The grand hall beside the Capital Central Square was ablaze with lights, as bright as day.
The carriage came to a stop. Assisted by a servant, Lady Elsa was the first to step down.
Next came Leo, who took a deep breath and straightened his back.
Finally, a slender calf in a silver high heel emerged from the carriage door.
When Ailiya, carrying the hem of her deep blue starry dress and wearing a cold expression, stepped onto the red carpet, several young nobles who had been exchanging pleasantries at the entrance involuntarily paused their conversation.
Cedric, standing at the top of the stairs to greet guests, had his standard fake smile freeze on his face.
His gaze first swept over Elsa and Leo, then, as if caught by a magnet, locked onto Ailiya who followed behind them.
This… is that country maid from Fengyue City who wore a stiff maid outfit?!
That deep blue off-shoulder dress made her already fair skin shine like the finest mutton-fat jade.
Her silver-white short hair was pinned behind her ear with that delicate mithril hairpin, revealing a long, elegant swan neck.
No elaborate jewelry, no heavy makeup. That bone-deep, icy demeanor that kept others at arm’s length, at this moment, transformed into the most lethal attraction.
Cedric felt his Adam’s apple roll uncontrollably, and deep within his eyes erupted an extremely intense, even slightly mad, desire to conquer.
“Aunt Elsa, welcome.”
Cedric quickly descended the steps, his face once again wearing that warm but hypocritical smile.
“It’s my honor that you could personally attend my coming-of-age ceremony. Leo, that outfit makes you look quite sharp.”
While greeting Leo with words, his peripheral vision kept glancing over at Ailiya, then he raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise.
“Forgive my poor eyesight, but who is this beautiful lady…? Among the noble daughters of the capital, I’ve never seen such outstanding poise. Could she be a cousin from Aunt Elsa’s maiden house?”
Such clumsy flirting made Ailiya roll her eyes internally.
“Young Master Cedric, I am Ailiya.”
Ailiya folded her hands in front of her. Even in her evening gown, her ice-blue eyes looked at him calmly, her tone cold and flat.
No unnecessary pleasantries; she bluntly revealed her identity.
Cedric’s smile instantly froze on his face, the muscles around his eyes twitching violently.
Leo, standing nearby, couldn’t help but let out a very short snort of laughter—“Pfft…” —but he quickly forced it back, his face turning red.
‘Well done!’
‘The frustration from being verbally abused by this woman in the carriage just now vanished instantly. I even think her current defiant look is absolutely heavenly!’
“Miss… Ailiya?”
Cedric forcibly suppressed his anger and pulled a dry smile.
“How surprising. I thought the rules of Kastian Manor forbade servants from wearing such status-overstepping gowns to formal occasions.”
“Ailiya is attending today as my lady companion.”
Lady Elsa spoke up at the right moment, her tone gentle yet carrying an unmistakable note of protectiveness.
“After all, Leo is still young. I’m afraid he might be clumsy at the banquet. Having Ailiya watch over him puts my mind at ease.”
“I see.”
Cedric gave Ailiya a deep look, then stepped aside to make way.
“Please, come in. The banquet is about to officially begin.”
After entering the grand hall, Lady Elsa was quickly surrounded by several noblewomen she had known from earlier years for pleasantries.
She turned and gave Leo a few words of caution—“Don’t cause trouble”—then let the two young people go off on their own.
Inside the luxurious hall, crystal chandeliers cast a splendid golden light.
Leo stood by the long table holding a glass of fruit wine, his body stiff and straight.
He tried to recall the noble demeanor his mother had taught him, attempting to blend into the surroundings, but the occasional looks of scrutiny from all directions still made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.
However, Leo soon realized that at least eighty percent of those gazes weren’t even directed at him, the “countryside illegitimate son.”
They were all on Ailiya beside him.
“Who is that girl? Such a cold aura, like a block of ice.”
“Is she the one following that illegitimate son of the Kastian family? Could she be his fiancée from the Southern Region?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That loser? Worthy of such a top-tier beauty?”
The surrounding whispers were very low, but with Leo and Ailiya’s hearing, they could naturally hear every word clearly.
On one hand, Leo felt an inexplicable pride because others were praising Ailiya. But on the other hand, when he saw a few slick-haired noble youths holding wine glasses and looking ready to come over and flirt, his territorial instincts instantly flared.
Subconsciously, he took half a step forward, placing his body in front of Ailiya’s side.
“Young Master.”
Ailiya stood behind him, holding a glass of juice.
“If you continue maintaining this defensive posture with stiff muscles, like a wild cat whose tail has been stepped on, those bored people who only wanted to come over and chat might think you’re challenging them to a duel.”
“I’m not stiff!”
Leo gritted his teeth and retorted in a low voice.
“I’m just keeping our previous agreement! You promised to follow me like a friend in the capital.”
Ailiya commented mercilessly:
“With the way you’re even trembling slightly while holding a wine glass? I suggest you take care of yourself first. To your left front, three noble youths with ‘I want to cause trouble’ written all over their faces are heading your way.”
Leo looked in the direction Ailiya indicated and indeed saw three gorgeously dressed young men approaching with malicious smiles, holding wine glasses.
