Shu Yue did not respond. She sidestepped and avoided the palm.

She disliked others touching her. Now that she had become a girl, she absolutely could not let anyone touch her!

The missed pat caused Sart’s expression to freeze.

He hadn’t expected Shu Yue to dare dodge. Instantly, anger flared in his heart and his smile completely collapsed.

Sart’s face quickly darkened as he spoke coldly,

“What? You won’t give me face?”

“Sart, don’t get angry so easily.”

Belang walked forward slowly with a refined and amiable smile on his face and stopped between the two.

He first introduced himself to Shu Yue.

“Lia White, I heard about you yesterday. I didn’t expect to meet you here today. My name is Belang Lester, and I am also the elder brother of your fiancée, Emily.”

“Oh~ So you’re the big brother-in-law.”

Shu Yue’s voice was deliberately modulated into a somewhat neutral tone that wasn’t unpleasant to the ear, yet her words carried a sharp, sarcastic edge that made people feel uncomfortable.

She was not a stupid woman. She was quite smart, thank you. This guy named Belang was obviously a schemer. He had so many chances to step in and help her earlier, yet he chose now to expose her identity to that idiot. Wasn’t this deliberately causing trouble for her?

Before Belang could respond, Sart spoke first. He raised his head and laughed loudly,

“Who did I think it was? So you’re Lia. I really didn’t expect it to be someone like you!”

“Who are you?”

Shu Yue raised an eyebrow.

Sart said arrogantly,

“Heh, listen well. My name is Sart Rory!”

“Oh.”

Shu Yue responded indifferently. In this world, having a surname usually meant one was either rich or noble. However, she had no idea who the Rory family was. So far, she only knew of the Lester baron family and the Herman viscount family in Grey Pine City. Everything else was unknown to her.

Who? Rory?

Is that something edible?

Sart saw that even after he had given his surname, Shu Yue still remained unmoved. He couldn’t tell whether she truly had strong backing or was simply a country bumpkin who didn’t know what fear was.

Shu Yue glanced at them and said indifferently,

“Is there anything else? If not, I’m very busy and don’t have time to waste here with you.”

Her tone was completely impolite. This was also one of the reasons Shu Yue hadn’t brought Anna inside. She didn’t want Anna to kneel and beg for her later, which would make the situation even harder to control.

Nobles were naturally bullies who feared the strong. If you were tough enough, they would instead worry that you had a powerful background.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Sart hurriedly blocked her path and continued his unfinished self-introduction.

“Stop right there. I, Sart, have been Emily’s suitor since childhood. Why should Emily marry you? I refuse to accept this. I challenge you to a duel! If you lose, you will immediately break off the engagement!”

Oh, then go talk to Baron Lester about it.

Shu Yue secretly curled her lips. She had known that this fiancé identity was definitely a troublesome label. It would bring her nothing but endless problems instead of convenience.

She looked at Sart as if he were an idiot, wondering if there was something wrong with this guy’s brain.

This undisguised look made Sart furious. He glared at Shu Yue with gritted teeth,

“What? You don’t dare to fight me? Coward! Emily marrying someone like you is simply an insult to her dignity. I will definitely make the baron cancel this unequal engagement!”

“Oh.”

Shu Yue didn’t care at all. If you think I’m insulting her, then so be it~

Anyway, once she had fleeced enough benefits, she would run.

She would never actually marry Emily. Shu Yue really couldn’t give Emily the happy married life she deserved.

The atmosphere had reached a boiling point. All it needed was one push to create the momentum that refusing would mean admitting defeat.

Belang saw that the timing was right and spoke up.

“Sart has indeed known Emily since childhood and has always pursued her as his future partner. He simply didn’t expect Father to suddenly announce your engagement with Emily.

Originally, Sart was already preparing to confess to Emily and ask Father for permission for their marriage.

He never expected you to snatch her away first. It’s perfectly normal for him to be angry with you. He has a straightforward personality, so challenging you to a duel is just his way of seeing whether Emily’s future husband has the ability to protect her.”

Everyone’s eyes around them were now fixed on Shu Yue, waiting to see how she would respond.

After hearing these words, Shu Yue understood everything.

Childhood sweetheart loses to a sudden fiancé. So she had unknowingly cuckolded him. No wonder he was so angry~

But Shu Yue’s intuition told her that this guy named Sart was very annoying. The only reason girls would like him would be his status and money. Emily was clearly not a materialistic girl whose needs weren’t being met. What she pursued must be something else. Someone like Sart was definitely not what she loved.

In other words, this Sart guy was nothing but a simp.

That made sense now. His goddess was about to have a flash marriage, so of course the simp would bark nonstop when he saw her.

No, he was actually biting!

Shu Yue snorted lightly in her heart. She knew that if she didn’t resolve this immediately, these people would definitely keep causing her trouble. If they discovered she wasn’t the real Lia White, she would have no choice but to run. The baron was at peak second-tier combat power, and there were quite a few third-tier experts in the city. Impersonating a noble was a capital crime in this world.

“Fine. Let’s have a match then.”

It just so happened that she also wanted to test exactly how strong her combat ability had become after the second dragon blood strengthening.