Gideon was startled by Amias who suddenly handed him a plate. He gave back the plate to Amias unconsciously to which the latter started laughing. Damien had to cut in and grab the plate before handing it to the server.
"Well, I'm glad you're here! And you're even wearing the suit. Do you like it~?" Amias asked with a cheeky grin and Gideon didn't know how to respond. Damien flicked Amias' forehead to which he got a "YOU BRUTE!" statement from a now pouting Amias who had a red mark on his forehead.
"He wouldn't wear it if he didn't like it" Damien stated and inspected Gideon from head to toe before nodding as if he was pleased.
"But it does suit, Gideon. You did well Amy" Damien complimented Amias before patting his hair. Amias, on the other hand, took offense to the action and whined before gently pushing his hand away.
"Of course~ When I met Gideon back then, he was so pretty that I thought he was a girl at first. I mean he's still pretty but it can't save his shitty fashion sense especially when he doesn't fix his hair"
"Man and here I thought you were complimenting me but thanks" Gideon sarcastically replies to Amias' "constructive criticism" before taking a sip from his wine glass.
"Aren't you too young to be drinking?" Damien asks and Gideon answers back that he was twenty-two. Damien raised an eyebrow but Amias decided to cut in once again by stating that he was the one who picked out Kaiden's outfit for tonight's event. This got Gideon's attention as he quickly forgot about the fact that Amias had insulted him earlier and asked when Kaiden would show up.
"He'll show up soon enough" especially after hearing the announcement of your arrival. That's the reason why Damien and Amias immediately looked for him. Damien was here to look out for Gideon since he viewed him like he was a tiny rabbit. Whereas Amias was there for surveillance in any suspicious acts from the kid.
"Ohh" Gideon pursed his lips and twirled his glass. He was sort of waiting for Kaiden to talk to him after Stephen's Confrontation. But days passed and not a single text was sent to him. He felt a little bit guilty even though he should be celebrating since he's been waiting for the moment Kaiden finally leaves him alone. And yet, here we are.
Kaiden really loathes attending these sorts of events. For him, it was a joke because he's forced to put on a facade that he and his father are close to each other. Luciel was beside him speaking to Azazel and Arda one last time. Perhaps it was regarding something with the event. He had already heard the announcement of Gideon's arrival and had been itching to speak to him. He needed to clarify things with him.
Maybe it's guilt? I don't know...
Kaiden felt a pat on his shoulder and saw his father smiling at him.
"You look good today" Luciel complimented him and Kaiden looked away while lightly brushing off his hand.
"Thanks"
"NOW ENTERING, HIS HIGHNESS KING LUCIEL LUX FERRE, AND PRINCE KAIDEN LUX FERRE" Azazel announces as Arda opens the door for the both of them to reveal the grand hall that is filled with different races. The Angels, Humans, and Devils all greeted the two by putting a hand over their chests and bowing down saying the phrase;
"Greetings to the Light of this Empire"
The two royals sat on their thrones. There was one throne that had a few bouquets placed next to it. This would have been Gabriella's Throne if she had survived. Luciel began his speech to celebrate this remarkable day where all races were united.
"Of course, none of this would be possible without the sacrifice of our people" Luciel stayed quiet for a moment to mourn for those who passed. But after that, he motioned for Kassandra to come. Kassandra walked to the two and handed them two wine glasses to which Luciel immediately raised his.
"A toast to another year of peace!" Everyone cheered on and raised their glasses before taking a drink.
"I'll be talking to a few people now. Make sure you dance with someone alright?" Luciel looks back at Kaiden who was tapping his fingers on his seat.
"Sure" Kaiden replies casually and Luciel patted his son's hand before taking his leave to go down to speak to the representatives of Humans and Angels.
Kaiden stood up from his seat and quickly swept his eyes across the room. There were several girls who had been trying to catch his attention but he quickly spotted Gideon who looked like he was being annoyed by Amias. Seeing that face, Kaiden couldn't help but smile. Azazel walked up to him and lightly elbowed the prince.
