At last, the day of the banquet had finally come. In celebration of Laydel's great victory, an elaborate ball for the aristocrats had been prepared.
Everyone in the nation's sphere of power was to be there. Usually, this event would be hosted by the emperor and would take place in the palace. However, since Laydel was absent of a ruling figure, House Atlan took it upon themselves to host the event, at their own estate. After all, the palace was closed to everyone until one of the princes ascended the throne.
"Wow! Our princess is so beautiful!"
The maids sang with praise as Irene stood in wonderment in front of the mirror, golden eyes shimmering in awe at the sight of herself all dressed up for the celebrations. She was wearing a tea-length, white and rose-red dress with silver embellishments around her waist and flowing skirt.
Jewels adorned her neck and wrists, while a glistening silver tiara rested on the crown of her head. The dress was tied loosely at the small of her back with a white ribbon. Soft white strands of hair tied into a half-updo, decorated with beautiful red roses and silver hairpins, completing her look.
As she studied her reflection, a smile graced her lips. She looked absolutely adorable in this outfit chosen for her by Sarah. As expected of the duchess, she had wonderful taste in clothes.
A pair of white, silken-gloved hands touched her shoulders, gold embroidered in a delicate pattern. As she glanced up at her mother who was here to help her dress alongside the maids, Irene could see tears welling in Sarah's eyes.
"You're so gorgeous, my little flower." She smiled, leaning down to give her daughter a quick hug. Irene giggled softly.
"It's because you chose such a pretty dress!" She beamed, as the maids continued to watch them with glistening eyes. Sarah too, was dressed beautifully in a draping gown with the same colours as Irene.
The sleeves were long and flowing, embroidered with the same pattern. The neckline plunged slightly, revealing a silver corset below. Her hair was piled elegantly on her head, ornamented with red ribbons, while jewels glimmered on her white skin.
The duchess and her daughter were truly a sight to behold.
As the pair finally finished getting ready, they decided to head down toward the foyer where the men were waiting. The servants escorted them down carefully, and Irene held her mother's hand to help her down the staircase, smiling at the sight of Rudien gazing up and admiring his wife.
Rayvis and Mikael were there too, dressed elaborately in long tailcoats with silver embroidery, their hair styled and handsome faces shining like true nobles. When they noticed Irene at the foot of the stairs, Rayvis gasped at the sight of his sister.
"Rene you're adorable!" He beamed, rushing to hug her.
As he pulled her into a tight squeeze, Irene tried to squeeze out of his arms. "B-Brother! I can't breathe!"
Rudien and Sarah chuckled softly, and the duke too, was taken aback by how beautiful his daughter was. Like a little porcelain doll, she was, dressed like a little angel. Irene was growing up to be as beautiful as her mother, and seeing her beginning to blossom made Rudien feel nostalgic. As a father, he wanted to protect and cherish his daughter as long as he could.
As Irene's attention landed on Mikael, she offered him a beaming smile when noticing he had been staring for a moment. The young prince almost looked at her in disbelief — as if she were someone else entirely.
"You look great, Mikael!" She complimented him, bringing him out of his train of thoughts. But his eyes only continued to gaze at her in suspicion.
"Are you really Irene?" He asked, to which she raised an eyebrow.
"Who else would I be?"
"No it's just..." He turned his head, and she noticed the faint blush on his cheeks. "I could've sworn you were uglier than this."
Thankfully, Rudien was busy talking to Sarah in that moment — because he would've gotten mad if he heard that. Irene burst into a peal of laughter at Mikael's terrible attempt to compliment her, and he turned red in response.
"I didn't know you were so good at saying nice things." She teased, as the family began to make their way out of the manor to get to the carriages.
Once the Cherlianns finally got into their carriage, Irene gazed out of the window whilst sitting beside her father, her heart racing in anticipation about the encounters she would be making at the banquet.
Today is the day we meet Prince Daniel... She thought, but that wasn't really the main cause of her nervousness. Rather, she wondered if it would be possible for her to make Isabella and Daniel talk to one another this time around.
In the original novel, Isabella went out into the gardens for some air - because Irene had coerced the other noble children to bully and isolate her. So the only reason she went out was so that she could be alone and away from the scrutinising and condescending eyes of the nobles.
It was there that she ran into Daniel, who stepped out because of all the stress building up inside him.
However, since Isabella was friends with Irene now, there was no doubt she would be enjoying herself as opposed to wanting to go out to be alone. If she guessed right, Isabella would most probably stick close by. She and Mikael became better acquainted during her visits over the last few months, so it wouldn't be difficult for her to sit with them.
