"He's trying to rile you up, Mikael," Klara worriedly said to him as she watched him clean his jacket with wet tissues.
She was a little confused about why he was wearing a smile on his face after what happened in the hall.
"He was not just trying to make me angry, my dear Wife." The Zarayne lightly said, and then unbuttoned his cuff on the right wrist and rolled his sleeve up.
There were red marks on his forearm where Aaron had gripped him, but her eyes narrowed when Mikael pointed at a spot, a small bluish spot, which from a distance, looked like a mole.
Upon a closer look, she could tell that something had pierced him there, a small needle.
"He poisoned you?" Her heart thumped hard against her chest.
"Yes, but it doesn't seem to be anything lethal. Luckily for me, this is not going to work on me." He shrugged it off and rolled down his sleeve again.
"No, you should get it checked." She panicked, and he laughed at her concern.
"Relax. Watch this." He said and rolled his sleeve up again to show her the mark, and then under her amazed eyes, she saw that spot of his arm start to glow in red light.
Within seconds, the marks and the bluish spot all disappeared as if they never existed in the first place, and her mouth dropped open in shock.
Mikael buttoned his cuff again and leaned close to her ear.
"Your husband is very special," He teasingly said and planted a kiss on her cheek, which made her blush.
"Are you..."
"An Esper? Yes. Don't tell anyone."
"I won't." She shook her head in a promise, and he gave her another kiss, this time, on the other cheek.
Klara did not mind it at all, and when he carried his jacket over his arm and grabbed her hand to return to the Hall, her face was burning in a blush.
When people saw them return and both smiling and whispering to each other, a couple clearly in love, they sighed in their hearts.
The Young Zarayne was not a simple person. He had accomplished the dream of every man...
"Hey!" Mikael placed his jacket on the back of his chair and sat down with his family. "You all look gloomy." He curiously asked when he saw Grisha sitting there as well.
He had deliberately spent a lot of time in the bathroom, and he was sure someone had taken action on his behalf.
Soon Archer came over and explained to him what had happened in his absence.
The City Lord watched the footage himself and went over to the Albonn table to ask Aaron to apologise to him for his rude behaviour.
Unsurprisingly, the Son of Luck refused, calling it a misunderstanding, and when Alexander Albonn laughed it off as well and asked the Host to not get involved in the games of the children, Luis was upset but still gave the old man some face.
Mikael sighed and then picked up the glass of wine.
Luis Fletcher happened to be looking his way, and when he saw the Young Zaraye raising his glass and toasting to him in appreciation and gratitude, he felt relieved in his heart and could not help but admire the young man a little.
Such forbearance at this young age was rare, and it showed that Mikael was more than what the rumours made him out to be.
Everyone clapped when a young lady, who had just performed a piano piece, stood up and bowed to them.
Stephen, who was sitting next to Grisha, immediately stood and after giving his mother a kiss, and rushed up to the stage to perform a piece for her.
"He's so sweet." Maria smiled when she watched their interaction, and the Lady of the Albonn Family was feeling much better now.
Everyone calmly listened to the sweet melody that Stephen played. It was a very simple melody, but pleasant, and even though people could tell that the young Albonn was still learning, they wholeheartedly praised his performance because of the confidence he showed at such a young age.
Confidence was everything. It was what made the man a man. And Stephen's performance was very decent as well.
By the time the Young Albonn returned to the table, everyone was getting up on their feet, and it was because Jose Romanio had arrived at the venue.
Luis and his wife rushed over to greet him, and Old Jose took his time as he came to every table of the Major Families to thank them for coming tonight.
He was, after all, their Co-Host and the Chief Personality at the banquet tonight.
"My warmest wishes on your birthday, Count Romanio. May the Gods bless you and your loved ones with happiness and success." Mikael greeted the Old Man with a slight bow.
"Thank you, Your Honourable Mikael." He graciously accepted the wish and offered his hand, which the Young Zarayne accepted and shook.
Old Jose then used the noble address to greet everyone at the table, except Grisha and Stephen, since the Albonns were not a noble family.
"Brother, why did you use the noble address when everyone else was just calling him 'His Excellency'?" Stephen curiously asked, and Grisha was very happy to hear her son call his Brother-in-Law "Brother".
"Lord Luis greeted him with the noble address too, and so did the Russells." He pointed towards the table where the Russell Family was greeting Old Jose with a slight bow as well. "It's because it's fine for others to address him as they want, but the nobility must address him with the Noble Address. It shows that you understand and value your traditions and respect them. You and your mother too greeted him with the Noble Address just now."
"I was just following her lead." He embarrassedly admitted.
"That's smart. Old Jose was pleased with you."
"Was he?" He excitedly asked. "I want to be a Governor one day."
"Really?"
"Yes!" Stephen nodded his what and Mikael gently smiled at him.
