41 Greeting the guests

"Her Lady Rosaline von Montampes, daughter of His Grace Duke von Montampes enters!!" An announcing voice echoed through the ballroom.

The announcement made everyone in the ballroom turn their heads. The young girl stood out among the crowd, her golden eyes attracted everyone's attention.

"Her eyes...! The rumors were true!"

"The daughter of Duke Montampes is a Blessed One?"

"I need to introduce my son to her immediately!"

Many noble guests were scrambling to introduce themselves or their children to Rosaline but controlled themselves as an even more important person entered the ballroom soon after.

"His Grace Duke Callisto von Montampes enters!!"

A man with a regal aura walked. His sharp gaze swept over the room, looking for his daughter. As soon as he found her, he went towards her.

"Da-...! Father!" Rosaline almost let her real personality slip when she saw her father, fortunately, she quickly composed herself.

"Hello my daughter, how are you?"

"I am doing well, father," Rosaline answered with a smile.

The two chatted for a moment before they parted ways. A line of people wanting to interact with Rosalin quickly formed.

"Good evening and Happy New Year, Lady Rosaline. I am Marquis Lambshidder von Sheepleslapper, and this is my son Mutton."

From a dark corner of the ballroom, a small chuckle escaped.

'What kind of a name is that?'

It was Luka. Hearing the name of the Marquis almost made him laugh out loud. Luckily he was able to hold himself back and chuckled instead.

He took a deep breath and relaxed. He returned to his task of watching Rosaline.

Before the event, he was instructed and warned by Weiss. As Luka already knows, people with golden eyes attract too much attention. Rosaline, the same as him, was a Blessed One. Such status will bring danger to a young girl like Rosaline.

Rumors about the daughter of Duke Montampes being a Blessed One were already circulating in the high society of the Hedal Kingdom. People with malicious intent already tried to kidnap Rosaline before, and Luka has personally seen one of those attempts.

Now that Rosaline has made her debut, her status as a Blessed One has been confirmed. Those with malicious intent would most likely try harder to take advantage of Rosaline.

And so, Luka was keeping a close eye on Rosaline secretly and looking out for anyone suspicious among the nobility. The reason for him not being by Rosaline's side is because he too has golden eyes. If news spread that there are two Blessed Ones in the Montampes duchy, it would only spell trouble.

"Good evening and Happy New Year as well. The Sheepleslapper territory has protected the borders of our glorious country from the Venid Kingdom if I remember correctly. I would just like to say, thank you for your service in protecting the peace of this nation." Rosaline flattered the Marquis with an elegant tone.

"Ohoho! I appreciate the gesture!"

Rosaline chatted with Marquis Sheepleslapper and his son a bit more. The Marquis was even insinuating an engagement between Rosaline and Mutton during their conversation. Unfortunately, Rosaline didn't pick up the hint as they were talking.

'She may have studied hard during the last two months but she's still a knucklehead. I wonder what they would think if they discover her real personality.' Luka thought to himself.

Soon, Rosaline was talking to more and more nobles. Some wanted to form a connection with the Montampes ducal family through the marriage of their sons with Rosaline. Some were jealous of Rosaline's beauty and indirectly insulted her through wordplay, but alas, Rosaline was still unable to detect such subtlety.

After going through so many nobles with egos as big as a mansion, Rosaline wanted to rest and eat food from the buffet, but she knows she was not finished.

There is a law in the Hedal Kingdom that states that a noble should introduce themselves to another noble with higher standing. That was why Rosaline had to talk to so many nobles as she belongs to a ducal family. Rosaline had to talk with nobles ranging from Barons to Marquises introducing themselves.

There was one thing left she must do. Introduce herself to the family that stands on top of the social pyramid in the kingdom—the Royal Family.

Rosaline looked around, searching for the royal family. She glanced left and right, her gaze sweeping through the tables in the ballroom. Many nobles have already sat down with their social circles and factions.

Rosaline couldn't find them. She needed help, the ballroom was far too spacious and there were too many guests. It proved difficult to find the royal family.

The golden-eyed girl looked in a certain direction. Her eyes pleaded for assistance.

"*Sigh*...fine." Luka resigned.

Luka channeled Aura into his legs and jumped up high. He grabbed and held onto one of the pillars in the ballroom, using Aura to strengthen his grip as he channeled Aura into his eyes to improve his vision. Luka made sure to avoid producing any sound to would attract attention.

'Now where are they? I already know what they look like thanks to Weiss' incredibly good drawings.' Luka, with his Aura-boosted vision, scoured the ballroom.

