Leon woke up to the sound of a Ren entering his room like he did every morning. He had a routine of waking the young master since he always tried to sleep in. He would open the window and let the morning breeze in before placing a bowl of cold water on the young master's deskside.
"Leon, it's time to wake up." Seeing no response from the still half asleep Leon he badgered on. "You have an important day ahead of you. We have no time for delay!"
"Arghhh... Why do I have to wake up so early..." Leon mourned with his face buried into his pillow.
"Young master!" Ren spoke sternly.
"Fine! Fine! I'm getting up!" Leon said in discontent as he awoke with some effort and splashed the cold water on his face.
[So today finally comes eh, the Empresses banquet!] Leon thought inwardly while smiling to himself.
For the next hour or so, Leon took the time to eat his fill at breakfast. He had been trying to increase the quantity of food he consumed as his body needed to grow stronger with his training even without his malnourished state.
And given that he was attending the banquet, he knew he wouldn't have a chance later in the day to eat a lot of food.
Funny right? Leon was attending a social banquet but he knew he would still be hungry. It was common for this to happen as social gatherings such as the one today were mainly used to make an impression amongst the nobles.
Everyone was always trying to create connections or progress with their selfish individual goals. Whether that was marriage arrangements, possible trading deals or even just making a 'friend' amongst a higher standing nobility class.
There was always someone more interesting than the food at the banquet. In fact, it was even frowned upon if a noble purposefully attended the banquet to eat.
Leon dressed after washing up. He had styled his hair the way he like. It looked a bit messy but it was a controlled mess and a popular style a few years down the line. Leon chose to style his hair unusually to garner attention. He had to make himself known again to catch his father's attention who had practically forgotten about him up until now.
"Tsk, to think I, Leon Maxwell, would be searching for that man's attention. If circumstances didn't force my hand hah..." Leon mocked himself as he looked at himself in the mirror.
He had to say he did always do a good job of cleaning himself up for events like these. His eyes fell on his suit that was truly remarkable and he told himself to not forget to thank Lady Cecily the next time he saw her.
His suit was a dark grey with unique stitching. It had dark black stitches that resembled roses. His tie was a maroon red that matched his eyes. His suit piece vest was dark black and had grey stitching that matched the blazer. Topped off with a clear white shirt and suitable accompanying trousers and shoes. He was all but ready.
"Ren, let us leave shall we, we don't want to be late to my 'family members' birthday party do we?" The words family members had a subtle disgust behind them and Leon's face now resembled a deadpan seriousness.
He strode confidently out of his room with an intensity behind his stepped and expression, much like he was entering the battlefield again.
Arrangements had clearly been made ahead of time by the Empress herself as a royal horse carriage was waiting outside for Leon's arrival.
And on queue, the driver stepped to the side of the carriage and called out for Leon, "Youngest prince, I will take you to the main palace on orders of the Empress!"
The driver had loftier clothes than a normal carriage driver, so it was clear this was the main driver she herself normally used. Seeing this Leon laughed under his breath slightly, "I see, well do give my thanks to the Empress the next time you see her. Tell her, thank you for always looking out for me!"
After speaking his words he stepped onto the horse carriage alongside Ren. Leaving the driver, shocked for a moment or two before he snorted in contempt and took his place at the driver's seat.
His facial expression still remained confused as the thought of the youngest prince seeming more confident than usual, plagued his mind.
****
-Inside The Carriage-
"Young master, remember that there will be people trying to make your life difficult but you should still remain yourself. It is better to be you than hide away from their schemes!" Ren warned as he showed signs of being nervous.
Normally when they attended these things, the youngest was constantly in danger. And it was a danger that he was unable to eliminate.
"Relax Ren, this time things will change for the better. I just plan to have some food and drinks and find my sister. We haven't spoken for a while so I will use this chance to say hello."
Seeing the unfazed Leon, Ren thought he was growing old. "Hah your right, let's just enjoy the occasion. I really must be going crazy for this to make me somewhat nervous!"
Before long, they had arrived at the main place. It was a five minute or so drive as they had to arrive using the front entrance according to social ettique. Nobles were required to hand over their invitations at the front door of the palace and as for royalty, they were to announce their arrival for everyone else to be aware.
Leon walked up the palace steps and stood in line behind a male and his companion. He was clearly older than Leon and had a well-defined body.
[A knight?] Leon thought as he looked at the man from behind, wondering who it was.
The guard at the door spoke formally but confident as he was a royal guard entrusted with protecting the banquet. "Your invitation sir!"
The man replied with a smile as he freed his hand from the lady's waist to hand it over, "Here you go, sir!"
"Ah, young marquess, Dudley Bryon. Enjoy your evening!"
The man didn't bother sparing the guard another look as he place his hand back on the lady's waist and entered the palace. It was clear he thought the guard lesser of himself and therefore unworthy to speak to.
"Jackass!" Leon couldn't help but mutter underneath his breath.
Surprisingly the man and his companion heard him and turned to lay eyes on the person speaking such things behind their back. Dudley's eyes showed that he was going to cause a scene using his status to the advantage but when he saw the person behind him he was shocked to a halt. It was just a boy...
Leon didn't bother waiting for the man to take action, instead, he looked at the guard and spoke calmly, "I do suppose I can enter?"
The guard didn't know who the young man was so he replied formally once more, "Invitation please!"
"Invitation?" Leon replied shocked, as the tone of his voice grew to a higher pitch than normal. It was evident that he
Dudley Bryon soon regained his composure and snorted slightly, choosing to talk over the guard and address the earlier comment. After all, if he didn't he would look bad in front of his companion. "Young boy, I do suppose you're not trying to insult this marquess are you?"
Leon looked at the marquess and showed a cold smile.
"And what if I was?" Leon replied back without a care in the world.
"Hah, boy you really must be insane!" The marquess spat out in anger. In fact, on his forehead, a vein seemed to bulge as he gritted his teeth. Still, he wasn't a barbarian and remained levelled headed enough to save himself.
"I am guessing you have your invitation though?" He asked with a fake curiosity but he spoke as if he was on a higher level above him since he was granted an invitation.
[Bingo, that's exactly what I was looking for!] Leon remained smiling in the face of Dudley.
"Why would I need an invitation to enter my father's palace?" Leon spoke acting confused like a little boy after he had done something wrong.
"Ah, ah, sorry youngest prince! Forgive this lowly one for not having eyes!" The guard shouted out as another guard whispered something in his ear.
He gave a proper salute and waited with a scared expression at how the prince was going to act. For what he just did, it could be counted as disrespect to the royal family if he wasn't forgiven.
Leon seeing the panicked guard just laughed it off, "Relax Knight, carry on your duties. I'll be heading in now to meet my father the Emperor and King."
Meanwhile, Leon and the guard were conversing, the situation was being heard by the nobles arriving after them that had lined up as well waiting to enter. And seeing the entertainment starting before they had already entered, they were in good spirits.
They even began to gossip amongst themselves. "Hehe, did you see that, the young marquess just tried to use his rank to shame the prince..."
"I know look at his face, it's like he's seen a ghost!"
"Haha, does he think he is someone above the royal family, what a fool, what a fool!"
As for the marquess, he was stood in his position, frozen. He just looked at the young man with Jett black hair and blood-red eyes walking past him like he didn't exist. Up until Leon spoke a word quietly next to him, so only he and the marquess could hear.
"Remember your place next time!"