"Greetings, Your Highness Third Prince!" Devondre and Eli were not surprised to see Leon. The duo very naturally bowed and greeted the Prince.
"At ease, I was just particularly interested in the topic you are currently discussing." Leon asked with a straight face, however only Eli could see the trace of cunningness in his eyes.
Howard was waiting for Eli and Devondre to reject the Prince and ridicule his intellectual abilities. Who in the Capital knew that the Third Prince of the Seirende Empire was the trash prince?
His only talent was killing people! How could he have the capability to sustain a conversation with the renowned inventor?
'Leon wants to play, it seems.' Eli thought to herself as she scanned the entire situation.
Without showing any kind of uneasiness, she invited Leon to sit with them, to Howard's and the crowd's surprise! "It's our pleasure to have you in our conversation, Your Highness!"
Without any hint of struggle, Leon naturally exchanged his ideas to the group. He eloquently shared his insights and carefully pointed out the key points on Eli and Von's ideas.
The people watching the show were amazed on how Leon could keep up with the two!
How could this be! The Third Prince could level with the duo's prowess in exchanging ideas! As far as they know the Prince did not receive the same quality of education as the First and Second Prince!
General Eugine who was also watching the scene unfold couldn't help but let out a cold snort as he saw the surprised mob. "Hmff! Didn't these bunch of people forget that I was that brat's teacher? Who do they think I am? Just a war maniac? I am a Farauld too!"
He was deeply aggrieved! Why did it look like the people forget that he was born and raised by the top educator not only in the Seirende Empire but the whole Prasinos?
"Sush… Stop sulking Old Man! Just let His Highness Third Prince and Eli handle the matter." Dame Aquila playfully pinched General Farauld's waist to remind her husband who was visibly irritated at the way people looked down on his precious student.
Back on Eli's side, the trio continued to absorb themselves in the conversation without minding the awkwardness of the people around.
It wasn't until a beautiful and gentle waltz was played by the orchestra that Leon looked at Eli with a polite yet doting eyes.
"Lady Eli, the music was as beautiful as this night. Would you mind accompanying me to a dance?" Leon stood and bowed as he held out his hands in a gentlemanly manner- a gesture to respectfully ask Eli's permission.
Gasp!
Once again the crowd was stunned! The cold blooded Third Prince asked a lady to dance for the first time!
They cautiously looked at Eli and started speculating.
What would the great inventor's reaction be?
Would she oblige? Would she reject it?
Although they couldn't wait to see her reaction, the people unconsciously stepped backward for they feared that the Blood Prince would berserk upon Eli's rejection.
However, they were once again thrown at the edge of their seats when Eli's pleasing voice melodically rang at the center of the Moonlight hall.
"To have the Third Prince grant me this honor, I would gladly oblige!"
With a smile that was as lovely as the bloom of the roses, she held out her hand and allowed Leon to hold it as he led her towards the dance floor.
As soon as they reached the dance floor, it was like they entered in their very own world, with just the two of them.
With great care and tenderness, Leon's hand enveloped Eli's waist and held her other hand as he led her to dance slowly yet beautifully.
Their eyes locked with each other, not saying a single word, yet their hearts knew what they meant. In the moment where their bodies were as close as they could ever be, the two savored the rare moment and completely forgot the people around them.
Far from the existing complications that they were currently dealing with.
Far from the impending challenges that they will be facing in the future.
This moment was something that they mutually decided to enjoy.
Just two simple human beings in love with each other.
Their bodies swayed as the melody of the music played, reacting beautifully to every note that was delivered by the orchestra.
Like a pair of star crossed lovers, they created an image of a couple who was fated by the heavens. Drawing the people around, the Moonlight Hall seemed to freeze as if the only living beings were the two of them.
Such a romantic scene…it left the people in trance.
Meanwhile at the designated balcony on the third floor, Kazimir looked at Eli intently and could not help but tighten the grip of his champagne close to snapping.
There was a trace of frustration and vexation in his face, so much that the veins had long bulged on his forehead.
He had miscalculated.
The appearance of this 'great inventor' was not as simple and random as the Forgeworns and Faraulds seemed to claim!
"General Eugine… You got us good! Leon you got me so good!" he coldly mumbled as a creepy smile appeared on his sullen face.
How could he not understand what these two families mean? The timing of which Eli's name spread in the empire was amazingly 'coincidental' and beneficial to his trash brother Leon.
As the First Prince of the Great Seirende Empire, his thinking could never be trifled with. Especially when he was raised to become the next Emperor so painstakingly by his mother Empress!
How could he not see that General Farauld had done all this to help his beloved student build a faction of his own? How could he not see what they were all thinking in the future?!
Looking at the pair who were beautifully dancing in the hall, like a couple match made by heaven, how could he not figure out that General Farauld had long planned to raise up a capable woman for Leon!
The moment the Grandmasters announced Eli's identity his eyes immediately brightened up. With the Forgeworns and Faraulds standing on Eli's back, she would undeniably be the most eligible and capable woman in the Empire!
What's more, he clearly saw how the rest of the family supported her wholeheartedly. He could clearly see that the two families did not just adopt Eli by name but with sincerity.
To Kazimir, this also meant that even if the Grandmasters were already at the end of their lives, the Forgeworns and Faraulds would continue to support Eli in the future!
But just as he was already planning how to pull Eli to his side, this scene where Leon approached Eli and displayed his capabilities immediately struck Kazimir so hard.
"Bunch of desperate people!" He mouthed mockingly. He was so incensed that he could not stay watching the scene any longer!
Throwing the glass of champagne around, he rudely stood up and walked away to the moonlight hall.
"Mother had to know this!" He mumbled, deciding to go straight to his mother's place rather than to go home to his castle.
On the other hand, Antoine looked at his mother with surprise. He was shocked at how accurate and insightful her mother's advice was.
Indeed, no one would want to make this great inventor an enemy. Who would want to go against the strongest people of the empire?!
Not even him would dare to do that!
Antoine's view to the world was renewed the more that he realized that his mother's words made sense! His heart was softened as he thought of this.
Could it be that his mother was actually a spy? She was well informed of the matters in and outside the castle.
Is she just posing as someone who doesn't care about the fight for the throne but was secretly paving a way for him to succeed?
He once again looked at his mother, who was still as distant to the matters of the world as before, he dejectedly shook his head.
That was not possible, her mother was so timid and lazy to even say a few good words for her very own son!
However, he made a note in his heart to value his queen mother's words in the future. Who knows, following her seemingly weird instructions might save him from a lot of trouble?
As the music of the hall came to the softest end, the people continued to go about their own agendas and enjoy the night.
While the others started to rethink their plans in the future after witnessing how big the impact of Eli's appearance in the empire was.
This was also the same for Leon and Eli. The two knew that after this successful event, there would be waves and waves of changes, both good and bad, that they had to deal with.
That is, apart from the investigation about the dark knights, the matter of meeting the High Priest which needed to be dealt with immediately.
