When I turned my head towards the sound, I saw a young man wearing a large white hooded garment. The man’s eyes were as blue as a cloudless sky.

His gentle gaze and firmly set red lips had a magical power to captivate one’s attention.

Unlike the people dressed in neat suits, the man was wearing snow-white clothes. It was surprising to see someone who looked more like a priest who should be in a grand temple rather than at a banquet hall.

The tycoon who had been staring at him as if entranced suddenly exclaimed in shock.

“Y-Your Grace, Duke Gredrick?!”

The banquet hall erupted in commotion. The noble young men chatting at the bottom of the stairs and the noble young ladies complimenting each other’s dresses all stopped what they were doing and looked towards the tycoon.

Ileon removed his hood with a troubled expression. His distinct features and silver hair with dark undertones shone brilliantly under the chandelier.

“!”

People gaped in awe. Ileon was famous for rarely showing himself at imperial banquets.

On the rare occasions when he did make an appearance, his face would be plastered across newspapers for days on end.

The young ladies’ eyes glinted sharply. Among the three dukes, Ileon was extremely popular among the young ladies for being refined, intelligent, and handsome.

The young ladies who had been sizing each other up rushed towards Ileon all at once. The tycoon was nearly knocked to the ground by the onslaught of young ladies.

“Oof!”

No one paid him any attention. The young ladies surrounded Ileon in a circle, their eyes sparkling.

“Lord Ileon, I am Trecia from the Marquis Nate family. This is a handkerchief I embroidered myself… would you accept it?”

One young lady bravely held out a handkerchief she had carefully embroidered stitch by stitch. Ileon accepted the handkerchief with a gentle smile.

“Lady Trecia. I will cherish it dearly.”

Having her name called by Ileon, her face and neck turned bright red. However, her happiness was short-lived.

“Lord Ileon, me too!”

“Lord Ileon, please look over here!”

“Lord Ileon!”

As soon as Ileon appeared, the noble young men instantly became like cold rice. But they could not express any complaints.

Ileon was at the pinnacle of power. Though not the emperor, Ileon was practically the symbol of Abelon.

The three dukes occupied most of Abelon’s territory. Excluding the capital where the imperial palace was located, it was no exaggeration to say that almost all the land was under the jurisdiction of the three dukes.

Moreover, Ileon was still unmarried.

Everyone at the banquet hall was racking their brains over what to say to make a good impression on Ileon.

At that moment, a loud curse resonated from the entrance of the banquet hall.

“Ah, damn it! It’s so hot I could die!”

The one who appeared with the curse was a man with a threateningly massive build.

His sun-tanned bronze skin was striking. Unlike the gentle-looking Ileon, his eyes were very fierce beneath the black formal wear.

It was Balt Portman, one of the three dukes.

As Balt appeared, people hurriedly cleared a path for him.

Unlike the gentle-natured Ileon, Balt was famous for his foul temper. With his rough speech and intimidating physique, people were very afraid of Balt.

Moreover, he was one of only two Sword Masters in the empire.

It was a mystery how two people with completely opposite personalities could be so close.

“Ileon, what are you grinning about?”

Balt said while scratching the back of his head.

Balt was probably the only person who would enter wearing a sword on the day of the crown prince’s birthday banquet. Even the imperial knights could not stop him.

All the imperial knights combined could not defeat Balt.

The only person who could match him was Dietrich.

Every time Balt came to the imperial palace, he would provoke Dietrich several times, but Dietrich had never changed his expression or drawn his sword.

As usual, Balt, burning with competitive spirit, looked around the banquet hall as soon as he entered to see if Dietrich was there or not.

“Looks like that bastard isn’t here yet.”

Ileon tapped Balt’s shoulder in response to his crude speech.

“Balt, please mind your manners, just for today. It’s His Highness’s birthday banquet after all.”

“Hmph.”

Balt crossed his arms and furrowed his brow in displeasure. His dark gray eyes flashed menacingly beneath his angry eyebrows.

The young ladies did not dare approach Ileon out of fear of Balt.

Gabriel, who was watching this scene from afar, whispered quietly into Hariel’s ear.

“Mother, the imperial court is such an interesting place.”

“Gabriel, it really happened just as you said! I can’t believe we actually came to an imperial banquet.”

Gabriel answered with a smile.

The banquet hall with walls and ceiling made of gold, the large brightly shining chandelier, the luxurious red carpet on the floor.

The various gourmet foods and rich-flavored wines on the tables.

Even the dukes with their looks so perfect it seemed to purify one’s eyes just by looking at them… Everything was pleasing.

But what Gabriel really wanted was something else.