Luka found the royal family soon enough. He looked at Rosaline and pointed in the direction she should go. Rosaline quickly went to work and approached the royal family as Luka slowly sled down the pillar to avoid the sound he would make when landing if he jumped off instead.

Rosaline reached the table where the royal family members were. There sat King Louis von Hedalin, Queen Runa von Hedalin, Crown Prince Edward von Hedalin, and 2nd Prince Ludwig von Hedalin. The youngest child of the king and queen—the 1st Princess Celine von Hedalin—couldn't participate in the ball as she's still a toddler. She had to stay in the royal castle located in Gifdon City, the capital of the Hedal Kingdom.

The royalty paused whatever they were doing and turned their attention towards the silver-haired girl.

Rosaline lifted the hem of her long skirt and gave a slight bow, by bending her knees.

"Good evening and Happy New Year to the Royal family of this beautiful nation! Thank you for blessing this house with your presence." Rosaline spoke with a gentle smile.

"Hahaha!! Thank you. I'll say, the daughter of Callisto is quite the beauty! But of course, my dear Runa is still the most beautiful of all." King Louis glanced towards his wife with an adoring gaze.

"Ohohohoho! You flatter me, dear."

The King returned his attention back to Rosaline.

"How is your father, Rosaline?" King Louis asked. A tinge of anxiety could be heard from him if one paid close attention.

"My father is doing well!" Rosaline replied.

"I see... that's good..." King Louis said. His voice was filled with guilt and relief.

Queen Runa noticed her husband's change in mood. She stretched out her arm and grabbed the hand of King Louis.

King Louis smiled at his wife's gesture and said, "Thank you, dear."

"Ah yes. Why don't you introduce yourself to my sons?"

"It would be my pleasure." Rosaline bowed once more before she walked around the round table to meet the princes.

Rosaline said the same line again towards the princes, "Good evening and Happy New Year!"

Crown Prince Edward returned the greetings with a smile. Prince Ludwig however, didn't respond. He simply stared blankly at Rosaline.

"Ludwig, you are being rude to Rosaline." Queen Runa said.

Prince Ludwig snapped out of his daze. He returned the greetings with an awkward smile.

After returning the greetings, Prince Ludwig muttered, "Wow... you're really pretty."

Prince Ludwig didn't intend to have Rosaline hear those words, but she heard it regardless. Rosaline thanked the prince for his compliment, which made the prince blush.

Seeing Ludwig blush made the king, queen, and crown prince smile. Ludwig was 13-years-old, turning 14 by the time the calendar enters the 288th Year of the 3rd Era. It was very normal for a boy around Ludwig's age to start seeing girls in a different light.

'Oh ho ho!!! Looks like the brat's got an admirer!' Luka, who was watching the scene stealthily was surprised by the development.

Time passed and the moment everyone was waiting for is at hand.

*Clink* *Clink* *Clink*

A clinking sound was heard, grabbing the attention of the guests in the ballroom. The sound came from the host of the event, Duke Callisto von Montampes.

"Thank you all for participating in this ball to celebrate the new year. I'm sure you have already met my precious daughter, Rosaline."

Rosaline walked towards her father and stood beside him. She smiled before the Duke continued his speech.

"This ball has served as her debut into noble society. I sincerely hope that everyone here will help guide her in life. The 288th Year is before us! Let us count down as the Gods bless us with a new year!"

The guests clapped, except one person, Duke Franklin von Clarilon. He looked at Rosaline with an obsessive gaze.

All the nobles in the room started counting down.

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

"7!"

"6!"

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

Duke Montampes glanced at Weiss, to which the latter nodded and disappeared into thin air.

"2!"

Outside, there was a large group of mages encircling the manor. Weiss appeared out of thin air, which startled the mages.

"Do it." Said Weiss.

The mages lifted their canes, wands, or simply their bare hands and simultaneously cast a spell.

"1!"

The night sky was suddenly covered in bright, dancing lights that flashed an assortment of many different colors.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!" The nobles cheered right before they saw the spectacle outside through the windows.

They were speechless. The dancing lights were beautiful and lifted the moods of the guests.

Luka momentarily forgot his duty of watching Rosaline as he saw the lights in the night sky. He was reminded of a similar phenomenon that happened back on Earth.

'They look like the Aurora lights.' Luka thought. He felt nostalgic when seeing the lights.

Luka recalled an old memory in his past life. The face of his grandfather as he took his young past self to camp in another country.

Luka belatedly noticed a tear rolling down his face. He rubbed his eyes and wiped away the shed tear and went back to admiring the lights.