The shock of the crown prince's words was evident in the faces of the king and queen. It was like a lightning that hit them hard. They couldn't believe at first that the crown prince, who have eluded all invitations and advances not just for security reasons, but also because he doesn't have interest, have taken a liking to someone.
All the ladies of past that wooed for him were utterly rejected, yet they were so unrelenting, unyielding, and unstoppable that the prince was forced to go in seclusion. Since that time, he never accepted any invitation for any party except for extremely special cases that requires his presence.
Therefore, this situation is most unique to the royal parents, having known and endured the disposition of their child for a long time, it took quite a while before they were able to speak.
"Wh- where is this woman? Who is she? Tell me!" The king, who couldn't even hide his exhilaration, demanded question over question that he failed to notice his son standing and moving forward the stage.
"And finally, to all people present here tonight! It is my utmost honor to present to you, the pride of the Charming Kingdom, the Crown Prince Henry Triadna Fernos des Charming!"
A roar of applause was given after the announcer introduced crown prince Henry. Henry followed this with the usual protocol of a fake smile trained ever since he was young, and the hand wave perfected to not be too shaky nor too passive.
After the applause calmed down and the atmosphere came back to normal, the royal family stepped down to greet their guests. Of course, the said guests came flocking immediately towards them.
It might not be noticeable, but the king and queen made sure that their son got through the plethora of power-hungry guests. Once they knew that their son would go straight to the woman mentioned, they have meticulously removed any obstacles that would come their son's way. Whenever a guest would try to initiate a conversation with Prince Henry, one of them would gracefully intercept and pull the unknowing guest to their own center of conversation.
And this was not difficult for the King and Queen of the Charming Kingdom
As royalty, it is a given that they master the art of communication; that includes manipulation, control, and eloquence. The main purpose of this skill is to make sure that the royal family does not embarrass themselves in any social situation, but it also serves many other ends, including distraction and diversion.
Prince Henry, with a charming smile that could melt hearts, a dashing stance befitting royal nobility, and with the assistance given by his parents, walked seamlessly towards his target, thinking that all attention must be on the king and queen now.
Well, the attention of almost all guests, to be specific.
The sight of his target seemed to have blinded the prince about a certain group of guests that did not so much pay attention to the king and queen, these set of people are ones that had Prince Henry as their goal for this event. These individuals are the ones that made a lot of preparations just to be in this event, they affirmed their resolve to make the prince notice them, even by just a fraction of a second.
They are the young ladies of the event.
Surrounding the prince in a deadlock, they took every initiative they can get to interact with the elusive royalty. Not going to waste all the preparations they made, they were akin to pouncing beasts lurking in stealth for their prey.
"Good evening Prince Henry, I am Geneviere Faust—" and Geneviere was shoved aside.
"A pleasant evening your highness, this one is the Baroness of the Tedero—" and the unknown lady vanished in the frontlines.
"It is a very vibrant evening Prin—" and another one.
"Good eve—." Haaaaa.
The surprised Prince Henry was helpless against this kind of mob attack, he could not do anything but try to listen to the indiscrete war that is happening in front of him. With his unwavering smile, he resolved himself to endure the situation until he gets another opportunity to talk to her.
And when the ladies suddenly moved aside and made a pathway, Prince Henry took a little shock yet tried to grab the opportunity to escape. That is, until two ladies made their entrance in the pathway made; they introduced themselves in a fashion that would render high nobility speechless.
"With the evening under the dazzling crystals, we greet the finest diamond, Crown Prince Henry."