"Then you should start with your noble education right away. You will need a noble title to become a future Governor. It won't be easy. Your Greatfather earned the title of a Knight, and so did your Grandfather. Your family already meets the requirements, and if you work hard, the Crown will bestow the title of Baron to you, which can then be passed down to your legacy."
"If I become a Baron, I can become a Governor?"
"If you become a Baron and you are good enough for the job, then yes, you can become a Governor. Perhaps, not of Schweston Province, but definitely of a smaller Province."
Everyone at the table smiled as they heard Mikael patiently explain things to Stephen, who was attentively listening to everything, and the sour mood they were in before improved a lot.
"Thank you, Brother. I will work hard!" The boy promised and immediately received a kiss on his head from his eldest sister.
"You are too cute!"
"Rae, not here, please..." Stephen blushed as he realised that his sister was teasing him again.
"Why? Are you embarrassed?" She gave him some more kisses and his red face made them all laugh.
"Master."
Suddenly, Archer came over and leaned close to his ear.
"That young man is glancing at you every few seconds. His eyes are unkind."
"I know, Archer. He's waiting for the poison to take effect." He chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry, everything is under control. Return to your position and keep an eye on everything."
"I know a killer when I see one, Master. He's soaked in blood. We should call over more people."
"This is not our place. City Lord has his own men, so, let's trust in them."
Even though his guard seemed unconvinced, he obediently nodded his head and returned to his position.
The people at the table furrowed their brows as they had heard the conversation, and only Klara was not surprised.
"He poisoned you?" Raeya straightforwardly asked, trying to not appear anxious.
"He tried to when he grabbed my arm. He thinks he succeeded, but he didn't. I don't suppose it was anything lethal or something meant to kill me right away. After all, he would become a prime suspect if that happened. He seems very proficient with needles..."
As soon as Grisha heard those words, her face paled.
"He gave father an acupuncture in the evening... he..."
"Relax, Aunty. There's no point in panicking. Even if you go and speak to Old Albonn, he will never believe your words." He lightly said. "Also, I request you to not make it public that he tried to poison me. He failed and we have no evidence. And I also don't want him to know that I knew about his attempt and had ways to deal with the poison..."
Raeya immediately picked up on something and her eyes narrowed, but she kept quiet.
He got poisoned but dealt with it using his Esper Powers. She knew his secret.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming tonight to join us on this auspicious evening."
Everyone heard the City Lord's voice from the mic and turned to look towards the stage.
"I am sure all of you are aware that Count Jose Ramanio is my maternal uncle. When I was young, I once heard him play Cello, and it was the moment I fell in love with music. Some of you are already aware of it, and for those who are not, my Uncle used to be a musician once." He smiled at his Uncle, who laughed and shook his head dismissively.
"Only for a couple of years." He reminded his nephew.
"And you were good."
"Thank you." Jose accepted the compliment, which made people smile.
"One of the most famous works of my uncle is the Symphony of Love, which he created for my Aunt. I am sure some of you must have listened to it and probably did not know that the Musician, Robin, who created it, was actually my Uncle. It was his stage name back in the day."
There were whispers in the hall, and some people were genuinely surprised. However, a lot of people seemed to be aware of this information.
"So, in our mutual love for Music, my Uncle invites you all to have a go at any of the Musical Instruments on the stage," the servants immediately carried several instruments up on the stage, "give us a performance that we will fondly remember for the rest of the life. If any man here tonight manages to impress my Uncle, he promises to give him his watch, the Orion A, 009 Goldstar. I am sure that gentlemen at the venue know which watch I am talking about."
The Hall was suddenly buzzing as the Orion A was one of the most expensive watches in the world, and 009 Goldstar was one of the 9 Goldstar Editions in the entire world, each costing 28 Million Draks.
This was a watch that even if you wanted to buy, the person who owns it would never sell it to you.
It was a symbol and a key to entering a lot of secret clubs and circles in the world.
"And if some lady manages to impress my uncle with her musical talent, he promises to give her one of the Paintings in his famous Collection, the Sakura Prayer, created by the famous Artist, Kirigima Yura from the Nihon Kingdom."
Luis laughed when he saw everyone's stunned expressions.
"You might be wondering why my Uncle is being so generous. Well, the truth is that we don't expect anyone to be able to move him and impress him with their Musical Talent, so he has just put forward these rewards for a fun incentive."
Everyone laughed and helplessly shook their heads.
"Rest assured though. If you do manage to move him and impress him with your Musical Talent and Attainments, he won't back down from his words."
"It's a promise!" Jose loudly said when his nephew finished speaking.
"I will give it a go." A middle-aged man suddenly stood up, and everyone recognised him as the head of the Russel Family, Viscount Peter Austin Russell.
He was famous in the circle for his Attainments in Piano, and when he stood up and walked towards the stage, everyone clapped their hands to cheer for him.
And so, the fun began.