The carriage rattled through the spacious streets of the Royal Capital’s Eastern District, eventually slowing to a halt before a brilliantly lit estate.
The entrance was already lined with carriages of every description. The horses pulling them were each more spirited than the last, and the crests adorning the carriage bodies grew increasingly intricate.
Groups of two or three young nobles, male and female, stepped through the main gate, their laughter occasionally drifting out from under the porch.
The air was thick with perfume, incense, and the lingering residue of spent mana, all mingling into a scent unique to a night in the Royal Capital.
This was the daily routine of the capital’s upper-class youth: “socializing and bonding.”
Once the carriage had fully stopped, Leo took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and did his best to compose a calm and proper expression.
“Young Master.”
Ailiya’s flat voice came from behind him.
He turned to find her watching him calmly. Those ice-blue eyes appeared exceptionally clear in the dim light of the carriage.
“Your hands are shaking.”
Leo looked down at his slightly clenched fist. He relaxed it and forced a smile. “It’s nothing. Just excitement.”
Ailiya didn’t call him out on it. She simply stepped out of the carriage first and stood by the door, waiting for him to follow.
She stood there, her silver-white short hair swaying slightly in the evening breeze, like a silent blade planted before the brilliantly lit building.
Leo followed her out of the carriage, standing before the gate of this illuminated estate, watching the unfamiliar, elegantly dressed faces chatting and laughing under the porch.
He took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The banquet hall was even more luxurious than he had imagined.
A massive crystal chandelier cast a soft glow, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day.
The walls were hung with enormous oil paintings depicting the history of the Kastian family. The brushwork was heavy, the tones deep, as if silently reminding every guest of the family’s legacy.
Long tables were laden with delicate cold dishes and a variety of drinks. The silverware set sparkled with fine glints of light under the crystal chandelier.
Young nobles gathered in small groups, their conversation rising and falling, occasionally punctuated by deliberately loud laughter.
Ailiya quietly followed behind Leo, her gaze passing over his shoulder, reflecting the entire hall like the still surface of a lake.
She spotted Cedric standing at the center of the hall, surrounded by a cluster of people.
He was dressed in formal attire tonight, the conspicuous pure gold family crest pinned to his chest. The wine glass in his hand swayed elegantly in the air as he laughed and chatted with several companions.
The moment Leo’s figure appeared at the hall’s entrance, he noticed him almost immediately.
“Oh, look, my fourth brother has finally arrived.”
A warm, familiar smile spread across his face as he approached with his wine glass, his steps light and quick, perfectly positioned to block the path leading to the center of the hall.
“Come, come, let me introduce you all. This is our Kastian family’s Young Master Leo, all the way from Fengyue City, here specially for my coming-of-age ceremony. You’ve had a long journey; it must have been hard work.”
His voice wasn’t particularly loud, but it was precise enough to reach the ears of several surrounding groups.
A few curious gazes fell upon Leo, sizing up this young master from the remote border.
“He looks quite lively.”
“I heard he’s from Fengyue City?”
“Fengyue City… isn’t that place near the southern Border?”
Whispers drifted like a gentle breeze, neither heavy nor light.
Leo’s expression didn’t change. He accepted the wine glass offered by a servant, raised it slightly toward Cedric, then took a shallow sip without speaking.
Cedric warmly pulled him over to introduce him to a few other noble children, but their reactions were mostly polite and distant.
A nod, a smile, a quick “pleased to meet you,” before their attention naturally drifted back to their own conversations.
Leo stood at the edge of the circle, like a pebble washed ashore by the tide—neither fully rejected nor truly accepted.
He held his glass, quietly standing by the table, watching the topics of conversation swirl in circles that had nothing to do with him. Occasionally, he lowered his head to take a sip of the bitter wine.
Meanwhile, several gazes settled on the black-and-white figure behind Leo.
From the moment Ailiya stepped into the hall, she had already noticed those stares.
She stood quietly not far behind Leo, a position that was neither conspicuous nor prevented her from observing the entire scene.