"Fancy anyone today?" Azazel followed Kaiden's gaze and saw the three by the buffet table.
"Ah... well you may interact with him once you have a dance with someone"
"Can't that be Deon?" Kaiden looks at Azazel who scratched the back of his neck.
"You know you can't do that given your status right?"
Being reminded of his status as "Prince" made his mood sour. It was the root source of why the two of them had this huge misunderstanding between them.
If only I wasn't the prince.
Kaiden thought of how Gideon helped him forget that he was one. When he was with Gideon, he could be himself. No need to worry about his image or what the others would say.
"Just one dance right?"
"Just one, my prince. After that, you can talk to Gideon for as long as you want." Azazel reassured him and thus Kaiden sighed and glanced at the women who had been waiting for him.
"Who do you suggest?"
"I'd recommend that you dance with someone who is from our faction for formalities and familiarity. The Humans and Angels wouldn't know how to coordinate with you" Azazel suggests and so the pool choice immediately becomes smaller because there were only a few brave souls who still seek out the prince despite seeing his temperament.
"Alright, thanks Azazel"
Kaiden noticed this one succubus who grinned at him. He saw her once during his training. Since she was a Succubus, she would be skilled in dancing as well. But after this, he's wiping his hands clean. The woman had black hair that faded into dark blue and wore a galaxy-themed slim fit dress that hugged her curves perfectly.
"Your highness" She bowed down lightly and this showed off her chest area. Kaiden noticed this but immediately moved his gaze up to her face.
"May I know your name?" Kaiden smiles fakely and puts out his hand for her to take.
"Aleia" She took a hold of Kaiden's hand and he moved it up to his lips to place a gentle kiss.
"Lady Aleia, would you like to dance with me?"
"With pleasure" She smiled and walked hand in hand with Kaiden to the middle of the hall to dance.
The music suddenly changed and Gideon had been distracted by Amias making weird conclusions about his Highschool life. Damien had been looking at the direction of the group of people. He didn't have to move close to see what was happening but the vast difference in his height with Gideon meant that the lad couldn't see.
"Wait, what are they watching?" Gideon asks the two Nobles in front of him. Amias knew what it was since it was already discussed with them by the king earlier. Damien simply answered "Dancing".
Gideon nodded but he was curious about the people that were dancing so he walked around to look for a space in the crowd. When he finally managed to find a spot, he was surprised by the view.
It was Kaiden, smiling gently as he danced gracefully with this beautiful woman who looked like the stars fell on her. Her hands were on his jacket that went well with his hair and his pendant complimented his eyes. The two of them looked like a match.
Gideon was just in awe, he thought this woman must be one of the female leads back then because of how pretty she was. And of course, it's no wonder that Kaiden looked like he was enjoying his time.
When the song had ended, the guests began to clap their hands and the two bowed to one another. Kaiden escorted her back to a table and it seemed like the woman had spoken a few words to him on the way. Gideon was about to look for Amias or Stephen to accompany him when suddenly the lights died.
The people inside began to panic a little and "What's going on?!" began to echo throughout the hall. There were suddenly a series of coughs as an ominous fog slowly started to spread and a few bodies started to fall.
"EVERYONE COVER YOUR FACE AND EVA- AHHH!" a staff member tried to warn the people of the poison gas but suddenly his neck got bitten by a black monster-like creature. It had the skull of a goat on its "head" but it had a much larger mouth beneath it. It had sharp claws and it was double the size of a regular person.
Damien pounced on it and used a dagger that he had kept hidden and stabbed the area where the skull was located. The monster wailed in pain and shook off Damien, sending him flying.
Luciel rushed to Damien's side to check on him but suddenly the monster from earlier that was injured tried to attack the two. Azazel suddenly appeared and sliced off the "neck" to which it rolled off to the side and a black substance spilled on the ground. The monster collapsed and Azazel flicked off the sword he had created using his blood since it was already filthy. The sword melted back into liquid form.
"There's more being teleported in. Someone had set up an array in the hall." Azazel reports.
This was what Gideon forgot in the original story. This was Matthew's Ambush.