A couple of days had passed since I had the outing with Praxis and the encounter with Ayesha, and it was now the day of the banquet hosted by Cassius Lawrence, King of the Silversun kingdom.
"Mmm, Lev, are you sure it is alright for you to go to this 'banquet' alone with King Llyr? I don't exactly trust him when he's alone with you…"Sephtis expressed, fiddling with his fingers, his tail slowly swaying behind him with his ears tilted down towards the ground.
"I must say that I agree; please let at least one of us accompany you as a guard or anything of the like," Praxis agreed, changing his tone in protest.
"No. I would very much prefer it if both of you stayed here. End of disgusting. Llyr is almost here; it is best if the two of you go inside now," I instructed, taking out my pocket watch to check the time.
I figured it was a good thing to start to get more stern with the both of them, especially since after the banquet with Cassius I plan to return to the Quare Kingdom and carry out any orders from the king. I figured it would be easiest to avoid Atlas Clyfford by doing things not explicitly listed in the novel, to which carrying out missions given to me by His Majesty Roman would prove most effective.
Even though the protagonist, Atlas, was born and raised in the Quare Kingdom, hardly any of the main plotline took place there. I figured that if I could just kick back at home and in the estate, there couldn't possibly be any encounters with Atlas.
'Genius plan, me! All I need to do is figure out how to convince the King to allow me to simply stay in Zyon city and go only to the capital. If there is anything I want to avoid more than that scary protagonist, it'd be my idiot fiancée.'
"Master, if those are the orders that you give me, then I have no choice but to follow them…But please do try to stay out of trouble and be cautious with other foreign envoys," Praxis advised, holding a hand out and stopping Sephtis from protesting any further.
"Thank you for your concern, Praxis, but I already planned to do just that," I replied, leaving out the part where I plan to more than likely make an enemy of Cassius and the rest of the political parties of Silversun.
Right on cue, a carriage bearing the symbol of the royal family of Alkmene: a kelpie and trident, surrounded by a giant wave. Sighing, Sphetis and Praxis went inside, though I could still sense their gazes from the windows by the door.
I sighed as the carriage stopped in front of me; Llyr disembarked almost immediately, practically swinging the door open. When his feet touched the ground, he sighed with relief, blush creeping on his face.
"You were actually waiting for me? To be honest, I thought you were going to show me up or go on to the Palace without me…thank you." Llyr pursed his lips, then slowly inched towards me, carefully taking my hand in his to kiss it, then releasing it.
"Hm, well, if you showed up even a minute late, I was likely to consider it. Though since you showed up right on time, I couldn't even think of it," I shrugged in response, my expression remaining calm and emotionless.
"That's a good thing then…You look nice, by the way!" Llyr tried, his attempts to lighten the air around us, so as not to make it seem like there was hot air between us during the banquet. "...Right, haha! Please go ahead and go in."
Llyr offered me a hand, though I merely glanced at it and tilted my head up in disgust at his manners. He seemed to forget that offering a hand when getting on a carriage is only for noble ladies, so I merely left him with that.
"Llyr, I hope you don't forget how to act as a leader during the banquet," I commented, watching him climb into the carriage behind me, wearing a dejected look as he nodded in response. "Oh, and don't worry. I'll make sure to play the role of a loving fiancée during the banquet. That's the least bit of kindness I can show you; that way you'll be able to save at least some face."
After those words, Llyr merely stayed silent. The carriage ride to the Palace ended as it began, silent but filled with the weight of heavy words. As we left pretty early in the morning, we managed to reach the palace in the royal capital city, Inyene, just in time for the banquet.
As I disembarked behind Llyr, I noticed some unfamiliar as well as familiar faces. Right at the doors, there was Vend-no, Andronica Drusus, accompanied not by her lover, but by Almos Ezana, likely as a guard.
Only a couple of paces in front of me, I was surprised to see the familiar wavy dark red locks of Crown Prince Emeric, accompanied by Valen Alvin, who was playing the role of his bodyguard for the night.
'Huh, odd. I don't remember Emeric attending the banquet in the novel…likely another variable. I'll have to speak with Hunapo on this when I see him again.'
"Lev, is something the matter? You seem a bit uneasy," Llyr pointed out, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Apologies, it is nothing. Shall we go in?" I replied, flashing him a fake smile and gesturing to the front doors.
"If you say so…Let's go in; we don't want to be the last ones to arrive," Llyr nodded, seeming to understand that whatever thoughts I was having, I did not want to share them, nor did I want him to know what I was thinking.
As we headed inside, Andronica and I nodded to each other, wanting to say hi but not doing so, seeing who I was with. I doubt Andronica knew who I was with, as Llyr hardly made any appearances in foreign countries; she was clearly aware, though, of the standing Llyr had, as the person at the gates bowed upon seeing his invitation.
"Greetings, Your Majesty King Llyr de Vellamo, and your Lordship, Viscount Lev Andraste. You can go ahead and head on in; just follow where everyone else is going," The butler instructed, taking Llyr's invitation.
"Alright, thank you." Llyr nodded, walking to follow Andronica, who was right in front of us. Andronica stopped, seeming to want to chat with me on the way to the banquet hall, a smile spreading on her face, but Llyr hooked his arm in mine and dragged me off towards our destination before Andronica could get even a word in.
I would have said something if I didn't know Andronica was going to ask a bunch of questions as to who this teal-haired freak is and why I am here, especially with him. So, sighing and rolling my eyes, I let him have this one.
