"...Where is Ash?"

At the emperor’s muttered word,

Snap!

The eyes of everyone in the party hall turned like dominoes, and all were fixed on me.

"Yes?"

I muttered stupidly,

"...Hiccup."

The princess next to me began to hiccup.

Noticing me, the emperor nodded his head and slowly walked into the banquet hall along the carpet.

’Ah.’

Only then did I realize why the emperor had sought me out first.

Behind the emperor were envoys from the Northern Kingdom, and at the forefront of them were people with ivory-colored hair like Princess Yun.

Leading the allied nations of the northern front, with Ariane Kingdom at the helm.

After meeting with them and having a conference, the emperor had attended this party.

Even though I didn’t know about it, discussions about strengthening the alliance must have come up, and naturally, the marriage proposal between Princess Yun and me would have been mentioned.

Whoosh...

As the emperor approached, despite the path already being sufficiently wide, the people parted further as if on cue, widening the way.

It was as if the sea was parting.

"Ash. Follow me."

The emperor stood beside me and commanded in a soft... yet deep and heavy voice.

"The princess of Ariane Kingdom is here as well. Come with me."

How could I dare not to follow?

Yun and I obediently followed the emperor down the carpet, with the eyes of everyone in the hall firmly fixed on us.

"Father."

Fernandez, who had been waiting at the midpoint of the path, bowed to the emperor.

"Fernandez."

The emperor nodded in return and gestured backward with his chin.

"Follow."

"Yes."

Joining the line, Fernandez gave me a sly wink. I reluctantly smiled back.

"Father."

Lark, who had been waiting at the end of the path, bowed. The emperor grinned.

"Lark. Let’s ascend together."

"It’s an honor."

Lark did not join the line but stood next to the emperor, walking with him to the end of the carpet.

The carpet ended below the platform arranged in the innermost part of the banquet hall. The emperor, Lark, Fernandez, and Yun and I ascended to the top of it.

Flap-!

The emperor, having reached the top of the platform, turned around and looked over the banquet hall.

His red cloak swung in the air, tracing a round arc.

"My subjects, hear me!"

The nobles, who had been bowing towards the entrance, quickly rose and turned to bow to the platform.

The emperor shouted in a clear voice that resonated in the ears.

"Our Everblack now stands before an unprecedented crisis. Threats are closing in from all sides and even from within our country."

It was a heavy speech, quite out of place in the festive atmosphere that had prevailed just moments ago.

But the emperor himself was enough context and connection.

He naturally led the mood of the hall to a more somber tone. All the nobles listened attentively to his words.

"I have remained secluded for a long time to resolve this situation. Meanwhile, my eldest son Lark has taken care of the worries of the west."

The emperor pointed to Lark, who respectfully bowed to his father. The emperor broke into a wide smile.

"I am indeed proud, my son."magic

"All thanks to you, Father."

The nobles began to applaud as if on cue. Clap, clap, clap...!

The applause filled the banquet hall. The emperor waited for the noise to subside and then continued.

"This gathering today was held to celebrate Lark’s achievements. But we all must remember, other crises remain, and they are strangling the neck of Everblack."

The emperor turned to Fernandez.

"To overcome this crisis, we must first strengthen the nation’s domestic affairs."Fernandez smiled slyly and bowed. The emperor grinned back at his second son.

"We must also solidify our relationships with our neighbors and allies."

The emperor turned his gaze to the envoys of the northern allied nations standing below the platform. They, too, looked up and bowed in return.

"Therefore, I announce it here!"

The Emperor spread his arms wide, and exclaimed,

"The marriage between my third son, Ash, and Ariane Kingdom’s second daughter, Princess Yun!"

"...!"

I was calm, having anticipated this, but Princess Yun was startled, her shoulders trembling in surprise, as though she hadn’t expected the confirmation here.

"The brave kingdoms of the North and our Everblack are no longer mere allies! They are bound by blood!"

Blood alliance.

At that word, the faces of the envoys from the North bloomed with smiles.

After all, there was no way to bring two distant countries closer together than by forming a marital relationship.

"My dear subjects! Please extend a warm welcome to our guests from afar."

The Emperor pointed to the Northern envoys with his hand and laughed heartily.

"They are no longer our guests, but part of our Everblack family."

Clap, clap, clap, clap...!

I wasn’t sure if applause was part of the imperial etiquette, but thunderous applause filled the banquet hall as if everyone had been trained for it.

"I suspected that this proposal would not be refused, but..."

Amid the noisy applause, Princess Yun let out a small sigh.

"I never thought it would be announced like this today."

"Indeed. I did not expect it to proceed so swiftly."

They said that they were going to introduce us this time, but the Emperor just pulled the trigger. He completely disregarded our opinions.

"Well, I guess our opinions don’t matter anyway."

Yun gave me a faint smile, shrugging.

"Having been born a royal and lived well thus far, I guess it’s time to pay the price in this manner."

Yun reached out her hand to me.

"Please take care of me, my husband."

"..."

I hesitated for a moment but then cautiously extended my hand to grasp hers.

Yun’s wild, yellow eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Shall we see then, how well the empire’s greatest playboy... can dance?"

