Chapter 225: After

Miss me? Apologies if it's been silent this last week.

I kicked off a new fanfic, which has been received quite well since its launch.

I am resuming posting for A Gamer Into Trails.

As always, Giliath demands your power stones!

*****

Both nobles and commoners alike were able to experience some dancing during the party. Father ruled with an iron fist here, so even if a noble decided to lash out at another, they probably would have been shown where the exit was. Most knew that with the Chancellor being present, they knew how to act. There were quite a bit of nobles in service of the Great Houses who were opposed to the work the Chancellor has been doing for the Empire lately. This would eventually culminate into what is known as the October War, which played a big part in Cold Steel 2. Rean and his classmates literally experienced a civil war happening right before their very eyes here, and went around the country, gathering forces to try and stop the culprit who was behind it, Duke Cayenne.

But then again, the October War was mostly a big farce to what was truly happening in the shadows, and that was to resurrect the Infernal Palace to try and claim Testa-Rossa. Duke Cayenne claimed it as his lost heritage, when in reality he was just a big pompous fool trying to think a Divine Knight was rightfully his.

All seven Divine Knights were claimed by trial goers. Only those who completed their set trial could become a pilot of a Divine Knight. It wasn't like lineage didn't serve a purpose though, since Testa-Rossa was piloted a lot by princes of the past. But having Duke Cayenne claiming heritage on it meant nothing. His ancestors that partook in the War of the Lions lost their lives trying to claim Testa-Rossa, and Duke Cayenne thought to continue pursuing their dreams, since he had ties to one of the fallen princes.

Yet all this did was allow easier passage to where the testing grounds were located. For my instance the testing ground starting point is at Dreichels Plaza. In the games it showed that Testa-Rossa was actually chained up hundred of meters into the earth below, and Duke Cayenne tried to forcibly awaken it by using Prince Cedric. He didn't even likely know where the trial grounds were.

But since it opened up for me during my last visit to the capital when I was still a child, this will likely allow me to form a true bond with Testa-Rossa, one of that being a partner, rather than master-servant like Duke Cayenne tried to accomplish.

Believe it or not, the Divine Knights aren't as autonomous as one would think like the Rosenberg Studio would often craft. Divine Knights are knights who possess soul-like qualities. They can speak, react, and have friendly conversations with their pilots, even going as far as expressing what emotions they can feel.

Still, with the evening party wrapping up, I had full intentions to meet with Father to talk about my intentions of starting the Vermillion Trials in two months' time. My foundations are still well underway in being strengthened, and after training at the Vander Dojo, I think I'll have a good handle to tackle whatever it has to throw at me.

On top of that, I'll have my magic, my previous combat training, my newly attuned Enigma II with AI KeA's support, my gear, and so on. I won't be alone either, the party system was one of the main features of the Trails series. While there are powerhouses who are rightfully strong on their own, so much more can be accomplished while in groups.

Presently I have sent out invitations to Zin, Kilika, Aurelia, Emma, and Kevin. It is possible Father may try to bring a person on his side to partake in the trials, to which I'm not against it. Hell, even Ouroboros may even try to send in a participant. There was the topic of Renne too, but she is still a little girl. Sure, she is now the pilot of Pater-Mater, but I am not sure if I should invite such a young girl like Renne to partake in the Vermillion Trials.

Besides, Renne and even Sherryl are appearing to be students of St. Astraia now. I don't want to disturb much of their current life. If Renne and Sherryl wanted to have a more normal life during this period, then I'm all for it. As for Father, I am curious to see what Father will have to discuss later, but the trial will definitely be a focal point, considering he invited Princess Alfin together with me. He may even have His Majesty with him during this conversation.

I do want to speak of Father alone by myself later too, even if it is just for a short moment or two. After all, he is my Father, and I still see him as my Father, whereas in the case of Rean, he currently sees Teo as his Father. Right now, he doesn't even know that Giliath is Rean's Father, only he and I do, and likely the Ironbloods, considering they are the heart of his Intelligence Division.