Pulling my arm from his, I tugged on him to slow him down; that way he wasn't speed-walking in the halls. "We aren't in a rush, so slow down," I reminded him, walking beside him.
"Ah, right. Sorry, I am just on edge about people talking to you…I had a bit of a nightmare last night," He sighed, slowing his pace to match mine.
"Oh? What was it about?" I tilted my head, putting on a false look of worry.
"It was about the banquet…The demons started attacking, and a lot of people were killed…including you," Llyr replied, stopping and taking my hand in his. "I don't like seeing you get hurt, even in my dreams."
"Haaa, I'll be fine, Llyr. It was just a dream," I reassured him, knowing that it was all but that.
"You're right, I suppose I was worrying for nothing; let's keep going!" Llyr smiled, squeezing my hand before letting go of it.
We continued our way to the banquet hall, walking side by side without speaking. I didn't want to speak to Llyr any more than I had to while I was here. I just wanted to do what I came here to do and get it done as quickly as possible.
Stopping Cassius from killing everyone during this meeting was the priority; there was no room to focus on anything else. I didn't notice it, but my face started to sour as I was just thinking about it. I didn't fix it till Llyr tugged on my sleeve and gave me a worried look.
"Ah, sorry, just some nervous thoughts, that's all. Believe it or not, this is actually my first time at a banquet like this," I laughed, giving a small, little smile to Llyr, who chuckled and nodded.
"Well then, that makes two of us, now doesn't it? It's like we're sharing our firsts again, huh?" Llyr whispered, blushing as he leaned down to my ear.
"Ugh, you fucking pig, don't bring that up," I whispered back in an angry tone, glaring at him with a disgusted look on my face.
"...Sorry," Llyr mumbled, looking away with guilt, remembering how touchy of a subject it was.
We walked in silence a bit more, till we finally reached the banquet hall. When we entered, I noticed some faces immediately. Surprisingly, King Roman was sitting at the table; next to him was Emperor Arik Lorcan, the ruler of the Ender Empire and someone whom I have only seen once or twice.
I didn't expect to see the two of them here, but then again, new variables have been introduced, causing things to be different from the novel. Though the most unsettling thing was the fact that Llyr and I were sitting right across from the two of them.
If it were up to me, I would have chosen otherwise, but due to having assigned seating, there was no other choice. Llyr sat in front of Arik, while I was in front of Roman, sweating my balls off at the awkwardness.
"Well, isn't this a nice surprise, Viscount?" Roman greeted, crossing his legs and smiling over at me.
"Haha, indeed it is, Your Majesty. I was not aware that our little kingdom had been invited to a lustrous banquet such as this; what an honor it is," I expressed, acting surprised and honored to the best of my ability.
"Hahaha, as amusing as always, Viscount. Do you perhaps mind introducing me to this fine gentleman beside you?" Roman asked, looking at me with a suspiciously knowing look.
"Ah, pardon me. I am Llyr de Vellamo, King of the Alkmene Kingdom," He interjected, surprising me with his manners.
'Huh, it seems this dumb fish has been taught some manners after all.'
"King of the Alkmene Kingdom? Huh, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am surprised you attended such an event. I was under the impression that the underwater kingdom would rather keep to themselves," Arik commented, lifting his chin and looking down at Llyr with his sharp green eyes.
"Well, there has been a change in the way we do things now. And I thought it was about time for the Kingdom to put itself more out there and gather more allies, especially with the Demon King's forces acting out," Llyr answered, tapping my feet with his.
"Hm, a wise decision. Perhaps the rumors about you were wrong after all," Arik added once more, taking a glance over at me before suddenly being so much more interested in the tea in front of himself.
"Ho? Rumors? Do tell! I am quite interested in these rumors," I chuckled nervously.
"I, too, am rather interested in these rumors. Especially if my Kingdom is soon to be allied with yours, King Llyr," Roman interjected, giving Llyr a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Llyr chuckled nervously; my guess was that he had finally put together just what exactly the two Rulers meant. Llyr gripped his pants, sweat droplets forming on his neck.
"There weren't any rumors of concern, just that the King of Alkmene was actually dead, or that instead of Alkmene being a monarchy, it was more of a council country, so they couldn't settle on a single person to go to political meetings as their representative," Arik finished, shrugging and taking another sip from his cup.
"Haha," Llyr laughed, seeming to have eased up after Arik finished his piece, "Well, I can assure you that it was neither of those, as I have been very healthy these past couple of hundred years. There were just some things my kingdom had to get through; that's all."
"I see, well that helps ease up some of my worries! I hope that the newfound relationship is just as healthy as you then and also lasts for hundreds of years to come," Roman smiled, his eyes telling Llyr to keep up the good act.
Llyr chuckled along nervously, while Arik threw me a questionable look. I merely shrugged and shook my head, not able to tell him why they were acting this way either.
We got to talking, and I learned that the reason King Roman was here was that Emperor Arik was allowed to take a plus-one, whether as a date or a politically allied friend. I suppose it was a variable Hunapo had to allow in his meddling to get me to be able to attend the banquet.
Just a few moments later, the same person who had been announcing the entrance of each guest finally announced the entrance of the man of the hour. Cassius Lawrence entered, looking exactly as I expected him to.
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hello! Author here, if anyone does care to read the rest of this novel, please, please, please read the authors note to see where it is going next!!!