Who told him to rush up there?.

Chapter 157 Acquaintance
The most important thing is, if he remembered correctly, Princess Lina is only nineteen years old this year.

As mentioned before, due to the fact that the lifespan of humans increased significantly after their rank was raised, the laws of all major human countries uniformly raised the standard of adulthood, and both men and women were considered adults at the age of 20. This was also the reason why Eli held his coming-of-age ceremony when he was 20 years old before going on the expedition.

Although this unified standard has not been implemented for a long time, people still habitually regard men and women over the age of 18 or even 16 as adults, but a code is a code, and it is established to be followed.

So strictly speaking, although Princess Lina, who is only 19 years old, has developed perfectly, according to the law, she has not even had her coming-of-age ceremony, and therefore has not reached the legal age for marriage.

Even for the royal family, it is not easy to blatantly violate the imperial laws. The old emperor's idea of ​​granting marriage was indeed a little anxious.

"Father... I still have another half a year to go before I reach adulthood. Who are you asking me to marry now?"

Just as Eli was thinking this, Princess Lina herself timidly raised an objection to her father's words.

Although she was prepared to get close to Eli, she had agreed when she and Eli made the agreement that she would not formally marry him in the next three years. After all, with Lina's personality, a formal marriage meant a lifetime commitment that could never be changed. How could she easily finalize this matter before Eli could truly fulfill his promise?

"The Emperor didn't say that you should get married now. After the marriage is granted, you can get engaged first, and the formal marriage can be discussed later. The Emperor doesn't want to marry you off so early."

In response to his beloved daughter's objection, the old emperor took a sip of wine and explained with a smile that, as he said, he had doted on his darling daughter for so many years and he wanted to keep her for a few more years, so there was no way he would be in a hurry to marry her off.

After all, with Eli's future status and position, even the royal family of the Dawn Empire would not be able to accept him as a son-in-law, so his arranged marriage would definitely be to marry Lina off. He really couldn't bear to let his beloved daughter leave home and get married so early. Anyway, the life expectancy of humans now is much longer than before, so even if she waits until her twenties to get married, she is not considered an old maid.

"Engagement... that's fine."

Princess Lina muttered softly when she heard this, and then silently drank her juice.

If it was just an engagement, it would be fine. Eli had already stamped his seal on it, so it didn't matter whether the marriage was engaged or not. As long as he didn't deceive himself, then getting engaged would be a better deal.

"Your Majesty has the final say."

At this time, Eli also agreed, which temporarily put an end to the matter.

"That's good! In three days, you two will hold your engagement party. This matter will be arranged by your Duke's Mansion. You must make it a grand and perfect one for my Lina."

As he spoke, the old emperor drank a glass of fine wine, then put the glass down heavily.

"Of course. My Bruno family will never let Princess Lina down."

In this situation, it was not Eli's turn to speak. Duke and Duchess Bruno quickly stood up and agreed, both looking flattered.

After that, the banquet process was rather boring. It was nothing more than many dignitaries congratulating the Duke and Duchess of Bruno and Eli, and saying that His Majesty the Emperor had found an excellent home for Princess Lina.

As the banquet went on, Eli, as one of the protagonists of the banquet, had to drink a lot of wine. Although with his physical fitness, he would have no problem drinking more wine, he really didn't want to drink anymore while listening to others' flattery.

Using the excuse that he was still young and couldn't drink much, Eli turned down many toasts from others and drank juice with Princess Lina beside him. Under the gaze of everyone, Eli and Princess Lina always smiled at each other, looking very loving.

Seeing this scene, the old emperor was quite pleased. After all, Eli was the son-in-law he favored, and his beloved daughter seemed to really like him. It was better for the two of them to truly love each other than for him to force a marriage to win over Eli.

The banquet lasted until the evening. After the old emperor left first, Eli, who had long been unable to bear it any longer, hurriedly pulled Princess Lina to gather the beautiful girls and young dragons scattered everywhere. Then he took the people and dragons to say hello to Duke and Duchess Bruno and left first.

