Chapter 108 Patrick Falls into the Trap
Cressida frowned.
Marshall and Joseph were both sending people forward to mediate, but the guests around them all stopped to watch.
Patrick's words inevitably aroused suspicion.
Ryder laughed loudly: "Bragging! A young lady, no matter how skilled she is, how good can she really be?"
Patrick got anxious and shouted everywhere: "Cressida! Where is Cressida? Come prove your skills!"
Cressida's brothers Donny and Ethan were both pulling at Patrick.
Ethan said: "Uncle, you've had too much to drink. Go rest."
"No!" Patrick was serious now. "Cressida, can you bear to watch this jerk humiliate me?"
Ryder rolled up his sleeves: "I won't fight your daughter - people would say I'm bullying someone younger. But I have a guard who's pretty skilled. I'll call him over!"
With that, Ryder shouted toward the door, and a man with a slight limp in his left leg walked over.
"Mark, have a match with Ms. Hamilton!"
Cressida's eyes instantly turned cold.
Because she recognized this limping man. Not only did she recognize him, he had once been her subordinate.
A former member of Blade of Victory, Mark Tovar.
He had been convicted of desertion, and she had broken both his legs and stripped him of his military rank. She'd heard he had returned to Emerald City, wanting to appeal to the royal family that he'd been wrongly accused, but no one paid attention.
Later he disappeared.
Now seeing him again, he had become a guard for the Nelson family.
Mark saw Cressida and bowed respectfully, his eyes carrying a somewhat sinister scrutiny.
"Ms. Hamilton."
Mark didn't know Cressida had disguised herself as a man, but once they fought, he would definitely recognize her.
Patrick seemed not to have noticed the danger yet. Seeing Cressida remain silent, he stumbled over and grabbed her wrist, his eyes hazy with drunkenness.
"Cressida, go teach him a lesson!"
"Father, you've had too much to drink." Cressida supported his arm. "Go sit down over there and rest. I'll have someone bring you a sobering drink."
She calmly pressed a pressure point on Patrick, and the sharp pain nearly made him jump.
The alcohol cleared from his head a bit. Just then, he heard Cressida say: "Mark - that name does sound somewhat familiar."
Mark's voice was gloomy: "My humble name probably dirties Ms. Hamilton's ears."
Patrick broke out in a cold sweat.
Mark? The former member who was expelled from Blade of Victory and had come to The Hamilton Mansion demanding an explanation - that person was called Mark.
Patrick glanced at Cressida from the corner of his eye, then looked at Marshall, Joseph and the others across from them, and found their gazes all focused on his side.
Instantly, Patrick's legs went weak. Fortunately, Ethan and Donny supported him and helped him to a nearby chair.
Ryder was still shouting: "Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Hamilton said you're a heroine with extraordinary skills. Why not let everyone see for themselves today?"
Cressida's tone was cold: "Someone, throw him out."
Ryder was stunned: "On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that today is my father's birthday banquet, yet you inappropriately brought up my brother's condition. On the grounds that your words just now lacked proper respect!"
She waved her hand, her attitude firm: "Get out! The Hamilton Mansion doesn't welcome you."
Cressida would absolutely not give him any courtesy.
Ryder had clearly come with bad intentions. Whether or not he knew Mark's background, he shouldn't be allowed to stay here any longer.
Ryder was stunned, not expecting her to be so direct.
"Ms. Hamilton, your father was the one who first said I have no children, no one to inherit my business. He humiliated me first!"
"Didn't you strike back? What do you think The Hamilton Mansion is - how can we allow you to bring people here to cause trouble?"
As soon as Cressida finished speaking, attendants stepped forward to grab Ryder's arms and drag him out.
Seeing this, Mark immediately said ominously: "Ms. Hamilton, is this how you treat guests? Are you afraid of losing the match and embarrassing General Hamilton?"
Cressida looked at him coldly: "I only learned martial arts for self-defense, unlike my brother. But speaking of which, I vaguely remember there was also someone called Mark Tovar among the former members of Blade of Victory, except he was stripped of his military rank and expelled for desertion."
As soon as these words came out, everyone around frowned.
People convicted of desertion were cowards!
Noble families had always looked down on such people. And Ryder came from humble origins - if he really dared to employ someone with a desertion conviction as a guard, his career would end right there.
Ryder immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
He quickly denied it: "I'm not very familiar with him. He only applied to be my guard a hundred days ago. Since The Hamilton Mansion doesn't welcome me, I'll just leave!"
Ryder just wanted to get away.
But unexpectedly, Marshall spoke: "Wait."
His expression was gentle, but his tone carried a chill.
"Ms. Hamilton was right just now. You came to congratulate Mr. Hamilton, yet you forced Mr. Hamilton's daughter to compete with your guard. This is deliberate provocation. I absolutely will not allow anyone to humiliate The Hamilton Mansion."
Ryder immediately knelt down: "Your Highness Marshall, that wasn't my intention!"
Marshall ordered coldly: "Someone, take him away for fifty lashes. And this guard - throw him out of The Hamilton Mansion as well."
Since Marshall had spoken, no one dared object.
The farce quickly ended, and the atmosphere around them became lively again.
Marshall saw that Patrick looked unwell and deliberately walked over to him.
"Is Mr. Hamilton alright? Are you very upset?"
"Yes, thank you for your concern, Your Highness Marshall." Patrick was full of lingering fear but didn't dare show it.
Drinking had caused trouble - he had nearly ruined his own future!
The banquet soon dispersed. Patrick had wanted to keep everyone until evening, but after this scare, he lost interest.
After seeing off the guests one by one, Patrick immediately called Cressida over.
"That Mark - is he the one who was expelled from Blade of Victory back then?"
"Yes." Cressida didn't deny it. She had recognized him at a glance.
Patrick slapped his knee and shouted repeatedly: "This is bad!"
He was panicked and at a loss.
"If Mark talks nonsense to Ryder, and the Nelson family already hates us, won't they seize on this weakness and suppress us hard?"
"If Mark really had evidence, he wouldn't have waited until now to show himself." Cressida was unusually calm.
But Patrick got anxious and couldn't help scolding her: "You're thinking too simply!"
He was so frightened his chest hurt, and he quickly had people help him lie down.
At the same time, Marshall was sitting in a carriage returning to the Prince's Palace, resting his chin in thought.
His confidant asked: "Your Highness Marshall, when Ms. Hamilton mentioned the Royal Armory, could she have discovered what we did?"
Marshall had deliberately sent someone to tip off Yosef that the Royal Armory's security was lax. Yosef indeed didn't disappoint Marshall and stole quite a bit of gunpowder from the Royal Armory that should have been disposed of.
This gunpowder was disguised as fireworks and sent to Miguel's palace.
It was just that Anthony was lucky and was rescued in time.
Marshall said in a low voice: "If she knew this matter was related to us, she definitely wouldn't have said it in front of me. But there's another possibility - she said it for others to hear, to emphasize her own value and role."
After all, she had saved Anthony. If not for her, Anthony would be dead, and Marshall wouldn't be so free of worries.
The attendant said: "This Ms. Hamilton is indeed somewhat tricky."
"Is she? When my aunt mentioned her before, I just thought she was an ordinary noble lady, at most a bit bold." Marshall's tone was inscrutable. "But looking at it now, Cressida is indeed worth winning over."
That night.
Cressida was about to go to bed when low voices came from outside the door.
After a moment, Emma pushed the door open.
"Ms. Hamilton, Noah reports that Mark has come again. He's in the main house hall meeting with Mr. Hamilton."