That would leave Daniel outside on his own, with no one to talk to, and no one to share his pains with. And this would only lead to him staying as the weak prince he was - which could massively affect Laydel as an empire if he didn't get his act together.
I have to find a way to bring Isabella outside... Irene thought, lifting a hand up to her chin in thought as she contemplated on ways to do this.
Noticing her state of deep cogitation, Rudien raised an eyebrow. Her father gently pushed aside the red velvety drape on his shoulders, to pet her hair with a gloved hand.
Irene broke out of her train of thoughts as her father peered into her face. "You okay?" He asked.
She nodded. "I'm just a bit nervous." She assured him, and Rudien smiled softly as he took her hand. Her father's palms were so much larger than her own, and his touch felt tender and warm.
"Don't worry, you're my daughter," he said with ruby eyes filled with love. "No one will be able to do anything to you in my presence."
This brought a slight chuckle from Irene. "Thank you for that, Papa." Perhaps it was a good thing sometimes, having a tyrant for a father. With Rudien's words of reassurance, she felt at ease.
That's right, things will be fine. She told herself, taking in a deep breath as she steeled her resolve for the day ahead. I'll manage to handle things somehow.
After a long ride in the carriage, the Cherlianns had finally arrived at the Atlan's estate — where the grand celebrations were being held.
The grounds and buildings were just as impeccably put together as a royal palace. The gardens around the mansion were flourishing with spring flowers, and the driveway was filled to the brim with elaborate carriages and beautiful steeds. Irene gazed with eyes of wonder at all the nobles, ministers and important figures went filtering into the building with an air of grace and dignity about them.
Once the Cherlianns had alighted the carriage, everyone gazed up at Rudien in recognition. The tall, regal duke renowned for his frightening prowess in war. Those sharp, crimson irises framed by silver strands of hair.
A handsome man, but his face was hard and unforgiving and his eyes were filled with nothing but cynicism and indifference toward the other aristocrats. Rudien certainly was scary, since he had quite an intimidating resting face. It left all other aristocrats unable to approach the duke, despite how much they revered him.
"Greetings, My Lord," a man came up to the family with a courteous bow, motioning toward the grandeur around him. "If you would follow me."
Rudien nodded, and the family soon headed toward the banquet hall. As Irene admired all the sights around her, she noticed everyone's attention quickly travelled to the blonde-haired boy walking beside her.
Mikael seemed unfazed by all the attention he was drawing toward himself. A part of Irene was proud he could be so steely as he entered with the Cherlianns, as if he were a part of the family himself. I'm glad that he doesn't seem too nervous... But I'm sure he's anxious about meeting Daniel again.
As the servant led the family inside, they were greeted by an applauding crowd of aristocrats who welcomed their war hero — Rudien Cherliann, with sparkling eyes and beaming smiles. The grand hall was decorated with golden streamers and banners, and many of the tables were laden with sumptuous foods and jugs of wine. The gigantic hall was so exquisite and marvellous, Irene tried not to be swept away by the beauty surrounding her.
It wasn't long until the family took their table. As Irene's eyes roved around the hall, she spotted Isabella - dressed beautifully in a chartreuse gown with her elegant brown hair led down. She looked like a fairytale princess amongst the sea of fine clothing.
"It seems the Atlans aren't here yet." Rayvis commented, glancing toward Mikael who was quickly gathering everyone's attention. As Isabella approached the three, Irene took her hands excitedly.
"You look amazing today!" She beamed, to which the brunette giggled softly.
"You're even more beautiful, Irene. Like an angel!"
As time passed in the elaborate hall, Irene stayed with Isabella and Mikael and waited in anticipation for Daniel to make his appearance, along with his family - the Atlans.
But it wasn't easy to ignore all of the attention being drawn to the blonde-haired boy beside her.
"So that's Prince Mikael?"
"He's smaller than I imagined."
"He's the one who awakened the powerful magic?"
Irene sighed softly, glancing at Mikael who was unaffected by everyone's opinions. He was strong, that was for sure. Even though she wasn't the target of their judgemental eyes, all of the attention felt suffocating to shoulder.
"It looks like you're quite popular, Your Highness." Isabella commented, pointing toward the group of young noble girls who gathered in a circle and kept staring at the prince in admiration. Mikael's expression contorted into a look of disgust, as he turned his head away from them.
"Why are they looking at me like some doll they want to buy from the shop?" He grumbled, and Isabella chuckled sheepishly. He wasn't wrong, there were some very interested admirers in the room.
