I’m Really Not Trying to Be Chased by the Heroine as the Villainous Playboy! – Chapter 48

Chapter 48: This Confinement is Quite Pleasant

Roy took some time to recount everything that had just happened to Karl.

From start to finish, Karl was glued to Roy’s eyes, and Roy met his father’s gaze without a hint of guilt.

After hearing all this, Karl’s expression eased slightly as he asked in a questioning tone, “Do you think what you did was right?”

“Right or wrong, I just did what I had to do,” Roy replied calmly.

“If given another chance, I’d do it the same way.”

Roy was sure that Rean genuinely intended to harm Alice, and he had no regrets about being the first to act.

“However, I did cause trouble for Father,” Roy sighed as he continued, “Today is Uncle Raymond’s birthday banquet, and this incident ultimately brought shame to Father.”

“I am willing to accept Father’s punishment.”

Karl, seemingly caught off guard by Roy’s response, widened his eyes slightly, and a smirk crept onto his face, only to be quickly suppressed.

Alice, seeing that Roy was going to be punished, immediately stood up and explained, “Master acted for my sake! If anyone should be punished, it should be me!”

“No, you did nothing wrong,” Karl waved a hand at Alice and turned back to Roy, suddenly changing the subject.

“As a nobleman, you should always uphold modesty, dignity, and manners, and not act impulsively due to personal feelings.”

“But as a man, it’s only natural to protect those you hold dear. If you don’t care about the safety of those you cherish, that’s not called rationality; that’s called indifference.”

Alice blinked blankly, clearly not grasping the meaning behind Karl’s words.

“Father is saying that I did something wrong as a noble, but I didn’t do anything wrong as a man?” After a moment of thought, Roy couldn’t help but feel a wave of joy.

He always knew his old man was a reasonable guy.

Karl chuckled quietly at this.

Modesty, dignity, manners, political considerations, and noble appearances can be put on anytime.

But so what? The founding nobles, they all had military backgrounds; who among them didn’t have a mouth full of coarse language, rolling in blood and mud? What truly mattered was a person’s choice in the face of crisis.

Choices reveal humanity.

If Roy hadn’t acted at that moment and had instead chosen to retreat and call for help, maybe the matter could have ended in a dignified, elegant manner.

That might have been the action of a perfect nobleman, but it would only have disappointed Karl.

What Roy did today was a choice that Karl recognized as that of a true man.

And he won the fight.

Rough behavior may have cost some noble dignity, but if the Ainbrad ancestors heard of this, they would likely praise Roy for his good fight.

Of course, with so many onlookers, he still needed to keep up appearances.

“Roy, regardless of the situation, hitting people is not okay. Later, I am going to confine you and you won’t be attending the ball.”

“As you wish, Father.”

“Don’t worry about the rest; Raymond won’t give you a hard time.”

Alice frowned, feeling indignant on behalf of her master.

But upon hearing that, Roy already felt like applauding in his heart.

Though it was called confinement, it was actually Karl’s way of protecting him from further scrutiny. Besides, his fancy outfit was now tattered, and he wasn’t in the mood to continue attending the banquet.

Once the parents found out the truth, they gathered to discuss it.

According to noble rules, Roy, being the first to strike, should have been the one at fault, especially since he had hit several people, making things quite messy.

However, Karl and Raymond were good friends; both were reasonable, and in the end, the situation was resolved by both sides stepping back, minimizing the issue.

Roy had expected this, knowing that Rean had taken enough of a beating and wouldn’t dare show his face again for a while.

“Alright, you two shake hands, apologize, and let’s put this matter to rest.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have hit anyone.” Roy stood tall and extended his hand with grace.

“You…!”

Rean, still unable to straighten his back or close his legs, clearly didn’t share Roy’s good attitude. After a moment, he ended up glaring at old Raymond and shouted, “I refuse! Why? Father, are you willing to help an outsider rather than your own son?!”

His obnoxious barking shattered the hard-won tranquility, and old Raymond could take it no longer, ordering the guards, “Enough! Take him away!”

“Unless I say so, don’t let him out!”

The soldiers dragged him away like a mangy dog, and peace returned to the night.

“I’m really sorry for causing this trouble, Roy. Uncle apologizes.”

“No, no, it’s actually me who should apologize for ruining Uncle’s birthday banquet.”

Among nobles, personal feelings and social nuances were paramount. Since the one trying to harm Alice wasn’t old Raymond, Roy didn’t mind retaining his courtesy.

Old Raymond’s apology also served as a signal to the other nobles.

The Raymond family had no intention of making enemies with the Ainbrad family.

Noble fights often led to family disputes, sometimes blowing up into issues of honor where both sides would seek to take advantage of any fault.

Now, with the understanding between old Raymond and Roy, other nobles wouldn’t dare to exploit the situation. After all, if even the center of the incident, the Raymond family, didn’t mind, who among the others would still find something to nitpick?

The only issue Roy wanted to pursue was that brute who tried to harm Alice.

Alice’s safety was a bottom line Roy would never compromise on.

“Alice is my personal maid, and under the law, personal maids enjoy rights equivalent to those of a noble; she is a member of my Ainbrad family. I demand that the person who harmed Alice face the consequences he deserves.”

That brute was named Craig, just a son of a lowly viscount. When his parents faced Roy’s demand, they didn’t dare to slack off and publicly stripped Craig of his inheritance and expelled him from the family while apologizing profusely to Roy.

This even exceeded Roy’s expectations. Craig was likely a despised troublemaker in his family, and this was the perfect chance for them to kick him out.

All of this happened while Craig was still unconscious.

When he finally woke up to find he had lost everything, reduced to a commoner, he would surely be in for a shock, right?

Good riddance.

What did he expect after trying to hurt my Alice?

With the brawl with Rean settled, the interrupted birthday banquet resumed.

Roy, on the other hand, obediently went into confinement.

Though it was called confinement, it was actually a luxurious single room. Sitting on the plush velvet bed, there was a complete banquet of exquisite dishes and even a bottle of high-quality red wine delivered by the servants.

Noble buffets were nice and all, but in the end, sitting down for a proper meal was the most comfortable thing!

This confinement was quite pleasant!