Andrew could not help but chuckle to himself—he definitely was not going to refuse that entire tray of gold. Rodney had brought it straight to him, so why not take advantage of it? He carefully handed the gold off to Francesca, who grinned brightly as her dimples deepened.

"Mr. Sanford, you and your team should sit down before all the food's gone!" Francesca said warmly.

Rodney waved his hand, polite as ever. "No need to worry about us, Ms. Aicker. We'll just grab a spot anywhere."

After that, he quickly led the Madblade Martial Academy members to an empty table, keeping things humble despite their earlier fanfare.

Dean subtly nudged Rodney and whispered, "Mr. Sanford, look over at the VIP section."

Rodney followed his gaze and immediately tensed up. His heart skipped a beat when he realized sitting at the head table were Jayrodale's top power players: Marvin, the wealthiest man in Jayrodale; Tiana, the matriarch of the Rhodes family; Cedric, the famous doctor; and Mark, the