After the Emperor and the guests left, the banquet naturally came to an end, and all the dignitaries dispersed and returned to their homes.

But before leaving, everyone did not forget to congratulate the Duke and Duchess Bruno who were in the same circle as them. After today, the Bruno family would not rise to the top overnight, but at least they would soar to the top. Even a prince could not compare with them.

If Eli really becomes a god in the future, then the status of the Bruno family will be unshakable even by the emperor of the empire. After all, the divine-blood nobles are no less powerful than the royal families of various countries in the mortal world.

……

……

After leaving the main hall, Eli took his men and dragons to the side hall next door, where he gathered the guards who had already eaten and drunk their fill. Then he took a group of people back with their war horses and left the palace directly to return to the Duke's Mansion.

But something unexpected happened at this time, but it was indeed reasonable. Princess Lina, who had followed Eli all the way, was not going to follow him.

"We're all back at the palace... Although our relationship has been settled, I can't live with you in the Duke's Palace under the current circumstances..."

In fact, there was no need for Princess Lina to explain. Eli could understand what she meant at once. No matter what, they were just a couple "in love". Not to mention getting married, even the engagement was scheduled for three days later.

For the sake of Princess Lina's reputation, there is no way she can live in the Duke's Mansion right now. Although both of them are innocent, the mouths are on other people's bodies, and if she really does something wrong, she can't control what others say.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it through. You will stay in the palace at night. Remember to come to the Duke's Mansion during the day. I will give you advanced training."

As he spoke, Eli shamelessly took Princess Lina's hand, and despite her pretended struggle, he slowly moved closer and slapped her cheek hard. After a moment, he let Princess Lina go, and then led his men on horseback to leave the imperial city area.

Unlike in the Demon Hunting City where they were watched wherever they went, people in the Imperial Capital had seen the world, and although their group, including the dragon, made a strong presence, it did not attract much attention in the Imperial Capital. After all, there were many noble children in the city who went out for a walk with a large group of bodyguards.

Although the Dawn Empire and even the entire continent are now praising the reputation of Eli Bruno, if he really walked on the street, no one would recognize him. After all, although Eli grew up in the imperial capital, he was different from other noble children since he was a child. He devoted himself to martial arts and kept a low profile. He rarely interacted with outsiders and never caused trouble.

Most of the nobles in the imperial capital knew that there was a person named Eli in the Bruno family. It was rumored that he was extremely talented and had studied martial arts deeply, so he should be worthy of the name of a genius. But in fact, there were very few people who had really interacted with him. Even Princess Lina, who had only met him a little but never played with him, could be considered his acquaintance.

Few of the nobles knew Eli, so naturally, he dared to show up on the streets of the imperial capital with confidence.

But how can I put it? Sometimes, some situations are just so coincidental. Before Eli and his party rushed back to the Duke's Mansion, on the wide and bright streets of the imperial capital, a young nobleman who was a playboy and who needed no description at all, had stared at Eli and his party from a distance. The first person who caught his attention was naturally the ten-meter-tall Alyssa. Although the Dawn Empire, the first on the continent, was stronger than the Dragon Kingdom, the third on the continent, as a noble of the Dawn Empire, he considered himself more noble than the average dragon clan. However, the pride of the dragon clan was also recognized. Those who could afford to raise giant dragons and were recognized by the dragon clan must be extremely noble in the Dawn Empire.

I don't know which big family's son is showing off his wealth so ostentatiously, walking openly on the street with a dragon. Such a deliberate way of showing off is totally unworthy of the nobility.

Let me see who is so ungentlemanly to do this...wait!
The noble young man rubbed his eyes, feeling that he might have been hurt by alcohol and sex recently. He was a little dazed. Why did I see this guy Eli?

