The atmosphere of the banquet freezes, waiting for the emperor to make a move.
The emperor takes a deep breath and begins his speech.
"I, Emperor Judiah, Hold this banquet to congratulate the historical performance done by our military in the Southern Campaign. We have fully put a stop to the clashes with the southern tribe and can now concentrate our forces towards the north and west. We have greatly eased the need for military supplies and have saved many lives. Without the hard work of everyone involved, We cannot move forward. I will now present medals of honor to those who made great contributions toward the war" The emperor says in a dignified tone.
The emperor started naming names of many figures that participated in the war. He ended up naming Commander Zenat and Flamor as well. and finally, Commander Lance.
"Commander Lance, you have achieved many accomplishments these past few years and have shown your dignity as a prince of this empire. I am proud to have you as a son" The emperor says in a soft manner.
The crowd pauses and then bursts with surprise.
"He's a prince? When?"
"Son? He's the son of the emperor?"
"When did the emperor have another son?"
"I wonder if he has the emperor's eyes? This is getting interesting"
Many people with wide ranges of knowledge of the scandals of the imperial family started chattering about the scene they just witnessed.
"Did you know?!" Fiona says to Selena with her eyes widening
"Yeah..." Selena said softly.
"So whoever marries him becomes the empress right?" Fiona says with a look like her interest has been piqued.
"He was quite strong on the battlefield too, not bad, not bad?" She continues.
Selena was hearing her words and was feeling conflicted. "If only there was no need to compete for the empress position, things would have been so much simpler," she thinks to herself with a sigh.
She looks over to Ivory and notices something off with Ivory.
Her face became completely cold and her eyes were staring at Lance as if she wanted to kill him. Selena was a bit scared, she had never seen ivory like this.
"Ivory..." Selena says softly while tugging at her clothes.
Ivory snaps out of her current state and smiles awkwardly at Selena. "I didn't know he was a prince... or Emperor's Judiah's son".
"Is that a problem?" Selena asked curiously.
Ivory doesn't answer and keeps sipping her drink while maintaining a cold demeanor.
By the time they focused back on the stage. The emperor was calling out the last few names.
"I would also like to acknowledge the students who helped make this success possible. Our graduating mages from the academy are our future and seeing them perform so well is a blessing for our Kadence empire. The three class representatives have made amazing feats and I would also like to offer them medals of honor as well.
The three women were called up and came to collect their medals. After another round of applause, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became very festive. The emperor then announced that everyone was free to enjoy the ball as they wished and took a seat on his throne.
The three girls came back to the original spot after going through many men and women who came to congratulate them.
"Who are you guys gonna dance with?" Selena asked lightly.
"My father," Fiona says with a sigh.
"You won't chase after the prince you had your eye on?" Selena asked.
"I don't like chasing men" Fiona answers calmly.
"I just have to be the best woman in the empire and people will naturally support my ambitions. Doesn't seem too hard" Fiona says with confidence.
Selena looked at Fiona with a face full of shock. "This woman really makes me speechless," She says to herself helplessly.
As Fiona starts to leave, Selena turns to Ivory and says "What about you?"
"I wanted to dance with my cousin, but he said he was going to save his first dance for the girl he likes," she said while rolling her eyes and looking at Selena with a smug look.
"So I will just dance with my father first, I think he'll be here soon," Ivory says calmly.
"What about-" and before Ivory could ask, a familiar voice rang into Selena's ears.
"Selena, there you are," Lance says as he approaches her.
"Sorry, Ms. Ivory, I will have to steal Selena from you quickly," Lance says in a nice tone as he reaches to grab Selena's hand.
Ivory quickly snatches back Selena's hand and says "Commander Lance, please don't be rude. It's not appropriate to lack basic manners" Ivory says coldly.
"Oh but Selena herself promised that she would be my first dance. Getting tangled up in her private affairs doesn't seem appropriate" Lance says with a smile.
"There's no way that's true!" Ivory says quickly
"I'm sure you won't paint me as a liar in front of your friend right Selena?" Lance says while turning towards Selena.
Selena looked at Ivory's cold eyes and knew there was probably a deeper story here but she did promise him a first dance and it would be very malicious to ruin his reputation here.
