A man in his early fifties entered through the grand entrance. Alongside him walked a bewitching middle aged woman. Behind them was a burly young man, a proud student of the Academy’s third year Griffin Class- Dan Silva.

Despite being one of the richest men in the kingdom, his arrival barely grabbed any sort of attention. Riches did not necessarily amount to power after all. Moreover, they were rich in ‘useless’ golds and silvers, not magic crystals that truly mattered.

Yet, his arrival impacted the mood of one of the attendees of the event. Princess Evelyn heaved a long sigh, composing herself. Her eyes were locked on the couple and their child. Her mind kept chanting one thing, over and over again.

‘Please go to your right. Please go to your right. Please go to your right.’

But contrary to her expectations, something bad happened, no- the worst possible case scenario happened. They went right alright- but not their right, to her right- to where the upper echelons supporting the Crown Prince were sitting.

But that was not the scene that destroyed her hopes- it was something else.

“Tsk.” The discontented quiet sound from her left crashed like thunder into her ears.

She turned to him, only to see his completely indifferent face- even his carefree demeanour was absent.

She wanted to say something, but she could not. After all, he kept his part of the deal- removing two from the opposing faction and bringing one of them to their own sides. On the other hand, she lost two and ‘gifted’ one of them to Reynold’s party.

She bit her bottom lip harder. The fair palm of her face began to show four red spots. She used the remaining bit of her energy to hold back her tears- she was in a public place after all.

The prince looked at the princess who seemed to be even gloomier than before. The mocking smile on his face shone even brighter.

Meanwhile, downstairs- the crowd was a bit surprised at the Silvas. They were expecting the ultra-rich family to be neutral as they always remained. But it was not that surprising since they chose the ‘winning’ side.

The head of the Rumins house was sweating all over. Not only was he in the losing side, he ‘might’ have betrayed the future king. But when he remembered the ‘thing’ Adrian promised him, a smile subconsciously appeared on his face. A tent formed on his crotch, prompting his daughter to look away with a red face.

‘Just what did that devil propose?’ She looked up. His eyes met the endlessly charming abyssal eyes of his causing her to look away again- with her face even more flushed than before.

‘What was that?’ She felt her racing heart with her hand.

Hours passed since the beginning of the event. Nobles from all over the Kingdom kept flocking into the magnificent Royal Palace. The once empty hall was now more than half filled.

The third princess had lost all hope. Her mind was fuzzy with all the thoughts of what she would have to go through after it was over.

“Hey Evelyn! Look!” Maria’s shout woke her up from her stupor.

“What?” She turned to her cousin and asked with a lifeless voice.

Maria just pointed below. Evelyn look followed and what came into her view had her open her mouth and eyes wide agape.

She did not have any attention before, but now that she looked down- she found out that the round tables on her side was more occupied than the one on her brother’s side and it was still increasing.

But soon, she returned back to her previous state with a sigh. What was the point? The numbers of lower nobles would help but what could she do with only one Marquess? Reynold had two on his side, not to mention two giants in the form of dukes.

“The Crimson House has arrived.” The loud declaration quietened the chattering of the crowd- but not entirely.

Five nobles entered the hall. Except the lady at the lead alongside the head of the Duke House, all of them had fiery red hairs. Their brown eyes darted through the crowd, blatantly looking down on them.

A young lady broke from the group and gracefully walked up the stairs. She bowed towards the ones sitting on the central seats before sitting beside the prince. Now, the whole table was completely occupied, leaving no more empty seats behind.

“How was the journey?” The prince smiled at her. His hand reached out under the table.

“It was fine. Thank you, your highness.” She smiled back. Her left hand gently clasped his hand.

The smile on his face grew wider.

“Mhmm.” Adrian rubbed his chin. “She is not bad. Maybe I should have joined the prince.”

Evelyn only sighed in response. “Yes, you should have.” Her eyes betrayed guilt.

He took his lips close to her sensitive left ear and whispered, “What if I turn the tables from here, what will I get in return?”

She closed her eyes, almost moaning from the tingling sensation on her ears. “Everything. My life, my body, my soul- everything will be yours.” She whispered back, ensuring her mother does not hear it.

She had already given up hope. So, what was the loss at holding the last straw? As for sacrifices, she had somewhat gotten used to it.

“Remember what you have just said.” He whispered one last time before looking down on the puny humans below yet again, and smiled.

His smile brought back colour and life back to her world which was going through an apocalypse. She looked back at the ground floor.

‘Now my ‘everything’ belongs to you. You better give me some results.’

The Crimsons sat at the left main table, opposite to the Ironcross family. None of the parties bothered to greet each other or interact in any way. They remained dead silent. The Bradleys on the other hand, did not dare to speak word even though they wanted to, not even among themselves.

An hour passed. The representatives of almost every noble families from the kingdom were present.

The right, the princess’s side was the most crowded, while the prince’s left segment was the least fulfilled. The neutral stayed between. But the case was the exact opposite when it came to the main tables- the princess’s table was almost unoccupied while the prince’s one was almost full.

“The Lochtear House has arrived.”

The announcement, which was louder than all other previous ones till now, rendered the hall dead silent.

None dared to make a sound, fearing they would offend an entity they should not at any cost. The Lochtear family was a powerhouse on par with- nay- stronger than even the mighty Academy. They had been hailed as the guardian of the Kingdom since its establishment.

Three men stepped forth. The one at the centre was middle aged while the two who were a step behind looked as if they were in their late twenties. Their foot fell on the magical ground in rhythms. Their right fell on the ground the exact same time and then their left. The exceedingly strong and stable footsteps almost made dents on the expensive marble.

Their crystal blues eyes looked straight ahead, not moving by a millimetre to any other direction. The menacing and authoritative aura they gave off sent chills down the spine of the nearby nobles.

Following right behind the three was a young man, whose footsteps matched with the other three. But unlike them, his young blue eyes darted through the crowd until it finally fixed above.

Isabella, Evelyn and even Dolf Ironcross gasped at the sight of the young man.

The smile on Adrian’s face got wider.

“Let the show begin.”