Chapter 139: The Ball (1/2)
The ball thrown by the royal family was glorious, befitting of such a grand palace. No one would believe this nation was threatened by war only a few days ago. This pretentious display was scorned by those in the political world, as it had an obvious aim.
The royal family's position was threatened after the last war. First, a traitor came of their midst. Then, Mistletoe stole the limelight by turning the war in the Union's favor. The public was untrusting of the current royal family and its vessels.
This ball was to reward those who had helped against the calamity. Heroes would be rewarded to gain the favor of the public and give them a banner to follow. Even more, was the example of the commoner genius runes apprentice who had risked his life to warn the kingdom.
Beyond the gardens and their statures of mythical creatures, a giant hall had its doors open as its interior glittered and sparkled. Servants were everywhere serving drinks and food to the guests who were chatting among each other.
Arthur left the cab as he tidied his suit, marveling at the silky fabric that melted on his fingertips. It was fully matt black embedded in gold just like he had asked. His hair has been combed backward by the hairstylist with his bangs slightly dropping to the side.
He must say that his hair was always a mess he didn't look at. It was a habit he picked up from his days waking up at 5 am to comb a dungeon of artifacts. At first, he tried to look neat enough, but he would always leave the dungeon having dirt as another layer of skin. This made him too lazy to care anymore, and it had persisted until the current day.
He had shown his invitation and ID at the palace's gates in the car, so he walked into the cobblestoned road surrounded by trees and bushes as lanterns hung from both sides.
Juveniles talked and laugh in pairs along the road, standing or sitting on the benches. As Arthur passed, he felt their eyes inspect him carefully without stopping their conversations.
His leathered shoe tapped as he crossed some distance toward the ballroom where classical music was blasting. The atmosphere was a bit humid and feverish, making Arthur grateful that he chose against wearing a tie or the like.
He walked into the ballroom and found the celebration already in full swing. He wasn't late but these people would take every chance to forge connections. As if a frog had jumped into a lake of swans, disturbing them, all eyes turned his way.
He could see they were smiling, but they were the formal smile you'd wear to appear amicable. A political smile that Arthur never learned how to mimic, making him stand there awkwardly before grabbing a glass of champagne to distract himself.
He knew he had certain habits when he was nervous, one of them was rubbing his thumb on his index finger. He wanted to distract himself by drinking, so drinking he did.
He must admit that it helped since he felt himself feel lighter. As he walked further into the room to find a place to seat himself, a man walked over to him.
”Greeting, young one.” The man had defined shapes and sideburns that were still black, trimmed at the end. He extended his hands which Arthur shook. ”My name is Ilia Perli, Captain of the Unbroken Corps.” He smiled lightly.
”Hello, Sir Ilia. It's an honor to meet you. My name is Arthur Silvera, I lack a title that is worth mentioning in your presence.” Arthur wasn't surprised by the man's identity as he could already feel how much presence he had. Even more, his existence was overwhelming. Maybe this was what fate felt like, Arthur wondered.
”Haha, titles are made by men. Your actions are admirable themselves.” The Captain laughed heartily as he let go of Arthur's hand. ”Master Ronin had found himself a good disciple.” He nodded with approval.
”You flatter me,” Arthur bowed his head slightly, not daring to antagonize this man. He was said to be the most powerful man in the kingdom, serving the royal family only.
”Our unbroken corps certainly needs a proper runes master.” Ilia grinned and before he could continue, another man interrupted.
”Our royal research team would be a more befitting place.” A man wearing a robe stepped in and introduced himself as well. ”My name is Alexander Teran, Head Researcher at the Yalen Workshop.”
Another grand character. As Master Ronin had said, these people had their eyes on Arthur because of his talent with runes. After all, a genius soldier can only be one, while a genius runes master can create a whole army.
”An honor to meet you, Grandmaster Alexander.” Arthur bowed again, starting to feel that this ball would be more tiring than he had anticipated.
”Snooping is not your best trait, Grandmaster.” Ilia scowled but the grandmaster met him with a smile.
”Our kingdom finally has a genius rune master; we can't handle this poorly and assign him to a combatant division.”