SON OF THE HERO KING

The atmosphere was slightly restrained as the food was served by the servant.

Once this was done, all eyes gathered on Sol.

From what Sol knew, in his old world, nobles generally never ate anything that hadn't been tested by their servant first. This was to prevent being poisoned.

In Gaia, nobles were a little different. Poison simply didn't work the same way. Alchemy and medicine weren't particularly developed for the simple reason that they could basically heal everything either with their own regenerative abilities, with magic, or by asking a priestess to pray for them.

This made it so that poison that could affect people with mana was basically non-existent. Of course, this didn't mean they didn't exist.

Sol, thanks to his dragon physique, was immune to many things even before his awakening. Poison technically being one of them.

But,

"Your highness, please."

Taking a step forward, Milia gave a bow before letting her hand hover over the food in front of Sol. Her hand, shining with a blue light.

This was a form of mana usage that could determine the presence of mana in any substance.

None of the noble's presents frowned at Milia's action. This wasn't a question of trust or doubt. Sol and Lilin were currently the sole possible heir of the throne, with Sol being the only one having activated his blessing. There was simply no way he would take any kind of risk.

Once Milia was done with her inspection and was sure that there was nothing dangerous, she bowed again before taking a step back.

This was something that they had decided in advance.

There was no absolute in this world. He may be immune to poison on paper, but it would be too late to regret if he ever ingested a poison that surpassed his limits. Better be safe than sorry.

Taking his knife and his fork, he gently cut the steaming steak in front of him before taking a bit.

"This is truly delicious."

This was enough as permission, and soon, everyone was now eating.

At first, they were still a little restrained, but as time passed and they saw that Sol wasn't too strict, they relaxed considerably and began to discuss more joyously.

No one observing this table would ever imagine that they were nobles.

It wasn't hard to understand why. Some noble titles could be obtained with enough achievement in war. It was clear that all of the nobles present here were previously soldiers under the order of the Duke.

---

While most of the tables were discussing, the head of the table with Sol, Tyr, Gerald, Athena, and Ares was totally silent.

Athena was observing Sol with interest in her eyes. His earlier display really surprised her and it was hard to think that someone with such a tyrannical aura could be so calm and gentle.

She wasn't particularly interested in romance, but she had to admit that Sol was truly the perfect groom for any woman in Lustburg.

[Is there something on my face?]

She nearly jumped when she heard the voice near her ear. Still, her reflex kicked in and she stayed calm. She also knew what had happened.

<<Whisper>>

If mana could be used to amplify the voice like how Lilith did during her speech this morning, it was also possible to use it to lower and direct the voice.

Still, this wasn't something a newbie mana user should be able to do. It needed an incredible amount of control. Of course, after all those years she was also able to use it.

[I am sorry for staring too much, your highness. Though I must admit that your face is truly attractive.]

She wasn't a shy girl by any means.

Sol, hearing the compliment, smiled, and observed Athena.

Her name aside, who made him once again wonder what was the relationship between this world and his previous one, she was truly a gorgeous woman.

Her bright red hair and her equally red dress gave her the appearance of a wild beauty. Her forms weren't particularly impressive when compared to the adult women he knew, but she was by no means slim.

One could say that her curves were perfect. Neither too much nor not enough.

[You are no less gorgeous. I must say, I have heard of your exploits and I am truly impressed by your results.]

Sol might not know every noble, but how could he not have at least a basic understanding of the heirs who would serve him in the future?

Athena was a woman worthy of respect in his opinion. He had always liked strong independent women and she fitted this to a T.

In terms of pure power, she wasn't particularly remarkable. But on a battlefield, her abilities were simply nightmares for any enemies.

There was no doubt that he would need her help during the war that was approaching and as such having an amicable relationship with her was a necessity.

[Hahaha, thanks, your highness. Speaking of which, I have always been curious about you. Well, I guess everyone had always been curious about you.]

Sol gave a bitter smile. It wasn't like he could say that he basically never left the church or the tower of babel because of his overprotective aunt and lover.

[I can guess. Still, now I will appear more regularly in public. So I guess we will have more opportunities to discuss.]

The two continued to chat idly, unaware of the silence that had slowly befallen around them.

<<Whisper>> was truly a good way to discuss in secret. But it suffered from some flaws.

The first one is that since it was a mana technique, it had mana fluctuations and could be felt if someone was careful enough.

Secondly, no matter how much you whispered, you still had to move your mouth to speak.

As such, what the people at the table were seeing was the prince and the heiress murmuring without any sound while looking at each other.

"Ahem. Your highness."

Sol was startled when Gerald spoke to him. He was about to ask what was the matter when he finally remarked that all eyes were on him. It didn't take long for him to understand what happened.

More than anything, the grin on the Duke face made Sol want to punch him.

Coughing a little to hide his embarrassment, he began eating again and ignored the teasing light dancing in the eyes of the other people at the table.

"Do you think his highness and the lady are hooking up?"

"Who knows. But they seemed to be really interested in each other."

"Is his highness a womanizer?"

"Perhaps? At least he seems to know how to handle women. Never saw the lady smile like that when discussing with a boy."

"Ohhh. Then perhaps the lady will finally find a husband?"

"Incredible… I had already bet she wouldn't marry before at least her thirty."

"I had bet that she would never marry."

"Hey, don't insult the lady. I had bet that she was into girls."

Such discussion began to fly around. Even though they were murmuring and didn't whisper, when so many people talked at the same time it was hard to not hear them.

Athena blushed in anger about this betting she never heard about.

"You bastard! Who the hell began this betting?"

All the nobles feel silent before directing their eyes on the Duke.

"Ohohoh~! To think my loyal soldiers would betray me so easily."

He slowly caressed his beard while dodging the murderous eyes of his granddaughter.

Everyone else began to laugh while Athena began to berates the Duke.

Looking at them like that, Sol had to admit that he felt envy.

His diners were generally with Lilith and Lilin. Never of which were particularly talkative. He had never felt such warmth during a diner. So much laughter and happiness. It was truly a new experience that he relished greatly.

Smiling inwardly, Sol began to hope even more that the Duke would truly take his side.

[They are interesting right?]

This time, it was Gerald0 who whispered to him. His eyes still glued on the scene, Sol nodded, [Indeed. They are truly a funny bunch.]

Gerald, also looking at this scene gave a warm smile.

[My brother is someone who sees all his soldiers as family. Many of his most trusted generals even call him father or grandfather. He isn't the best example of a noble. But… He is someone truly worth respecting.]

(E/N: White beard. Lol)

Swirling a glass of wine in his hand, he took a sip before continuing.

[Sol, later, if you wish you will be able to discuss alone with my brother. Sadly, even though I wish to support you, I do not have enough power to sway the opinions. So the result will depend on you. I wish you success.]

Sol, hearing this heartfelt advice felt a pang in his heart. He wished, really wished with from the bottom of his heart that there was nothing wrong with Gerald.

'I hope that Milia's investigation will show how trustworthy you are.'

He refused to believe that the one who took care of him all those years could be a traitor. But he refused to leave anything to luck. Letting the goddesses throw the die was the most stupid decision anyone could take.