Her eyes were lowered, as if completely absorbed in the duties of a maid.
But she knew those looks were mostly unfriendly, carrying the scrutiny of one sizing up merchandise.
Dressed in a black-and-white maid uniform, her silver-white short hair and cold, sharp features stood out starkly amidst the formal attire.
There were barely any demi-humans present tonight, and she was the only one standing in such a venue as a maid.
In a corner of the banquet, two young men with wine glasses glanced at her with unfriendly eyes. Their voices weren’t loud, but they were pitched just right for those nearby to hear.
“Is that the illegitimate son of the Kastian family? Why was he even invited…”
“I heard Cedric invited him. Probably to show the main family’s magnanimity.”
“Tsk, tsk. I saw him coming in. He even brought a demi-human maid. Bringing a demi-human to an occasion like this—what a disgrace. It’s just as they say. Spend too long in the countryside, and you lose all sense of basic decency.”
“Like master, like servant. Birds of a feather flock together.”
Ailiya heard them.
She had heard that kind of talk so often in the taverns of Fengyue City that her ears were numb to it. The location had changed, but the essence was no different.
These nobles just had more refined wording; the malice was no less.
Another gaze was more frequent, and more familiar.
It was Cedric.
He was laughing and chatting with his companions, wine glass in hand, but every few minutes, his eyes would casually drift across the crowd, lingering on her for half a second before shifting away as if nothing had happened.
That gaze carried a scrutiny he thought was hidden, along with a self-assured composure of one who believed his victory was certain.
She knew exactly what he was plotting.
Just then, a slightly plump young man pushed through the crowd, walking towards Leo.
He held a wine glass, his face full of smiles, his tone warm.
“You must be Young Master Leo, right? I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Edwin, a knight of the Royal Capital Knights. I saw you drinking alone without getting drunk, so you must have an impressive tolerance.”
Leo glanced at him, then at Cedric, who was laughing and talking with others in the distance.
“You flatter me, Lord Edwin. I can only handle a little.”
They clinked glasses.
Edwin set down his empty glass and casually remarked, “But let me give you a word of advice. When the sparring session starts later, don’t show off too much. Otherwise, everyone will be gunning for you to challenge you.”
Leo’s hand, holding the wine glass, paused slightly.
“Sparring? I did hear Third Brother mention it. He said it was just for entertainment, a lighthearted match.”
“It is entertainment, but a ‘lighthearted match’… that depends on who your opponent is.”
Edwin smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and without another word, turned and melted back into the crowd.
The banquet continued. The light of the crystal chandelier remained bright, and the cheerful conversation still flowed through the hall.
Cedric finished his chat with those nobles. Carrying two freshly filled glasses, he walked straight through the crowd.
He didn’t walk toward Leo.
He walked up to Ailiya, a slight smile on his face as he extended one of the glasses to her.
“Miss Ailiya, why are you standing in the corner all alone? Since you’re here, have a drink.”
His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it was just enough to draw the attention of several people nearby.
“I have always admired your… aura.”
Ailiya didn’t reach for it. She didn’t even change her expression.
“You’re too kind, Young Master Cedric. I’m working, so it’s not appropriate for me to drink.”
“It’s just a glass of fruit wine. It won’t interfere with your work. Or is it…” He lowered his voice slightly. “…that the crowd here makes it inconvenient?”
Before the tail end of his sentence had fully faded…
A hand reached in from the side, taking the glass directly from Cedric’s grasp.
“If Third Brother wants to offer a toast, you should drink with me instead.”
Leo held the intercepted wine glass, a natural smile on his face, his tone light.
“She’s just a maid, Third Brother. Why would you offer a toast to her? It’s beneath your dignity.”
He raised his glass, gently tapping it against the rim of Cedric’s, producing a crisp sound.
“It’s rare for us to meet in the Royal Capital. Let me keep you company for a few more drinks.”
Cedric’s smile froze for a moment.
It was the same again.
It had been this way in Fengyue City, and it was still this way in the Royal Capital.
