Silver Bottle III

"Hey! Man! What are you doing?!"

All of a sudden, two female guards nearby spotted Gilan's actions. Their expressions changed slightly, and they hurriedly drew the short swords at their waists and rushed over.

Yet Gilan turned a blind eye to them. Without slowing, he moved with astonishing speed and darted into the center of the square in the blink of an eye.

Young men and women already stood there in lines, forming a large square formation of nearly a hundred people.

Judging solely by their clothing, however, seventy or eighty percent of them were children of nobility, while only a small number were commoners.

The two groups stood clearly apart on opposite sides.

It was easy to distinguish nobles from commoners, for in this era, ordinary people could generally afford only linen and wool garments, usually covered in mending. Thirty or forty patches were nothing unusual.

Only nobles wore brand-new silk and fur, along with colorful hose and pointed cowhide boots.

Gilan's abrupt intrusion drew the group's attention.

Among those who had come for the apprentice assessment, men were an extreme minority—fewer than ten in all. Thus, the sight of such a "reckless" common-born man running over under everyone's gaze filled the nobles present with contempt and disgust.

"Get this fellow out of here already!"

A young noblewoman sneered.

The other nobles around her also kept urging the approaching female guards on, and the heckling gradually grew louder.

The moment Gilan approached the crowd, the commoners hurriedly moved away, seemingly unwilling to be associated with him for fear of being implicated.

But just as the female guards surrounded Gilan, a stern, indifferent female voice rang out:

"Silence!"

Everyone fell quiet and turned toward the voice.

A tall woman in a flowing silver-white silk robe approached at an unhurried pace,