The leader was the lackey he had seen earlier beside Cedric.
“Yo, isn’t this Young Master Leo from faraway Fengyue City?”
The leading youth raised his glass exaggeratedly.
“Why are you drinking alone in a corner? Young Master Cedric instructed us to ‘entertain’ you properly.”
Leo clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and was about to engage in some polite but insincere pleasantries as his mother had taught him.
A fair hand, wearing a velvet long glove, extended from behind him with extreme naturalness and took the untouched glass of fruit wine from his hand.
“My apologies, young masters.”
Ailiya stepped out from half a step behind Leo.
She still maintained that flat, emotionless tone, but her ice-blue eyes radiated a cold pressure that made others dare not meet her gaze.
“My young master’s gastrointestinal system has been fragile lately. If you all want someone to drink and chat with…”
Ailiya casually placed the glass of fruit wine on a nearby server’s tray.
“In the center of the hall, there are nine ladies whose IQs appear to be at the same level as yours. Perhaps they would be happy to listen to your nutritionless nonsense.”
The air instantly fell silent.
The smiles on the three noble youths’ faces froze, then turned a livid purple.
They never expected that a lady companion following a servant would dare, in such a setting, to call them stupid to their faces with such a calm tone!
“What do you think you are, daring to speak to us like this!”
The leading youth, furious and ashamed, reached out to push Ailiya’s shoulder.
But before his hand could even touch the hem of her dress—
Smack!
Leo suddenly shot out his hand and grabbed the young man’s wrist tightly.
Although he was only a peak first-level magic apprentice, after being tormented by Ailiya’s inhuman melee training this past while, his reaction speed and strength were far beyond what these pampered sons who only knew how to drink tea and chat could match.
Those eyes of Leo’s no longer held avoidance or timidity.
He looked directly into the other’s eyes and said, word for word:
“Take your dirty hand back.”
The sharp pain in his wrist made the young man cry out.
He stared in disbelief at the illegitimate son before him, who was rumored to be cowardly and useless.
Ailiya stood behind Leo.
She watched the blond youth in front of her, whose shoulders were not yet broad, but whose back was held straight.
‘Reaction speed barely passes. He could increase his power output a bit more. Directly dislocating his joints would be more efficient.’
‘It seems all that beating I gave him recently wasn’t wasted. This rookie can finally barely hold his own in public.’
The noble youth whose wrist was clamped by Leo first cried out in pain, then his face flushed purple-red, both ashamed and furious.
He never imagined that this illegitimate son, rumored to be cowardly and useless, only fit to play in the mud in the countryside, actually had such surprising strength, like an iron hoop he couldn’t break free from.
“Let go! You vulgar countryside bastard!”
The youth roared, blustering but inwardly weak, while his other hand unconsciously reached for the decorative sword at his waist.
The other two companions also immediately stepped forward, and the atmosphere became instantly tense.
Ailiya stood behind Leo, her gaze still calm.
However, just as this minor conflict was about to escalate—
tap, tap, tap…
The sound of high heels striking the marble floor, unhurried and very rhythmic, came from behind the crowd.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it carried a startling penetrative power, instantly silencing the noisy little area.
The surrounding nobles, as if encountering some untouchable taboo, parted like a tide to both sides.
“Shouting and wanting to draw swords at someone else’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
A female voice, icy and carrying a strong sense of pressure, rang in everyone’s ears.
“Young Master Ryan, is this how your family taught you the social etiquette of the capital?”
The noble youth who had been shouting immediately shuddered violently at the sound, even forgetting to struggle.
Ailiya slightly raised her eyes, her gaze passing over Leo’s shoulder to observe the newcomer.
She was a young woman whose presence and appearance were both extremely aggressive.
She wore a very form-fitting dark purple evening gown. Her chestnut hair was coiled into a meticulous high bun, not a single stray strand left.
Her features were coldly beautiful and delicate, highly three-dimensional, and her slightly high cheekbones added a superior sharpness.
When she approached and lightly pressed her dark-lipsticked thin lips together, she naturally wore an expression of detachment and scrutiny.
“S… Second Sister.”
Leo let go as if electrocuted.
His back, which had been straight while protecting Ailiya, instinctively stiffened upon seeing this woman, and his voice was filled with undisguised tension.
Isabella Kastian.
Cedric’s older sister.
The youth called Ryan, clutching his wrist and pale-faced, lowered his head without even daring to utter a word of rebuttal, and slinked away with his companions into the crowd.
Isabella didn’t even give those clowns a second glance.
Her coldly beautiful gaze first lingered on Leo for two seconds.
Looking at this half-brother, she neither mocked nor greeted him. She just swept him with a gaze that appraised an object, as if slightly surprised by the tiny bit of combat power he had just displayed.
‘Just as I thought, he’s still an immature rookie. The confidence he just built up has already reset to zero in an instant, hasn’t it?’
Then, Isabella’s gaze slowly shifted.
Passing over Leo, it finally landed precisely on Ailiya standing behind him.
Two equally cold and equally rational gazes silently met under the luxurious crystal lights.