These would be very attractive to naive young girls, but they were nothing compared to a headliner like Isabel.

It wasn't love at first sight, she must have specifically targeted him.

There were numerous spies in the Mountain Domain, but Hudson had never encountered a power willing to use such a beauty as a pawn.

He wasn't being overly self-deprecating, he truly had no idea.

In the world of nobility, there were no inexplicable loves or hates, there were only a few things people schemed for in the Mountain Domain.

All were things Hudson could not let go of. Even if Isabel succeeded in seducing him, she couldn't move the territory!

ZBetween the lines, Hudson felt he had almost uncovered the truth, but there was still a layer of veil away from it.

When they arrived at the Capital, it was time for everyone to part ways.

This was the time to show their strength, powerful clans had their own residences in the Capital, while weaker nobles had to stay in inns.

Hudson was caught in between, as a member of the widest-distributed clan, there was no shortage of Koslow clan members in the Capital.

As for their residence, the less said about it the better. From the regulations alone, it was a commoner's courtyard.

Living in the Imperial City was no small feat.

For the less affluent nobles, acquiring a residence to match their status was not easy.

Having a place to stay was already good. Hudson was not picky, and he had no capital to be picky.

Even the cheapest Viscount Mansion ran into tens of thousands of gold coins. Don't complain about the high price, as such properties would be snapped up as soon as they hit the market.

Indeed, very few noble mansions ever reached the open market. Even if they were strapped for cash, no one sold their mansion.

Out-of-town nobles mostly stayed in inns.

The better inns were decorated even better than palaces, but the prices were correspondingly unattractive.

To stay, it wasn't enough just to have money. Your status determined the type of room you could reside in.

As a Viscount like Hudson, he could only stay in the Viscount's Castle, costing 30 gold coins a day, or a room of a lower grade.

If he wanted to maintain his dignity, the cheapest knight's room would be a mere 3 gold coins a day.

Hudson really wondered if those poor low-ranking knights could earn 3 gold coins a day.

For the innkeeper who read into noble vanity to such a degree, Hudson had to admit he was pretty impressed.

Imitation was impossible.

This kind of business model was not something a common person could imitate.

If your background wasn't solid enough, and the nobles in your inn started to cause trouble, you wouldn't be able to handle it.

If he had to stay in a commoners' courtyard, he would. Hudson was hardly going to join that madness just to avoid looking dumb.

More accurately — the inn was fully booked.

The Koslow family received the news too late, and their network of connections in the capital was extremely poor, so they weren't able to secure a room for Hudson.

His courtyard had been renovated not long ago, and it was clear that care had been taken. Though it wasn't exactly befitting of a Viscount, Hudson, who wasn't picky about living conditions, was satisfied with it.

After resting for the night, he was notified early the next morning to rehearse for the ennoblement ceremony in the Royal Palace.

When he heard the answer, Hudson was dumbfounded. So, he couldn't escape it even on the Continent of Aslante...

His hurry was because the Southeastern Province delegation had arrived late. Normally, they would surely have arrived in advance.

But their progress was considerably slowed by the addition of the Singing Maiden Group, the travel pace dropped from several hundred li a day to several tens of li. Naturally, it took more time.

There were only eight days left until the ennoblement ceremony. They needed to rehearse in advance, or there might be mistakes during the ceremony, which would be a disaster.

As expected, those participating in the rehearsal were all minor nobles. His Majesty the King, of course, did not need to indulge in such formalities.

Under the guidance of the ceremony officer, Hudson spent the morning milling around like a wooden puppet.

This was just the beginning, for the next few days, he would have to rehearse once every day.

That he could end early was because he was a Viscount and relatively high-ranking among the nobles being ennobled.

Those below him, the Barons and Knights have it worse. Especially the Knights, who were essentially stuck there all day waiting for their turn after the nobles had been ennobled.

Theoretically, they could come over in the afternoon. The trouble was the too-honest ceremony officers who tried to simulate the ennoblement as closely as possible.

With the exception of Caesar III's absence, everything else was almost an exact reproduction of the upcoming ceremony.

Hudson had originally wanted to take a look around the Royal Palace, but he gave up the idea knowing full well that the guards would not agree.

If anyone could barge through the Royal Palace, it wouldn't be a palace anymore. It would be a market.

"Master, do you have a moment? Miss Melissa would like to see you."

As soon as he returned to his residence and was preparing to change into casual clothes for a stroll, he received this unexpected news.

It's not that Hudson was overthinking, it was just too coincidental.

She wasn't there when the issue of the marriage was being discussed, and just after the postponement of the wedding was announced, she happened to return, making it seem like she was deliberately avoiding the matter.

However, going on a training trip to the Magical Beast Mountain Range was a collective arrangement made by the Magic Academy. As a novice Mage, Melissa couldn't sway the Academy's decisions.

Even the Hollis family, did not have that kind of influence anymore.

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