Oh yes, I had heard before that Eli Bruno, the rising star of the Dawn Empire, had returned to his country, and that His Majesty the Emperor personally went out of the city ten miles to welcome him back. I heard that the palace specially held a banquet to welcome him. Calculating the time, it’s almost time for the banquet to end.

"Yi..."

The noble young man, who felt that he was not seeing things, opened his mouth and shouted, but he stopped talking after just one word.

He did not attend the banquet today, nor did he drink too much, so his mind was clear. He reacted in time when a word was subconsciously shouted out before. Today's Eli is no longer the low-key and introverted Eli of the past.

He is now the youngest saint in the history of the empire and a future Venerable. His fame has spread from the Dawn Empire to the continents and oceans. His legends should be spread wherever there are people of hundreds of races living.

If the Duke's son Eli Bruno was once someone he could associate with, then Saint Eli was already someone he could not reach.

His father was also the Duke of the Dawn Empire, and his family was originally no weaker than the Bruno family, but because of Eli's change in identity, he and his family could no longer be compared with Eli and the Bruno family.

Forget it, just pretend I didn't see him. If I greeted him at this time and was ignored, it would be a small matter. But if Eli remembered that he had prevented him from playing with his sister, and if he got angry and forced him to hand over his sister to save his life, then I would be in big trouble.

But before the young nobleman could slip away with the crowd, Eli, who had already spotted him, reined in his horse and shouted.

"Wait a moment!"

Although they were just three ordinary words and the tone sounded indifferent, the young nobleman still stood firmly as if his feet had taken root.

"Um... Eli... Saint, what do you want from me?"

With his strength, since he was seen by Eli, he would not be able to run away even if he had eight legs. The noble young man could only turn his head and asked Eli with a smile on his face.

"William, why did you see me running around? Have you become unfamiliar with me after not seeing me for only half a year?"

Eli rode on his horse, looking down at the noble young man William, and spoke in a neutral tone.

“I dare not, I dare not, it’s just that Saint Eli, you are standing a little too high now, I… I am a little scared.”

William stood very steadily while speaking, without trembling or stuttering, but it was obvious that he was telling the truth. After all, Eli knew him too well. This guy would freeze when he was scared.

"High? Then I'll dismount and talk to you."

Eli followed William's words, jumped off the horse, and walked step by step to William's side.

Seeing Eli approaching him, William was stunned for a moment, but did not dare to move. He could only watch Eli approach and then put a hand on his shoulder.

“That makes us equal.”

I have to say that William's family has good genes. Although William himself is loose and lazy, he is still tall. Even when standing next to Eli, he is not half an inch shorter.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be like this. I'm even more scared..."

William looked at Eli's big hand on his shoulder, fearing that he would become paralyzed with a casual pinch. He could only muster up his courage and shouted to Eli with his neck stiff.

"Why are you afraid of this? You used to like to put your hands on my shoulders and tell me to go home and look in the mirror more often."

Eli looked into William's eyes and spoke casually. Although there was no malice in his voice, William felt a little trembling.

Damn it, I should have run away when I saw him from a distance just now. I was a step slower and was captured alive. Now I might have to rely on my sister to save me...

"What you said is true. You are handsome and heroic. You should look in the mirror more often. It's a pity if you don't know how to appreciate a handsome man like you."

No matter what, William is in the aristocratic circle after all. He can't do serious things, but he can definitely tell lies all the time.

"Really? But I remember that after you told me to look in the mirror, I came to see your sister less often."

Eli didn't move the hand that was on William's shoulder, but William just felt like a mountain was pressing down on him, making him a little unstable.

"You play with my sister a lot, Cecilia will be jealous, I am also thinking about your family harmony."

At this time, many beautiful girls who followed Eli also gathered around and watched Eli teasing a pale man. Except for Jessica and Cecilia, everyone else looked confused.

Damn William, what is he doing here? Isn't this reminding the master that there is a beautiful little sister waiting for him in the imperial capital?

Cecilia curled her lips.

(End of this chapter)