Chapter 3

The tower bells rang and the curtains rose to signal the start of the royal banquet.

Lined with pure white marble columns, the hall was nothing short of splendid. The ceiling mural depicted the first king and the founding myth, the golden chandelier illuminated the space with brilliant light.

With a gentle melody playing in the background, a certain man caught everyone’s attention.

His remarkable height, broad shoulders, and lean legs were all captivating in their own right, but his face was definitely the best part.

To say that he was handsome was an understatement.

The combination of black eyebrows that matched his perfectly arranged hair, almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and a firm mouth made for a wonderful appearance, seemingly a masterpiece come to life.

However, despite attracting numerous eyes, he was not approached by any of his admirers. That was because he looked somehow young and yet fiercely decisive.

He certainly had a nice face, but all the softness in it was erased by his frown.

Still, there was no shortage of courageous women. A young lady who had been glancing at the man for quite a while took a step closer.

“Diana, do you know that the man you’re looking at is Prince Ferdinand?”

“Huh?”

The other woman, who was also facing the same direction, covered half of her face with a fan and clicked her tongue. “The youngest son of the Ferdinand family. He’s sixteen this year.”

“What?” Diana asked in amazement.

The man looked young, but because of his physique, she never would have thought he was that young.

She glanced again at the man—no, the boy—and sighed. The fresh atmosphere surrounding him that she had attributed to his being a handsome man was apparently mostly a product of his youth.

“I’m really unlucky.” Diana took a deep breath and stepped back.

Even though there were three years left before he came of age, there was no chance of winning when it came to the son of Duke Ferdinand.

Her heart broken before she had even fallen in love, Diana turned away and accepted a glass of wine, melancholy appearing on her face.

***

“So, when is she arriving?”

Kaon Ferdinand, the young man who had unwittingly caused many women heartache, had lost count of the times he had asked that. Initially, the agreement was to meet before the third song started, but Princess Ingelros was nowhere to be seen even after numerous waltzes and galops.

Standing idly by one of the huge pillars, waiting, he was at his limit. “Is she really going to arrive?”

“Yes, I think it’s already time…” Joseph trailed off, having run out of excuses.

First, it had been that the Ingelos family was so far removed from society that balls and banquets were unfamiliar territories, and thus required more time to prepare for. Next, that mages probably had trouble grasping the concept of time and appointed times.

He decided to shut up.

“I don’t even know who she is, so how will I know if she’s here?”

“Your portrait was sent to them, so it is highly likely that the young lady will recognize you first…”

The question of when his portrait was sent bothered Kaon to no end, but he knew it was useless to focus on it at the moment.

“Still, it was agreed upon in advance, so this is an unexpected development. They are truly beyond imagination, given that they’re actually in a more urgent situation than we are.” He grumbled several times before calming down.

Kaon could now understand why Ingelos had gone bankrupt. With this kind of behavior, it would be impossible to do business, let alone socialize with other families.

“Well, you said that she has silver hair and red eyes.”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve heard.”

“I can see more than ten people here with silver hair.”

Gray and platinum hair looked like silver at first glance, and some people wore silver wigs because they preferred that color. Additionally, after the royal couple’s arrival, guests were no longer announced at the entrance. It became rather difficult to tell who Princess Ingelos was—if she was there at all.

“…But wouldn’t the eyes make it obvious? The red color is an indication of mana.”

“So I’ll have to look for those in the middle of this large gathering.”

At that, Joseph was silent. He sympathized, but there was nothing left to say.

***

Time passed steadily. The king and his wife had already left the banquet hall, leaving the attendees with a more liberal, fun atmosphere.

From the conversations around him, Kaon surmised that the next piece of music would be the last one to dance to.

“I did exactly what I was told. It was Ingelos who did not respect the agreement, not me,” he told Joseph, whose expression turned complicated.

He seemed to be silently mourning the loss of his bonus.

‘I attended and even said my greetings.’

As his sister’s representative, he had fulfilled his responsibilities. The only thing left to do was to wait until the event was officially over and then quietly leave.

Kaon felt more comfortable now, so he could afford to look around. He occasionally made eye contact, smiled moderately, and relaxed into the light mood.

‘What’s that?’

He saw someone enter the hall for the first time. The latecomer was dressed in a long robe with a puffy hood, but from the small stature and the general shape of the clothes, he could tell that she was a woman.

From afar, the plain black dress stood out among the colorful garments—and not necessarily in a good way.

‘What kind of mage…’

His thoughts stuttered.

A mage.

That person was a mage.

Somehow, a sinister feeling overcame Kaon.

“Young Master, look at that person over there.”

The woman’s head turned freely, as if used to the cumbersome hood.

He stared at her wordlessly, vaguely seeing the color he was looking for from under the fabric.

“That’s a little… unusual? To dress up a little like… a mage?” Joseph said carefully.

As distinctive as her outfit was, the other nobles were also gawking at her.

‘…!’

Their eyes met. Her gaze slowly scanned Kaon in confirmation, stopping at his face and staying there.

She walked closer, her eyes laden with intent. Her hair from underneath the hood became visible. It was perfectly, undoubtedly silver hair.

‘The princess of Ingelos…’

They finally met.

***

Kaon was a little nervous. This entire situation was new to him, so he was suspicious of even the other person’s mental state.

What if this supposed lifeline was no good?

She had arrived long after the scheduled time, and as if that wasn’t enough, her clothes were not suited for a banquet and she wasn’t showing her face. These were reasonable causes for worry.

“Are you Prince Ferdinand?”

His eyes widened. From her outfit alone, it wouldn’t have been strange to hear an old, croaky voice, but the voice was surprisingly clear and mellifluous.

And in the next moment, the woman lowered her hood and looked straight at him. “My name is Alessia Ingelos.”

Silver hair and red eyes.

Joseph’s description was correct.

But at the same time, it was insufficient. Terribly insufficient.

Luscious hair shone like delicate silver threads, slightly tousled from being under a hood. A sharp jaw framed striking features. Her red eyes were more intense than those of any other mage he’d seen before, but their round shape and downturned corners evoked a strong sense of gentleness.

‘…A fairy?’

Her mysterious appearance and small stature—she barely reached his chin—made her look more like the fairies of old rather than a human.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said, breaking the silence.

Kaon belatedly realized that he had been staring too hard. And also that he was supposed to be pretending to fall in love.

‘How do I do that?’

He feared that it was already too late to start now, ignorant of the fact that to everyone else, he already looked mesmerized.

“Nice to meet you, Princess. My name is Kaon Ferdinand, and I’ve also heard a lot about the Ingelos family,” he answered, unknowingly doing a great job following Leonida’s orders.

It wasn’t a lie, it was just that he had only ever heard gossip. Although he guessed that that was also the case for Alessia.

Anyway, he still had to ask for a dance. Kaon was a little embarrassed by how unconventional their first meeting was, but he had a mission to accomplish.

Just then, the orchestra played the first note of the piece for the last dance.

“It’s a bit late to do this, but would you like to dance with me?” Alessia held out her small hand before he could say anything.

He took it as if possessed. “It would be my honor.”

It was an unconscious, unprepared response.