< Chapter 68 - National Foundation Day Ball #2 >
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Soluzia stood there dumbfounded, looking at the royal road.
The sun was setting.
A red sunset covered the sky, and beyond the red and yellow light, a deep purple gradually spread out.
Night comes.
Darkness comes.
As I was staring blankly, at some point day and night changed.
The moon and stars shone in the dark blue sky, and beneath them, the royal city, which had forgotten the night, shone beautifully.
“City of Light.”
“huh?”
Koros responded to Solusia’s words.
Unable to maintain human form due to the barrier of the royal road, he took on the form of a demon.
A height that was over 2 meters and almost 3 meters, with two horns towering over its head.
In terms of size alone, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was several times the size of Soluzia.
Soluzia, who had deer antlers sprouting from her head, looked back at Chorus.
It’s been about 30 years now.
Soluzia told a story from the past in front of her childhood friend who had been with her since she first started remembering things and who knew all about her past that she wanted to hide.
“Do you remember? When I was young, I passed by the royal palace?”
“Isn’t that when that bastard, the director, sold us into slavery? When we were being carried away in a rattling slave cart?”
“Right, at that time.”
When Solusia herself was eight years old and Koros was nine.
A skinny boy and girl sat hungry, squatting in a dirty straw-covered cart, their ankles shackled in large shackles.
“I thought it was really pretty.”
A large, splendid city visible from a distance.
What kind of people live in such a beautiful city?
You all have a mom and a dad, right?
Wear pretty clothes and eat delicious food.
You don’t have to deal with hardships or pain every day.
“Someday… when I grow up. I promised myself that I would definitely go there.”
Vague expectations.
When you become an adult, things will change.
When I become an adult, this miserable life will end. I will be happy.
“But even as an adult, I couldn’t go there.”
Because there was a barrier in the royal capital.
Because Solusia herself sold her soul to the devil and became a mine.
“Connie.”
“Oh, Sony.”
“It’s probably a different place than I imagined, right?”
“Everywhere people live is the same. If you go a little deeper there, it’ll be a shitty neighborhood.”
At Chorus’ words, Soluzia found herself laughing without realizing it.
No, I just laughed out loud.
“Sony?”
“Just, just because it’s funny.”
The city I dreamed of as a child.
A city I always wanted to visit, but never got around to.
‘But now they are going to burn the city.’
There was nothing new to feel sorry about.
Soluzia herself was a mine, and all of this was for the sake of the dear leader.
“Let’s go, Connie.”
“Yeah, Sony.”
To destroy that city, filled with colorful lights as if it had forgotten the night.
Soluzia closed her eyes and took a step forward.
I hummed a tune as I swallowed the cold night air.
&
The sound of singing.
Yuder, who had been standing by the window and watching the sunset for a moment, turned his gaze straight ahead again.
The grand ballroom where the National Foundation Day Ball was held was truly filled with light.
The chandeliers beneath the magnificent ceiling painting shone beautifully, and the magical light bulbs on the walls completely drove away the darkness.
The floor was so shiny that you could see your face in it, and people were chattering.
And from far away, the bright and cheerful singing of a minstrel can be heard.
Yuder took a step back to widen his field of vision, but it was still difficult to take in the entire banquet hall at a glance.
Inside the truly spacious banquet hall, there were at least three hundred – no, four or five hundred – people gathered.
Nobles from all over the country and many guests from abroad gathered.
There were dozens of palace officials working hard to ensure the banquet ran smoothly, so it was only natural that it would be crowded.
‘Henry II.’
Uder turned his gaze towards the table at the far end.
Henry II, a perfectly decent king who was neither competent nor incompetent, was laughing heartily and chatting with the first queen, while the second and third queens sat quietly next to him.
‘There really are a lot.’
In addition to Crown Princess Daphne and Prince Dion, who sit next to the queens, there are at least fifteen other royal children.
Except for the first three, they were all children of concubines and thus had no right to the throne, but they were still royal family members who had inherited the blood of King Seongwang.
Yuder looked at all of the royal children except for Princess Darian, who was away for a moment due to some circumstances, and then turned his gaze back toward the wall.
‘Guardian Antarius.’
Standing near the royal family, he was chatting with his disciples.
Although they were not carrying swords because they were in the middle of a ball, they were all swordsmen with outstanding skills.
‘It’s fortunate that the commander of the Royal Guard isn’t from the Hogukgong faction.’
Yuder turned his gaze away from the Guardian King so as not to arouse suspicion and looked around the banquet hall again.
Occasionally, familiar faces caught my eye.
‘Emma Pikes.’
She came with her fiancé, and she looked a bit more depressed than usual.
