Why does darcy not publicly defend himself when wickham maligns darcy’s character to the people in elizabeth’s hometown?

"Pride and Prejudice" is a novel written by Jane Austen and it was published in 1813. It is a romantic and comedic novel that relates the life and adventures of Elizabeth Bennet, the main character, her family and the life and adventures of Darcy, the main male character of the story. One of the issues presented in the novel is the multiple conflicts that Darcy has with several people along the story, and one of them is Mr. Wickham, a man whom Darcy had met in his younger years, who grew up with his family, and whom he tried to get rid of when his sister got involved with the man, because of his station and his lack of responsibility. The end of their acquaintance comes when Darcy gives money to Wickham to leave without his sister and the latter returns years later and becomes involved with Elizabeth Bennet. There are two reasons why Darcy decides not to take action against Wickham in the story and denounce him publicly: the first, was his pride; Darcy thought it was below himself to even acknowledge the man who harmed his sister and the second, he knew that the people of Elizabeth´s town disliked him and loved Wickham, so he saw the futility of trying to malign the man when no one would believe him.

he can eat everything and drink whatever he wants

explanation:

the knight would die while giong on a quest.