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‘My King. My esteemed King.’

Clank! Clank! Clank!

A set of crimson heels played a cheerful melody.

‘I have waited for this day when I will yet again have the chance to stand before you. Ah, what a wonderful day this is.’

Clank! Clank! Clank!
　
The ringing of armor was nowhere to be heard. The armor had changed into a dress. The soldier’s greaves into heels, and the giant-like sturdy body into one seemingly made out of glass.

In comparison to the previous time Seletina had strolled these castle halls, everything—including her attire, social standing, and gender—was different.

However, Orthus was still the same. While his name and looks changed, his proud soul, which he had sworn to the king, remained resolute.

A pair of servants opened the massive double door that stood in front of Seletina. Seletina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As the cold air filled her lungs, Seletina could feel her emotions calming down.

‘My King.’

Orthus was still alive.

‘I have come before you.’

Slowly, Seletina’s long eyelashes-draped eyes opened and the deep blue iris inside them shone brightly.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

A golden wind howled through the spacious dance hall.

The hall, which was bustling with ladies and gentlemen’s laughter, became filled with a desolate feeling.

One of the nobles paused and turned to stare at a specific area with wide-open eyes. Numerous more eyes followed the noble’s as it brought the entire hall’s focus to one location.

“The Aldelights,” someone whispered.

Duke Balged ul Gold Aldelight. Duchess Melia ul Gold Aldelight. Their firstborn son, Yennis ul Gold Aldelight, who’d just had his debut last year. And finally…

“What pristine beauty…”

The gazes of men and women, young and elderly, were all captivated by a single young girl.

The ladies had forgotten their jealousy in the presence of this beauty, and the young sirs’ faces had slightly reddened. Consequently, the royal family was not an exception.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“She is… She’s just like an angel…”

At the guest of honor table, the first prince, Dios, and the second prince, Elias, were talking absentmindedly. This was an odd reaction for the two of them, who were used to interacting with women but had never exhibited any particular interest in any particular one.

Gadius the Fourth smiled as he saw his sons in such a light.

‘Although there were some disturbances, I’m glad I held the event.’

Gadius had a dream. Not as king, but more as a father. His desire was to see his children find true love. He felt that all had been worthwhile just from seeing his sons in this state because up to this point they had displayed no interest in the other gender.

‘Still, she really is beautiful.’

Gadius pondered as he stroked his beard and observed Seletina.

‘It’s no wonder my sons were taken in by her. So that’s Duke Aldelight’s daughter. It’s a miracle she’s stayed hidden for this long.’

Gadius had heard somewhere about Seletina’s poor health and the fact that she regularly turned down invites to events.

“Your Highness, it is time.”
“Right.”

Gadius remarked and stood up,

“Ladies and Gentlemen. I am deeply grateful that you took time out of your busy schedules to gather here on this fine evening. It gives me great pleasure to formally welcome you all back to the Spring this year…”

Gadius’ tenor voice echoed throughout the whole dance hall. Gadius’ pleasure in hosting the Spring, his gratitude to the nobles and his hopes for the future of the Kingdom of Elugor could be felt from his words and gestures.

All eyes inside the hall were gathered on him. But it was then that Gadius noticed that one pair of eyes appeared to be far more passionate than the rest.

‘Huh?’

Gadius turned around to confirm the owner of that pair of eyes.

The attractive girl who had just caught his boys’ interest stood across from him. The young girl stood tall and looked straight at him with eyes that could bore through his chest.

As soon as Gadius’ gaze crossed that of Seletina, something dazzling poured from Seletina’s deep blue eyes.

Gadius momentarily assumed jewels had accidentally spilled from Seletina’s eyes because they were so exquisite, but that was false. They were tears.

One after another, tear after tear streamed down the curves on Seletina’s beautiful cheeks. Seletina did not wipe them away. Or perhaps she simply didn’t notice the tears that were streaming down her face.

Gadius hurriedly averted his gaze, speechless. Perhaps that was somewhat rude on his part, however, Gadius was not able to look into Seletina’s eyes.

Why that was, he did not know.

With that tension eating away at his chest, Gadius finally finished his opening remarks.

The dance hall started to fill with the soothing sound of stringed instruments, the exact opposite of his noisy mind.