The brother and sister conversed with only their eyes. There should be no need to go through the formalities.

However, Violet approached the crown prince and Roen, all the while grumbling inwardly. Nevertheless, her graceful saunter was never lost.

It was a tiring day, truly.

Greetings to the small sun of the Empire. I am House Everetts daughter, Violet S. Everett. I have heard a lot about you, Your Highness.

Haha, we were just talking about you, but I didnt expect you to come here yourself! Indeed, the stories of the moon goddess being ever so wise and beautiful was of no exaggeration. Has your dress been custom made for this banquet?

Yes.

My, my. Ive heard that faeries living amidst the sea have the same appearance as yours. The dress makes Your Ladyships beauty stand out even more, so really, it does suit you a lot.

You flatter me so.

Someone coughed in vain.

Ke-hum.

It was one of the people who were talking behind Violets back just now. As long as the crown prince himself had declared her to be beautiful, those people could no longer say anything about Violets dress. Unless, of course, they were fools.

Violet had to admit thoughthe crown prince had a good eye for recognizing the mermaid silhouette right away.

She looked at Rajaden, who must have accumulated quite a lot of knowledge other than whats imparted to him through his imperial studies.

Ive heard a lot about you, Ducal Lady. I heard that youre colder than an ice lake, but its not like that at all.

!

Roen flinched when Rajaden mentioned that anecdote jokingly. Violet glanced at Roen.

You said something like that?

The wicked snake responded with a kind, bright smile, but he said nothing else.

If you dont mind, may I ask you for the honor of having your first dance?

It is my honor.

Rajaden offered a hand to Violet politely. It was an obvious trick to nab her, but she had no other choice but to let herself be caught.

After all, how would she be able to say no to the man standing before her?

A thin hand lay atop a large hand, and a gentle touch was thus given. Violets expression never once changed until they had to part in the end.

It was such an obvious trick.

But she had no choice but to let herself be deceived.

* * *

Aldin Aesir is a bastard son.

Even if he had been acknowledged by the family and had thus been bestowed the Aesir name, the truth behind his birth would not change.

Duke Aesir threw that surname at Aldin as though they were alms and did nothing else. No, well, Aldin was glad that the man had done nothing. The family as a whole treated him as a mere object thats to be used and eventually thrown away.

In that house, the only way to survive was to constantly lower oneself.

Even though he had since honed his worth and had proven his existence.

Do you

?

Do you not remember me?

Perhaps because of that, but it was no wonder that he did not dare even to think of reaching his god.

Today, um, youre really beautiful.

Thank you. Youre also very dashing, Sir.

Really, really

You dont have to emphasize it. Shall we go?

Yes.

For him to be able to live in the same world as her, for him to be harboring such feelings for her Just the fact made him feel guilty.

How dare he hold her in his heart.

You are my God. You, who have saved me. You are my

Thus, it was for this reason that he did not take it to heart that Violet couldnt remember him. It was alright even when the atmosphere around her had changed so much, to the point that it felt like she had become a different person.

Because Violets essence remained the same.

The fact that she was alive and breathing was enough.

However

My goodness, what a disgrace.

Hah, but I didnt expect her to appear alongside Aesirs illegitimate son.

Right, right. The dress is another matter, but with that such vulgarity, well. I wouldnt be able to raise my head proudly, thats for sure.

Ah, come to think of it, neither Duke Everett nor the lady Duchess has silver hair

Shes been pretending to be so noble all by herself, but in the end, its just a mere ruse.

This was the result of him daring to satisfy his greed.

As he had keen senses, he caught all of the gossip coming from every corner of the banquet hall, missing not a single one.

Amongst them all, Aldin was only ever mentioned whenever those people wanted to bring down Violet dignity.

Ah, I beg your pardon. I am the second son of House Lahn, Roth Lahn. If you dont mind, will you give me the honor of having the first dance?

Before his existence could further undermine Violet, he then made himself scarce.

Whats the point of graduating from the academy at the top of his class. Whats the point of belonging to the first chivalric order. Whats the point of having the position of knight captain practically reserved for him.

In the end, everything just boiled down to dignity.

This man without any dignity had plucked up what little courage he could bring out, yet it bore fruit to only the worst results.

So, it was time to press down on his greed.

Its time to stop this.