Three days later, a new decree spread through the Imperial City.
The Imperial Palace Garden would host a grand evening banquet, and all officials were permitted to bring their unmarried sons of suitable age and standing.
The decree itself was brief.
Its meaning was not.
Everyone understood immediately.
The Emperor was choosing a consort for the princess.
The capital stirred into motion.
For some families, the announcement was little more than another royal event. For others, it was an opportunity that could change their entire future. Every household with an unmarried son who met the requirements began making preparations. Fine clothes were ordered. Jewelry and accessories were selected. Families with connections to the palace started making inquiries about seating arrangements and introductions.
After all, if their son caught the princess's eye, his position would change overnight.
He could rise from an ordinary noble heir to a member of the Royal Family, and if Vanessa eventually became Empress, her consort would naturally stand above countless others.
The situation had been left unresolved ever since Vanessa's engagement to Zion was dissolved. It would have been fine even then, because there was Kaelan. But now that Kaelan, who had once been with her, had also been publicly disgraced, the court had reached the obvious conclusion.
The princess needed a new Prince consort.
And every ambitious family in the capital wanted that position.
When the news reached Origin Medical Hall, Zion listened quietly.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
A banquet to choose a consort for Vanessa.
And he, the man whose engagement to her had been broken, was also expected to attend?
Zion found the arrangement almost amusing.
'Is this the Emperor's way of humiliating me?'
Perhaps the intention was for him to sit among the guests and watch while Vanessa chose another man, allowing everyone to remember that he had once been discarded.
If so, the Emperor had made a rather amusing mistake.
Zion had no intention of playing the role of a heartbroken former fiancé.
"Master."
Black sat nearby, stuffing food into his mouth while staring at Zion with undisguised curiosity.
"Are you really going to the banquet?"
Zion lifted his teacup and took a slow sip.
"Since it is an imperial decree, why would I refuse?"
Black's cheeks puffed out.
"But won't people laugh at you? That princess is horrible. I don't want to watch them mock you."
Zion placed the cup back on the table.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"If anyone wants to laugh, they should be more worried about Kaelan."
Black blinked.
Then his eyes brightened.
White, who had been listening from the side, also understood immediately.
The scandal at Origin Medical Hall had already spread throughout the capital.
Kaelan had been exposed in front of the entire street, and the relationship between him and Vanessa had been dragged into the open. He had stolen his own elder brother's fiancée, remained with her while the engagement still existed, and then been publicly discarded when Vanessa found someone she considered more desirable.
Zion, meanwhile, was the one who had been abandoned.
The distinction mattered.
Everyone knew he had once been considered an unsuitable match because of his weak body. His broken engagement had therefore been treated as something inevitable.
Kaelan, however, had no such excuse.
He had betrayed his own brother.
He had flaunted the relationship.
And then he had been rejected by the very person for whom he had done it.
If the banquet became a spectacle, Zion suspected Kaelan would attract far more attention than he would.
Black and White exchanged a glance.
Their little furry faces practically radiated anticipation.
White leaned closer.
"Master, are you finally going to show everyone your real appearance?"
Zion's fingers paused around his teacup.
His eyes held a quiet gleam.
"Yes."
He had hidden his true appearance since arriving in this world. The disguise had served its purpose, allowing him to move through the General's Manor without immediately attracting unnecessary attention.
But that time was over.
The Imperial Banquet would be the perfect place to end it.
Zion lowered his gaze for a moment.
'Everything you endured... the humiliation, the rejection, the way they treated you as though you were worthless.'
He was not the original Zion.
But he carried the memories that had been left behind.
And he had never forgotten them.
'I'll take it all back.'
***
While Zion calmly prepared for the banquet, Kaelan wished he could disappear from the world.
Ever since the incident at Origin Medical Hall, his life had become unbearable.
Whenever he stepped outside, he heard whispers.
People stared.
Some pretended not to recognize him while clearly discussing him behind his back. Others were less subtle.
The reputation he had carefully built over the years had collapsed almost overnight.
His father, once proud of him, had become increasingly disappointed.
And the young men and women who had once crowded around the General's Manor seeking his attention had vanished.
The suitors who had once praised him?
Gone.
The invitations?
Gone.
The admiration?
Gone.
Kaelan could not escape the feeling that the entire city was laughing at him.
Then came the imperial banquet.
He knew exactly what it meant.
He would have to attend.
And he would have to appear before nobles who had already heard everything that happened.
His scars were still visible beneath his clothing and mask. No matter how carefully he concealed them, he knew people would notice.
But refusing to attend an imperial banquet was not an option.
He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
'Why did everything become like this?'
Three days passed.
Then the night of the Imperial Banquet arrived.
***
Carriages began arriving at the palace long before the banquet officially started.
One after another, noble families passed through the palace gates, their carriages carrying carefully dressed young men accompanied by their relatives.
The Imperial Palace Garden had been decorated for the occasion. Lanterns illuminated the paths, musicians prepared their instruments, and servants moved between the banquet grounds carrying trays of wine and food.
But inside the General's Manor, there was little excitement.
The atmosphere was heavy.
General Helius paced through the main hall with a grim expression.
If he had been given the choice, he would have preferred to avoid the banquet altogether.
When Zion's engagement to Vanessa had been dissolved, Helius had reluctantly accepted it. At the time, he had believed the family could still maintain its connection with the Royal Family through Kaelan.
He had been wrong.
Instead, Vanessa had publicly abandoned Kaelan, and the scandal had dragged the General's Manor into the center of the city's gossip.
Worse, Helius could not entirely blame the princess.
What Kaelan had done had crossed every line of propriety.
The more Helius thought about it, the colder his opinion of Vanessa became as well.
She had allowed her feelings to override her judgment, and in doing so, she had made a public spectacle of his family.
'She was so blinded by her desires that she forgot who she was.'
Helius clenched his fists.
'I spent decades on the battlefield building the reputation of the House of Phoenix. And now people are laughing at my family because of this.'
He stopped pacing.
At that moment, Kaelan entered.
His face remained covered.
"Father..."