Lenard was about to move away but Darren suddenly draped an arm around his shoulder as though they were old buddies which made Lenard frown in annoyance. He tried to shrug Darren off but Darren was like a stubborn leach who wouldn't budge.
"Be good" he whispered to Lenard, which angered him even more but he decided not to cause a scene.
Darren smiled internally, finding it fun to tease the renowned crown prince in front of everyone, he was doing it on purpose just to annoy Lenard and it was working so well.
'he's so easy to tease' he thought.
"You don't have to be so uptight all the time, let loose, spend some time with your brother and his friend"
"He is not my brother" Lenard replied with gritted teeth, he then sighed in defeat, knowing he can't be stubborn with this man.
"Look I have to attend to important guests, can we continue later?"
"Hmmm, okay. I'll surely come later ". Darren said with a wink and then walked away with a victorious smile. Lenard just massaged his temples with his finger.
'thank goodness that worked' he thought
He got his bearings back and went to attend to guests.
Meanwhile Ciaran had already collected a drink from a servant and was savouring his wine in a secluded corner while watching everyone, before a man in his late forties approached him with a younger lady by his side. That man was the ruler of the kingdom of Dortis, a smaller kingdom in the eastern part of the continent, he approached with his daughter Princess Ella, she was a stunning lady with dark brown hair and brown eyes, taking after her father. The man Hailes approached with a smile, holding his own glass of wine, he raised the glass to greet Ciaran "King Ciaran, finally I meet the formidable king of Kardin everyone is talking about"
"King Hailes, I'm sure I didn't meet the expectations" Ciaran also raised his glass and greeted the other man.
"No one knew what to expect, don't mind the rumours, but everyone sure knew that the King of Kardin was a strong and great ruler, conquering lands and leading the kingdom into prosperity without even revealing his identity" the man praised.
It was no secret that Ciaran was the child born from an affair between Queen Karena and another man, but few people knew that man was a demon. And the rumours that was spread only spoke bad about the queen, but only those within the palace walls or who had the right sources knew what was really going on at that time.
So the son born from an affair and whose father's identity was unknown was secretly and openly called a bastard by everyone. So it was shocking that he climbed the throne of his mother's kingdom after his maternal grandfather. So Hailes decided to seize the opportunity provided by this Kingdom greet to build ties with this formidable young king.
"You jest king Hailes, you're not small yourself". Ciaran replied formally.
Taking a sip from his cup, his eyes just passed by the daughter and she blushed.
She had been quiet ever since she got there, blinded by his beauty, she was in a daze, staring into his cold gilver eyes, taking in his appearance from his glowing silver hair to his sharp brows and thick lashes to his beautiful gilver eyes and sharp nose and his chiseled jaw. She snapped out of it when her father cleared his throat.
He then introduced them. "This is my lovely daughter, Ella"
Ella stepped forward and gave a graceful bow to Ciaran, but Ciaran just nodded to acknowledge her.
"Your Majesty, it is a pleasure to meet you".
She greeted.
"My daughter is 18 this year, they grow up so fast, just some time ago she was running around causing mischief here and there and now she has grown into a graceful young woman" he praised his daughter with a laugh.
"Father..." She called softly while smiling shyly and blushing.
Of course she knew the reason her father brought her to this year's kingdom greet was to find a suitor for her, and his target was originally prince Lenard of the kingdom of Varre, but who wouldn't try their luck with the most formidable king in the gathering, young, handsome and unmarried. And she liked him already so she couldn't refuse this arrangement, but he was acting so detached that she felt self conscious.
All these didn't faze Ciaran as he already knew what the father and daughter were trying to do and he already expected all this, but they were so quick, they didn't even waste a single moment, he creased his brow in slight annoyance as they were going on and on without stopping, the father giving stories of his daughter's childhood.
Soon the music started playing which signaled the official start of the ball.
The King and Queen of Varre started the first dance and all attention was on them as they moved gracefully across the vast hall, the queen with her black hair tied into a bun and secured with beautiful jewels and her luxurious green gown the colour of her eyes looked elegant. While the king donning a luxurious set of clothes looked royal. Together they ended the first dance, and another music started playing, other couples began entering the dance floor to dance as well.
Ella was waiting for the young man in front of her to ask her to dance but he just excused himself and went away, her face fell in disappointment and her eyes moistened but her father put a hand on her shoulders to console her.