That would be the case, since this was the royal capital and not the north.
Although she was the daughter of the Count Pikes, who was doing very well in the North and was well-received wherever she went, in the royal capital she was just another ordinary daughter of a noble family.
‘Of course, the 12 Northern Houses are not common noble families.’
It just meant that the treatment from those around him was like that.
Most of the nobles of the royal capital thought that they were somehow superior to the local nobles.
‘Rachel’s here too.’
Was it Rachel Bloom?
Lucas’ friends, whom he met at the sword banquet, were also gathered together, laughing and chatting.
‘There’s Sylvia too.’
Although she was slightly inferior to Cordelia, she was still one of the most beautiful women in the North. She clearly had a strong presence among the young ladies of the royal capital.
Cordelia was chatting with her brother Edward, and it seemed like they were talking about something business-related.
‘You should have been here too, hyung.’
As the next Count of Bayer, I should have talked to the next Count Chase and the next Count Crossbell.
But Gail didn’t even attend the National Foundation Day Ball.
Having spent so much vacation time chasing Cordelia across the North and the Wild Lands that he won’t be able to take a vacation for the next few years, he went to the Royal Magic Guard outpost to spend time with Adelia – or, to be exact, Adelia, who was on duty.
‘When did you become such a romantic?’
They say a thief who learns late in life never sees the day coming, and Gail was just such a case.
Of course, if Maia had heard, she would have said that the brothers were very similar, but in any case, Uther did not particularly try to stop Gale from leaving.
‘It would be reassuring if we had at least one more strong ally, but······ I’m worried about Adelia too.’
It was a situation where it was impossible to know how the Guardian of the Nation and the Devil’s Hand would come out.
Adelia was someone who could take care of herself in any situation, but there was always that “what if.”
Adelia and Gail felt more secure being together, for each other’s sake.
‘Father and father are over there.’
Although they had subtly asked to be around the royal family if possible, they were two people who could not avoid meeting people, and so before they knew it, they had moved far away.
‘There really is no such thing as a downstream current.’
Seven-Slaughter Sword Stream.
After all, she looked more like she was smiling and raising a glass alone on the ramparts than she did attending a ball in a dress.
‘And Lucas.’
A boy standing alone against the wall with his shoulders hunched like a discouraged golden retriever.
I couldn’t help but talk to you when you had that kind of face.
“Prince Lucas.”
“Ah, Prince Yuder. No, Baron Bayer.”
“Just be Prince Yuder. We’re just friends.”
Lucas nodded with a very happy expression on his face at Yuder’s words.
“Thank you for saying so.”
“No problem, but… have you been feeling depressed or something…?”
When Yuder asked openly, Lucas answered again with his shoulders slumped.
“Actually… I asked Miss Scarlett to come to the ball with me. But she declined.”
Lucas finished speaking and lowered his head slightly, and Uther unconsciously looked at Lucas’ buttocks. It was because he felt that there might be a tail hanging down.
‘No, more than that.’
You asked Scarlett to be your partner?
‘Could it really be like Cordelia said?’
Lucas opened his mouth again, mumbling as Yuder looked at him with a surprised face.
“Once after the award ceremony… I met him by chance on the street.”
“By chance?”
“Yes, just like in the Biltwein Heroes story, Biltwein met Elena without a promise.”
There was a hint of heat in Lucas’ eyes and voice, and Yuder was certain.
‘I fell in love.’
Well, Scarlett is a beauty.
He’s confident and secretly kind.
‘Cordelia would be happy to know.’
Whether it really happened or not, Cordelia was crazy about this kind of coupling.
“Prince Lucas.”
“Yes, Prince Yude.”
“Scarlett loves roses.”
“Huh? Oh, yes!”
There is nothing that cannot be achieved if you cheer for it.
If things really work out with Lucas, I think we’ll become a more solid ‘our side’.
“That, and also… is there anything else?”
When Lucas asked timidly again, Uther quietly thought about Scarlett’s setting.
And that was the moment.
“Hey, you’re here.”
The owner of the voice heard from behind was Jeilgeom.
He greeted both Yuder and Lucas, then came over with a big smile and placed a hand on Yuder’s shoulder.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
I can’t help but be happy when the person I’m supposed to stick with sticks with me.
After greeting Lucas again following the smiling Yuder, Jeilgeom looked around and asked.
“But what about your beautiful fiancée?”
“Cordelia is currently preparing with Princess Darian.”
“With the princess? Why?”
“I prepared a little··· special dress.”
Fairy dress and shoes.
Princess Darian, who had heard stories of mysterious things happening while wearing the dress, wanted to see it so badly that Cordelia had no choice but to change the dress at the main palace.