“Do you think Duke Calypso will come to this banquet as well?”

In response to Gabriel’s question, Hariel replied while opening a fan made of ducal fur.

“As the captain of the imperial knights, he should attend.”

Gabriel kept glancing at the entrance with an expectant face. At that moment, several people recognized her as Celiya’s family.

A noblewoman in a purple dress looked Gabriel up and down. Gabriel was adorned from head to toe with all sorts of luxurious items.

Each accessory was pretty on its own, but she wore so many that it seemed excessive.

The noblewoman smiled and greeted Gabriel.

“I didn’t expect the Brillion family to attend the banquet. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Hera from the Marquis Ertera family.”

“Hello, Lady Ertera. I’m Gabriel from the Viscount Brillion family.”

Gabriel paid her respects to the marchioness. The marchioness deliberately lowered her eyebrows and waved the fan she was holding.

“Lady Gabriel, I’m so sorry to hear about your sister being implicated in the attempted assassination of His Majesty the Emperor.”

The marchioness’s words were full of thorns. Gabriel inwardly scoffed at the noblewoman who was trying to attack her, seeing her as an easy target.

“Thank you for your concern. My sister is such a troublemaker, I’m so worried as her older sister. Fortunately, she was proven innocent, so we were able to attend this imperial banquet.”

“Hmm, but… isn’t your sister attending the banquet today?”

Gabriel’s expression instantly fell.

How annoying. Wherever she went, people only talked about Celiya. Regardless of gender, everyone was the same.

It had been like this since childhood. Celiya was exceptionally beautiful, and it was always Celiya who got the attention, not herself.

Celiya, Celiya. That damn Celiya.

‘She should just die in the arms of that lustful emperor.’

Gabriel hid her malicious thoughts and put on an artificial smile.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“Oh my, how can you not know about your own family?”

Hariel interjected in the conversation.

“Marchioness. Celiya hasn’t been in contact since she went to the imperial palace. I know that child well. I’m sure she doesn’t want to burden us because of the assassination charges. She’s so thoughtful and considerate…”

Gabriel nodded in agreement with Hariel’s words. The marchioness moved away from the two, looking as if her mood had been spoiled.

Hariel muttered quietly while watching the marchioness’s retreating back.

“It’s like a battlefield without swords. What did we do to deserve this?”

“Isn’t that how high society is? They must not like us because we have an abundance of wealth despite being mere viscounts.”

“…Good grief, this is unbelievable. It’s all because of that damn Celiya. She’s disgracing our family.”

Gabriel looked around nervously, worried that someone might hear Hariel cursing. Fortunately, everyone’s attention was focused on the two dukes, Ileon and Balt, and no one was paying attention to them.

Gabriel leaned in close to Hariel and said,

“Mother, we need to play our cards right today. If we use Celiya well, we might not just remain in the outskirts but could completely settle in this vast imperial palace.”

“Don’t worry.”

As the two women were whispering and plotting, a loud voice was heard from the entrance.

“The rising sun of Abelon, His Highness the Crown Prince enters!”

Everyone at the banquet stirred. Unlike the deceased emperor, the crown prince did not have a bad reputation. All eyes turned to the crown prince, filled with expectations for the new emperor.

“…Huh?”

Someone made a strange sound. This was because the crown prince was entering the banquet hall escorting a woman.

People’s gazes shifted from the crown prince in his red formal wear to the woman he was escorting.

Her silver hair, elaborately styled atop her slender face, sparkled as it reflected the chandelier light.

Flawless white skin, red lips as if bitten by a rose, clear emerald eyes reminiscent of a summer forest.

Celiya, dressed in a white mermaid gown, looked like a new bride about to walk down the aisle.

Everyone in the place held their breath and stared at Celiya. Some were envious, some were in awe, and the men fell in love.

Her gait, her posture, everything was flawless.

Even the crown prince, who was said to resemble the beautiful former empress, was overshadowed by Celiya’s radiance.

Ileon observed Celiya with a wine glass in hand.

Beautiful people are common, but those with the magic to captivate others are extremely rare.

Crown Prince Jeremy escorted Celiya onto the platform with a pleased expression.

He shrugged towards those who couldn’t take their eyes off Celiya and greeted them.

“Thank you all for attending my birthday banquet. Today, let’s set aside all worries and eat and enjoy to your heart’s content!”

A smile never left Jeremy’s face. He raised the glass handed to him by his aide and exclaimed,

“Before we raise our glasses, I have something to tell everyone.”

Jeremy held Celiya’s shoulder with his free hand and added words that shocked everyone.

“Let me introduce my consort. As you all know, it’s Celiya Brillion.”