Night slowly descended to the kingdom of Lunaira as the moon slowly rose to the sky to give the capital a silvery glow. Guests were being welcomed at the brightly lit palace. Each guest that came out of their carriages were escorted to the palace's ballroom.
For those who frequent the palace, it was always a new experience for them to see the palace lively during the royal ball. The ball room this time was already filled with people dressed in expensive formal clothing and gowns to show off their status in society. Minor nobility came first and as usual, those of higher status came a bit later.
First to come were the four great generals of the kingdom who received much attention. They were wearing their black and silver military uniforms and with their imposing aura, people already felt intimidated. These great generals were not that keen on socializing; they only talked with people they already knew.
Next to appear were the heads of the four great dukedoms. Duke Ginehart and Blackwell came together with their respective wives on their side. Since most of Duke Blackwell's family members didn't want to attend, they were the only representatives from the Blackwell dukedom.
Cygnus came with them in a different carriage and he was accompanied by his butler. He walked beside Ulysses and Linette as they entered the extravagantly decorated room. Their appearance caused quite a stir since this was the second time that Cygnus would be attending a ball and the first time that he would be appearing in the midst of all the nobility in Lunaira.
"Your son is getting much attention once again," Blackwell whispered towards Ulysses.
The other man laughed, "Of course he is. There's no point in bringing him alone if he can't attract this much attention."
Blackwell sighed and shook his head. He really didn't know when his friend suddenly became an overly indulgent parent. His gaze went to the young man who was currently speaking with his mother with a subtle smile on his face.
Whenever he sees Rigel, he would always get this feeling that the man was much more than what he let on. Cygnus noticed that his father's friend was staring at him so he gave the man a nod which he returned. Blackwell closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was already focused on other things. It was no use to overthink about the young man.
The other heads of the other dukedom also entered and started to mingle with other people. The party was going well even without formally starting as everybody was in high spirits. There were only thirty minutes before the official start of the ball when the representative from the Hero Alliance came.
The representative was warmly welcomed and was even applauded. Like any other place, the hero who came was already flocked by people as they scampered to introduce themselves to the guest. Cygnus watched all of this with an uninterested gaze because the people he wanted to see weren't there yet.
Finally, the Magic Tower arrived. As they entered the room, the audience once again started to whisper with their gazes trained on the young man with the mages. This time Cygnus's demeanor shifted a bit and a wide grin appeared on his face when he saw who the young man was.
"The young master has really taken a liking to you and now he even learned to use the tower to his advantage," Mr. C commented after he saw that Ezio came to the ball.
"This is really unexpected indeed." Cygnus nodded his head then he softly laughed which caught his mother's attention.
"Are you alright, Rigel?" She immediately asked after she heard the young man laugh.
"I'm sorry mother, I was just a bit excited," Cygnus answered. He covered his mouth and subtly smiled.
Linette stared at him before she nodded and returned to paying attention to the people who were coming over to talk to them. Cygnus looked at Ezio's direction one more time before he retracted his gaze. Once all the important guests arrived, the hall became more lively.
Not long after, one of the royal guards announced the entrance of the royal family. Everyone's eyes moved to the back where the door opened to reveal the king and queen together with the princes and princesses.
The ruler of the kingdom of Lunaira was blessed with golden hair and golden eyes. This trait was passed down from generation to generation and usually the one who inherits the throne has these traits. Even the current crown prince had golden hair and eyes.
After they came, the king stood and spoke. He looked at all the guests with a smile, "Thank you everyone for coming to tonight's ball. I also thank everyone for their support and contribution to our kingdom's prosperous year. I hope that you continue to do so for more years to come! Let us enjoy the night!" He raised his glass followed by the guests.
This speech marked the official opening of the royal ball. After the declaration, one by one the officials went to pay their respects to the king and queen. Ulysses waited for most of the people to say their greetings before be stood up together with Linette.
Cygnus followed from behind as they walked through the crowd of people towards the front. Ulysses bowed while Linette curtsied towards the royalty.
"Greetings your majesty, I hope that you are doing well?" Ulysses greeted and simultaneously asked about the king's health.
King Orpheus Syentia nodded towards the duke, "Thank you for your concern Duke Ginehart, I am doing well and thank you for coming to this year's royal ball."
"It is my pleasure and we prepared a gift for you and the queen," he gestured for Cygnus to step forward and present the gift. "It is a gem that I hope your majesty will be satisfied with."
King Orpheus looked at the gift and he nodded in satisfaction. He waved for one of the guards to take it away. He then noticed the young man that presented the gift and his resemblance to the duke.
"Is he your youngest son?" The king inquired.
He heard the news about the appearance of the duke's youngest son and was also curious because even he himself doesn't know the child's appearance. Now that the duke allowed the child to go out into the world, he was happy for this old friend.
"Yes your majesty," Ulysses answered. He then looked at his son and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Greetings your majesty, I am Rigel Maverick Ginehart, it is my honor to finally meet you," he bowed and showed his polite side.
"It is also my pleasure to meet you. I also heard that one batch of the cookies for this ball has been sent by you," the king commented.
He was informed earlier about the bakeries that would be providing the snacks for the ball and Vergessen caught his eyes. When he asked who owned the bakery, he was surprised to know that it was Ulysses's son.
"Yes, your majesty. Thank you for trusting my bakery even though we are not yet a month old." Cygnus gave a proud look to show to the king that his efforts worked.
King Orpheus liked how the young man was looking. He was proud and yet he didn't feel any smugness from him. It was a genuine feeling from being recognized.
"My youngest daughter couldn't stop praising the cookies they bought from your shop so I have no choice but to try it out myself," King Orpheus patted his thighs with a smile on his face. One could already tell that he was a doting father.
"Then I should thank the princess for liking our snacks," Cygnus's gaze went to the youngest princess of the kingdom who was sitting beside her mother.
The princess couldn't help but blush because of the man's handsome smile. She then looked at him shyly and gave him a nod before she looked away. Cygnus maintained his smile as the king continued to converse with him.
