Within the banquet hall, the atmosphere was as lively as ever.
Zaltarish had gone from preparing fruits for Mithrandir to cutting her food up for her. Ores was still trying to pretend as though he wasn’t sending a glance towards Akash every minute. And Akash herself was the life of the party, playing with the orphans and entertaining the young geniuses. She really did have the air of a leader.
Suddenly, the atmosphere quietened when the sound of the large banquet halls doors opening filled the area. Everyone looked over in anticipation, hoping to see Ri.
However, when a feminine looking young man with purple hair walked in, some found it hard to contain their disappointment. Unfortunately, the children were even worse at concealing their emotions – some even making audible sounds of displeasure.
“Aw… I thought it would be big brother,” Little Black frowned, “He still hasn’t seen my human form!”
Little Black seemed oblivious to the to the quiet of the room, he was too busy with the chicken legs in his hands. He sat crouched on a chair, his feet planted on the seat as he eagerly bit into the legs. Little Lyla was beside him, giggling at his antics, but she suddenly frowned.
Looking up, she realized the second prince was headed towards them. But, before she could tug on Little Black’s sleeve, Akash had already intercepted the prince’s path, pretending as though she didn’t notice his intention.
The second prince frowned at the woman in front of him. It was even decidedly fiercer considering Akash was even more masculine than he was.
“Is there a problem?” The prince looked at Akash questioningly.
Akash’s brows furrowed, ‘his eyes are… odd.’
The Belmont family was very secretive with their existence. In fact, they were such an enigmatic family that most simply referred to them as the Royal God Clan instead of by their name.
That had partially changed with the crowning of the new king, but in recent years, it was as though the family laid dormant. Aside from Head Sicarius, Ava’s father and the King’s best friend, few other people knew about the family.
But, their eyes were something everyone would recognize. One blue and one red, shining in their own balance.
“There’s nothing of course,” Akash said, recovering from her surprise, “I only wanted to greet the prince in the stead of the Elvin Princess. I believe I’m the most qualified to do so, no?”
Prince Belmont looked passed Akash toward the oblivious Little Black, “Is it normal to allow beast children to live amongst you? It’s decidedly crude and disgusting.”
The silent atmosphere suddenly got darker, everyone looking towards Little Black with pity in their eyes. But, Little Black didn’t seem to care to much.
In fact, his nose switched a bit through bites, “You sound like a man, but you smell like a woman. Why is that?”
The adorable part was that Little Black asked this question innocently. His tone held no malice or ill intent, he only spoke out blatantly as any child would.
Akash closed her eyes, biting onto her lip to try and hold back her laugh, ‘This little kid’s influenced too much by Dyon.’
Prince Belmont felt his face redden in anger, his eyes becoming sharper as he seemed intent on walking past Akash.
Although Akash wanted to stop him, the Elvin Kingdom wasn’t really in a place to garner much respect right now.
Prince Belmont smirked as he watched Akash’s war with herself.
But, Akash suddenly snorted to herself, ‘since when was I worried about such ridiculous things… being a leader is hard…’
When Akash was simply a campaign leader, she was do reckless things all of the time, and her men would follow her. But, things were on a much larger scale now… the responsibility was on another whole level. However, that didn’t mean she would allow a child to be bullied.
However, just as she was about to reach out to stop Prince Belmont, Little Lyla spoke, “Prince, I know Little Black looks like a child, but you’ll get hurt if you fight him as you are now…”
Everyone was stunned by Lyla’s words. Knowing who she was, no one doubted her as tens of pairs of eyes flew towards Little Black.
‘Maybe she meant Dyon wouldn’t let him off?…’
Prince Belmont turned his gaze toward the little girl with pink hair. Truth be told, he didn’t like the look of attacking a child either. But, some lines shouldn’t be crossed.
“And you are?” The prince’s eyes flashed, he felt there was something special about this little girl but he couldn’t pin it, ‘Wait… Special elf? True Empath?’
The prince’s eyes narrowed. The decline of the Elvin Kingdom wasn’t something the Belmonts wanted. After all, there were other Royal God Clans who were constantly seeking for an opportunity to rank up to a King God Clan. Because of this, having strong allies was good… but, if they were too strong, there was a problem.
Thus, when King Acacia disappeared, although it was a blow, it was worth while. However, a weakened Elvin Kingdom, mixed with an impressionable little girl, and add a sprinkle of her dead parents and you might have the perfect recipe for a future figure head to be controlled by none other than the first prince.
As such, Prince Belmont forgot about Little Black for a moment.
“I’m Lyla Sacharro,” Little Lyla patted her chest adorably.
She seemed to have a calming effect on everyone, her demeanor bringing smiles to their faces.
However, her words caused the Prince to furrow his eyebrows, ‘Sacharro?… Where have a heard that name before?…’
Suddenly, the Prince was snapped out of his thought by light laughter coming from the open doorway. It seemed as though it was coming from down the hallway.
“You’re bad. You’ve made us so late,” Ri held onto Dyon’s arm seemingly lost in their own world.
Dyon grinned, “I needed to see where my little feu glace got up to mischief in her youth, I had very pure intentions.”
Ri rolled her eyes, “As if, pervert.”
Ri and Dyon finally made it to the entrance of the banquet hall under the eyes of everyone.
Primrose was stunned by Ri’s change. In fact, other than the day in the square, this was the first of most in attendance seeing a dressed-up Ri… well, at least a dressed-up Ri that wasn’t a toddler.
