Suddenly, the Prince was snapped out of his thought by light laughter coming from the open doorway. It seemed as though it was coming from down the hallway.
"You're bad. You've made us so late," Ri held onto Dyon's arm seemingly lost in their own world.
Dyon grinned, "I needed to see where my little feu glace got up to mischief in her youth, I had very pure intentions."
Ri rolled her eyes, "As if, pervert."
Ri and Dyon finally made it to the entrance of the banquet hall under the eyes of everyone.
Primrose was stunned by Ri's change. In fact, other than the day in the square, this was the first of most in attendance seeing a dressed-up Ri… well, at least a dressed-up Ri that wasn't a toddler.
The crown braid on her hair, the purity in her eyes, and the beauty of her dress were all striking. However, what probably made people even more shocked was Dyon's ability to complement her perfectly.
His back was straight and his eyes were sharp. He propped up Ri by her hold on his arm, expertly maneuvering around her dress to give her an added level of comfort. And his demeanor… It was as though the King and Queen had made their appearance.
However, there was something decidedly cold about Dyon's eyes right now. His previously cheery self vanished as he scanned the situation.
Akash with her arm stretched out. An unknown non-elf walking toward Little Lyla. The quiet atmosphere in what should have been a festive event. It didn't take long for Dyon to see through it all.
As for Ri, she was already well aware of who this feminine looking young man was. So, she said nothing in response to Dyon's shift, simply holding onto his arm and allowing him to deal with it.
Finally, Dyon spoke. "And you are?"
Prince Belmont suddenly felt a stifling pressure coming from Dyon that caused him to almost back away, 'Sacharro… Dyon Sacharro!'
Akash lowered her hand, taking note of the Prince's slightly trembling hands. It was faint, but definitely there, 'I guess he's the real deal,' she thought, looking toward Dyon.
She, like everyone else, had been in attendance for the showdown at the public square. But, this was the first time she got to look at Dyon so closely.
Suddenly, Dyon couldn't be bothered to look at the Prince anymore, instead smiling amiably toward Akash, "I've read a lot about your exploits Commander Sigebryht. I'm honored to have the chance to work under you."
Akash was stunned for a moment. Wasn't Dyon exceedingly arrogant? She had assumed he would be among the hardest to deal with… it seemed she misjudged him.
Shaking her head, Akash nodded back, "I look forward to working with you."
"Hmph." Zaltarish snorted coldly. "We've waited for your appearance for months. It seems you've finally decided to wake up."
Dyon grinned at Zaltarish. If Zaltarish had chosen to ignore him, he would lose major points to Dyon. But the fact he said something at least meant he wasn't all bad. It was just that he was only good at expressing his feelings when it came to Mithrandir. Which was adorable in its own way.
Zaltarish, as he had told Mithrandir that night, had had a good childhood for the most part. It was only his teenage years that created this false bravado. Because of that, it was likely that it was a bit easier to shed that layer.
That being said, Dyon couldn't be bothered to speak or even look at Ores, Kymil and Darcassan. Being rude to his Ri and trying to raise his little sister as a concubine were grounds for automatic deaths. It was lucky for them that they were at the very least repentant, or else Dyon would teach them a lesson.
It was only after this that Prince Belmont finally snapped out of whatever spell Dyon's gaze had put him under, noticing the intimate interaction between Dyon and Ri.
Suddenly he smirked to himself, 'This is perfect. Having two outstanding women like this… There's no way they've accepted such a thing.'
Stepping forward, the prince began to speak, "Princess Acacia, I Elwing Belmont, have come bearing gifts. How could the Belmont family not have well wishes for the Elvin royal family?"
Elwing snickered to himself noticing the cheap necklace on Ri's neck. Truthfully, it was beautiful and intricately made, but he couldn't feel any energies coming from it. There was only one explanation: it was a common metal.
'You gift your first secret fiancée a lowly practitioner level treasure and you can't even bother to give this one even that? I'll let them see you for what you truly are.'
Elwing's smirk suddenly froze at Dyon's reaction to his words.
"Looks like a prince has brought my little feu glace presents," Dyon led Ri to the empty seats beside Primrose, helping her sit. "Let's enjoy then."
The Elvin geniuses who had been at the assessments suddenly felt themselves inadvertently shiver… usually when Dyon smiled like this, it was a time where you thought you had everything in hand… when really, he was playing you all along.
Ri giggled at Dyon's antics, her beautiful laugh filling the room.
Primrose grabbed onto Ri's arm, pulling their chairs closer.
When Mithrandir saw this, she couldn't help but feel a little lost. But, when Primrose pulled her chair closer as well, she blushed, happiness blooming in her heart.
Zaltarish sighed, 'When will I be able to make her have that reaction?'
Suddenly, the prince felt like a clown – a jester called in for entertainment. He wanted to explode in anger, to call Dyon a lowly trash that had no right to disrespect the royal blood of his family. But could he? All Dyon said was that he wanted to see what presents the prince had prepared, presents the prince himself suggested to display. So, he could only grit his teeth in silence.
Because of this, Dyon had been raised yet another notch in Akash's heart, 'He's too clever for his own good…'
But then, Dyon froze, feeling something odd. He looked around the room before his eyes locked on a little boy, "Little Black?..."
The little boy grinned back at Dyon, using their mental connection for affirmation. Before, Dyon had felt that Little Black was here, but, this was the first time he looked for him. When they were back in Ri's room, he had stifled the connection for obvious reasons… So, it wasn't until now that he noticed the oddity.
The two small children ran up to Dyon, each sitting in either lap. Little Lyla giggled happily as Dyon gave her a look, "This is what you meant by something cool was happening to Little Black?"
Little Lyla's head bobbed up and down, her pink hair swaying in the air.
Dyon smiled, rubbing their heads, "Okay, let's talk about it later then. First, let's witness these grand presents. What do you say, Prince Belmont?"
Only two chapters today :'( Sorry! We'll see if I can make up for it tomorrow. I would blame the assignment I had to finish before writing this, but honestly, I was just tired, lol
See you guys tomorrow! 😊