Astrid Wyrne was in the room assigned to her after her arrival at the palace of the Emperor of Demor. A maid was combing her long silver hair when the princess suddenly stood up, causing the woman to fall backward in surprise.
Astrid looked at her with disdain.
"Can't you even do something this simple right? How useless can you be?"
But before the situation could escalate, a guard knocked on the door.
"My lady, your brother requests your presence."
Ignoring the maid, who was now sobbing on the floor, Astrid left the room and followed the guard.
Soon, they arrived at a table in the garden, overflowing with food.
Puzzled, she couldn't help but think how unusual it was for her brother to summon her for breakfast. But then…
Prince Bastian, fourth son of Emperor Alric Heidelberg Demor, announced his arrival with fanfare.
He was a man with golden hair that fell to his shoulders—giving him an almost feminine appearance—and an excess of makeup on his face. As he approached the princess of Lucratis, he looked her up and down arrogantly.
"You barely pass the standard to be my wife," he said bluntly.
Disgusted and confused, Astrid frowned, though she tried to hide her discomfort. She glanced around, hoping someone would explain what was happening, but everyone ignored her.
"Come, let's sit," Bastian continued. "Since you'll be marrying me, there are several things I need to discuss with you before that happens."
Astrid followed him to the table, though her mind was elsewhere. So this was it… she thought with contempt. This was why her brother had insisted on bringing her, even though he always said she embarrassed him. It wasn't because he had finally recognized her worth; on the contrary, in his mind it was very clear: she was nothing more than a bargaining chip.
It didn't matter how much effort she put in or how much she had improved her talent compared to when she was a child; they would always see her as something easily disposable.
"And finally, you must always look impeccable as my wife," Bastian's voice pulled her back to reality, laced with smugness, "so that disastrous makeup you're wearing won't be allowed."
They were words she didn't want to hear, spoken by someone she couldn't even imagine being married to.
At that moment, Astrid felt a sharp desire to go back two years. Even though she had always seen that time as a stain, it was a thousand times better to be ignored and at least have someone she could trust than to be trapped in this.
My family… she thought, with a mix of bitter envy and disgust. No, she could never be like them. No matter how hard she tried, she lacked that cold cruelty that ran through their veins and that she tried to imitate.
…
The night of the banquet arrived quickly. Outside, in the palace courtyards, the common people enjoyed sword duels and performances.
But inside, the atmosphere was different: only the most important nobles and special guests were allowed into the grand hall.
As a family of counts, we had to arrive fairly early to avoid breaking etiquette.
The representatives of the Marquessate of Lothe, from the south of the empire, arrived earlier than expected.
They were followed by their vassals, and shortly after, the Montrose made their appearance with a sharp bearing, though less refined than that of the Astaford.
Cassane Windsteel and his father were the last of the marquessates to arrive—if we exclude the Vane—and it was no surprise that the Beaumont did not appear.
However, the greatest shock of the night was the presence of Director Sylvia Sterling, who usually avoided such events; no one could question her given her power and position.
The Duchy of Sterling had the largest presence, followed by the Astaford. Valeria and her father, who looked like an immovable mountain, were chatting with acquaintances.
When the Valois arrived, they were not well received; most were aware of what they were doing in the West.
The Vitalis entered surrounded by a sense of intrigue and mystery.
At that moment, though it didn't seem like it, Elizabeth Vane also entered. Despite being only a marchioness, her influence in trade was so great that she could afford to arrive whenever she wished, as long as it wasn't after the Emperor.
Finally, the delegations from neighboring kingdoms arrived, allies or those in peace talks.
At that moment, two familiar faces entered: the delegation of the Empire of Lucratis alongside Prince Bastian, who walked next to the princess of that empire.
And although it had already been rumored, the exclamations of astonishment did not take long to arise.
The representatives of Pradiles and Midvern were especially interested; their relations with Lucratis had never been good, and seeing an alliance between Demor and it taking shape made their expressions change immediately.
While all of this was happening, my family—who at the beginning remained together due to Alexandro's strict insistence—began to fall apart.
Margery spotted some acquaintances from the academy and went to greet them; Rosalind slipped away to speak with some officials who seemed to avoid her in other situations; and Elric went off to show off in front of lower-ranking nobles.
As for me, even though Eleanor's gaze burned into me at every moment, I managed to slip away. She seemed to have composed herself and wouldn't stop trying to figure out what had happened that day, but even so, I managed to lose myself in a corner to avoid too much socializing.
But that didn't last long; my appearance caught the attention of some women who didn't seem to care about my bad reputation. Fortunately for me, I spotted a familiar face who could save me.
"Klaus!" I exclaimed when I saw the muscle-obsessed man.
I quickly excused myself to the women around me and intercepted him, greeting him as if we had something extremely urgent to discuss.
"Well, Cassian…" he said with a chuckle. "One more second and you'd have suffocated in all that perfume and silk. Good thing I showed up."
"You really saved me. I don't understand how so many of them can gather," I sighed in relief.
"Well… I recently found out there's a group of noblewomen who get together to rank men based on their looks," Klaus replied with a teasing smile. "Apparently my sister is a member, and she told me you're first on that list."
"I can't believe they waste time on something like that."
"It's fun for them. Besides, it's your fault for having that porcelain face. If you built more muscle like me, they probably wouldn't bother you as much."
The truth was, I did have muscles, but as a cultivator, my physique always tended to evolve toward what my path considered perfection. If he saw me shirtless, he'd probably be surprised.
"Looks like it'll be a busy night," I said, watching how the tension between some groups was already so thick it could almost cut the air.
"Yeah, and it seems the Emperor has an important announcement to make. Though, seeing the princess and Prince Bastian walk in together, I can already imagine it. But that kind of intrigue isn't my thing."
I laughed, knowing very well that he only had one thing on his mind—and I knew exactly what that was.
"Seraphine seems to be getting along better with her family," I said, watching as she stood with her grandmother, Julius at her side.
"Yeah, it seems the director really cares about her nephews, to the point of seeing them as if they were her own grandchildren."
"I thought the Dukes Sterling would come today; it's a surprise Sylvia came instead."
My words seemed to catch him off guard.
"Man, if I were you, I wouldn't be calling the director by her name so casually," Klaus warned me.
"You're right," I replied, remembering that despite how close I was to her now, I couldn't address the most powerful woman in the Empire so casually in public.
My gaze swept across the hall and, for a moment, I noticed someone watching me.
Astrid Wyrne seemed to have been searching for my gaze, but I didn't pay it much attention and looked away before our eyes could fully meet.
We talked for a while with Klaus, and then I went to find Margery so she could take care of my boredom. Although she was still chatting with her friends, when she saw me she excused herself and approached me with a smile.
"What's wrong? Won't they leave you alone?" she asked, glancing at some women who seemed eager to approach now that I was no longer with Klaus.
"If I spend one more minute in this place, I might actually die from all the falseness," I replied with annoyance.
Margery laughed and was about to respond to my exaggeration when the Emperor, followed by his principal wife and several concubines, entered the hall with an imposing fanfare.