'I have to say, Leon's got good taste.'
That was the thought that crossed Camellya's mind as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, adorned in the dress Leon had bought for her.
The red dress rested over one shoulder while leaving the other bare, flowing into a refined halter neckline, and its close yet tasteful fit accentuated her chest without excess.
The sleeves began loose before tapering neatly to wrap around her wrists, while the waist was drawn in comfortably with a ribbon tied at one side.
Below it, the fabric followed a snug wrap design that extended down to nearly cover her feet with a slight trailing length at the back, complemented by small jewelled earrings that matched her hair's colour scheme.
It was the night of the 30th of September, and in a few minutes, Camellya and Leon would head to the estate of Marquis Doyle, who governed the Halldenz Region of the Russell Empire, of which Vato City served as the territorial capital.
The Annual Noble Heirs Meeting they were attending was an event where young nobles gathered to meet, discuss, and socialise, and since parties served as useful instruments of socialisation among nobles, the meeting opened with one.
Camellya was currently in the service apartment rented out by the Raviaz Family for the duration of her and Leon's stay in Vato.
After placing the black choker with a single gemstone as red as her eyes around her neck, Camellya looked at the mirror in front of her and exhaled softly.
"I should stick close to Leon as much as I can," she murmured, "otherwise I'd have a lot of nobles bothering me."
Camellya knew for a fact that her appearance was one that would be considered objectively beautiful, and her current outfit, along with her makeup, only enhanced that beauty even further.
As such, she was aware that a fair number of the young scions of noble families attending tonight's party would end up surrounding her if she ever left Leon's side.
"There are also the girls to think about, too. The ones using this as their debut stage are one thing, but then there's the other group…"
This 'other group' consisted of those who would be endlessly curious about who she was and how she had gotten close enough to Leon to attend a ball with him.
'I'm having a headache just thinking about it.'
Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice from outside.
"Lady Camellya. It's time to depart."
"I'm coming," Camellya responded.
Camellya rose from her chair and touched her choker, channelling magic power through it to confirm its efficiency before nodding in satisfaction.
From the fact she did that, it was clear her choker was a magic catalyst, not unlike the one she had used while in the Pohedurn Gorge dungeon with Leon.
But unlike that one, which focused more on enhancing her attack power, this one focused more on casting speed and improving magic recovery.
If things went as she planned, she was definitely going to need those enhancements, especially the magic recovery aspect.
"Planning, huh?"
Camellya picked up her purse and exited the room, following the maid waiting outside as she descended the stairs while thinking back on the events of the past few weeks.
'Leon is definitely up to something.'
She and Leon had a plan of action they had discussed for the night, but Leon also seemed to have other plans in mind that would affect how things played out tonight, and he didn't tell Camellya what those plans were.
All he said was that his plans would ensure the best outcome for both of them.
'And weirdly enough, that's where I've got an issue.'
The reason Leon and Camellya were attending this party instead of staying holed up in a dungeon somewhere was because of the kidnapping scheduled to happen tonight.
'The goal of our plans tonight should bring out the best outcome for the kidnapping targets, while also securing our interests on the side, but Leon seems to have the reverse in mind.'
Camellya paused for a moment at that thought, the memory of how Deity Rising's Leon had interacted with the targets for tonight's kidnapping flashing through her mind, before she shook her head.
'No way. He'd be foolish to try that route.'
She continued walking, reaching the lobby of the building, where Leon, already dressed in a black suit with a red tie and pocket square, was seated on the railing of the stairs with his hands on his phone.
He looked up as he sensed her presence, and after taking in her appearance, he nodded once.
"The makeup artist Mother hired really had bills to pay," he said.
"I normally prefer things to be minimal."
"Minimal is your normal, right? That's fine too, but you're prettier than usual like this."
Leon casually complimented her as he jumped down from the stairs and extended his hand toward Camellya.