The crown braid on her hair, the purity in her eyes, and the beauty of her dress were all striking. However, what probably made people even more shocked was Dyon’s ability to complement her perfectly.
His back was straight and his eyes were sharp. He propped up Ri by her hold on his arm, expertly maneuvering around her dress to give her an added level of comfort. And his demeanor… It was as though the King and Queen had made their appearance.
However, there was something decidedly cold about Dyon’s eyes right now. His previously cheery self vanished as he scanned the situation.
Akash with her arm stretched out. An unknown non-elf walking toward Little Lyla. The quiet atmosphere in what should have been a festive event. It didn’t take long for Dyon to see through it all.
As for Ri, she was already well aware of who this feminine looking young man was. So, she said nothing in response to Dyon’s shift, simply holding onto his arm and allowing him to deal with it.
Finally, Dyon spoke. “And you are?”
Prince Belmont suddenly felt a stifling pressure coming from Dyon that caused him to almost back away, ‘Sacharro… Dyon Sacharro!’
Akash lowered her hand, taking note of the Prince’s slightly trembling hands. It was faint, but definitely there, ‘I guess he’s the real deal,’ she thought, looking toward Dyon.
She, like everyone else, had been in attendance for the showdown at the public square. But, this was the first time she got to look at Dyon so closely.
Suddenly, Dyon couldn’t be bothered to look at the Prince anymore, instead smiling amiably toward Akash, “I’ve read a lot about your exploits Commander Sigebryht. I’m honored to have he change to work under you.”
Akash was stunned for a moment. Wasn’t Dyon exceedingly arrogant? She had assumed he would be among the hardest to deal with… it seemed she misjudged him.
Shaking her head, Akash nodded back, “I look forward to working with you.”
“Hmph.” Zaltarish snorted coldly. “We’ve waited for your appearance for months. It seems you’ve finally decided to wake up.”
Dyon grinned at Zaltarish. If Zaltarish had chosen to ignore him, he would lose major points to Dyon. But the fact he said something at least meant he wasn’t all bad. It was just that he was only good at expressing his feelings when it came to Mithrandir. Which was adorable in its own way.
Zaltarish, as he had told Mithrandir that night, had had a good childhood for the most part. It was only his teenage years that created this false bravado. Because of that, it was likely that it was a bit easier to shed that layer.
That being said, Dyon couldn’t be bothered to speak or even look at Ores, Kymil and Darcassan. Being rude to his Ri and trying to raise his little sister as a concubine were grounds for automatic deaths. It was lucky for them that they were at the very least repentant, or else Dyon would teach them a lesson.
It was only after this that Prince Belmont finally snapped out of whatever spell Dyon’s gaze had put him under, noticing the intimate interaction between Dyon and Ri.
Suddenly he smirked to himself, ‘This is perfect. Having two outstanding women like this… There’s no way they’ve accepted such a thing.’
Stepping forward, the prince began to speak, “Princess Acacia, I Elwing Belmont, have come bearing gifts. How could the Belmont family not have well wishes for the Elvin royal family?”
Elwing snickered to himself noticing the cheap necklace on Ri’s neck. Truthfully, it was beautiful and intricately made, but he couldn’t feel any energies coming from it. There was only one explanation: it was a common metal.
‘You gift your first secret fiancée a lowly practitioner level treasure and you can’t even bother to give this one even that? I’ll let them see you for what you truly are.’
Elwing’s smirk suddenly froze at Dyon’s reaction to his words.
“Looks like a prince has brought my little feu glace presents,” Dyon led Ri to the empty seats beside Primrose, helping her sit. “Let’s enjoy then.”
The Elvin geniuses who had been at the assessments suddenly felt themselves inadvertently shiver… usually when Dyon smiled like this, it was a time where you thought you had everything in hand… when really, he was playing you all along.
Ri giggled at Dyon’s antics, her beautiful laugh filling the room.
Primrose grabbed onto Ri’s arm, pulling their chairs closer.
When Mithrandir saw this, she couldn’t help but feel a little lost. But, when Primrose pulled her chair closer as well, she blushed, happiness blooming in her heart.
Zaltarish sighed, ‘When will I be able to make her have that reaction?’
Suddenly, the prince felt like a clown – a jester called in for entertainment. He wanted to explode in anger, to call Dyon a lowly trash that had no right to disrespect the royal blood of his family. But could he? All Dyon said was that he wanted to see what presents the prince had prepared, presents the prince himself suggested to display. So, he could only grit his teeth in silence.
Because of this, Dyon had been raised yet another notch in Akash’s heart, ‘He’s too clever for his own good…’
But then, Dyon froze, feeling something odd. He looked around the room before his eyes locked on a little boy, “Little Black?…”
The little boy grinned back at Dyon, using their mental connection for affirmation. Before, Dyon had felt that Little Black was here, but, this was the first time he looked for him. When they were back in Ri’s room, he had stifled the connection for obvious reasons… So, it wasn’t until now that he noticed the oddity.
The two small children ran up to Dyon, each sitting in either lap. Little Lyla giggled happily as Dyon gave her a look, “This is what you meant by something cool was happening to Little Black?”
Little Lyla’s head bobbed up and down, her pink hair swaying in the air.
Dyon smiled, rubbing their heads, “Okay, let’s talk about it later then. First, let’s witness these grand presents. What do you say, Prince Belmont?”