This illegitimate son was like a stubborn piece of taffy that couldn’t be shaken off. Every time he was about to reach that figure, he would stick himself right in the way.
The smile on his face didn’t change, but the warmth in his eyes had already cooled by three degrees.
“Heh heh, Fourth Brother is truly attentive to the servants.”
Cedric laughed, raising his glass to clink with Leo’s.
He downed the wine in one gulp, placed the empty glass on a passing servant’s tray, and then gently clapped his hands.
The clap wasn’t loud, but it was crisp and clear, causing the conversations in several nearby circles to fall silent.
People turned their heads, looking toward the center of the hall.
A perfect smile was fixed on Cedric’s face, his gaze falling on Leo, who was standing by the table.
“Leo, come and get to know everyone.”
His tone was warm and sincere, like a truly caring older brother.
A few of the children who were close to Cedric exchanged glances.
One of them, a tall young man, immediately set down his glass, stepped forward, and spoke with a smile.
“Young Master Leo, since it’s such a lively night, why don’t we have a sparring session? You’ve come all this way. Let us see the magical inheritance of the Kastian family.”
Ailiya silently stepped half a pace back, widening her field of view and completely sinking herself into the background.
She had thought that this so-called capital sparring would at least be somewhat interesting. After all, the venue, the equipment, and the audience were all there.
It turned out she was very quickly proven wrong.
The first person to step up had a standard academy-style opening. The trajectory of his fireball art wasn’t off either.
But unfortunately, the blond young man standing opposite him had no intention of following his script.
Instead of staying in place to exchange spells, Leo sidestepped the first fireball while beginning his incantation for mist barrier. He successfully cast the spell during his opponent’s recitation gap, blocking his line of sight.
Then, he swept his wand low across the ground, directly striking his opponent’s shin. In the next instant, a packet of tear-inducing powder was thrown into the other’s face.
The man hadn’t even finished reciting his defense spell before he was already on one knee.
That young man’s face flushed bright red, as if he couldn’t believe he had been defeated by such an “improper” method.
An argument erupted almost instantly.
“You coward! Using such underhanded tricks—how dare you call yourself a mage?”
The murmurs around them exploded like oil hitting water.
“What kind of fighting style is that? Hitting someone with a wand up close?”
“That’s just too…”
“A country boy, indeed. No refinement.”
“I saw it. He threw powder. It was tear-inducing powder, right?”
Leo was breathing heavily. His hand, gripping the wand, was still trembling slightly. But his voice was calmer than expected.
“Winning is enough.”
As the words fell, the surrounding noise grew even louder.
A second challenger quickly stepped forward.
This time, Leo won even more miserably.
He was indeed pushed into a corner. The gap in magic power was completely exposed in the direct confrontation.
In the end, however, he managed to block and wear down his opponent with a combination of a water shield and an earth wall, closed the distance, tripped him, and then proceeded to beat him with the same old method of using his wand.
But the audience didn’t care about those details.
All they saw was a country-born young master who didn’t use pure magic and specialized in shady shortcuts, taking down one proper academy-style mage after another, then finishing the fight with a street brawl.
“Isn’t that a bit too treacherous?”
“It’s practically cheating.”
“This is absolutely not how a mage fights.”
Leo stood in the center of the field, panting heavily, his gaze searching through the crowd, looking for something amidst the disgust and discontent.
Then he saw her.
Ailiya wore the same cold expression as always and, as always, said nothing.
Just as the uproar was about to brew into greater dissatisfaction, a hand gently parted the crowd, and a slightly round figure stepped out unhurriedly.
“Not a bad fight. Let me give it a try too.”
It was Edwin.
A standard issue knight’s sword hung at his waist, the scabbard devoid of any unnecessary decoration.
He picked up his wine glass, slowly finished the last sip, placed the empty glass on a passing servant’s tray, and then drew his sword.
“Don’t let my size fool you.”
He held the sword at an angle, pointing it at the ground. A faint green magical aura slowly spread across the blade, like a breeze wrapping around it.
“I’m still quite fast, Lord Leo.”