Eren Exaggerating?

A sharp clatter of hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Panic-laced whispers followed.

Then—

The door burst open.

"What happened?"

The head butler stormed in first, his usually composed face twisted with alarm. Several maids trailed behind him, their expressions tense. Mereoleona stiffened, her mind racing as she realized how bad this looked.

The butler's sharp gaze swept over the room, instantly noting Bolder's unsheathed sword, Mereoleona's tense posture, and—most importantly—Eren, who sat calmly on the couch, completely unharmed. But next to him, Marie stood frozen, her face pale, beads of sweat clinging to her brow.

The maids had overheard the commotion from the hall—voices raised, the unmistakable sound of steel being drawn—and, fearing the worst, had rushed to inform the butler. Now, as they stood at the doorway, the tension in the room was suffocating.

Oswald's eyes darkened as he took everything in. Though his expression remained neutral, there was an unmistakable weight behind his words when he asked again.

"What happened here?"

"..."

There was silence, before Mereoleona suddenly let out a forced laugh, breaking the silence.

"N-Nothing!" she blurted out, waving a hand dismissively.

"I was just... arguing with sir Eren and got a little too loud, haha!"

Her attempt at lightening the mood fell flat. The laughter died in her throat almost immediately, met with nothing but cold, scrutinizing stares.

Oswald's piercing gaze flickered from her to Bolder, whose sword was now lowered but still unsheathed. His jaw was clenched, his expression one of barely contained frustration, but even he knew better than to speak now.

The servants remained silent, watching intently. The weight of the situation had shifted—now, it wasn't just about the reckless actions of a knight. It was about what would happen next.

Oswald, though calm in appearance, had a dark glint in his eyes as he turned to Eren. The young master, however, remained composed, casually sipping his juice as if the entire situation was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. But his sharp gaze didn't miss the contrast—Marie, standing beside him, was trembling, her face pale and damp with sweat.

He turned his attention back to her, his voice firm and unwavering.

"What happened here?"

His question was aimed at Marie—more a command than an inquiry.

The maid flinched, struggling to find her words.

"Y-Yes! Well, ah..." Her voice wavered, eyes dropping to the floor as she scrambled to explain.

"The young master was speaking with the lady about... certain topics. Then, the knight became angry at Master Eren's words and—unsheathed his sword... threatening him." she murmured the last part in a low voice.

A heavy silence followed.

Marie had spoken the truth without hesitation, and all eyes immediately turned to Mereoleona's knight. Bolder stiffened, sweat forming at his brow. Under the Butler's piercing gaze, his legs felt weak, the weight of the accusation pressing down on him like a physical force.

Oswald's expression darkened further as he turned his attention to the young master.

"Young Master Eren, is this true?"

His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable steel behind it.

Eren, still lounging comfortably with his drink in hand, barely spared the butler a glance. Instead, he lazily raised a single finger—pointing directly at Bolder.

"Yes," he said flatly, his tone devoid of emotion.

"That commoner drew his sword on me and even threatened to kill me." He lied about the last part.

Silence crashed over the room like a tidal wave.

The air grew thick with shock.

The maids paled, some gasping softly and covering their mouths in disbelief. Mereoleona's smile wavered, stiffening. Bolder's entire body tensed. And Oswald—his face turned unreadable, but the chilling aura radiating from him spoke volumes.

Bolder's eyes widened. He turned to Eren, pure disbelief flashing across his face.

"What?! That's not—!"

But before he could defend himself, the Butler took a step forward. The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

A suffocating pressure filled the space as he released a blue sliver of his aura, sharp and oppressive like a predator closing in on its prey.

Bolder instinctively recoiled, his breathing uneven.

Then, Mereoleona reacted instantly. She stepped in front of him, throwing out her arm to block Oswald's path.

"Wait! That's not true!" she snapped, turning sharply toward Eren, her voice laced with anger and disbelief.

Her sharp amber eyes burned into him.

"Sir Eren, are you seriously exaggerating this right now?" she said, her tone dangerously low, on the verge of a growl.

Eren, unfazed by her glare glanced back at her while sipping his juice.

Then, with an infuriating tilt of his head, he mused, "Am I?"

Mereoleona's eyes widen in shock and disbelief by what he said.

"Are you saying the young master is lying?" Oswald's voice was cold, sharp like a blade cutting through the tension in the room. His piercing gaze locked onto Mereoleona.

"Wha—N-No, I mean—"

Mereoleona stammered, her body tensing as she struggled to find the right words.

"Then step aside."

