Yenton, the squire, watched Kaiden intently. The knight, holding a sword and drenched in sweat, exhaled heavily. His sweat-soaked hair was a mess, and his clothes were covered in dust. His muscular arms, lifting the sword, looked ready to cut down anything, and his fierce eyes shone with intense determination. Despite this, his sculpted face and body were so strikingly handsome that even another man would find them admirable.

Yenton briefly pondered how much he should say, then recalled the knight’s temperament and chose his words carefully to avoid provoking him.

“You look like a complete beast.”

The squire added, “It seems like you could take down any monster right now.” Upon hearing this, Kaiden frowned and ran his hand roughly through his hair.

“Damn, that’s not good.”

Why not?

Yenton couldn’t understand. Kaiden was someone who didn’t care in the slightest about not being noble. His remarkable talent and abilities were far too great to be overshadowed or tainted by his status, and as a result, no one in the north dared to look down on him as a commoner.

So why?

Though he couldn’t fathom it, Yenton remained silent, as a squire should. As he waited quietly, Kaiden sighed. With one hand on his waist and the other holding his sword lowered, he stood motionless for a moment. Then, as if making a significant decision, he nodded resolutely.

“…Alright. Let’s go.”

Yenton quickly stepped aside to avoid Kaiden, who was striding toward him. Following behind the knight, Yenton couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer and asked,

“But is there really a war going on?”

Seeing Kaiden’s tense demeanor, which he hadn’t noticed even during monster hunts or deployments in the fall, he couldn’t help but ask. Kaiden stopped his brisk walk and muttered without turning his head,

“A war… Yes. It’s something more important than a war.”

The man walked on, his eyes like blue sapphires sparking with fierce determination. Striding with long legs, he bent down to pick up a shirt that had fallen on the ground. Surprised, Yenton hurried over to offer his hand. Kaiden, still holding his sword, casually tossed the shirt to Yenton.

“Now get out of here.”

Reassured by those words, the squire retreated.

Kaiden, with a sharper demeanor than when heading into battle, opened the door and left the training ground.

He had been preparing relentlessly. He had honed his sword to a razor’s edge and trained his knights rigorously. The moment he had long dreamed of—enduring battlefields, hunts, and the blood of dark creatures—was finally at hand.

As Kaiden emerged from the training ground and walked through the shadowed corridor, he glanced up at the sky. The sky was clear and bright, with the sun still shining. People often said that on days like this, the stars would be visible at night.

But his star wasn’t something he could see just because the weather had cleared, so Kaiden turned his back on the clear sky without hesitation.

* * *

The gates of Eluan Castle finally opened for the banquet. From dusk, guests began arriving in carriages.

The white pillars and walls of the Eluan Castle banquet hall, which had been closed for a long time, were now decorated with spring flowers. Instead of the southern Rowen style, which arranged large flowers in neat, uniform patterns, the hall was adorned in the northern Rowen style, with small flowers woven together naturally. This decoration signified that the princess, the guest of honor, had been living in the north and would continue to stay there. The northern flowers were arranged in the northern fashion, overlapping with the floral patterns on the pillars and ceiling, creating a breathtaking world of flowers.

At the highest point of the banquet hall, a keyboard instrument awaited the princess’s performance. The instrument, polished to a glossy black, had been newly acquired for her birthday, replacing the old one that had been in the castle. It was ordered from the most famous keyboard artisan in Rowen and brought from the south.

Past the rows of pillars in the banquet hall, musicians with instruments were gathered. Holding and cradling various string instruments, they played music to entertain the guests, while musicians with long wind instruments stood nearby.

Around the tables set up to the side, servants moved swiftly, carrying glasses and various drinks. They hurriedly served a variety of fruit wines.

On a table laid out on one side, servants placed steaming hot dishes. There were roasted pork legs, chicken stuffed with nuts and grains, sautéed beans and potatoes, cheese and bread, and nearby, pies topped with raspberries and fruit jams were set.

The pillars and walls surrounding the banquet hall, filled with meticulous preparations, were guarded by Khalid’s knights. From the dressing room located upstairs, accessible by climbing the entrance and stairs where the knights stood, Dana Rowen was finishing her preparations. The dressing room had a door leading directly outside and another door leading straight into the banquet hall.

With Hilda’s assistance, Dana completed her attire. She wore a sky-blue dress delicately embroidered with gold thread, and her curly platinum blonde hair was half down and half braided back.

On her head rested a thin gold crown studded with pearls, and around her neck was a necklace intertwined with pearls that matched the crown. On her slender wrist was an aquamarine bracelet she always wore.

After giving Dana one last look, Hilda stepped back and said,

“Perfect.”

Hilda’s face showed more tension than Dana’s as she glanced nervously, swallowing hard and clasping her hands to ensure everything was in place. Watching her, Dana let out a small laugh and looked in the mirror. Although she smiled, she felt just as nervous.