"I'm sorry Ivory but I did promise him," Selena says softly as she slowly looks up and sees Ivory's shocked face.
A look of betrayal slowly appears on Ivory's face, "I see, my apologies then Commander, I will leave you two lovebirds to do your thing" she said with extra emphasis on "lovebirds" as she walked away and disappeared into the crowd.
Selena was about to reach out her hand to stop Ivory but Lance grabbed it and kissed the back of her hand. "My lady, it's time for the promised dance. I have been waiting for this day for a long time" He says with passion burning in his eyes.
Selena was so shocked by his actions that she didn't even have time to react before he dragged her to the center of the dance floor.
Lance is the man of the hour at the banquet and Selena was one of the three golden graduates who received a medal. They naturally caught the attention of almost everyone in the ball.
Selena was getting a little anxious, "I haven't danced before, this might be too-" but Lance quickly stopped her.
"Me neither, let's just focus on enjoying ourselves. Don't mind the others. This is our time" Lance says as he begins to lead her in the dance.
"Is that the prince? Who is he dancing with?"
"Will she be our future empress? I wonder who she is?"
"It seems like someone is already eyeing the prince early, she's a smart woman"
Many voices and whispers kept reaching Selena's ears as she tried to focus.
She looks over at Lance who is doing his best to lead the dance.
His build is big but compact due to his years of training and he has good looks. She looks at his eyes which seem to be full of complex emotions. He's like a fierce beast who also has a gentle side. The fantasy that she killed off earlier slowly begins to sprout one more time.
"Maybe... it might be worth it?" She starts to think to herself while getting lost in the dance.
Their movements weren't the best but somehow, it matched them well. Lance and Selena got into the grove while the voices around them started turning into compliments.
The song was approaching the end and suddenly, the door opened. The man doesn't descend to the dance floor but stays at the top while staring down at the two dancing.
Selena looked up and noticed the man and felt a weird connection run through her brain the moment they locked eyes.
She sees the man take a sigh of relief and before she can take a closer look, she gets swung around by Lance for the finishing move of the dance.
The audience cheers and Lance picks her back up and they both bow.
"That was great, I had an amazing time Selena. Thank you!" Lance said.
"No problem, It is what I promised after all" Selena responds.
"Do you want to head to the balcony for a quick chat? It will be a good change of pace" Lance offers.
Before Selena could answer, the man from before appeared and put his hand on Lance's shoulder.
"It's fine to ask for a small dance but I don't think it's appropriate for you to offer to accompany my fiancé to the balcony, wouldn't you agree, Dear brother" The man says in a cold tone that seems like it could freeze the room.
"Her.. Her fiancé was YOU? How could that be?" Lance says with shock in his eyes while clenching his fists.
The man slowly squeezes his hand and Lance's eyes start to slightly bulge. He quickly held his mouth and turned around before the sound of throw-up was lightly heard.
"It seems my dear brother has eaten too much, you might want to go to the bathroom and take care of yourself before trying to steal people's fiancés," the man says with an empty smile on his face.
Lance looked back with a murderous glare on his face with his hands still covering his mouth. He then quickly turned around and ran towards the door.
The man then turned over and stared at Selena.
Selena was still frozen from the scene she just witnessed. Her brain was still processing what just happened and her eyes finally locked on the man right in front of her.
This man has an extremely noble and gracious temperament. It is quite easy to see he was heavily groomed to be a shining star amongst the aristocrats. Selena was in a bit of a daze while staring at the man.
She was mainly exposed to her classmates and recently, soldiers. She has a very low defense for this type of extreme elegance you can't find anywhere else.
Seeing that the man is waiting for her to talk, she blurts out, "Are you Prince Jason?".
She quickly shuts her mouth and closes her eyes. She couldn't control her tone and clearly felt the animosity between this man and Lance. If he dislikes her for this and wants to play tricks on her, can she handle it?
"It seems you know who I am," Jason says in a voice so soft you'll be surprised to think it was the same man who drove Lance away. She opened her eyes in confusion and saw the look in his eyes.
