Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 627: The Lady In The Villa [Part 1]

Upon arriving at the Rizz Residence, Chuck’s face instantly paled.

Lined up on both sides of the path were the family’s countless servants, and waiting at the front doors was the Duke himself with his hands clasped behind his back.

The mere presence of the man was enough to make Chuck lose his flamboyant attitude. He became as quiet as a mouse.

Princess Xenia took that moment to reach out to hold his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

”I’m here, so you have nothing to worry about,” Princess Xenia said. ”Hold up your head and greet your father properly later.”

Mary also reached out to hold Chuck’s other hand and gave it a light squeeze, showing her support as well.

Alex smiled faintly after seeing this scene. No matter how much of a troublemaker Chuck was, the feelings the princess and her maid had for him were real.

”Thank you, Xenia, Mary,” Chuck replied.

He then closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. When he opened them, the paleness on his face disappeared, replaced by a more easy-going expression.

”Do you need to drink the Conqueror’s Potion?” Alex asked. ”You’ll probably be more confident if you take one.”

Chuck shook his head. ”I don’t want to face my father with false bravado. Besides, he will see through it right away. Don’t worry. I’m fine now, Alex. I’m more worried about you.”

”Oh, you don’t have to worry about me,” Alex said, grinning. ”You should be more worried about your father if he really does something bad to me. If he does, he’s going to regret it.”

”Dim Dim!” Dim Dim replied before handing a pair of gangster sunglasses to Alex after putting on its own sunglasses.

The two gangsters smirked at the same time. For a brief moment, Chuck wanted to ask Dim Dim for a pair of gangster glasses too. But he decided to just save it for another time.

When the carriage finally stopped, Sir Alphonse opened the door and used his hand to help the princess alight.

”Greetings, Your Highness,” Duke Marius said, giving a dignified bow.

”Duke Rizz,” Princess Xenia replied with a slight nod. ”Thank you for receiving us on such short notice.”

”It is my honor,” Duke Marius smiled faintly before straightening his back. His gaze then shifted, landing squarely on Chuck.

For a brief moment, the air grew heavy.

”Father,” Chuck said, lowering his head. ”I have returned.”

The Duke studied him in silence, his sharp eyes sweeping over his son as if measuring something unseen. Then, ever so slightly, he nodded.

”Good,” the Duke said curtly before shifting his gaze to his son’s guests.

He already knew who Mary was. But this was the first time he was meeting the two teenage boys and the weird creature perched on top of one of the boy’s heads.

”These are my friends,” Chuck said. ”This is Renard Vale and this is Alex Stratos. The little one is Dim Dim.”

Alex and Renard both bowed respectfully.

”So, which of these gentlemen was the one responsible for making a scandal so early in the morning?” Duke Marius asked.

”That will be me, Your Grace,” Alex replied.

”Your name is Alex, right?” Marius narrowed his eyes. ”If you weren’t part of the princess’ entourage, you would now be spending your days inside a jail cell. Know that you’re only able to stand before me now thanks to your connections.”

”Thank you, Princess,” Alex shamelessly looked at Princess Xenia and bowed deeply. ”Because of you, I am able to stand before the Duke. I am truly grateful.”

The young man actually said those words in a refined and charismatic manner, which made the princess and her maid cringe internally.

They already knew what Alex was like in normal settings, so seeing him act this way made them want to smack him and tell him to knock it off.

But for the sake of their reputation, they endured his nonsense and simply told him to behave.

”Be more mindful next time,” Princess Xenia said stiffly.

Alex replied that he would do his best, but he didn’t promise that he wouldn’t cause any more mischief.

Perhaps the two ladies understood what he meant, which made them feel anxious.

However, since Princess Xenia was a public figure, she had learned to control her facial expressions to hide what she was feeling inside her heart.

Meanwhile, Marius didn’t like the way that Alex responded to his words. Instead of apologizing to him, the young man actually thanked the princess for protecting him from punishment!

This was clearly a subtle way of telling the duke that he wasn’t afraid of him.

Niles then approached his Lord and whispered something in his ears.

That was when the Duke gave Alex a second look. His Head Butler had hinted that the young man might be a prince.

’If he’s really a prince, then his actions make sense,’ Duke Marius thought. ’After all, they are not worried about persecution from mere dukes.’

Of course, Duke Marius misunderstood Alex’s actions.

He wasn’t so bold because he outranked a duke. He was so bold because his bodyguard outclassed a duke!

In fact, the Kingdom of Avalon didn’t have any Rank 8 powerhouses among their ranks.

Their strongest warrior was only at Rank 7, and he was the Royal Guard Captain personally protecting the King.

”May we please visit Lady Dorothy?” Princess Xenia asked calmly. ”It has been a while since I saw her, and I promised her that I would bring her a gift the next time I visited her.”

”Of course.” Duke Marius nodded. ”Niles, please escort our guests.”

”Yes, My Lord,” Niles replied before gesturing for everyone to follow him to the small villa separate from the main residence.

Since the Duke’s legal wife didn’t want to see her husband’s mistress loitering in the residence, she had asked him to put her in a place where she couldn’t see her.

As such, the villa had been built to accommodate Chuck’s bedridden mother.

When they entered the villa, Chuck didn’t hesitate to walk faster toward his mother’s room. Although he wanted to see her as soon as possible, he didn’t forget to knock and wait for her permission to enter.

”Come in.”

The voice sounded a little hoarse, and Chuck felt his heart ache after hearing his mother’s voice.

”Mother, I have returned,” Chuck said as soon as he stepped inside the room.

A beautiful woman was sitting on the bed and looking at Chuck with a warm smile despite the paleness on her face.

”Welcome back, Chuck,” Lady Dorothy replied.

The young man approached her and gave her a hug, which made her smile from her heart.

A minute later, Chuck’s mother lightly patted her son’s back before pulling back.

”Don’t keep your guests waiting,” Lady Dorothy said. ”I’m sorry for not greeting Your Highness properly earlier.”

”Although it will make me extremely happy to see you greet me when you’re healthy, please don’t push yourself to do so when you’re still feeling unwell, Auntie,” Princess Xenia said as she walked toward the bed and held the lady’s frail and skinny hands.

While she looked a bit better than the last time the princess had seen her, she looked thinner than she remembered.

”I’m sorry. I still haven’t found the ingredients for your medicine,” Princess Xenia apologized. ”But worry not. My people are still scouring the kingdom for these ingredients. As long as they appear, I will have them in my hands. I promise.”

”Look at you, being a busybody for this old lady’s sake.” Lady Dorothy smiled warmly. ”Your concern alone warms my heart, Your Highness. I am glad that someone as capable as you is by my son’s side.”

Despite her frail appearance, Lady Dorothy was still a beauty, which made Alex understand why Chuck was so good looking.

As if sensing his gaze, the beautiful woman asked Chuck to introduce the two gentlemen, whom she believed to be his friends.

”Mother, they are my friends, Renard Vale and Alex Stratos,” Chuck said. ”The cute little guy over there is Dim Dim.”

”Dim Dim~” The Dim Sum God waved its little hand in greeting, making Lady Dorothy smile. A part of her wanted to hold the cute little creature and squish its cheeks.

Having done his duty, Niles bade the group goodbye and ordered the maids tending to Lady Dorothy to report to him if their exalted guests needed anything.

Sir Alphonse and the rest of the Princess’s escorts also excused themselves, guarding the outside perimeter of the villa.

They understood that Chuck and the Princess might wish to talk about something in private, so they decided to ensure that the young couple would not be disturbed by any unwanted people.