She looked at it in silence for a moment before taking his hand, and the two of them walked past the bowing servants and exited the building, where three black-tinted sedans were waiting for them.
Several Knights in their mess dresses stood beside the cars, and Beriel, their leader, stepped forward and spoke.
"Good evening, young master. You're looking quite dashing tonight."
"Aren't I always?" Leon replied with a smug smile, and Beriel just chuckled lightly before glancing toward Camellya.
"You, too, look more beautiful than usual, Lady Camellya."
"Thank you."
After Camellya's response, Beriel looked back to Leon and then said, "Young master, we did as you said and delivered the notice of your attendance as late as possible, but if I may be presumptuous, that was quite…"
The man trailed off there, and Leon, raising an eyebrow, asked, "Rude?"
"…ahem."
Beriel coughed lightly at Leon's question, earning a chuckle from Leon as he continued.
"I understand your thoughts, but I've got my reasons for not making my attendance known early. Marquis Doyle would certainly cause a fuss if he knew I was coming, and that would mess a lot of things up."
Hearing him, Camellya felt that this was definitely related to tonight's special activities and asked, "Mess what up?"
"Well, it's rather late, but I thought about it and realised that our 'special guests' might change their minds about attending if they knew beforehand that I was coming along."
"Oh, our extra guests," Camellya muttered as she entered the car.
When Leon went around and entered through the other door, she continued, "Worry not, they wouldn't change their minds."
"Why are you so sure?" Leon asked, pressing a button on the door to raise the divider so the driver and knight up front wouldn't hear them.
"It's rather simple when you think about it. This is their only shot, so they've got no choice but to act regardless of the risks involved."
Camellya unbuckled her shoes to free her legs for a while, and as the car began moving, she continued.
"The Blacksmith Family's Heirs aren't exactly loners, but they do have more virtual presence than physical."
Leon couldn't help but nod in agreement to her words.
The Clemons Household, a Marquisate more commonly known by their nickname of 'Blacksmith Family', was rather special in the fact that they had two Heirs instead of one.
Leon was acquainted with both of them and sometimes chatted with them online, but aside from the Empire's Founding Anniversary Balls, whose attendance was compulsory for higher nobles like them, Leon hadn't met them anywhere else.
They didn't attend any events or balls, and were always holed up in the Clemons Estate within their territory, Vilheim.
"The kidnappers know that, which is why they chose to target them tonight, even though it means attacking a ball that has the heirs of dozens of Great Noble families and their guards present."
Setting the Raviaz Family aside, there were the heirs of high-ranking nobles like Dukes, Duchesses, and Marquises, as well as mid-ranking nobles like Counts attending tonight's party, each with their own guards, alongside the security of the Doyle Marquisate that was hosting the event.
"It's funny how it's easier to break into this than it is to break into the Clemons Estate," Camellya said, leaning against the window as she glanced at the building they passed.
"It's harder to break in there than it is to break into the Raviaz Family's main household in Lona," Leon added with a dry laugh.
The Clemons, known as the 'Blacksmith Family', were naturally involved in the creation of weapons and armaments. In fact, they were directly responsible for manufacturing all arms and munitions for the Russell Empire's military, covering the army, navy, and air force.
Vilheim, often called a 'Blacksmith's Haven', was a coastal territory like Halldenz, so they were also involved in shipbuilding.
But although they carried 'Blacksmith' in their nickname, the Clemons weren't made up of blacksmiths alone. They had dozens upon dozens of skilled enchanters and alchemists working under them, both professions heavily involved in the creation of artifacts.
Offensive, Defensive, or Supportive Artifacts. You name it, they make it, and they've got it installed across their estate for security.
The kidnappers didn't have the power to break through all of that, because by the time they finished fighting through the traps, as well as the soldiers of the Clemons family guarding the estate, their targets would've long since evacuated.
If they brought any existence strong enough to bulldoze through everything with raw power alone, then there was no way the Empire's own powerhouses wouldn't notice and respond.