With Gilbert's return, the entire castle suddenly seemed to come alive. Soldiers and servants bustled about frantically, clearly preparing for an extravagant welcoming banquet for the masked guest of honor.
However, everything had happened too suddenly—no one was ready. The whole place was in chaos.
Truly, when powerful people move their lips, it's the servants who break their legs.
Aaron's target for the night, Hodgson, was one of the castle's guardians. Naturally, he too had to come out and greet Gilbert and the visiting dignitary. The moment he received the message through a Den Den Mushi, he threw on a thick coat and hurried out with a troop of guards, moving quickly through the corridors.
"Talk about bad timing," Aaron muttered under his breath when he noticed Hodgson's movements.
But soon, his frown faded. His eyes flickered red as though catching onto something amusing. A sly grin spread across his face as he began walking calmly through the castle, making his way toward the grand hall where the banquet would be held.
Naturally, such a banquet wouldn't be complete without the attendance of the city's upper class; nobles, social elites, and prominent merchants had all been invited.
Of course, cooperation between official powers and the underworld could never be displayed openly. Even though everyone knew such relationships existed, they were still hidden beneath a polite veneer. The nobles needed that thin veil of decency, lest the Kingdom of Drum become the laughingstock of the world.
For that reason, Gilbert hadn't invited any of the major underworld leaders.
"Quite the grand banquet, isn't it?"
An hour later, inside the resplendent hall, Aaron sat beside a long table overflowing with exquisite dishes. Smiling, he spoke quietly to the man beside him, Williams.
The Shining Gold Trading Company had become a legitimate mid-sized enterprise and a well-known name throughout Vilia Harbor. It brought Gilbert generous tax revenue, and Williams, following Aaron's advice, frequently sent him gifts. Because of this, and because of the trading company's growing reputation, Gilbert had invited Williams as a guest.
Moreover, since Aaron had recently become a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, Gilbert had placed Williams' seat closer to the main table as a sign of favor.
At the moment, Aaron was using the Munch Munch Fruit to subtly alter his appearance, disguising himself as Williams' personal bodyguard.
When his original target, Hodgson, began shadowing Gilbert, Aaron knew his capture mission for the night had failed. Instead, his attention shifted to the mysterious masked figures who had accompanied Gilbert. Williams' invitation gave him the perfect excuse to enter the hall openly.
"Yes," Williams replied after a sip of wine, glancing at the lively tables nearby before looking down at their own relatively deserted one. "But it's hard not to feel out of place here… and I can't stand the way they're looking at us."
"Pay them no mind," Aaron said coldly. "They're just fools who think imitation makes them noble. If they dare bare their fangs, we'll simply break their teeth."
The Shining Gold Trading Company had risen to prominence with stunning speed, barely six months and already amassed enormous wealth.
Yet its roots were shallow, its connections limited, and its founders were outsiders. If Aaron hadn't allied with the Frosthorn Gang and used both strength and wits to carve out a place in the city, the company would have been swallowed whole long ago, back when they made their first fortune selling cheap, high-demand coal briquettes in the Drum Kingdom.
Even now, despite their vast business network, enormous capital, and Aaron's backing as a powerful Logia user, the company had yet to be fully accepted into the city's aristocratic circles. To most nobles, they were still seen as upstart peasants who got lucky.
The Kingdom of Drum was a deeply feudal nation, where the divide between noble and commoner was absolute.
The nobility prided themselves on their "pure bloodlines" and looked down upon ordinary people, a prejudice ingrained so deeply over centuries that not even wealth or power could erase it.
And why did such arrogance persist?
Because the nobles had role models, the Celestial Dragons, the so-called "World Nobles" who ruled under the banner of the World Government.
So long as a nation paid its Heavenly Tribute, it would be protected under the World Government's authority.
With such a powerful backer, the nobles of every nation had the confidence to despise commoners. They didn't fear rebellion, if the commoners rose up, they could always call upon the Marines or Cipher Pol to crush the revolt.
And having witnessed the might of the World Government firsthand, these nobles naturally idolized the Celestial Dragons, imitating their every vile habit.
If the Dragons kept slaves, so did the nobles.
If the Dragons scorned others, so did they.
If the Dragons flaunted treasure, the nobles competed to collect rare artifacts.
In short, nearly every noble in the world was a reflection of the Celestial Dragons' corruption, a product of their poisonous culture.
Thus, Williams, a refugee from another land was despised by the aristocracy of Vilia Harbor. To them, he was little more than filth, a contaminant unworthy of wealth.
And the more profit his company made, the more their resentment festered.
When Williams entered the banquet hall, several old nobles immediately shouted for him and Aaron to "get out." A few brash young aristocrats even tried to use force to throw them out.
If not for Gilbert's public intervention, they would have been physically expelled. Even then, the humiliation was palpable.
Gilbert, ever the hypocrite, had offered a few hollow words in Williams' defense before laughing and chatting merrily with the very nobles who had mocked him. His true opinion of them was obvious.
Had they not been useful, the so-called "Prince of Drum Kingdom" would have treated them no differently than the others, perhaps even worse. In truth, Gilbert and those nobles were no different just parasites of the same breed.
After such treatment, it was no wonder Aaron and Williams felt no fondness for anyone at this feast.
Still, neither man was particularly bothered. They'd grown used to such contempt. In fact, Aaron found amusement in watching these nobles desperately mimic the behavior of the Celestial Dragons.
"What do you think those masked people are?" Williams asked quietly, leaning closer.
He already knew of the mysterious figures from Aaron and was growing increasingly curious since Aaron had yet to elaborate.
Though he despised Gilbert, emotion had no place in business. If those masked guests truly possessed the strength Aaron suggested, and if their support tilted the odds of victory in Gilbert's favor, then betting on Gilbert's side in the coming civil war might be the most profitable move.
After all, only the victor could offer real rewards.
"Let's have Gilbert answer that for us," Aaron said softly.
He set down his fork and turned toward the entrance of the hall.
Moments later, several figures clad in elegant black suits and wearing silver masks entered.
Upon seeing them, Gilbert's face lit up with an almost obsequious smile as he hurried forward to greet his honored guests.
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