Camellya spent the next half hour in that room, entertaining herself with her phone, before stepping out. As she reached the gallery, she looked down over the railing and caught sight of the Clemons siblings speaking with Jonathon near the side exit of the ballroom directly beneath her.
'Are they leaving?'
She unlocked her phone and stepped back slightly, focusing her superhuman hearing on the conversation while opening her messaging app.
"Lord Jonathon," Tom said, "we finally found you. Thank you very much for hosting us tonight. We came to inform you that we'll be taking our leave."
Hearing this, Jonathon blinked in surprise.
"What? You're leaving already? I can't say the night is still young, but it isn't old either, is it?"
"Pfft, oh please. There's still the closing ball for us to attend," Tom replied.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. We'll stay longer that time," Grace added.
At that, Jonathon smiled lightly and said, "Then I'll await your presence with open arms. But for now…"
He turned and gestured toward the exit beside him. "Shall I see you off?"
A moment after speaking, he paused, a look of remembrance crossing his eyes as he added, "Please do inform your drivers to bring your cars around the east exit. There's far less of the press on this side."
"Understood," Tom said, taking out his phone.
While he instructed the drivers to bring the cars around, he glanced at Grace and asked, "Have you told Leon and Louise that we're leaving?"
Grace shook her head. "Nah, I can't even find them. Louise is probably dragging Leon around the refreshments area. You know she likes food even more than she likes stars and magic."
'Stars and magic, huh?' Camellya thought, sending a message to inform Leon that the Clemons were about to leave.
'It might seem like attacking them on their way back would be the best timing, but the moment they leave the Doyle estate, their security will double, and Imperial soldiers will reach them faster if they come under attack.'
Camellya locked her phone screen and turned, heading toward the stairs to descend from the gallery as she continued her thoughts.
'Besides, attacking the party where there are more people would create more chaos and provide better cover for capturing the Clemons siblings. With that level of confusion, it would take time before anyone realises exactly who's missing.'
She moved quickly, avoiding any nobles who noticed her and might try to call out to her. As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she spotted Leon, who was walking with his arm linked with Louise's, heading toward the Clemons siblings and Jonathon.
"Ah, there you are, Leon," Grace said, then gestured toward Louise before glancing at her brother. "See, she's with food."
Louise immediately froze, the hand holding a saucer with a slice of cake trembling slightly. Quickly composing herself, she flashed a bright smile and asked, "Grace dear, would you mind explaining exactly what you meant by that statement?"
Despite the friendly smile on her face, the look in her eyes was anything but friendly, and even Grace flinched and ran to hide behind her brother after seeing it.
Camellya approached the group at that moment, and Leon raised his hand to wave at her. She returned the gesture with a short wave of her own and asked, "Are we leaving now?"
At that, Leon glanced toward the Clemons siblings and replied, "I don't know. We still have our special guests to consider."
"Special guests?" Jonathon asked, and Leon nodded once.
"Mhmm, just some people we're expecting while we're in Vato."
Right after Leon spoke, Tom looked toward his sisters and said, "The car's here. Let's go."
With that, the group headed out through the side entrance, and as they moved through the hallway, Louise alternated her gaze between Camellya and Leon, wondering about these special guests she knew nothing about.
"I'm curious, though, who are these guests of yours?" she asked.
Leon rubbed his chin lightly before replying, "I don't know, it's kind of difficult to explain."
That answer made Louise narrow her eyes slightly as she asked, "And it's not difficult to explain to Lady Camellya?"
Camellya, Grace, Vivian, and even Tom and Jonathon could all hear the hint of jealousy in her tone, but whether he noticed it or not, Leon responded as casually as ever.
"Ah, Camellya is fine. She already knew about them before we met."
Grace turned at that, looking at Camellya on Leon's left side, then at Louise with her arm linked around his right, before leaning toward her brother and asking quietly, "Oblivious or faking it?"
"Faking it, definitely," Tom replied without hesitation.
Grace laughed lightly at her brother's instant response as they stepped outside, the flashes of cameras filling their vision.
There were a few dozen of them, but compared to the hundreds of reporters at the main entrance with the red carpet, this was fairly mild and wasn't to the level they'd consider annoying.
The Clemons family knights were already waiting by the cars parked at the foot of the stairs, and as they reached the stairs, Jonathon said, "Once again, it was a pleasure to have you here tonight. Please send my father's regards to the Marquis."
"The pleasure is ours," Tom replied.
"So, I won't be seeing you all for another six months, maybe?" Leon asked, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his calendar to check the Empire's Founding Anniversary Ball.
At that, Grace reached out and flicked his forehead as she replied, "We're coming for the closing party as well, silly."
"Ah, I see," Leon said with a nod.
He then glanced toward Camellya at his side, leaning slightly closer as he whispered, "Maybe we'll meet our guests at the closing party instead."
Of course, no matter how low his voice was as he whispered, there was no way Louise, who was practically pressed against him, wouldn't hear it, but she didn't show any particular reaction and instead quietly finished her cake.
She placed the fork on top of the now-empty saucer before turning to one of the butlers standing by with the guards at the door and handing it over, while the Clemons siblings made their way to their convoy.
As they neared it, one of the knights stepped forward and opened the door of the jeep at the centre of the convoy. At the same time, the rest of the knights quickly entered the other jeeps in the convoy, their engines already running and ready to depart.
Grace turned back to wave at Leon and Louise, her mouth opening as she was about to speak, but her voice never reached them, as in the next second, the car behind them, which her brother was about to step into, suddenly exploded into a million pieces.