‘I want to see it too.’
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the fairy dress was a kind of polymorphic item that transformed the wearer into a fairy.
It was a sight with many things to see, such as the mysterious light that appeared during the process of putting it on, and the wings of light that appeared and disappeared for a moment.
‘Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to see it even if Princess Darian hadn’t been there.’
If I had said I wanted to see you, I would have lost my back.
“Hey, look at that guy laughing. Is he laughing because he’s thinking about his fiancé?”
“I guess so···?”
“Oh, you look so happy. I want to stab you to death.”
“Yes, Master Jeilgeom?”
“It’s just a metaphor, a metaphor. It’s not real.”
Lucas let out a deep breath, as if he was truly relieved by Jeilgeom’s words, and Jeilgeom showed interest in Lucas’ innocent appearance. It seemed like it would be fun to play with him here and there.
In any case, it was the moment when Yuder’s delusions and Jeilgeom’s hesitation were about to continue.
cheep.
The sound of one of the ten or so doors in the grand ballroom opening.
It was such a small sound.
It was just a small noise that was drowned out by the music and even the chatter of people.
But at that very moment.
At that moment, the girl who had arrived late to the ball took a step forward.
Those standing by the door involuntarily turned their gaze.
And they witnessed the palace servant who had opened the door frozen in that position, staring blankly in one direction with a blank expression.
What’s going on?
Why on earth is it like that?
The questioning didn’t last long.
The moment I rolled my eyes following the gaze of the palace staff, I could see why.
There was no elasticity.
There was no awe.
There was only silence.
Because the moment I saw it, I forgot what to say.
Because the moment I saw you, I lost my mind.
The girl took a step forward.
Although it was still a small and thin tone, little by little the sound began to make its presence felt.
It wasn’t that the footsteps had gotten louder.
It was because the surroundings became quiet.
Silence spread.
Silence spread.
The sound of footsteps becoming more and more noticeable.
A silence that spreads quickly like a flame with every step the girl takes.
The chattering stopped.
And finally, Yuder could hear it too.
Footsteps.
The changes in countless people can be seen even when their backs are turned.
The tone that filled the banquet hall became hoarse.
The hands of the court musicians seemed to slow down and then suddenly stopped, and the bard who had been singing forgot the lyrics.
Henry II and his wife Justia, who were chatting, also sensed the change in the banquet hall. Not knowing what was happening, they raised their heads and their faces became the same as everyone else’s.
And one step further.
The sound of the last footsteps heralding complete silence.
Everyone except Yuder, hundreds of people, were all looking at the same place.
I had no choice but to look at the same place.
The power that made it happen.
A beauty that is so overwhelming that it almost seems violent.
In absolute silence, Uder swallowed dry saliva.
And finally I turned around and faced him.
“Code······.”
I opened my mouth blankly.
I couldn’t call your name properly.
Because I lost my mind the moment I saw you. Because I fell in love all over again.
Just light.
A girl who shines alone among the crowd.
The fairy’s dress was not fancy.
It didn’t have any tight waist, nor did it have a lot of heavy, bulky decorations.
The white, flowing fabric flowed down Cordelia’s smooth shoulders, and the soft hem of her skirt drew a natural line.
And the gentle, heavenly aura surrounding the girl.
The girl who had been standing shyly pouts her lips, then smiles brightly, flashing her fangs. She takes another step forward, approaches Yuder, and whispers.
“Are you going to keep… making me wait?”
He spoke with a red face, perhaps because of the people’s gaze, and Uder finally came to his senses. No, he grabbed Cordelia’s hand while still in a daze.
‘Correction… effect.’
The fairy’s dress and shoes each had the effect of greatly increasing the beauty and charm stats.
Adding the celestial correction effect of angelization to this, it was only natural that a truly transcendent beauty would be born.
therefore.
therefore.
Eventually, Uder admitted it.
I’m a game brain and I’m not good at it right now.
No matter how many times you try to understand it by inputting numbers, in the end you can’t understand it.
“Let’s dance, Cordelia.”
“uh?”
Cordelia asked back without realizing it. It was understandable, since everyone was silent.
There was not even a single sound of music, let alone singing, and everyone was looking this way.
But you want to dance now?
It was a crowd.
It was absolutely impossible.
But Cordelia nodded without realizing it.
That’s what happened the moment I met Yuder’s eyes.
And after that, everything was natural.
Uther hugged Cordelia’s waist, and Cordelia leaned gently against Uther.
And one step further.
The two people started dancing.
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< Chapter 68 - National Foundation Day Ball #2 > End
