Chapter 25: Banquet
MC POV:
'These clothes are so restrictive,' I thought as I loosened the bowtie around my neck while entering the banquet hall.
I wore a midnight blue suit with golden embroidery and the symbol of Mapleland on the right side of my chest and a white shirt underneath. The other male guests wore similar outfits with crests of their own houses, while the women walked around in colorful ball gowns.
I looked around the hall, and after spotting a familiar face, I directed my steps toward them.
"This gown suits you," I said after approaching Isuzuruha.
Despite her cold countenance, the gown made her look rather cute.
"Thank you. Your clothes also suit you," Isuzuruha said back. There was a bit of awkwardness and uncertainty in her eyes.
That part of her was very peculiar. Most of the time, her face lacked expression and seemed dull. Despite that, however, I could get a good grasp on how she felt.
"Are you alone?" I asked.
"No, but my father is busy talking with his old friends," replied Isuzuruha with a complicated expression. Soon after, she glanced at a group of middle-aged men in the central part of the hall. One of them, in particular, shared the same hair and eye color as her. He was well built and gave a feeling of a seasoned warrior, something even his elegant clothing couldn't hide.
"I see..." I muttered, not sure what to say. "Do you mind if I stay next to you? I don't really know anyone else here," I asked.
"Of course," Isuzuruha replied, but then her eyes widened as she saw the symbol on my chest. "You are a part of the royal family...?" she muttered, audibly confused. Shortly after, in contrast to her usual countenance, her expression became flustered as she exclaimed as if realizing something, "Ah! I am sorry for my disrespectful behavior!"
She nearly bowed to me, but I managed to stop her. Unfortunately, it was too late, as her outburst piqued the interest of the people around us.
"Let's move somewhere else," I said, slightly troubled, and grabbed her hand before dragging her toward the empty balcony area.
Once there, after confirming no one was eavesdropping, I looked at her seriously and said, "First, you did nothing wrong. I am not really a part of the royal family, at least not yet. Second, I am not used to this kind of treatment. Considering you got invited to this party, you must be a daughter of a well-known family, so there is even less of a reason to be so polite. Can you please act more like when you called out to me on the training grounds?"
"I understand," Isuzuruha asserted after a moment of silence, following it with a nod. "But what do you mean by 'not yet'?" she inquired, a bit more relaxed.
"The king decided that as a reward for removing the curse, Latifa and I will get married in the future," I explained. "He plans to reveal our engagement during today's party," I added.
After hearing that, Isuzuruha's eyes widened. However, before she managed to say anything, the servants announced the king's arrival, "His Majesty, Feran Fleuranza, and princess Latifa Fleuranza have arrived!!!"
Following the announcement, all the conversations stopped as everyone focused on the two figures descending the flight of stairs from the entrance reserved for the royal family. The king wore a suit similar to my own and his usual blue robe over it, while Latifa had on a light blue frilly ball gown. After descending the stairs, they directed their steps towards the small platform hosting the seats for the royal family.
"My loyal subjects," the king started after stepping on the platform, all eyes focused on him. "We have gathered here for two reasons. The first one is to celebrate the removal of the curse which plagued my daughter for the past few years," he said, receiving loud cheers and applause from the guests. After a while, he raised his right hand, signaling them to quiet down. "The second reason is that I have decided on the person who will marry my daughter and become the next king of Mapleland," he declared, once again receiving cheers and applause. This time, however, the crowd was visibly surprised.
Most of the gathered nobles looked around at each other with accusatory gazes, wondering which lucky bastard managed to get the king on his side. That made the king's following words even more surprising to them.
"That person is the young man who, despite his age, managed to do something none of us could. The boy who lifted the curse, Arthur Yuuki," the king said while extending his right hand in my direction.
Following the direction of the king's outstretched hand, everyone proceeded to turn around until their gazes focused on me.
'Greedy bastards...' I thought after getting swept by a veritable sea of negative emotions like anger and envy.
Of course, that will only make me stronger since all that energy gets swallowed by the [Body of Seven Sins] and the tattoo on my back. I have yet to unlock any transformation like this, but my instinct tells me it will make it easier, at the very least.
With a confident look, I strode toward Latifa and her father.
"Your Majesty," I bowed slightly after getting a few meters away from him.
"I have to say these clothes suit you. Your good character and talent aren't the only things befitting my daughter," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, your majesty," I replied with a slight bow.
"Good. Now, take a seat next to my daughter," he nodded and said.
After I did so, part of the nobles started to gather in front of the king, paying their respects, while the rest went back to chatting, awaiting their turn.
***
"I am glad the dances here are nearly identical to the ones on earth," I said with a sigh of relief while dancing together with Latifa in the center of the hall. We were performing a dance remarkably similar to Waltz.
"*Giggle* Knowing you, I am sure you would pull it off even if they were completely different," Latifa commented with a happy smile.
"I can't deny that. You know how good my memory and body control are," I responded with a cheeky smile.
"Indeed," Latifa affirmed. She didn't say anything else, evidently focusing on enjoying the moment.
We danced in silence until the end of the song. After that, Latifa returned to her seat to take a break, and I directed my steps toward the balcony area to catch a breath of fresh air.
At least, that was my plan until my intuition kicked in. Feeling like something horrible was about to happen, I darted toward Latifa. Soon after, a magic circle appeared in the middle of the banquet hall, from which came waves of a violent wind that pushed back all the people in a radius of five meters, causing many to fall on the floor. After that, the magic circle flashed again. As the wind died, everyone's attention got piqued by the silhouette of a man in dark mage-like robes, often seen in fantasy movies.
"You!!!" the king bellowed furiously, abruptly standing up from his seat.
"It's nice to see you as well," the mage replied with a disdainful smirk.
He was a rather tall, around 185 centimeters tall man, sporting slicked backlight blonde hair, with one bang hanging on the left side of his face and violet eyes. His facial features would make him rather handsome if not for the sadistic glimmer in his eyes.
"How are you still alive?! I received a report stating you jumped to your death from a cliff! You were too weak to fight back, so how did you survive?!" the king questioned angrily.
On the other hand, the crowd finally realized who it was that decided to invade the castle. The guests murmured in disbelief, most surprised by the change in the mage's appearance. If not for the symbol on his robe representing his house, they would never guess who he was.
"Shouldn't you ask why did I return rather than how?" the dark mage replied. "It took me some time, but I am finally ready to repay all of you for that day's humiliation!!!" he exclaimed, and a new magical circle appeared underneath him.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that," I coldly said as I moved next to him. Then, I slashed at the circle with my zanpakuto, shattering it and nearly causing an explosion as the energy comprising it went wild.
Fortunately, while the mage and the king had a chat, I used that time to spread my energy mixed with willpower throughout the room, creating a zone of sorts. With its help, I took over the violent energy and dispersed it.
"You!?!" The mage exclaimed in surprise, his face contorted by hate.
"Yes, me," I replied and slashed at him.