The banquet was brimming with a lively atmosphere, with toasts and greetings exchanged freely.
The golden and splendid palace witnessed its most bustling and grandiose day in recent years.
Numerous nobles and royal family members were all in attendance, filling Ilinor's largest palace, which served as the venue for welcoming the imperial envoy.
Ordinarily, the delicacies that the common folk might save up for weeks before affording to indulge in just once were now served as if costless, dish after dish brought to the long tables by attendants.
Not to mention, the luxurious and shiny clothes on the royals and nobles, the sparkling, dazzling variety of gold and silver jewelry, and the gemstone rings.
Usually, they might hide these to avoid suspicion.
After all, there are always those, the sightless lower classes, who might question and envy their wealth.
They could understand this.
They sit in their rooms, spending a good hour or two every day diligently reviewing and signing various documents, a toil unseen and inaccessible to the lower classes, and thus beyond their comprehension.
They can't understand the great contributions they have made to the country.
Such superiority is rightfully theirs.
However.
For now, these are no longer issues.
The purpose of high-end clubs is to keep those envious, red-eyed lower classes from disturbing their refinement, keeping them out.
On this special day.
Everyone around is of the same noble and royal stature, gathering almost all of Ilinor's upper echelons, all understanding the contributions each has made to the country.
People of the same class need not hide anymore.
Emeralds, diamonds, jade bracelets, priceless magical beast furs, alchemical ornaments from imperial masters, beautiful crystal shoes, elegant dress sets.
Every noble in the hall was presenting their most beautiful and best side, like a group of peacocks vying for attention, all for that significant figure.
The imperial Envoy.
Being able to greet the Envoy would be a topic of conversation for days to come, and having a few words with him would be the envy of others.
Not to mention, if one were to be noticed and chosen by the Envoy, it could very well be a carp leaping over the dragon gate, transforming from a sparrow to a phoenix.
Those noble families with daughters, even the young girls of thirteen or fourteen, were dressed up beautifully by their parents and brought to attend the banquet.
Unfortunately,
Their eager waiting did not bring the envoy.
Instead,
"What's going on, has the envoy not arrived yet?"
"Could there have been some issue on the way? Are the royal city's reception team idiots? How did they host the envoy?"
"Speaking of which, have you noticed that Lady Lisa seems to be absent too."
"Ah? Now that you mention it, where is the Duchess? With such a significant event as the envoy's visit, Lady Lisa, as the leader of the Five Flowers Alliance, should definitely be present."
Just when the royals and nobles were feeling puzzled, some with keener ears sensed something amiss.
--"Ahhh.hhhhhhh hlp~~~"
"Am I hallucinating, or does it sound like there are people shouting outside?"
The blood scent rapidly spreading in the air was far sweeter than the smell of food she had grown tired of and nearly vomited earlier.
There was one more!
A person she absolutely could not let go of!
Sophia was a vengeful princess.
Now, her gaze was fiercely fixed on a teacher in her elder sister, the Crown Princess's camp, Reji.
'That disgusting man who rejected me last night.'
"Hey! You, quickly, kill that man for me!"
Sophia grabbed a member of the Five Flowers Alliance who rushed in, commanding him from her high position to direct the skeletal soldiers to kill Reji.
But.
*Bang!*
The member of the Five Flowers Alliance kicked Sophia down, and while the little princess was still dazed, the thug stomped hard on Sophia's stomach with a sinister smile on his face.
"Aghhh!" The little princess immediately screamed in pain.
She, who had been pampered since childhood, had never endured such treatment.
"Bastard! Are you blind? Can't you recognize who I am!!!"
"Who are you? Of course~, we recognize your highness, Princess Sophia. We've had our eyes on you for a long time, been wanting to see what a princess body tastes like~" laughed the Five Flowers Alliance thug heartily.
"Where is Lady Lisa! I want to see her! You bastard! You're f@king dead!
Let me go! Do you not know that without my support, your actions would be nothing but... ahhhh!"
Before the little princess could finish her sentence, the thug stomped on her again, her once beautiful face now covered in tears and snot.
"You really think you're special, huh? Apart from the Crown Princess who is to be spared for the Envoy, you? You're just like the rest of the royals, meant to be eliminated. If you serve me well, maybe I'll keep you around a bit longer, hahaha."
Hearing the thug's wild talk and combining it with the fact that Lisa was nowhere to be found, Sophia realized at that moment that she had been deceived. She had become a clown; the Five Flowers Alliance was simply using her.
"Help! Help me!! Big Sister!"
"You people! Save me! Help!!! I'm here!
Sea Tiger! The Knight Order! Teacher Reji!"
Finally grasping the situation, Princess Sophia fell into deep fear.
Her mind went blank, and she began desperately calling for help, naming anyone she could think of, even Reji, whom she had despised and found disgusting, as someone to cry out to for rescue.
Though her voice, in the entirety of the hall already filled with chaos, various screams, and other cries for help, was indeed insignificant and quickly drowned out.
But this did remind the Five Flowers Alliance thug.
Now was not the time to enjoy the little princess body.
It wasn't too late to play with her after eliminating the threats.
Leaving a few people to watch over the captured Sophia, the group of thugs, following the direction from which the little princess had just screamed for help, shifted their attention to Reji.
This teacher was also on the elimination list, and there was a bounty on him. Every person in the Crown Princess's camp had one, more or less. Killing him would be a big win for them.
No one wanted to miss this opportunity.
Especially when they had such powerful assistance as "skeletal warriors."
With several skeletal soldiers, the thugs from the Five Flowers Alliance charged towards Reji with sinister smiles, as if competing for the moving bounty head.