Thankfully the party was in its wrapping up point. The reporters have long since departed after seeing the first dance Princess Alfin and I had. The dancing period everyone had lasted for about an hour, with the nobles doing their typical socializing party afterward. It made the night go by really fast.

After the first dance I had with Princess Alfin, I asked Aurelia to lead off the dancing with the other nobles. My partners for the night did not end there though.

After Aurelia was surprisingly Musse. But I guess she wanted to find out what I was all to her, since I was now Princess Alfin's fiance. Despite seemingly no older than nine or ten years old either, Musse was quite the fervent dancer. She tried to take the lead multiple times in a rather fast-paced song, but I was able to keep up with her. Seeing that I didn't back down during any of it, she was quite cheerful at the end. I didn't know what was going on in her mind, but I saw Princess Alfin and Elise look on with interest. If anything, it was enough to satisfy Musse during the dance. Enough to the point where a favorability meter was unlocked for her. It was still showing a low rating afterwards, but that meant that her favorability toward me may start increasing if we happen to encounter each other more often.

After Musse I only danced with one other girl that night. It was quite mentally exhausting dancing with Princess Alfin, Aurelia and Musse. It consumed quite a bit of my stamina as well. Renne saw the tiredness in my eyes as she offered to be the fourth partner to dance with. I didn't say no to her, but she went with a slower song to help me recover the stamina that I had spent dancing with the others. During this, she was quite happy to be able to see me again. We chatted for a bit and heard Renne's resolve about wanting to stay with Sherryl here. Sherryl did say that she wanted to speak with me privately later, and Renne told me about it as well. Sherryl opted not to dance with tonight since she was still being aloof, acting like she didn't know me. Renne was a bit playful too, as she told me back in the girls' changing room, the two revealed a bit of our past to the girls who were with them.

I am curious to see if the girls' opinion will change of me after hearing that they know of my rescuing of them, but it still doesn't deny that I am still Princess Alfin's fiance now. Once Renne and I finished dancing, I bid farewell to the other nobles, and retreated to where His Majesty was still standing. It seemed Emma decided to take a step back and mostly watch on, seeing others dance. The other girls decided to dance with the guys and even a few nobles as a formal gesture, since turning one down would be equivalent to slapping them in the face. Thankfully no roughhousing ensued, and after that hour or so spent, the dancing came to an end.

The only girl who I didn't really spot the entire night was Fie. She was trying to play hide and seek, not wanting to dance at all. I found that pretty funny, seeing Fie behave like that. It seemed she really didn't want to be in that dress of hers. She was still a young girl like the rest was, but that frilly dress did do Fie wonders of her appearance.

Her Majesty knew what was going to happen afterward, so she used a couple maids to take everyone outside of Esmelas Garden, bidding farewell to the nobles. I bidded farewell to Aurelia, and of course Rufus, and even Jusis. While I was done with my dancing, I saw Rufus come up to us, and introduced Jusis, his younger brother, to me. He was yet another member of the first future Class VII. I saw surprise in his eyes after he learned that I was the foreign emissary that came to Valflame Palace to partake in tonight's festivities. He was there during the engagement announcement, so I'm curious to see how Jusis will react later on once Class VII starts to form in a few years time. The conversation didn't last long though, and after paying his respects to the Emperor, the two Albarea brothers dismissed themselves from the party. They were pretty much the main headliner in tonight's dance apart from our group. So seeing Rufus now gone, a lot of nobles left while the Empress was guiding them out with the maids.

The Empress also had a maid guide our group to a few guest rooms to stay the night and enjoy the snowfall that was still happening outside.

For me though, once everyone departed from Esmelas Garden, only Princess Alfin, me and His Majesty remained behind. Seeing the Emperor standing firm before me as he smiled, I didn't back down from him.