The next moment, Yun pulled me close. Whoa?!

’What’s this?! She seems stronger than me?!’

All that talk about being brawny and bear-like wasn’t just talk, it seemed.

Yun led me down to the stage, dashing to the center of the party hall.

I was dragged along helplessly. The crowd cheered and whistled at our sight.

Leading me to the center of the party hall, Yun bowed respectfully, catching my bewildered look.

"Since it’s come to this, let’s become the stars of this party."

"What do you mean?"

"The original star of this party was Prince Lark. But now that our engagement has been announced, let’s outshine him. Let’s make this a party in honor of our engagement, not a victory celebration."

Staring blankly at Yun’s words for a moment, I eventually broke into a grin.

"I quite like that idea."

I bowed back in response.

The next moment, we stood close together, holding each other’s hands, placing them on each other’s shoulders and waists.

The quick-witted orchestra began to play a lively waltz.

And Yun and I began to dance.

Twirling around the banquet hall, capturing the attention of everyone, including the Emperor’s.

Round and round. Round and round.

***

"..."

Serenade kept fiddling with her empty hair tips.

Her blue hair, once long and beautiful enough to pass her waist, was now cut off just below her neck.

In last night’s fire, the ends had all become singed, so she had to cut it short to keep only the healthy part.

’It was hair I’d been growing almost all my life...’

Serenade looked at her reflection in the mirror with unfamiliar eyes.The bob cut, dangling from her neck, was tolerable considering it was done in haste, but it couldn’t compare to the beauty of her original long hair.

Her eyes were shadowed from not sleeping a wink last night. Her legs were lightly burned, hidden by stockings but still stinging.

Her face wasn’t burned, but it still felt hot and red as if the heat of the fire lingered. Makeup simply wouldn’t apply properly.

All the dresses and shoes she had saved were burnt, so she had to quickly borrow an outfit from a nearby dress shop.

The problem was that today was the festival, and all the decent dresses were already gone.

Serenade had to choose the best of the remaining ragged dresses to wrap around herself.

Therefore, her reflection in the mirror was a complete mess.

Her hair was awkwardly cut short, makeup didn’t take, and the dress didn’t suit her at all.

‘This is the worst.’

To attend a grand party hosted by the Imperial Family looking like this. Everyone would be all dressed up, but she looked like a disheveled crow.

‘I just want to stay cooped up in my room…’

But then,

- Serenade. I must tell you this. I need you tomorrow.

Ash had said this to her.

I need you, he had said.

She never wanted to show herself in such a state, especially to someone she wanted to impress more than anyone else.

But if that person needed her, she had to rush there, no matter how shabbily she was dressed.

So Serenade boarded the carriage, headed to the party held at the Imperial Palace.

“Milady!”

The handmaid-slash-coachman, Elize, cautiously spoke from inside the carriage.

“Madam, as you might have guessed, those who set fire to the Merchant Guild building yesterday might attack again.”

“…”

“If they attack again today, going to the Imperial Palace is dangerous. We should immediately go to a safe place…”

“No. I must reach the Imperial Palace.”

Serenade answered with determination in her voice.

“It’s not just because of the request of His Highness, Ash. The way for our Silver Winter Merchant Guild to survive is also in that Imperial Palace.”

“…”

“Please, Elize. Get me… to the Imperial Palace.”

“…Understood, Madam.”

Elize nodded with a stern face.

“No matter what obstacles we face, I’ll smash through all of them and escort you to the Imperial Palace, Madam.”

“Thank you.”

Clop, clop, clop-!

The carriage began to gallop along the road.

Judging the direct route from the wharf to the Imperial Palace too dangerous, Elize drove the carriage on a major detour.

Whether her judgment was right or whether it was a false alarm, no attacks came even as they approached close enough to see the Imperial Palace. Elize took a short breath.

‘After all, today is the festival. There’s no way they would blatantly attack in such a busy and watchful situation-’

…It was the very moment she thought that.

Because they had taken a long detour, they had to pass through an alleyway instead of the main road, and as Elize drove the carriage into the alley, she sensed danger.

The alley was completely empty.

In a city filled with people due to the festival, this one block of the alleyway was devoid of pedestrians, merchants, playing children, or even loitering beggars.

Sensing danger, Elize shouted sharply.

“Hold on tight, Madam!”

The next moment.

Crash-!

A magic-infused arrow shot from somewhere lodged into the wheel of the carriage and exploded.

Elize desperately tried to maintain balance, but the carriage with the shattered wheel eventually toppled sideways.

Thud, crash…!

The fallen carriage, scattering wooden splinters all around, smashed against the wall of the alley.

As luck would have it, that wall had bags of dirt and sand stacked against it, and they burst open, filling the area with a thick cloud of dust.

Trudge. Trudge.

And through that dust and smoke, five shadows approached.

The Imperial Family’s direct Black Ops team.

Aegis Special Forces, the dark division.

Among them, the fourth team – in charge of carrying out assassinations within the Imperial Capital – marched forward, clutching crossbows that gleamed blue with loaded bolts.

The Imperial hunting dogs were closing in.

--TL Notes--

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