In the mirror, Dana appeared adorned with a crown and ornaments that seemed unattainable to anyone, wearing clothes that looked incredibly expensive.

‘But will this even have an effect on that knight?’

A knight who was rude, disrespectful, and uninterested in women.

‘But perhaps it’s for the best. If that knight had any sense of calculation or interest in women, he would have already married a lady of high status.’

Kaiden Leonas, despite being so concerned with status, was a man who never considered changing his status through marriage. She remembered hearing rumors that a noble from the central region had proposed to take him as a son-in-law, but he had refused. He was a man who sought recognition solely through his own abilities.

‘Yes. The more I think about it, the better a person he seems.’

With that thought, Dana steadied herself. Her reflection in the mirror smiled back. Her lips curled up, and dimples formed on her cheeks.

Turning away with that smiling face, Dana asked Countess Vicar, who was standing back, “Where is Lord Vicar?”

“He’s waiting outside the door.”

Dana nodded and said, “Invite him in.”

At Countess Vicar’s signal, a maid approached the door and opened it. Standing behind the door, Lord Vicar, Bitern, entered the room and greeted the princess. As he bowed and kissed the back of the princess’s extended hand, he then turned to Hilda and did the same.

Dana spoke to Bitern, who had stepped back, “There’s something I need you to do.”

* * *

As darkness fell with the setting sun.

Dressed in his prepared attire and riding a black horse, Kaiden arrived at the banquet hall. Entering the unfamiliar hall with a gift for the princess in hand, he stood in a shaded corner to avoid the lively atmosphere of the gathering. The banquet hall was bustling with people dressed in all sorts of colorful attire, all chattering in irritating tones.

Kaiden turned his gaze to the keyboard instrument prepared inside the hall. He recalled a memory of a back view, fingers lightly dancing over the keys, producing a sound that tickled the ears.

The clear, resonant melody and the movements that accompanied it. The image he remembered was of a seventeen-year-old. It had been three years since then. How much had changed? Surely, some things had stayed the same.

He felt a sudden thirst. Kaiden sensed that his well-dressed clothes were choking him. Struggling to suppress the urge to rip them off, he turned his body, noticing people approaching him.

‘Ah, what a bother.’

He didn’t want to waste time on such individuals. He immediately turned and walked briskly to another area, inadvertently being pushed further into the shadows.

Kaiden scanned the banquet hall with his eyes. Where would be the best place to stand? Should it be a place where he could be easily seen by him, or…?

Kaiden unconsciously glanced down at his appearance. He wore a heavy black cloak adorned with delicate embroidery along the edges, beneath which he had on a smooth dark blue top and deep-colored trousers. His heavy belt featured intricately crafted decorations, and his black gloves were made of fine calfskin. The boots on his feet were also newly acquired leather.

This outfit was something he had managed to order and receive on time, thanks to the efforts of a subordinate of Leonas, whom he usually regarded as a bit of a dandy. The gift in his hand also appeared adequately wrapped, at least to his eyes.

However, it couldn’t just look good to him; it had to appear perfect to anyone who saw it. With that thought in mind, he endured the uncomfortable and awkward attire.

Even though he stood in an inconspicuous spot, he was aware of the attention directed at him. With his keen senses, he could tell that the gazes were filled with admiration and interest.

Fortunately, it seemed clear that even the haughty nobles didn’t find his appearance lacking. Just as the dandy knight who had inspected him in this outfit had assured him, there wouldn’t be a lady who wouldn’t be smitten by this look.

That was fortunate, but it was also crucial that overly enthusiastic individuals didn’t approach and bother him. Kaiden instinctively raised his hand to sweep back his hair but stopped when he recalled the warning from the servant who had helped him dress and style his hair. In the end, all he could do was lick his dry lips.

Then, an overly eager person managed to catch his attention.

“Excuse me, are you Sir Leonas?”

Without even looking at the individual, Kaiden deduced their identity from their gait and voice and found the response he needed.

“No, thank you.”

“Oh, but…”

However, the person who had spoken to him didn’t know when to stop, like a creature in heat. Avoiding the hand reaching out to grab his arm, Kaiden finally turned to look at them. With a truly uninterested expression, he furrowed his brow, removed his black gloves, and said,

“Get lost.”

Gasp.

With people behind him who seemed frightened he might throw the gloves at any moment, Kaiden turned away, holding the gloves in one hand. He thought that in the past, these gloves would have already left his hand, and he moved to another area. But there, too, was filled with people who continuously directed their gazes at him.

Avoiding those who seemed ready to approach him at any moment, Kaiden searched for a suitable spot to stand. As he circled the banquet hall, the music changed. The musicians stopped playing.

His eyes, as blue as lapis lazuli, instantly fixed on the closed door.