Valflame Palace.
First Floor. Dining Hall.
Some time had passed since Princess Alfin's private quarters turned a little chaotic with the sudden arrival of the Crimson Roselia, only to butt heads with one of three Familiars she made, Tamamo the Silver Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Now, the scene has changed. Several figures could be seen in a rather long and eloquent dining room. It was adorned with grandiose chandeliers, neatly aligned from end to end. Plenty of sunlight peered into the room, casting a gentle reflection that made it nice to the touch. Because of that, the chandeliers were not turned on.
Presently, many plates of food could be seen, ranging from fancy breakfast items one wouldn't find in day-to-day meals, all the way to some desserts, despite it being 8AM now. To say the least, various kinds of aromas wafted around, making the entire meal appetizing to look at. No matter which plate it was, every single one was handmade with care from the finest chefs one could find around Zemuria. The perks of being the Imperial Family. They had access to food that was equivalent to Michelin-grade Chefs from Naoto's past life, using the best types of ingredients one had to offer. And contrary to most fantasy stories, Zemuria's choices of foods mimicked Naoto's past life as well to a large degree. He didn't have to adjust to eating food he didn't know about!
Toward the other end of the hall hung several glass murals that depicted the several Emperors that ruled over Erebonia throughout the ages. Unlike other countries, Erebonia has stood since the Great Collapse, a whole twelve-hundred years. It is just as old as Liberl and Calvard are. One mural stood out from the rest, a stoic image of Emperor Dreichels, leading the Eisenritter in battle. A faint image of Lianne Sandlot could be seen beside him, assisting Emperor Dreichels in the charge. A romance that never came to fruition since Lianne Sandlot "passed away", and became the Steel Maiden.
Beneath the murals was the head of the table, and unfortunately to the rest of the figures that were seated nearby, this chair was vacant. That signaled that Emperor Eugent was absent. For a good reason. Several moments earlier, Chancellor Osborne departed Heimdallr with a set of tasks to accomplish as the Chancellor. He would be away for quite some time, and was now on leave. Because of that Emperor Eugent decided to step in and assist matters at the Imperial Diet. Whenever Chancellor Osborne was away, other individuals had to take up the work left on the desk. In that regard, both Emperor Eugent and Chancellor Osborne had equal power to do so. In return, Emperor Eugent's schedule would only get busier from here on out.
On top of that, in the coming days, the Imperial Diet is going to be busy electing its next governor, a position designed to maintain governmental duties under direct order of the Chancellor, or the lack thereof, His Imperial Majesty. Naoto has met this person back when Emperor Eugent III took the throne, it is Governor Carl Regnitz. Ten years ago, he worked closely with the Emperor and Generals, and now, he will be raising his position and becoming an actual Governor.
Knowing this, Emperor Eugent was too busy to attend this banquet. Princess Alfin had sent an invitation to him, but sadly, he did not accept it. On top of that Emperor Eugent being absent, one group of girls had already departed the capital to go monster hunting. That being Emma, Fie, Renne and Musse. Or on the way, at least. Right now, they were likely enjoying eating out at one of the popular bakeries within Heimdallr.
Instead, near the head of the table sat a golden blonde-haired man on one side, and a golden blonde-haired woman dressed in her vermillion garb. Crown Prince Olivert and Empress Priscilla respectively. Next to Crown Prince Olivert was Prince Cedric, and next to Empress Priscilla was Princess Alfin. That also meant Mueller wasn't too far away, and was seated next to Prince Cedric. And since Kurt was accompanying Mueller, he too, was present.
And well, is it that obvious to say that the person who was seated next to Princess Alfin was me? Ignoring the fact that Princess Alfin was presently in a daze, a couple of unexpected guests decided to drop in unannounced, all thanks to that outburst that took place in Princess Alfin's private quarters a few moments ago. Roselia and Tamamo had a little scuffle fighting over my Mana, and well, thanks to that, both Celine and Tamamo opted not to head down with us. Instead, they were now curled up together, snoozing away on Princess Alfin's bed without a care in the world, acting as if that scuffle didn't happen at all. Not that I will complain about it. Turns out Tamamo is really protective of how my Mana gets used. I can see it, considering she is my Familiar after all.
What replaced that was the fact Roselia decided to butt into the breakfast that we sent out invitations to, hoping to get a good meal out of it. To my surprise, it wasn't just Roselia who decided to drop by. Excluding the dance from last night, I have not seen this particular person since we last crossed paths back in Grancel City to partake in the fourth Instance Dungeon. It was a silver-haired woman who was breathtakingly beautiful. On par with Empress Priscilla herself.