Eyes full of clarity and gentleness. She was shocked again, "just how many different faces does this guy have?", she thinks to herself.
Her curiosity begins to grow.
He reaches his hand towards her hand and pauses right before grabbing it.
"May I, My lady" Jason says in a soft voice that only a husband would say to his wife.
"Y-Yes! No p-problem" She says while stammering. She was very surprised he asked for permission, "even Lance never did that", she thought to herself.
He then grabs her hand and the mana flowed throughout her whole body quickly. It was like she just took an instant shower. Her skin feels fresh and moist.
"What did you just do?" She asked in shock. This was clearly magic but... only my mother has the research to non-offensive magic. She recognizes this spell too but she never mastered it to this level.
"Just erasing the smell of other guys" Jason says with a gentle smirk.
"I know you have a lot of questions but I have been waiting for this day for 15 years. May I please have this dance, my Lady?" Jason says in a polite and gentle tone.
His words rung into her ears, 15 years? What does this mean? Before she could think further, she noticed he was staying there frozen while awaiting for her answer. She quickly says "Yes, I would love to".
"Thank you my lady" he says as he holds the back of her hand and puts it close to his lips. It doesn't touch her hand but he still gives a light kiss right above her hand. She smiles at his action, she feels like he's truly treating her like she's something very valuable.
He snaps his finger and the music starts to play. Selena looks around and notcies that there was a small barrier around them. She recognizes this spell, it was the spell that isolates sound.
No wonder she couldn't hear a thing from the crowd this entire time, it seems like this man can completely shut out sound. Even I haven't reached this level of proficiency.
Jason notcies that the look on her eyes changed slightly and he smiles. "You'll get to know everything about me soon enough" he whispers softly as he spins her around.
Jason is a master of dance. As a prince raised by the empress, there is not a single skill he lacks in. With his experience, he was able to guide Selena in ways she never imagined before.
Selena, who has just experienced a great dance with Lance, is now experiencing an even more thrilling dance with Jason. He overcompensated for her lack of skill and moves her body in a way that makes her feel like she is also a professional aswell.
"Who knew dancing could be so fun?" she said to herself while she was twirling around.
There was no outside noise, no voices from the crowd, just the music and the man in front of her. It is like they are in their own world. Immersed in this feeling, she let her mind drift away and let her body follow the man in front of her.
Like two fairies dancing in sync, she felt a high degree of compatibility with the man in front of her.
Slowly the song was close to the end and the dance finished with the two slightly panting. Jason reaches over and uses his mana to restore her fatigue first and then restores his own stamina.
This entire time, He has been using non-offensive magic which should not be possible. "Did he watch me from afar and then copy me? No, that shouldn't be the case since he is far more proficient in all the spells compared to me. Then just what is going on here?" she starts thinking to herself.
As if sensing her confusion, he whispers "There is a small table in the balcony that I usually go to when I want to avoid the crowd. It's more convenient to answer your questions there"
She looks up at him and thinks about it slowly and then agrees.
There was a lot on her mind this entire day, so many new things left her discombobulated but she never forgot that from the beginning, even before she met Lance, her mission was to get to know her fiancé better.
And now that she knew Lance and got entangled with him, her new mission was to figure out a way to smooth over this conflict. She never wanted to get too involved in the politics behind this matter but now she is in too deep. She has a feeling that things are not as simple as it seems. Jason does not seem nearly as devilish as Lance made him seem and Ivory, my kind and gentle best friend, seem to hold so much hositliy towards him.
This makes me feel very conflicted but what I know right now is that I don't agree with killing Lance. What I need the most now is information about the situation. I will think about the rest afterwards. "It seems like the only way to truly understand the situation is through this fiancé of mine", she thinks to herself while taking another glance at Jason's handsome profile.
"That's good" Jason says while smiling. "I have to go greet the emperor and then I'll meet with you at the Balcony. Wait for me there"
Selena nods and then watches Jason head towards the throne chair.
She thinks to herself, "I have already heard the story from Lance but I know i'm missing some very key points. Just what secrets are you hiding Jason? Just who are you and what do you want to do?"
Selena then dispels the sound barrier and slowly walk towards the Balcony.