Oswald took another step forward, his aura pressing down on her with suffocating force. A chilling wave of killing intent seeped from him, making even the maids instinctively shrink back in fear. Mereoleona felt it too—the weight, the pressure—but she stood her ground, forcing herself to remain still despite the beads of sweat forming on her temple.

Behind her, Bolder had gone completely pale, his hands clenched into trembling fists.

Then—

"Wait."

Eren's voice, calm yet commanding, cut through the thick atmosphere. The room seemed to freeze. Even Oswald stopped, his aura retracting slightly as he turned toward Eren.

A smirk curled on Eren's lips as he swirled the last remnants of his drink in his glass.

"I might have actually been exaggerating about what happened." His tone was light, almost teasing.

Mereoleona's eye twitched.

'Might have?'

Eren set down his glass with a soft clink, his gaze flickering with amusement at the situation.

"The knight did point his sword at me," he admitted, his smirk deepening. "But he didn't threaten to kill me."

Silence.

Mereoleona's eyes widened slightly. Oswald's brows twitched, and the maids exchanged shocked glances.

Eren leaned back against the chair lazily. "Although…" He let the word hang in the air, drawing out the suspense before tilting his head with a smirk. "Instead, he actually challenged me to a duel."

The room erupted in hushed gasps. Even Bolder stiffened, his mouth parting in shock. Meanwhile Mereoleona's face twisted in disbelief by what she heard.

'What the hell was he planning?'

Eren's voice remained smooth, casual, as if he were discussing the weather.

"What actually happened was, I was arguing with Lady Mereoleona about our marriage and, well… let's just say we weren't exactly seeing eye to eye. So, I told her we should break the engagement since nothing was working between us."

Mereoleona felt her entire body jolt at his words. Break the engagement? Her eyes snapped to him in shock, disbelief flooding her expression. That wasn't what happened at all! Even her Knight and his maid looked taken aback, their reactions mirroring hers.

Eren sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "Because of what I said, Lady Mereoleona became angry… and sad. She was on the verge of crying."

Mereoleona's expression froze.

Her fingers twitched as she resisted the urge to throw something at him. Her? Cry? Over him? Bullshit!

Eren continued smoothly, completely ignoring the way her eye twitched in pure rage.

"Seeing his lady so distraught because of me, her loyal knight naturally couldn't stand it. Overcome with emotions, he pulled out his sword and challenged me to a duel for her honor." He tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Which I accepted, of course."

...

The room went utterly silent.

Mereoleona, his maid Marie, and even the knight Bolder all stood frozen, their brains struggling to process the sheer nonsense Eren had just spewed.

"Isn't that right, Lady Mereoleona?"

At that moment, Eren's eyes met hers. He was still smirking, but beneath it, there was a silent message—one only she could understand.

'If you don't want your precious knight to be jailed or executed for what he did, then you'd better play along.'

Mereoleona clenched her jaw, her entire body screaming in frustration. She wanted to punch him. She wanted to strangle him. But she also knew he wasn't bluffing.

So she forced a stiff smile.

"T-That's right," she muttered through gritted teeth. "I was so emotional and upset that I… ended up wanting to cry."

Eren barely held back his laugh, his shoulders trembling slightly with amusement.

Mereoleona's eye twitched dangerously. He was enjoying this!

Still smiling—though now with a sharp edge—she turned to glare at Bolder.

"Because of that, my overzealous knight got mad on my behalf and decided to challenge Sir Eren to a duel for my honor. It was quite… unexpected." She gave Bolder a pointed look, her voice dropping slightly.

"I certainly didn't expect him to pull out his sword like an idiot just to make a challenge."

Bolder flinched, his face going deathly pale.

The maids exchanged glances, their expressions gradually shifting. Seeing the young master and Mereoleona both confirm the story, they quickly believed Eren's words without question. Mereoleona was a strong-willed noblewoman—of course, she'd be emotional about such a huge matter. And her knight? A passionate fool who acted impulsively? It made perfect sense.

However, the butler's gaze lingered on Eren a moment longer. He wasn't fooled. He knew Eren had just fabricated that entire story to save face for Mereoleona and her knight. But he also knew better than to question it out loud.

–Clink!

A sharp clink echoed through the room as Eren casually slammed his empty big glass onto the table.

Then, he stood up.

"Well then, Shall we go to the training grounds?" He asked with a smile.

The entire room fell into a stunned silence.

Mereoleona, the Butler, the knight, and Marie stared at him, frozen.

'…Wait.'

'Was he actually serious?!'

...