Aurelia Le Guin, future commander of the Noble Alliance, and future principal of Thors Military Academy Branch Campus.
Aurelia is also the sole daughter of a count's family who resides in western Erebonia. While she does return home from time to time, she is rather unfettered when it comes to her duties as a Noble. She had long since pursued the path of Martial Arts. She has studied both under the Radiant Blademaster, and One-Eyed Zechs. The Thunder God never took Aurelia in as his own disciple, so when I pay the Vander Dojo a visit, I hope to one up Aurelia in that regard, and become a direct disciple of the Thunder God. We'll see. And from what I have heard last night, it looks like Aurelia is currently in pursuit of developing her Mana Core, courtesy of Roselia. Unlike the games, this version of Aurelia is a magic swordswoman!
I've also come to learn that Aurelia's primary element happens to be Lightning, a sub-element of Wind. She also dabbles in Fire and Earth, all in support of the combat techniques she currently knows. In the games, she was called the Golden Rakshasa, and now I wonder if that title will hold true, or will that change? Who knows. I fear the person who has to challenger in a duel to begin dating one another...
Oh wait. That's me. Haha!
Aurelia's position is more in line with Ennea. She's much older than I am. I don't think she cares about that at all, considering she was the one who gave me such a proposal. The thought of being able to date Aurelia of all people...
Who wouldn't be excited by such a thought?
All jokes aside, the time set for this duel has not been declared yet. From the looks of it, it looks like Aurelia will remain in Erebonia for the time being. After all, she is one of the five people who received an invitation to join the Party for the Vermillion Trials.
The five people who intend to join are Aurelia Le Guin, Kevin Graham, Zin Vathek, Kilika Rouran, and Emma Millstein! If you had me, that fills out the roster for a total of six people. I do not know if the Vermillion Trials will behave the same way to what the fourth Instance Dungeon did where it doubled the Party limit to twelve. Only time will tell for that.
I just didn't think Aurelia would make some time to participate in the ball last night, and actually acted like a Noble for once. She even went as far as to give me her hand in a dance, and it was quite fervent. Musse still held a candle to Aurelia, though. Musse was almost impossible to keep up with. She's quite a devil when it comes to dancing. Regardless, Aurelia didn't depart the capital last night, and instead, she somehow found her way next to me, on my right hand side. I couldn't help but stare at her for a good moment.
"Is there something written on my face?", Aurelia asked, revealing a playful grin on her face. She really has become a beautiful woman in the years we've been apart, eh? She should be twenty-five this year. By the time Rean meets her, she's already in her thirties. That means if we do happen to get together in the future, the age gap would be over a decade, but that shouldn't be a problem. if Aurelia didn't tread the path of martial arts, she likely would have settled down with a fellow Noble already.
I could see not a single shred of cloudiness or doubt in Aurelia's eyes. They were crystal clear like the ocean's water, except purple in color. Aurelia's stature remained firm and strong, even while seated next to me.
"Haha, I'm just still in awe that you decided not only to attend the ball last night to celebrate the new year, but also accepted the invitation to join us for breakfast. I didn't think Alfin's invitation would reach out to you.", I said, scratching my head a little. Eventually, Aurelia would become known as the strongest swordsman in the entire continent, contending with both the Thunder God and the Radiant Blademaster.
"Well, it was offered to me. Given my position as a Count, there's no way I can turn down such a thing, especially at the Imperial Family's behest. Plus this allows me to pay my respects as well. It is good to see you in good health. Thank you for such a lovely evening last night, Your Imperial Majesty.", Aurelia said, remaining polite. She was in the presence of royalty, after all. She wasn't one to act out of turn.
"Haha, you needn't remain so polite with me, Countess. You served just as much purpose as the rest did to entertain the Nobles last night. It was a very fruitful event, to say the least. It is a shame Lord Albarea couldn't stay. It looks like he has to deal with some family issues back home. Still, I hope you all enjoy the lovely breakfast prepared on this fine morning.", Empress Priscilla said. We all nodded our heads in agreement.
But as we did, Empress Priscilla couldn't help but look toward her daughter. She remained in a daze, not paying much attention. Even Prince Cedric saw this play out. He was seated directly across from her.
"Are you alright, Alfin? You've been out of it since we all arrived here. Did something happen?", Prince Cedric decided to ask.
"E-Eh?", Princess Alfin tried to ask, only to realize all of us were now down in the banquet hall. Did Tamamo's scuffle with Roselia really scare her off that much? Taking a glance at Roselia seated further down, our eyes met, and she simply shrugged her shoulders.