As Irene's eyes searched the room, she noticed Ivan and Haren had just entered the hall with their parents. The twins were dressed elegantly in matching suits, and the boys attracted a lot of attention from the young girls in the room.
By accident, Irene had made eye contact with Ivan and blinked when she noticed him quickly avert his gaze. Perhaps he was still too ashamed to look her in the eyes after what had happened a few months ago.
Meanwhile, Haren came over rather easily to greet the group. Irene had no problems with the brown-haired twin, and he even managed to get friendly with Mikael somehow.
"It's good to see you here, Your Highness," Haren smiled, his cute little face was like a shy puppy treating a grumbling cat. In a way, the second prince reminded him of Ivan — the two were more similar than they seemed. Perhaps that was why he was willing to get along with Mikael. "You as well, Irene and Isabella."
"It's good to see you too." Isabella said, as Mikael crossed his arms and glanced past Haren's shoulder to see Ivan being approached by Rayvis in the distance.
"You sure you just want to leave your brother there?"
Haren sighed softly. "He's still too ashamed to show himself."
As time passed, Irene made sure to stay close by to Mikael and Isabella the whole time. Rayvis had been traversing the hall to greet the other nobles alongside his father, since he was the heir to House Cherliann, after all. But what struck her as odd was the fact that the Atlans hadn't made their appearance yet, despite being the hosts of the ball.
An hour into the banquet, Duke Atlan finally came striding through the double doors. He was dressed splendidly, long black hair loose over his shoulder and tied by a dark blue ribbon. Beside him, was the duchess and his second wife — as well as Freya Atlan, his daughter, and Ferid Atlan, his son. However, the first prince was nowhere to be seen.
"Thank you all for attending this banquet in celebration of our nation's victory in war," Duke Atlan spoke out as the room fell silent. He glanced toward Rudien and smiled faintly, noticing the warhero himself was listening with a look of disinterest on his face. "We would not be here today if it weren't for Duke Cherlainn's great efforts in leading the army."
Duke Atlan went on to saying his speech, but Irene didn't listen to much of it. Truthfully, she wasn't a huge fan of the Atlans. They were a splendid family, rivalling the Cherlianns. But Irene was aware of the hidden misfortunes that befell them — since Daniel was taken under their care.
Karvus Atlan was a man who pressured Prince Daniel a lot as a child, and was likely doing so even now. He was also someone who felt envious and the need to compete against House Cherliann for some reason.
However, that didn't matter right now. Irene's main concern was the fact that Daniel wasn't here. He should have entered alongside the Atlans, but he was nowhere to be seen. And it seemed she wasn't the only one who was curious about his absence.
After the speech, Irene overheard that the first prince wasn't going to be making an appearance here today, because unfortunately he had fallen ill with a cold. Murmurs and hushed whispers about how the heir to the throne wasn't present, seemed to echo throughout the hall as the people's attention remained glued to Mikael.
Since Daniel was out of the immediate picture, they simply eyed the rival candidate for the position of emperor in his absence. Irene bit her lip, wondering about what to do. Now that the event wouldn't unfold like it did in the story, this was going to complicate a lot of things.
Music began to play, as the nobles started preparing to go and dance. Irene was offered a hand by quite a few young men brave enough to approach her in her father and brother's presence — but turned them all down so that she could stay beside Mikael.
On top of that, she felt she wouldn't be able to focus on dancing at all.
This is bad... The banquet isn't going how it should have... She thought, sighing softly to herself. The discordant cacophony of voices and melodious flow of music overwhelmed her thoughts, and for a moment, Irene felt it was impossible to hear herself think.
It was then her eyes glanced toward a large doorway leading out into the gardens, which was where she was going to take Isabella — had Daniel been present.
But now, all she could think about was how much she wanted to leave for some peace and quiet. After all, she needed to think about her next course of action since this mission was an automatic fail.
Of all times, Daniel had to catch a cold now... Irene sighed, hoping this wouldn't affect the future in too much of a negative way. In the end, it looked like she would need to somehow take matters into her own hands rather than pushing two of her characters into a certain situation.
"Mikael, I'm going out for some air." She told the prince beside her, and he simply nodded his head absentmindedly.
"Have fun." Was his only response. She expected him to join her, but it seemed he wasn't that interested.
Since he had Rayvis and Isabella with him, Irene was sure Mikael would be fine on his own. And so, she stood up from her chair, made her way through the crowd, and exited the hall through the large double doors, stepping into the sunlight and taking a breath of fresh air.
It's okay... She assured herself, clenching her fist. I'll manage this situation somehow.