Oblivious to what had happened on the battlefield, the banquet continued.
It was already nearing midnight—but the banquet hadn't shown any time of stopping at all.
Then again—this particular banquet held immense significance for the nobilities, marking the pivotal moment in establishing the hierarchy—among kingdoms, under the newly established Clarentium Empire.
Each noble from different kingdoms sought to impress the royal family, the Silverstar Pack.
Naturally, there was this light tension looming in the air.
Aside from the distressed Dark Elves, there were also others around the same boat.
One such example—was the Dwarven and the Tigerman Kingdom who were clearly on a bad term, because of their earlier dispute before the battle against the Fifthborn. Adhara noticed this, and she sought to mediate things between them.
More than that, she also had to get to the bottom of their dispute which was complicated.
Initially, she thought that the Tigerman was taking advantage of the moment.
Her hastiness led her to overlook the fuller narrative—as she hadn't heard both sides of the story and instead relied on her own biased perspective. It was not only a border dispute—it was something more than meets the eye.
Since she was the one who was aware, she was going to be the one to see the end of it.
"King Huvuki has nowhere to hide now, I'm going to see him," Adhara mused.
Looking at King Huvuki who was standing on the other side of the place, she took a sip and headed towards him. She was rejected to meet with Huvuki back when she came to his turf—she's not going to be rejected now.
On the other hand, Gistella was talking with some nobles from the Elven Kingdom.
"You have such great white hair, it's like a river of milk!"
"Did your hair instantly turn like this when the emperor turned you?"
"Y- Yes, It grew and became like this the moment I was turned"
Just like Rex, she was still accustomed to her position.
Gistella only puts on her sweetest smile to hide her awkwardness which makes her stand out even more, as appearance is her natural perk—she could even catch Rex in a trance, multiple times when he least expected.
It shouldn't be surprising for her to be in this situation.
Nevertheless, it was unusual for her to be surrounded and adored by a lot of people.
Even though most nobles were trying to butter her up—there was true praise in their eyes.
None of such things happened when she was an Undead.
Maybe this is what other races called for having beauty, which Undeads doesn't have at all.
But then suddenly, a voice interrupted the bickering.
"So what does that make you? A Werewolf? An Undead? Or a Human?"
Upon hearing this, Gistella and the Elven nobles turned to look at the source of the voice and found that it was Elder Tilrith herself. At the sight of an Elder—the Elven nobles, shuddered in fear and quickly excused themselves to Gistella.
Regardless of what they were doing with Gistella, Elder Tilrith reeks of trouble to them.
Not to mention—there was no reaction from the high-rank Supernatural races, with the other kingdoms deciding to make their alliance public, and becoming subservient to the Clarentium Empire, and that alone is enough to make them know to steer clear of trouble.
Especially troubles from the Elders themselves.
In utter shame, the Elven nobles excused themselves and let Elder Tilrith take over.
"What do you mean by that?" Gistella asked back, squinting her eyes.
Despite knowing exactly who the person she was talking to, she kept her ground strong.
"I mean, in the past, hybrids were known, but they typically merged only two races. Nobody was akin to your situation right now, and I find myself pondering... Does it mark you special, or does it mean you are a nobody? A being with no adequate races, is not a being at all—or am I wrong?"
Gistella was silent, but Elder Tilrith's words definitely were a vicious blow to her mind.
It took quite some time before Gistella could muster an answer.
"I am a special Werewolf, exclusive to the Silverstar Pack. No more, no less," She replied.
Having no other choice, she quickly followed suit outside.
Meanwhile, Nezera was confused as to what Calidora was thinking inside her head.
Nezera initially suspected Calidora of aiming to claim Rex for herself, as she could see clearly the glimpse of madness, in Calidora's eyes. Now that she carried his child—Nezera thought it would be her turn to move soon.
However, to her surprise, Calidora remained passive.
She observed from the sidelines without any action, which made Nezera frustrated.
It was worse when Elder Nolacula knew what was happening.
Despite trying to hide her pregnancy, the cat would eventually come out of the bag.
"We are in a new era, and not many know what the wings on your waist stand for, but are you aware that Flunra would recognize them, daughter?" Nezera asked—questioning Calidora. "If he told the emperor, you would lose the factor of surprise,"
"Flunra...? Flunra already knew, but he wouldn't say anything," Calidora replied whisperingly.
She covered her mouth, trying to hide her devilish smirk.
Upon hearing this, Nezera frowned as she didn't understand what Calidora meant by that.
In her head, there's no reason Flunra would not tell Rex about this.
But to clear the question in her mind, Calidora reassured, "Flunra is a traditional Werewolf, he is bound by his own customs so you don't need to worry about him, Mother. This battle is for the Luna position, and even though I am a Vampire, he has no right to intervene,"
As she said that, Calidora glanced to the side as her Eyes of Terror flickered excitedly.
She sensed that someone was watching her, and that was good.
"The Emperor is busy, so I'll congratulate him later at a better time. For now, I am going out to get, some fresh air. You don't need to accompany me, Mother," Calidora continued, turning to her side and walking away. "No matter what, don't come and help me,"
Even though she was worried, Nezera decided to follow Calidora's instructions.
Out of everything, she seemed to have a plan.
Nezera felt a surge of pride in the Vampire Calidora became as she clasped her hands—and watched Calidora's retreating form into the door on the other side with a twisted smile, "She reminds me of my youth... Go on, daughter, and do me proud,"
Reaching outside, Calidora heads to the edge of the building to look at the clear sky.
Her velvet and black dress swayed gracefully by the wind.
Upon seeing the bright moon in the sky—she could feel the wings on her waist, flapping with sheer excitement which made her close her eyes. Just like any other night—it felt good to be under its embrace.
Some of her blood energy even leaked out, providing a red misty air around her.
But the night suddenly became warmer as she opened her eyes again.
She sensed someone was standing behind her.
"How delightful to have the Empress grace me with her personal presence," she uttered.
Pivoting around to look at Evelyn, she continued, with a playful lilt in her voice, "I can feel the night becoming more pleasant by your grace. Tell me, Empress—what do I owe this pleasure from you?"
"I didn't expect you to let me be Empress this easily, did you give up?" Evelyn asked back.
Calidora smiled in response, "Please, I don't understand what you meant by that,"
"Becoming an Empress was never my ambition, I hope you know that," She added peculiarly.
Despite the obvious undertone, Evelyn remained upright with confidence depicted clearly on her face, as she approached Calidora slowly, "I get that today is a day for celebration, but do you really expect nothing will happen, that you could be carefree in my territory?"
"I thought I made it clear already. For taking my Luna Energy, you will pay" She added.
"Am I should be worried? What could you even do to hurt me?" Calidora taunted back.
Being stronger, she was not afraid of Evelyn at all.
Not to mention, she possesses a big fat surprise that could quench all dire situations.
"However—a word of advice from me, you don't want to hurt me, Empress Evelyn," Calidora added, emphasizing when she was saying 'empress' as a mockery. It was a clear warning to Evelyn, and she better heed it.
Or else, something really bad will happen.