However, the two of them passed by each other without noticing, and Adrian headed towards the banquet hall from which the two children had just exited.
Waiting for a servant to open the door, Adrian noticed the banquet hall door was ajar and raised an eyebrow. The servant discreetly defended whoever made the mistake.
“It seems there was a bit of confusion due to the large number of people.”
“Is that so.”
Meb would never make such a mistake.
With such indifferent thoughts, Adrian entered through the opening doors. The sight that greeted him in the spacious banquet hall was somewhat overwhelming.
The palace’s banquet hall, naturally, was expansive enough to accommodate over a hundred guests, often used for hosting foreign dignitaries.
But it was just the Wessex family invited this time, and yet the hall was far from empty.
With an atmosphere resembling a bustling feast and nearly every seat taken despite the spaced-out seating, Adrian recalled that the Wessex family had about seventeen children.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”
The servant’s announcement drew everyone’s attention to Adrian, including that of the Emperor seated at the head table.
Hiding his true feelings, Adrian wore a polite smile. After making eye contact with the Duke of Wessex, he walked towards him.
“I apologize for my tardiness. My teacher is quite strict.”
The other princes’ gazes followed him, with the second prince seated next to his reserved seat making a snide remark.
“I thought I was going to starve waiting for you.”
Adrian, sitting down in the chair provided by the servant, casually responded to his father, the Emperor.
“That was a bit too much, Father.”
As the Emperor laughed, Adrian looked across and noticed her – the girl whose name he had just heard from Meb but had already forgotten due to his principle of not remembering uninteresting people.
“Victoria Wessex, Your Highness.”
The lady seemed aware that Adrian had already forgotten her name.
Adrian inwardly thought it fortunate she had some sense and smiled at her.
“It’s been a while, Lady Wessex.”
The Emperor, Frederick, seemed pleased with this, and the banquet commenced.
‘He really has no eye for things.’
The very person Frederick was trying to pair him with was Victoria.
While Adrian thought of Frederick as a wise ruler, his approach towards the Wessex family was misguided.
Both Duke Wessex and Victoria Wessex were individuals he instinctively felt guarded against, yet Frederick appeared too relaxed around them.
Although his lips smiled, Adrian’s violet eyes remained cool and detached.
As the conversation grew tedious, the two empty seats among the Wessex children, seemingly the reason behind the door being ajar earlier, started to bother him.
“Haha. My daughter is still quite immature, Your Majesty.”
Whether it was good news or bad, neither Duke Wessex nor Lady Victoria seemed interested in establishing ties with the royal family.
Upon realizing this, Frederick appeared quite taken aback. It was, after all, a marriage alliance with the ruling family of the continental powerhouse, the Hankin Empire – something no one would typically refuse.
Moreover, the Emperor, who believes that Adrian is the best among his sons, seemed quite shocked by the Duke’s tactful refusal.
Adrian felt the same curiosity.
Using the excuse of needing to freshen up from fatigue, Adrian wandered alone into the spacious palace garden, recalling the conversation at the banquet and furrowing his brow.
‘Is there another motive?’
It was then.
“Sedric, Sedric… are you here?”
A whisper-like, hushed voice of a young girl sounded from somewhere. ‘What’s this? Sedric?’
Could it be one of the Wessex family children’s names?
Adrian looked around and realized the sound was coming from inside the building he was facing. He turned around to see a girl sneaking along the corridor that wrapped around the building, moving between the regularly spaced columns.
She was clearly a Wessex child, dressed in a not-too-fancy dress.
‘The child from the empty seat.’
Her long, wavy brown hair and duck-walking posture caught his attention, for it was somewhat amusing.
With her bottom sticking out and crouching, she walked like a duck.
Adrian smiled, reminded of his own punishments from his teacher, and followed her quietly along the corridor, careful not to make any noise.
Though they maintained a certain distance, the girl was so focused on her task that she didn’t notice him following.
While he didn’t quite understand why he was doing this, it was certainly more interesting than listening to nonsense at the banquet.
The corridor, being more shielded, felt cooler than outside, which was also nice.
“Sedric, Sedric.”
Just as the girl turned a corner and they were momentarily closer, Adrian suddenly spoke.
“Is Sedric the name of a hamster?”
“Kyaa!”
The girl jumped, her body tensing up, and her scream echoed. Surprised, Adrian also stepped back.
The girl fell backwards with a thud.
She continued to tremble and then, stiff as a board, slowly turned her head to see Adrian.
“Wh-who are you?”
Adrian saw his reflection in her wide blue eyes and raised his eyebrows.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? What’s a girl doing in the grand palace searching for a hamster?”
Hearing Adrian’s words, the girl audibly gulped down her saliva.
Adrian looked down at the girl still sitting on the corridor floor and extended his hand. Initially confused, she eventually placed her hand on his. As he pulled her up, she continued to tremble. He felt it through their joined hands and internally chuckled.
She must be a very timid child.
Her eyes, large as a deer’s, revealed her fear. However, the light in the corridor lent her eyes a beautiful appearance.
Her clear eyes, without a single blemish, had irises so distinct that Adrian thought he had never seen such pure eyes before.
So, Adrian found himself unconsciously staring at her until her eyelids closed, and then he finally snapped back to reality.
His eyes, when reopened, still held confusion.
The story he heard next was somewhat absurd.
“I was looking for my younger brother, not a hamster. A child about this tall… Have you seen him?”
As she spoke, the child gestured to around her waist.
…She was crouching around looking for a little kid, not a hamster?
Adrian, finding the situation rather ridiculous, crossed his arms and tilted his head.
“And who are you?”
“Oh! I’m Laila Wessex. I was invited to the banquet tonight…”
Laila stammered nervously, lowering her head. Then, she began to fidget with her interlocked fingers.
‘She seems quite shy.’
It was obvious, but not all the numerous children of the Duke of Wessex were as brazen as Victoria.
Adrian’s wariness eased slightly, and he internally smiled again as he noticed her blushing neck.
Then, their eyes met again. The girl looked at him several times with a pondering expression in her clear eyes.
Seeing the questions filling her eyes, Adrian tilted his head.
“Why, is there something you want to ask?”
“Um, well, that is…”
As she hesitated, Adrian looked puzzled, prompting Laila to finally speak.
“I’m not familiar with this place…”
Noticing her tone becoming lighter, she added,
“Can you help me find my brother?”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
