Eric spoke, "Young Master Neo, we'll see you inside."
He then turned to the others and said, "Young Lady Amiru and Young Master Gilbert, let us go."
Entering the venue were Young Master Cale Henituse and his fiancée, Young Lady Athanasia of the Henituse family.
As they walked hand in hand, they noticed many noble gazes upon them. Athanasia was used to such attention and didn't let it bother her.
Taking in the grandeur of the palace, Athanasia commented, "Not bad.
Amiru suddenly spoke to Cale about something, but Athanasia wasn't fully focused on their conversation as she continued to take in her surroundings.
Eric chimed in, "As expected, our table is closest to the entrance."
Cale replied, "It's nice that it's near the door."
He touched Eric's shoulder and added, "In addition, it is great that we don't have anyone we have to lower our head at our seat."
Eric said, "Young Master Cale... it seems all my efforts have paid off."
Cale, a bit puzzled, thought, "Efforts? What efforts?"
While Athanasia, Amiru, Gilbert, exchanged smiles,
Eric faked a cough, trying to draw their attention to something else. He glanced at Cale and Athanasia, who were still holding hands.
"I noticed Young Master Cale and Lady Athanasia have been holding hands from the moment we were in front of the palace until now," Eric remarked.
Upon hearing this, Athanasia glanced at Cale.
He faked a cough as an excuse to stop holding hands with her, trying to avoid further attention.
Amiru, Gilbert, and Eric exchanged amused and glances at the couple.
Suddenly, someone else entered the scene. It was Young Master Venion of the Marquis Stan family, accompanied by Neo.
Athanasia couldn't help but think, "Two bastards show up... Just you wait, Venion."
With that, they all took their seats at the table. Athanasia sat beside Cale, and some of the other nobles greeted them.
"Greetings, Young Master Cale and Young Lady Athanasia," the nobles said.
Athanasia replied with a polite smile and a nod, while Cale greeted them warmly, "Hello, good to see you all."
As they settled in, Athanasia's companion, Zaphyr, the ninetail fox, perched on her shoulder, visibly shaken. Cale's dragon companion, on the other hand, was in his lap, showing similar signs of unease.
The dragon spoke to Cale, "I said I'm okay. I am a great and mighty dragon."
Zaphyr chimed in, "I'm fine," while still trembling.
Athanasia sighed, "Venion, you bastard," and gently patted Zaphyr to soothe him.
"I'm here; you will be fine," she reassured him.
She also comforted the dragon, saying, "Yes, you're a great and mighty dragon. No one can hurt you when I'm here."
Cale saw how athanasai calm them down and slightly smiles but doesn't notice by others
Cale thought
dragons and ninetails are a lot more rational than i thought It's a relief that they're not running wild..
Athanasia noticed Venion approaching and thought, "He's coming. This... this bastard."
Suddenly, Eric glanced at Cale and said,
"Ehem, hmph, stay quiet," looking at Cale.
Cale noticed this and thought, "How am I supposed to ignore Venion?"
Suddenly, from behind Cale, Venion spoke, "Young Master Cale,
it's been a while," with a smile.
Athanasia saw Venion's smile and thought, "Stop smiling, you bastard..."
Cale stood up and said with a smile, "I'm sure glad to see you, Young Master Venion. This is our first time meeting since we met in Viscount Tolz territory last time."
Venion simply smiled back at Cale.
Venion said, "Correct, I was heading back home after visiting my friend, Young Master Neo, at that time. And I also met Young Lady Athanasia," glancing at Athanasia.
Athanasia forced a smile and stood up, replying, "Indeed, Young Master Venion."
Cale continued, "That's right. We said we'd share a drink at the capital."
Venion agreed, "We did indeed."
Cale recalled, "Ah, that's right. The day after I met you, Young Master Venion, one of the Viscount Tolz knights came to find me."
Athanasia chimed in, "That's right. I heard the villa was ransacked completely clean. Is everything okay?" Her concern sounded fake.
Cale added, "Did you hear about it as well, Young Master Venion? I heard the two of you were good friends."
Venion replied, "Yes, I did. I was very sad to hear."
Athanasia continued with her act, "You have no idea how shocked I was to hear about it," pretending to be genuinely worried.
Cale interjected, "How could they ransack the place clean and not leave anything behind? I heard that something precious was lost as well."
Athanasia commented, "But cheer up, Young Master Neo. Isn't it normal that things like this happen in life, at least once?" Her tone remained falsely sympathetic.
neo replied Ah yes i suppose so.
Cale's thoughts revealed his true feelings, "The most annoying types of people in this world are those with loose tongues, those who are dense, and those who are innocent." He glanced at Athanasia, who was still smiling.
Cale and Athanasia couldn't help thought, "This is so fun."
Cale said with a big smile. "You need to drink to forget about everything when something terrible like that happens, Young Master Neo. Let's get wasted tonight. Would you like to join us as well, Young Master Venion?"
Venion's inner thoughts expressed annoyance, "As if a trash like this can steal a dragon and ninetails."
Outwardly, he politely declined, "Thank you for your offer, Young Master Cale, but maybe next time."
As Venion started to leave, Cale lamented, "Ah, that's disappointing, but I guess next time it is."
Athanasia couldn't resist taking one last jab, "Ah, but you know, your knight was extremely pale at that time. You should have prepared in advance for such a situation, Young Master Neo,"
Cale and Athanasia sat back down, continuing their act. Cale mused, "How could you lose all those valuable things at once? You may not recover what you lost, but what can you do about it? You have to just live on."
Athanasia added, "Cheer up, Young Master Neo."
Both Cale and Athanasia shared thought, "Since Venion will now take his anger out on you.
With Athanasia in a good mood, she started enjoying the delicious food before her,
savoring each bite. Cale couldn't help but notice her joy and smiled to himself, finding solace in her happiness.
His attention then turned to the wine bottle nearby, but before he could indulge, Eric cautioned him with a simple, "Young Master Cale."
Cale nodded, acknowledging Eric's advice. "I guess I'll drink later
The gathering continued, and Cale checked the time on his watch.
Athanasia noticed his action and smiled, realizing it was time for something specific.
As if on cue, three people made their entrance. Alberu, the prince, addressed the guests warmly, expressing his gratitude for their attendance. He praised each of them, recognizing their value as future leaders who would contribute to the kingdom's prosperity.
Athanasia thought to herself, "Ah, it's nice to see Prince Alberu in person
Just then, the attention of the attendees shifted as another figure entered the room. Alberu, curious about the sudden interruption, turned to look.
Cale and Athanasia both recognized the newcomers immediately - Taylor and Cage.
"They're here," Cale and Athanasia thought