Urban Seduction: Housewives Club

"Wait, they guard this?" Eric was puzzled. "Why would the current king willingly step down?"

"The guardian knights of a country hold a supreme position within their martial circles, you could say they are spiritual leaders who can command the respect of hundreds," Meyer explained.

"If the king refuses to step down for the rightful heir, the guardian knights can rally the entire martial community to overthrow the 'usurper' and reinstate the 'true king'."

"But doesn't the king have any influence over the martial community? Wouldn't he resist?"
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"While the king does have his power base, the Royal Knights who guard the palace and the royal family must be under the control of the guardian knights!"

Meyer continued, "This means that the royal family lives under the watchful eyes of the guardian knights, receiving their closest protection and scrutiny."

She paused, then added, "Moreover, in Europe today, most countries are constitutional monarchies, where the king's power is greatly diminished. Strong groups like the guardian knight families have risen to power, controlling much of the country's political and economic strength. Installing a new king wouldn't be too difficult for them!"

"Doesn't the king try to maintain good relations with the guardian knight families? Don't they try to establish themselves as kings?"

"That's impossible!" Meyer said firmly. "A true knight must be humble, honest, brave, just, and loyal, adhering to the Ten Commandments of Knighthood. Any who dare to violate these principles will be hunted down by the entire knightly community, regardless of their family's power or personal martial skills."

"What a strange system!"

After a moment of silence, Eric asked, "How do families like the Ophelia's compare to our Broumell family?"

"Our family has no fewer Golden and Silver Knights than those families," Meyer replied.

"But without a Saint Knight, our overall strength is much weaker, probably only about half that of the Ophelia family's strength..."

With a comparison in mind, Eric easily estimated the strength of the Ophelia family, feeling somewhat disdainful. Their strength was far below that of the nightly security forces at Wu Mei Mountain!

No longer interested in the Ophelia family, Eric turned to discussing martial arts and techniques with Meyer.

Although Eric had been practicing for a much shorter time than Meyer, the martial arts he had encountered were all top-notch, some even unique in the world. In terms of starting point alone, he was definitely beyond Meyer's reach.

Therefore, this discussion was mainly Eric explaining while Meyer listened intently.

Time flew by in teaching and learning. As it was already dinner time, Eric paused and called the hotel to have food delivered to the room.

During this break, Meyer, still eager, quickly asked about some martial arts questions she had encountered, becoming excited and joyful upon receiving the answers.

When the doorbell rang, Meyer was still absorbed in contemplating a question. Eric, feeling helpless, had to open the door himself.

To his surprise, instead of the hotel waiter pushing a food cart, there stood a pair of quite outstanding young men and women.

The man was none other than Leotis, mentioned by Eric and Meyer just now, while the woman, a stunning beauty in her mid-twenties, was dressed in a red knight's gown, exuding a noble and elegant aura.

Without needing to ask, Eric knew that this beauty must be Meyer's good friend—Ophelia!

Eric's appearance surprised the siblings. Leotis quickly smiled apologetically and was about to speak, but Ophelia, standing beside him, huffed in English, "You're Meyer's man?"

Eric didn't bother with her tone, just smiled faintly. He neither confirmed nor denied it.

Ophelia, whether mistakenly thinking Eric had agreed or assuming he didn't understand English, became even more annoyed and didn't even bother with a greeting as she barged into the room.

As she passed by, Eric could feel Ophelia's soft body and enticing fragrance.

Leotis, full of apology, smiled at Eric and said, "Mr. Eric, I'm sorry about her behavior. Olivia was just a little impatient..."

Eric smiled and said nothing, simply gesturing for them to come in.

Hearing Leotis' apology, Ophelia, who had already passed Eric, turned around with a changed expression. Disdainfully pursing her lips, she was about to speak when Meyer's voice came from the inner room, "Eric, what are you doing? Hurry up and come in, I still need..."

Ophelia's face changed drastically, she glared fiercely at Eric, and loudly shouted, "Meyer, you dead woman, get out of here!" With that, she quickly flashed into the inner room.

Meyer's words made Leotis' expression somewhat unnatural, but he didn't say anything, just awkwardly smiled.

Eric rolled his eyes, knowing that the siblings had misunderstood! The second half of Meyer's sentence should have been, "...still need to consult you!"

Without explanation, Eric turned and left. Leotis hesitated for a moment, then hurried to catch up, closing the door behind him.

Upon entering the inner room, they found Ophelia and Meyer exchanging glances. After a few seconds of digesting the surprise of Ophelia's sudden appearance, Meyer asked with surprise and suspicion, "Olivia, why are you here so soon?"

"You knew I was coming?" Ophelia's tone carried a hint of danger.

However, Meyer seemed completely unaware, smiling cheerfully. "If you knew about this surprise, you would come find me! I just didn't expect you to come so soon."

"You dead woman!" Ophelia exploded, "Didn't we agree that the men we date must pass each other's tests before confirming the relationship? But what did you do? We were already at the 'to be or not to be' stage, yet you still refused to tell me. What do you take me for? Do you still consider me a good friend..."

At this moment, Ophelia was like a raging lioness, her noble and elegant demeanor destroyed by her actions, much to Eric's regret.

"What 'to be or not to be'?" Meyer was confused by Ophelia's words. "Olivia, what are you talking about?"

"Even now you want to quibble?" Ophelia huffed, pointing rudely at Eric. "Who is this Chinese man to you?"

Meyer understood where Ophelia's resentment was coming from. He chuckled, then pulled Eric forward, saying, "Let me introduce you, this is my younger brother Eric..."

Ophelia's eyes scanned Eric's face, and then she snorted, "Don't lie to me, where did you get a younger brother..."

"Eric's ancestors have a deep connection with our Broumell family. According to our family rules, he is also a direct disciple of the Broumell family, naturally making him my younger brother!"

Perhaps because this situation was so common in Europe, Ophelia immediately believed it and didn't inquire further into Eric's background. She just suppressed her anger, slightly puzzled, and asked, "So, when you announced this gentleman as your boyfriend at the Knight's Council, you were just using him as a shield?"

Meyer glanced at Eric, who remained calm, lowered his eyelids, and nodded slightly.

"You know your place, not forgetting our agreement!" Ophelia finally calmed down, smiled, and turned to Eric, her face slightly flushed, greeting him in Mandarin, "Hello..."

"Eric can speak English, so you don't have to embarrass yourself with that broken Chinese," Meyer scolded Ophelia, then turned half away and looked at Eric, "Eric, this lady may seem noble and elegant, but she's actually hot-tempered and impulsive, she's my good friend, another gem of the knightly world—Ophelia. You can call her 'Olivia' like I do!"

Ophelia glared at Meyer, then with a friendly smile, turned to Eric and said, "Mr. Eric, I was really rude just now..."

"And still rude!" Meyer crossed his arms, deliberately shaking as if unable to stand it, and interrupted, "Can't you speak more politely? Just call him Eric, anything will do..."

Ophelia's eyebrows furrowed again, and she could be heard trying to control her volume, "This is basic courtesy in social etiquette, don't you understand?"

"Enough!" Meyer scoffed, "All those social courtesies are just for show to those hypocrites. Our Eric isn't used to that! Olivia, how many times do I have to tell you, it's better to be honest in life, you can skip that whole set of yours!"

Meyer's words had already made Ophelia's eyes turn green with jealousy, but she still wouldn't let it go, adding fuel to the fire, "If you keep 'socializing' with our Eric like this, I'll think you have ulterior motives..."